If you have recently followed our blog or YouTube channel during the mass influx of new subscribers, Welcome! After reading through a few hundred new youtube comments I realized that a lot of you are probably thinking that all we ever do are boat projects, and I totally get it! It definitely seems and feels that way as of late, however, I am very happy to report that we do in fact sail! Just not recently… or anytime soon… let me explain:

Since moving our boat to a new marina in January, we had 2 busy months preparing for our haul out which was in early March. With that pressing timeline we didn’t have time for sailing, just demolishing and making everything as easy as we could for our future selves. March came around and all was fine and dandy in the boatyard until a bad weather spell hit followed by the infamous Coronavirus which delayed our progress naturally. With all of the curveballs thrown our way we were finally able to splash in late April, but the project list didn’t end there.

Once back in the water we were able to resume construction on our new bulwark design to take the place of our failing toe rail, as well as continue rebuilding our nav station which we actually started prior to the haul out. With shops slowly opening back up to the world (with more caution than ever) due to COVID, we were finally able to move forward with getting materials needed to finish some major projects, which of course is when Chris got called for a 14 day long shoot 5 hours north of us.

As grateful as we were for his camera work to be picking back up after all shoots were postponed (thanks to ‘Rona, again) I was a little disappointed to see us hitting the pause button once more. In Chris’s absence, I continued to clean up from our month on the hard, making sure all of the dust and grime was removed. I also did a few small jobs here and there, but nothing could really be done until Chris came home to drop off our bulwark materials at the fabrication shop to be cut and electro-polished.

As the project progressed it was only to be expected that we would receive yet another call that would pause our efforts, once again. This time the voice on the other end of the phone was Jon, Chris’s older brother from S/V Prism, calling to beg Chris to fly to Bayboro, North Carolina, and help him and Shannon with their latest project on another Hans Christian 33, Dragonquest. After some logistics and discussion I agreed that Chris could lend his skills to Prism’s crew for 1 week and some change, but no more! We absolutely have to get sailing again soon or else I’m going to lose my mind! 

4 days ago Troy left and Chris flew East, leaving the boat to Cleo and I. It is 11:00 pm on Wednesday night, I am covered in teak dust from sanding the nav station and I am determined to finish varnishing before Chris’s homecoming. I have never been “good” at being alone, so during these rare times when I find myself without the company of another person I try to stay productive and make goals to achieve every day. Today my goal was to sit down and write out my thoughts before they leave my brain like a newly hatched butterfly, flying into the great unknown, never to be seen again. All of that pretty much brings us to right now. I am done writing about the past few weeks, so here let’s talk about what is happening in the near future.

This Saturday, June 20th, is the Summer Solstice or better known to us sailors as the “Sailstice”. Although Avocet is out of sailing commission at the moment, I will be participating in the sailstice by raising our small tanbark sails on our Fatty Knees 8’ dinghy and enjoying the day on the water; Just me, the sea, and the wind that fills my sails… and maybe a White Claw or two! I have been documenting my progress on Avocet’s projects in Chris’s absence while he has (hopefully) been filming his time working with Prism… which means you will get a bonus video soon after part 2 of our Haul Out Video! Then maybe after that, we will finally get around to uploading an actual sailing video, just to show you all that we still got it! 

My last sail in “Little Wing” … very excited for the sailstice!

I can not fully express how much gratitude I have for everyone who has supported our creativity this past month; from YouTube subscribers to blog followers and Patrons, we are so incredibly thankful and stoked to have a growing community of great people. Thank you all again!! Stay safe, cheers, and fair winds!

Sincerely, 

Marissa of S/V Avocet 

After a long 14 days, Chris finally returned home and was just starting to work on Avocet again when we had to drive back north to the mountains where he had another video shoot scheduled, this time with my riding shotgun. While in the mountains I was able to visit with my family while Chris had his shoot which was long overdue! After a short but sweet weekend away, we borrowed our 12-year-old nephew Troy as a week-long crew member to get some good one on one bonding and so he could help us with our projects. Small hands on a boat are great because they can reach into the tiniest of places!

Chris and Troy worked on all sorts of projects that week, while I was at work wishing I could get my hands dirty with boat work like the boys. I know Chris really enjoyed Troy’s company, and it reminded him of when he would do projects with his dad. Looking at Troy I couldn’t help but think about how when Chris was his age he had just learned that his dad had cancer, and one year later he passed away… time is precious. We cherish the memories we make and hold them close, which is one of the reasons why I love writing for this blog and filming for our YouTube channel.

As the project progressed it was only to be expected that we would receive yet another call that would pause our efforts, once again. This time the voice on the other end of the phone was Jon, Chris’s older brother from S/V Prism, calling to beg Chris to fly to Bayboro, North Carolina, and help him and Shannon with their latest project on another Hans Christian 33, Dragonquest. After some logistics and discussion I agreed that Chris could lend his skills to Prism’s crew for 1 week and some change, but no more! We absolutely have to get sailing again soon or else I’m going to lose my mind! 

4 days ago Troy left and Chris flew East, leaving the boat to Cleo and I. It is 11:00 pm on Wednesday night, I am covered in teak dust from sanding the nav station and I am determined to finish varnishing before Chris’s homecoming. I have never been “good” at being alone, so during these rare times when I find myself without the company of another person I try to stay productive and make goals to achieve every day. Today my goal was to sit down and write out my thoughts before they leave my brain like a newly hatched butterfly, flying into the great unknown, never to be seen again. All of that pretty much brings us to right now. I am done writing about the past few weeks, so here let’s talk about what is happening in the near future.

This Saturday, June 20th, is the Summer Solstice or better known to us sailors as the “Sailstice”. Although Avocet is out of sailing commission at the moment, I will be participating in the sailstice by raising our small tanbark sails on our Fatty Knees 8’ dinghy and enjoying the day on the water; Just me, the sea, and the wind that fills my sails… and maybe a White Claw or two! I have been documenting my progress on Avocet’s projects in Chris’s absence while he has (hopefully) been filming his time working with Prism… which means you will get a bonus video soon after part 2 of our Haul Out Video! Then maybe after that, we will finally get around to uploading an actual sailing video, just to show you all that we still got it! 

My last sail in “Little Wing” … very excited for the sailstice!

I can not fully express how much gratitude I have for everyone who has supported our creativity this past month; from YouTube subscribers to blog followers and Patrons, we are so incredibly thankful and stoked to have a growing community of great people. Thank you all again!! Stay safe, cheers, and fair winds!

Sincerely, 

Marissa of S/V Avocet