sailing the farm - join our sea gypsy commune!

[zeyang]

Dear old and new volunteers,

There are lots of very exciting things happening at Sailing the Farm right
now.

We are happy to report that after many long and character-building years of
boat-building, we're well on our way to sailing later this year.

Here's an overview of what's been happening up here lately:

- Our aluminum Colin Archer sailboat is taking shape. She is starting to
look like a boat, and a good looking boat at that. She is as yet unnamed
and suggestions that we call her The Unsinkable have fallen on deaf ears
(to the disappointment of our Irish volunteer). Any and all naming
suggestions welcome!

- We have begun to machine sheaves for the boat. Our red sails arrive soon
so it's all go, go, go in the workshop these days.

- The heads is progressing quickly and soon it will be possible to take a
shower on board. Our Belgian volunteer has fashioned fancy toothbrush
holders for all future sea gypsies.

- Last week we cut open a section of the boat shed so that we can move the
engine on board. This will be a huge milestone for the project.

- In April, we had our first official government visit. We are happy to
report that she passed with flying colours.

- Our volunteers have started watching movies on deck every Thursday night.
Their 'Movies on Board' programme is limited to sailing movies (of course).
They've watched '180 degrees south' and 'All is Lost' so far. Both come
stamped with The Sailing the Farm seal of approval. If you've any sailing
movie recommendations, please send them on to us!

- Some of our current volunteers/gluttons for punishment are training for
the Lillehammer half-marathon in June. At the moment they are getting up at
6:30 to run in the woods before tucking into a breakfast of hearty porridge
and a day of boat-building. Some even manage to fit in a spot of meditation
before breakfast.

- The snow has thawed and we have started to turn the potato field. Our
bathroom has been transformed into a temporary nursery while we wait to
start planting. Our very versatile bathroom is also home to seven chirpy
baby chickens!

Our long-serving captain's To-Do-List is diminishing every week, but
there's a lot of hard work still to do. We'd love to welcome more
volunteers (old and new) this summer. A can-do attitude and lots of
enthusiasm are the only skills we require (though more specific skills are
very welcome also). So if you are free and can commit to a month, please
get in contact with us ASAP so that we can book you in to help.

There will be a launch party in Oslo later on this year when she takes to
the water. Watch this space!

Love,
Sailing the Farm.

p.s. Now that we're almost there with this boat, we're starting to think
about the next stage of the project (we plan to find a farm base away from
the Polar winds – somewhere sunnier and closer to the sea where we can
build more boats). We are on the lookout for funding ideas and inspiration
so if you have any suggestions or experience in this area, please let us
know - no ideas too small or crazy (building a boat with volunteers is
crazy already!).

Pictures

a: English girl making blocks for the boat.
b: movie night on the boat
c: irish girl silicone up inside the boat.
d: scaffold building
e: early morning mediation (hong-kong girl)
f: first crew is already onboard.

http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1097761&stc=1&d=1430765691
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1097771&stc=1&d=1430765697
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1097781&stc=1&d=1430765704
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1097791&stc=1&d=1430765711
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1097801&stc=1&d=1430765719
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1097811&stc=1&d=1430765777

 

[Wookie]

I can't wait to see her in the water. She is beautiful.

 

[zeyang]

May/June 2015

Ahoy Sea Gypsies!

It has been a busy May and start of June on the farm.

Biggest news first: The red sails have arrived! You'll see them in the
picture below. They look fantastic and it's a great help to see them all
laid out so that we can imagine ourselves on the high seas (instead of on
high grass as they are now).

We are also happy to report that we managed to get the engine on board! At
the moment we are in the process of getting it *into* the boat and all
hooked up.

More news:

– We had a bit of an unexpected delay late last month as we had to refit
the diesel tanks, but they are all good now and it's full steam (or should
we say 'sails'?) ahead for Oslo this September we hope.

– We also had a close shave with our welding machine. Our last one appeared
to give up the ghost, until an emergency transplant (from another dead
welding machine) got it up and running again. Our skipper's vision of
heaven is a world with nothing but brand new welding machines that never
break down.

– Life on the farm continues apace. Since we last wrote to you, the
Norwegian countryside has exploded into summer. The snow is finally gone
and everything is green and dappled with wildflowers. The bees are very
happy. Our baby chickens are babies no longer. They are big and bold and
getting braver by the day. Every morning they expand their wanderings a
little further and yesterday we spotted one looking curiously at the big
aluminum monster in the boat-shed. We'll make boat-builders of them yet.

– There is drama in the hen-house. Our two roosters, who have been at peace
for over a year, have just declared war on each other.

– The volunteers are keeping very busy in the sunshine. At the moment we
have an Irish woman, an English woman, a Belgian man, a Welshman and a
Swede in residence on the farm. A full crew at the moment - but we still
have some space for July and August so get in touch if you've a free month
and you'd like to help out.

– It doesn't get dark until at least midnight now, and even then it's just
for a few short hours. More light to build boats in

Thank you for your suggestions for sailing movies and boat names. We have
them all lined up on our summer schedule. In the meantime we've watched
Mutiny on the Bounty (the one with Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson) and
Troll Hunter (not a sailing movie, but a Norwegian one, so it's been
approved on that basis by the captain).

Happy almost mid-summer from Sailing the Farm!

Pictures:
a: happy gang of boatbuilders.
b: sails are ready.
c: welding lady
d: playing guitar in pyjamas.
e: the girls dragging the engine onboard.

a :http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1140001&stc=1&d=1434388520
b: http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1139991&stc=1&d=1434388512
c: http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1140011&stc=1&d=1434388533
d: http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1140021&stc=1&d=1434388545
e: http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1140031&stc=1&d=1434388552

 

[zeyang]

Newsletter late July 2015 Dear all The bees are busy and so are we. We're hoping to move the boat to the water this year so it's all go, go, go our boat-building farm these days. The engine has made it to its final resting place! Hallelujah. Hopefully we won't have to use it all that much, but its installation marks a big step in the project. The rudder is taking shape and looking fantastic thanks to our Welsh volunteer, Our Hong Kong volunteer has returned for another boat-building stint, this time with her Swedish boyfriend in tow – a chef by profession so as well as contributing to the boat-building, he's been keeping us well-fed with delicious lunches on the porch. The farm itself has been neglected a little this summer in favour of the great big aluminum monster in the boat-shed, but we have been enjoying lots of nettle-based dishes (it helps to have a professional chef around!). The volunteers took a well-deserved break from boat-building last month and went on a road-trip to Galdhopiggen, the highest peak in Scandinavia. The sun shone for the entire trip (and pretty much hasn't been seen since) and left some of the fairer-skinned crew completely sunburned. Highlights included an ice cave, a moose sighting and unbelievable sunsets across the huge Norwegian sky. Now that the sea is in our sights, we've started hand-painting guest flags on the evenings and weekends. Our latest favourite sailing movie is the questionable masterpiece that is Waterworld. It's given us lots of ideas for modifications for our boat. We've named the boat! Thank you all for your suggestions. After a lot of thought we decided to go for Sailing the Farm. It sounds a little bonkers to native English speakers, but that's kind of why we love it! We've cut out the letters in aluminium and they are due to be welded in very soon. We are still on the hunt for volunteers - particularly those with sailing experience - and especially those who've worked on gaff rigs before. Exciting times, and even more exciting times to come. Thank you all for your support, it's been a long time coming, but the end is in sight! Pictures of the month. - Making letters for the boat. - chinese weekend visit. checking the boat project. - Welding lady making more boxes for the deck. Need endless amount of storage. - Guest flag production. This is the welsh one. - Rudder is getting installed. http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1175381&stc=1&d=1438503826 http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1175391&stc=1&d=1438503835 http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1175401&stc=1&d=1438503843 http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1175411&stc=1&d=1438503850 http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1175421&stc=1&d=1438503858 Love from Sailing the Farm - A seagypsy tribe of tomorrow.

 

[zeyang]

Sailing the Farm late september 2015 Hi everyone! Another productive month and our boat hopefully soon to be in water. Farm news: The bee-seeason is finished for this year, each hive have got around 20 kg, so now they are ready to have their well-deserved winter holiday for next 7 months. The potatoes is still in the soil, but we will harvest them pretty soon. Boat News. Still some days delays with the shipment of the boat to Oslo. The engine is ready to start soon. we just need a little work with the dry exhaust. Else it looks really good. All welding work outside the hull is finished. We will paint the underwater part of the boat with expoxy primer this week. Then start to tear down the boatshed. Soon our metal-lady will see the sun for the first time. We still look for potential crew for the first leg of sailing, especially if you have good knowledge of gaff-rig adjustment and sailing, we would love to hear from you. Also look for some last minute volunters to help clean up the farm for the winter. Please contact us if you have some spare time in october. Pictures of the month: a: Flagmaking lady working on even more guestflags. Still a little work until we have them all. b: engine is in and wired up. Just need some work on the exhaust part before its ready to push us up Amazon river and beyond. c: welding lady at work. d: making wooden box for binocular. e: welding up the locking mechanism of the main-hatch http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1230631&stc=1&d=1443888308 http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1230641&stc=1&d=1443888317 http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1230651&stc=1&d=1443888325 http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1230661&stc=1&d=1443888334 http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1230671&stc=1&d=1443888343 Love from Sailing the farm

 

[Seya]

Awesome and good luck

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk

 

[zeyang]

we are floating!

 

[Seya]

Wow that's great good luck

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk

 

[zeyang]

soon ready to go south

 

[Seya]

Awesome good luck. Thanks for the updates