Casting Off

After three weeks, how has it been settling in? Any problems? Your boating questions answered

If we were looking to buy a narrowboat, how come we ended up with a widebeam? We discuss a series of serendipitous events that lead to our purchase of Happidaze

The time was right to sell our sailboat, but we had no warning it would be completed so fast and we would be back in the UK before Christmas!

Surviving 20 years as cruisers has had its ups and downs. We share five of our near misses here...

We survived the last 20 years at sea, and made many mistakes along the way...

In Part 2 of "ask us anything", we tackle whether your sailboat should have a bum gun.

We do our best to answer your questions on sailing and living on a boat, but weren't too sure how to answer the one about "which YouTubers do you despise?"

Night sailing can be the best time on a boat; sometimes it's just plain stressful.

In this video and podcast we break down how much money we make from YouTube.

Getting to grips with your anchor and ground tackle is crucial to successful cruising.

We need to talk about YouTube sailing channels. Cruising is exciting enough without the made-up jeopardy and added drama some channels invent.

Our voyage to Malaysia has started, and we're thrilled to talk about it in real-time during our first passage north along the coast of Lombok.

[S04E28] At 06:00 the boat shook and there was the sound of thunder: we had just experienced an earthquake!

Over 100 real-life cruisers answered our question, “If you were going to offer ONE piece of PRACTICAL advice to a new or would-be cruiser, what would it be?”

[S04E26] In the apps or chart plotter debate, some say apps have already taken over from chart plotters. Do you agree? We believe the right apps can improve our cruising experience and make life more comfortable at sea, they may

This is no random made-up list of why your cruising dreams will fail. It is based on what we've actually witnessed since we began sailing and cruising in 2005.

Sourcing boat parts in remote places. Anchored off a remote island and your engine fails, what do you do? How do you source an engine part? Or fuel? Maybe you need water...

There will always be animals on boats, whether you want them there or not. To live on a boat means living with nature: on land in the sea and in the air. Some are friendlier than others and will make your life better. Some won't...

This week we're giving away 6 tips for stress-free cruising. Things that make long-term cruising life a more comfortable experience.

This is our attempt to unravel the 'giant puzzle' that is Southeast Asia...

When we left the Maldives end May 2013, we had no idea that sailing across the Indian Ocean would be the most difficult thing we have ever done. It nearly broke us, and our sailboat.

We've just completed 17 years of cruising and travelling the world aboard our sailboat. It's been an adventure full of surprises!

Are still images important in video? It's all about street photography, street portraiture and travel photography in this week's podcast. And we ask whether stills have a place in videos.

Do you want to be a cruiser? Are you planning to become a cruiser? Stop thinking about it! JUST FLIPPING DO IT!

We ask why cruisers stop sailing, and wonder if it's time for a new adventure...

With Jamie in the UK and Liz in Indonesia (and with 8000 miles between us) we discover the grass is always greener.

Yes, that's right, we're splitting up! But before you continue, please take another look at the image that accompanies this post!

Crossing borders on a boat is the same as travelling anywhere abroad - just times the bureaucracy by 10. And then some!

Liz is not well, and nobody needs to hear someone sniffing and coughing their way through a podcast, so this week we're postponing the upload and asking for your help instead...

The sailboat galley generated the biggest response in our DISCORD group when we asked you what we should cover next...

In this podcast, we look at how to survive extreme heat on a sailboat, how our bodies keep us cool, and how we can help them.

This is the last podcast for a few weeks because we have a lot of sailing ahead of us and will have few opportunities to relax or get on with editing. To ease our workload, we are putting the podcasts on hold. The post We are taking a break appeared first on followtheboat.

The sea calls to you or it doesn't. Sailing beckons you. If you don't love it, you'll be miserable. If you do, you won't trade it for anything. The post The Highs and Lows of Sailing and Boat Ownership appeared first on followtheboat.

Comment with ONE of your sailing highs, and ONE of your lows for a chance to be in with a name check in the next podcast. We're looking for comments from sailors, cruisers, wanna-be cruisers, old cruisers, new sailors... anyone with an opinion! The post Gone sailing | Back soon! appeared first on followtheboat.

We're often told that "life is about the journey, not the destination". But is that true? Maybe the destination is just as important? The post Is it the journey or the destination? appeared first on followtheboat.

What is the best thing about travel? What are your best travel moments, and what are your favourite travel memories? The post What Is The Best Thing About Travel? appeared first on followtheboat.

We have had some scary moments, but they don't match our biggest fears. We go through the top 5 worst things that have happened to us, and take a look at what scares you most. The post 5 Reasons to Be Scared of Sailing appeared first on followtheboat.

We asked you to come up with 15 items that enhance boat life. Can you guess what made it to the number one spot? The post 15 Items For An Easy Life Aboard appeared first on followtheboat.

We put our cards on the table in this episode and talk about the friends we have lost over the years because of our decision to live on a boat and travel. And we are not the only ones this has happened to... The post Some Friends Will Resent Your Travel Lifestyle appeared first on followtheboat.

"Why not sail back to the UK and then go see family?" We explain the answer here. And we discuss what "home" means to us. The post What does “Home” mean to you? appeared first on followtheboat.

If you had a sailboat where would you go? And should spectacular remote destinations be developed for tourism? The post If You Had A Sailboat Where Would You Go? appeared first on followtheboat.

Welcome to our quick chat, where we blather on about the work it takes to create our videos. Sometimes, life just gets in the way... The post This is NOT a podcast… appeared first on followtheboat.

Tackling the challenges of isolation and lack of language skills in strange places is grist to the mill for most cruisers... The post The Fun Of Finding Help In Remote Places appeared first on followtheboat.

We open up about the dangers which keep our adrenaline flowing. And what it's like to face death. The post Cruising's Dirty Little Secret appeared first on followtheboat.

How long should you wait before mending things that go wrong at home or on your boat? Does leaving the issue mean potential disaster? The post In The Dark Everything Looks Closer appeared first on followtheboat.

What cruising boat should you buy? Is it OK to cross oceans on a Beneteau, or would a bluewater cruiser be better? Do catamarans make good cruising boats, and should you buy new or old? The post What cruising boat should you buy? appeared first on followtheboat.

Jamie HATES catamarans. Could there ever be a time when we would buy one? Does it all come down to price? What do YOU think? The post We Will Never Buy A Cat appeared first on followtheboat.

If someone made us the right offer, would we sell our sailboat, SY Esper? Find out in this week's Casting Off podcast The post Should We Sell Our Sailboat? appeared first on followtheboat.

"I believe you are the bravest, most courageous cruisers... Any advice on how I can get braver?" Susan King, FTBMate The post How to be brave appeared first on followtheboat.

In this week's jibber-jabber, we cover (among other things) health and fitness, Liz's fishing skills, heat exhaustion (or is it just general un-fitness?), dying your hair pink and preparing for a 1500NM sail. The post Are You Fit Enough To Live On A Boat? appeared first on followtheboat.

The series continues with episode 002, which takes a rambling walk through our thoughts on everything from kelapas under palapas, brushing shoulders with sharks and what to expect at the table of bollocks. The post Are We Tourists? appeared first on followtheboat.