We named the blog Going Solo because it also represents my journey while he sails around the world single handed. I’m on watch in my own ‘cockpit’ of sorts, at my own ‘nav station’ creating and updating the blog. I’m also writing about my own experience and creating art.

I’ve written a lot on the Going Solo blog about my husband Glenn, the boat (West Wind II), and his reasons for taking on one of the world’s toughest challenges. Each day, I update the blog with his latest position on a Google Earth map, add photos and insert links to websites but mostly it’s about the day-to-day musings of this single-handed sailor as he battles the ocean, the weather, gear failure, leaks, and his own shortcomings. It’s not always a struggle. He also writes about the exhilaration of surfing down waves at 9+ knots, the balmy tropical weather, the magnificent nightly spectacle overhead, and the thrill of being visited by a single majestic Royal Albatross.

Hanging On, Letting Go

Long before Glenn left, part of my journey is about finding a way to let go of him, physically and emotionally. I’ll admit it’s difficult to let go of the person you care most deeply about when all of your instincts are telling you to hang on. It’s true we’ve been here before, most recently in 2007, when he made his first attempt at a solo circumnavigation when the letting go seemed impossible.

This time around, even after months of talking about it and making the final preparations, it wasn’t any easier. On September 2, 2013, the day of his departure, I stood on the wharf at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, oblivious to the crowd that had gathered, untied his stern line, and tossed it to him across the lifelines. And there it was. I let go. And in that moment, I also set him and his lifelong dream in motion.

Fear as a Compass

When I see friends and acquaintances these days, there’s often a question that hangs in the air like a ghost. “Do you ever get scared?” There was a time when I found this question startling, too personal to be answered gracefully. What would I say, No? It would be a lie. But to openly admit it, face-to-face, and often in a public place, seemed to invite further comment, which was a place I didn’t want to, or need to go. I felt protective of my feelings and state of mind. I felt I couldn’t afford to have a meltdown because I was the only one who could scrape me back together.

And yet, fear is very much a part of my experience. I do feel scared sometimes. I let my imagination paint a vivid picture of the high winds, giant swells with the tops blowing off the waves, and green water rushing over the toe rail alongside the cockpit. I have an image of him on deck, at night, with the boat pitching and rolling, wearing his headlight, changing headsails. I can see him being washed overboard, hit on the head by the boom, cutting himself, or falling on the slippery deck. And, when he writes to me about how it feels to take a swim in a beautiful warm tropical sea, I can imagine the boat drifting away faster than he can get back to it.

My answer about fear these days is, “Yes, I do feel scared sometimes, absolutely.” My survival technique is to observe it, acknowledge it, and then carry on the best way I know how. It’s a continual learning process. Answering the question “Do you ever feel scared?” has become less about feeling assaulted, it’s an opportunity to meet people where they’re at, and share my authentic experience, fear and all.

A few weeks before Glenn left this time, I saw a blog post from Seth Godin. It was a very timely message about fearlessness. I liked what it said about seeing fear as a compass not a barrier. Seth writes, “The fearless person is well aware of the fear she faces. The fear though, becomes a compass, not a barrier. It becomes a way to know what to do next, not an evil demon to be extinguished.”

My solo journey

This time around I’ll continue to update the blog for the thousands of visitors from 38 countries (as of today) who drop by daily. I’ll acknowledge their comments, forward their questions to Glenn and post his answers. I’ll do research about the wildlife and geography of the area he’s sailing in, and I’ll reach out to the media around the world with news of a Canadian single-hander in their midst. And this time, my journey includes creating art. It’s my way of seeing and understanding what this journey is really about for me.

Here’s one ‘work in progress’ called Black Crow that incorporates my own photography and words.

Black Crow started as a digital photograph which I later turned into a line drawing. After playing with it for a while, I thought about what the image meant to me. I’ve always loved the intelligence and shiny black beauty of crows so it was natural to take a photo of a crow – this one perched high on a pole in an urban garden. I then set out to describe her in words. I then realized this crow represented me. I was on my own, standing firm, head to wind, gaze fixed on the goal. Calm, steady, unflappable.

Maybe this is my way of finding my compass; my way of knowing what to do next.

Image Credits

All images by MaryLou Wakefield – All Rights Reserved
First published at – STOrythatMatters

Guest Author Bio

MaryLou Wakefield
MaryLou Wakefield combines her experience in strategic communications planning, marketing and public relations with a creative approach to online and social media communications. She’s written content across multiple platforms for organizations in high tech, health care, education, and the arts. MaryLou has been widely published in local, national and international publications on topics that include education, high tech, public relations, health care, sailing and cooking. She’s an avid explorer of social media as an innovative communications tool and contributes to the online conversation across social media platforms including her blogs STOrythatMatters and Going Solo.

Website / Blog: Encore Communications

Follow MaryLou: Twitter | LinkedIn

By far the most common and popular sailboat rig is the sloop. Some of the other more popular options include the ketch, yawl, and schooner. For the purpose of this article the ketch, yawl and schooner can all be considered the same. They offer very similar advantages and disadvantages. Granted, there are quite a few subtle differences in them but they all share common traits that everyone considers when deciding on one of them versus a sloop.

The thing that ketches, yawls and schooners all have in common is multiple masts which carry a larger number of smaller sails to make up their sail area. The advantage of having more, smaller, sails is that they are easier to handle (due to being smaller and lighter) and they can be flown in multiple configurations that suit the particular wind speed and direction. The disadvantage is that you need more sails, additional rigging and your constantly trimming and reefing more sails than you would with a sloop.

A sloop has two basic sails; a mainsail and a headsail. There are additional sails such as spinnakers and other specialty sails but you can sail a sloop just fine with only two sails. The fact that a sloop has less sails to trim or reef, less rigging and is so easy to sail makes it so popular. Over the years sloops have steadily become more popular and every other rig has become less popular. Their growing popularity is due in large part to sails being made of lighter, stronger materials, better sail handling equipment (winches and halyards) and stronger masts and booms. The most significant of all though has been the improved reliability and universal acceptance of roller furling for headsails, and increasingly for mainsails. Roller furling sails makes sailing much easier and safer and allows one person to easily handle large sails.

Roller furling along with sail improvements mean the sloop is far and away the most popular sailboat and has become very easy to sail even shorthanded. Unless you have an affinity for tradition, a sloop should be at the top of the list if you want to buy a boat and go cruising.

Photo Credits

Sloop Rig Exile – Jeff Johnstone – Wikimedia

Sailing Thumbnail – Microsoft Office Clip Art Collection

Wood has been used the longest for building boats and has many devotees. There are two main methods of building wooden boats. Many modern boats are built using the “cold molded” method which uses wood as the core of the boat which is then encapsulated with resin and fiberglass. The other method is traditional wood boat building.

Cold molded boats, for the purpose of this series, should be looked at in the same light as fiberglass boats since they share most of the same pros and cons. The wood core is encapsulated in resin and fiberglass or exotic laminates protecting it from the elements. The maintenance concerns are very similar to any other fiberglass hull. One of the main concerns with a cold molded boat is ensuring that the core remains encapsulated and you need to take extra steps anytime you drill into the core or add any hardware. For example when installing a thru-hull you’ll need to remove the wood core material around the hole and carefully fill it with resin and micro balloons to ensure no moisture penetrates the core and that the fitting doesn’t crush the wood core.

The other method of wooden boat building is best classified as “traditional”. There are many sub categories in traditional wood boat building but they all share the common trait of wood as their main building component and all require more work and upkeep than a fiberglass, steel, or aluminum boat.

For hundreds of years, wood was the only real option for building a boat.Fiberglass boats didn’t start gaining in popularity until the 60’s. Because they were so prevalent for so long, there are lots of wooden boats around, many of them cheap and in varying states of decay. Unless you really like working on wood boats, have deep pockets and masochistic tendencies my only advice is to stay away from wood boats. Waste your time sailing and drinking with friends not in a boat yard replacing rotten planking.

I think I’ve covered the main choices of hull material for your next cruising boat. If you have any questions please leave me a comment here. I’d love to hear from you!

In the next article I’ll discuss the various styles of rigging for boats and their pros and cons on a modern cruising boat.

Photo Credit

Photo By Lance Gettler – All Rights Reserved

Hopefully, it will leave you inspired and motivated to keep walking with your dreams.

It starts here with a short video introduction!

Guest Author Bio

Claudia Couture
I was born and raised in Canada. I am 27 years old and a little more than one year ago, I was working in the show industry. I met a man in a hotel while traveling and he told me about his project of sailing around the world. I never left this guy… and now I have a sailboat with him and we set a goal to sail around the world. We wish to find inspiration from the people who search for happiness for themselves, and for the world, in their own ways. We will share our journey through videos, photos and text.

The journey has started! You can join these travels on our blog and through our facebook page:

Blog / Website: http://www.terradagua.com/

Aluminum hulls aren’t nearly as common as fiberglass but an aluminum hull is near the top of my list of things I’d like for my next, and final sailboat. Aluminum hulls are great because of their combination of light weight and strength. An aluminum hull has a very high strength to weight ratio which provides great safety. Aluminum hulls are harder to fabricate and require highly skilled metal workers and welders to build. Because of the skill level required and the additional work involved in building an aluminum boat versus a fiberglass boat, they are generally more expensive.

Some aluminum boats are left unpainted which cuts down on the upkeep. An unpainted aluminum hull will need very little upkeep as opposed to a painted or gel coated hull. If you don’t like the look of an unpainted hull then you’ll need to paint the boat and keep up with the ongoing care required, such as frequent waxing and repairing scratches.

Another consideration when considering aluminum hulls is the fact that they’re susceptible to corrosion from saltwater where as fiberglass isn’t. Aluminum hulls also require special bottom paint since the copper in most anti fouling bottom paints will react with the aluminum and corrode it. Even with these drawbacks I consider aluminum a great hull material due to it’s strength to weight ratio.

Steel hulls have many of the same drawbacks as aluminum with the additional drawback of being very heavy. The main benefit of a steel hull is it’s incredibly strong. Steel has the additional drawback of being very susceptible to corrosion and must be painted. The paint must be well maintained to avoid rapid deterioration. I wouldn’t personally consider a steel hull for cruising due to its weight and need for upkeep but it does fill a niche if you plan to cruise in areas where you’re likely to have collisions or run aground.

I think fiberglass or aluminum are both great choices for your first cruising boat as they’re both light and strong. Aluminum has exceptional strength but is generally a little more expensive and will require more maintenance than fiberglass. Fiberglass is far and away the most common hull material as well as the cheapest and easiest to maintain. I’d recommend staying away from steel unless you have specific reasons for needing an extra heavy strong hull.

In the next article I’ll discuss wood boats. Wood boats have been around the longest but aren’t commonly built for cruising anymore.

Photo Credit

Photo By Lance Gettler – All Rights Reserved

Thumbnail – Wikimedia Creative Commons

Polyester resin is more commonly used and has been in use longer than epoxy resin. It is more often used by large boat manufacturers than epoxy. The main benefit of polyester resin is that it’s much less expensive than epoxy. Many boat builders and ship wrights also believe it’s easier to work with.

There are a few drawbacks to polyester resin. First, it has a very strong odor which makes it unpleasant to work with for many people and makes some people sick. The second drawback is that polyester resin is more susceptible to osmosis. Osmosis allows water to get into the fiberglass and cause blisters and delamination. This problem can be as minor as cosmetic blemishes on the hull’s bottom or as serious as the hull coming apart in sheets. A sailboat with osmosis problems can be very expensive to fix.

Whether a hull made of polyester resin has osmosis problems is largely dependent on the boat builder. Some boat builders are known to build boats with polyester resin and never have any problems while certain boat builders are notorious for hull blistering. Do your research before buying.

Epoxy resin is harder and less flexible than polyester, its low odor and not subject to osmosis problems. The fact that it is low odor can be a double edge sword since it will deter some people from wearing a respirator when working with it. Even if you can tolerate the odor you should always wear a respirator whether working with polyester or epoxy.

Epoxy is more commonly used by smaller boat builders or people building their own boats. One main drawback is that it’s several times more expensive than polyester.

When making boat repairs you can use epoxy for repairs over existing polyester resin but never use polyester resin to make repairs over epoxy. It’s not really recommended to repair polyester hulls with epoxy. It can be done but the two materials have different hardness and this can cause problems since the polyester flexes more than epoxy.

In the end there are great boats built from each type of resin and there are terrible boats built from each type. Do your research to find out what type of resin the boat you’re interested in is built from and whether the manufacturer is known for having hull problems. It’s also important to have the hull inspected for problems by a qualified marine surveyor. In the next article we’ll discuss steel and aluminum as choices for sailboat hulls.

Photo Credit

Photo By Lance Gettler All Rights Reserved

There are a lot of things to consider when you start searching for your first sailboat.

One of the things you need to consider is what type of material you want the hull of your sailboat to be made of. I’ve lived aboard for 10 years and blog about sailing boats all over the world.

There are 5 common materials used for hull construction, fiberglass, steel, aluminum, wood and ferro cement. Fiberglass hulls are far and away the most popular and easy to maintain.

There are a couple of things to consider when talking about fiberglass sailboat hulls. The most important is whether the fiberglass is hand laid or if it was shot into a mold with a chopper gun. Hand laid mean pretty much what it sounds like. Workers take rolls of fiberglass and roll them out into the mold and impregnate them with resin. Chopped fiberglass is matting that’s chopped up into little bits and sprayed into the mold already mixed with resin.

The benefit of hand laid fiberglass hulls is they are stronger and less prone to osmosis and blistering. Some sailboat hulls get blisters on the surface of the hull below the waterline from water getting into the fiberglass in tiny voids. These blisters have to be repaired which is often an expensive fix. If you don’t repair the blisters your hull can delaminate.

The drawback of hand laid fiberglass is it’s more expensive to build a sailboat hull this way and fewer and fewer manufacturers still build boats this way.

The increasingly common method of building a boat hull is to spray a mix of chopped up fiberglass and resin into a mold. The benefit of this is it’s less expensive and much faster. The drawbacks are that sailboats built this way aren’t as strong and they are more prone to blistering.

When you begin your search for a sailboat, check out whether the manufacturer of the sailboat your interested in has a reputation of hulls with blisters or not. Some manufacturers have a good reputation for not building hulls that blister and some manufacturers have a not so good reputation.

I’ve compiled a list of popular sailboat manufacturers at DeCaptain.com, my blog about fishing and sailing around the world.

In the next chapter I’ll talk about the differences between sailboat hulls made with polyester resin versus boat hulls built with epoxy resin. After that we’ll move onto steel boat hulls.

Photo Credits

All photos by DeCaptain – Lance Gettler, All Rights Reserved