HI, I’M MATT.
THESE ARE MY ADVENTURES LIVING ON MY SAILBOAT GUDGEON AS I SAIL AROUND THE WORLD.
Back at the end of 2013 I decided (apropos of nothing) that I wanted to live on a sailboat. Armed with only a copy of This Old Boat
Luckily the boat (a Cherubini designed Hunter 36) turned out not to have anything too disastrously wrong with it, so with a lot of time, money and reading I managed to get it into a livable condition. And then I discovered I liked sailing…
Things escalated from there and now, just over four years later, I’m preparing to head out around the world, leaving in May 2018. Come follow along!
LiFePo4 Batteries: Part Eight – Adding an additional switch to the discharge relay
A quick update here - just to add an addendum to the LifePO4 series. No-one who is following this blog for travel reasons will find this interesting, but it's an important point as I know several people use a 7713 as a main relay in their systems. There was an...
Tropical Storm Narda
Adjusting from BC in the autumn weather (cool, rainy, cloudy) to end of summer mainland Mexico (sunny, humid, 30c+) was kind of a shock. My first day I was too hot and sweaty to really do anything, except sit around in front of a fan complaining (so pretty much the...
Back at the boat!
After a very rushed last week in BC (pro-tip - don't finish work on Friday afternoon and then get the 6am flight Saturday) I am back in Mexico and on Gudgeon! Since I had bought a lot of second-hand stuff while in BC (including a watermaker, a solar oven and a billion...
Less than a month left!
So I've booked my flight back to Mazatlan and it's on the 27th September, the day after my last day of work. Funny to think a year ago I was in the yard, doing final preparations to move south... definitely glad I am where I am and not starting down storms in Neah Bay...
Brexit, Solar Cooking and some second hand parts
Titles a bit all over the place as is this update - only two months to go till I fly back to Mexico though! Without further ado: Brexit One of the questions I'm often asked is 'why did you fly back for the summer?' There are actually a few reasons that I've explained...
Stocking up on parts in Canada
Firstly, I'm HALFWAY through my summer break! Only 2 and a half months to go till I'm back at the boat! While I've been back in Canada (and working two jobs) I've been buying up a storm, getting both additional things to weigh down the boat make things easier, and...
J/92 boat for sale
So my friend Phil, whose boat I have sailed on like a billion times is selling his J/92, Zaff. This is a really fun boat to sail on and has won a bunch of stuff, including 1st 2019 THRASH Div 1 1st 2018 Pacific Cup Div C 1st 2018 Southern Straits Div 4 1st 2018 Round...
New hardtop dodger
As anyone who has been reading for a while knows, the boat came with a pretty crappy pre-fab dodger that I installed soon after I found it in a locker, and then removed just before Swiftsure 2017 in an ill-conceived attempt to make us look 'more racey'. And also...
Spring racing in the PNW
I've been missing the boat a lot recently, but have been lucky enough to get out a fair bit on other peoples boats (which in some ways is even better) Firstly, I've been racing on Fiesty, a Martin 241 at the CFSA every Wednesday. The weather has either been honking 25...
Summer Plans
So I've managed to get a job (well actually, two jobs) in Victoria and am getting down to spending the next few months earning some money. One of the jobs can potentially be done remotely - meaning I can probably pick up a few hours here and there when I am on the...
