Landlocked sailor
Donation protected
This may sound a little crazy, but I plan on sailing across the ocean one day.
Why is it crazy? Plenty of people manage it. However, they don’t usually live 1,100 miles away from the ocean. You see, I reside in Wyoming, a landlocked American state. There aren’t many sailors in my part of the world and no local places to learn to sail, unlike areas closer to the coasts. Before I got around to fulfilling this dream, real life got in the way. I put my dreams on the back burner and focused on earning a living for my family and me. I was working in oil and gas as a wellsite geologist. My dreams were relegated to only reading about sailing and how to build sailboats during my downtime.
One day I knew that dreaming was simply not enough. I had to learn to sail. My position meant my only option was to do it as much on my own as possible.
My first sailboat was an improvised sail canoe. The lack of sailboat stores meant improvisation was a necessity. My first was made from a canoe my dad left me after he died and material from the local hardware store. My daughter sewed the sail on her small sewing machine out of a tarp. Although our first outings were exciting, it wasn’t really useable by my family.
My second attempt was a fold-a-boat dinghy. Despite my lack of experience, it was much more useable and actually would sail. I recycled the rig from the sail canoe and adapted it to the folding boat. During my time building and sailing it, I had a lot of. I even tried my hand at video. One of the major drawbacks was its size. It was too small, only handling two people at a time, and the lug rig was inefficient. We had a hard time sailing because it felt like a tank. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the resilience of a tank. A strong crosswind snapped the mast step, and that was its end with our family. I was tired of trying to make it go. Thankfully, a friend of mine who I had lured into the sport was willing to try it and bought the boat from me.
I realized I needed a “real” boat. I purchased one from a local family, but it was too small for the extreme winds on our lake. Although we could get going really fast, it nearly killed my wife and me. We had a nasty crash where we ended up caught in the sail and rigging underwater. I was able to find some people who were willing to risk it. I sold it to a lovely young family who wanted to start out sailing like I had—people who had the time and energy to get it working safely. They also have access to lakes with less severe weather patterns.
I finally decided that we needed a larger boat that we all could fit in, with some internal ballast to stabilize it in the crazy Wyoming wind, without being a life hazard. I couldn’t afford to buy a boat outright, so I hatched a scheme.
I decided to build a boat myself.
This is no small feat for experienced builders, and although I do have carpentry experience, I had never built my own boat. I decided I would need a set of plans if it was to ever see the water. I finally chose a set of plans created by Iain Oughtred. He designs boats modeled after Scottish and Norse ships, known for handling rough weather and seas.
Regrettably, around this time, I lost my job as a geologist and had to switch to driving a truck. This once again meant placing my boat low on the priority list. I was only able to work on it when I was home.
Another hurdle arose during this year. Truck driving is a grueling job in the best of times. However, lately, it’s become nearly unbearable. During COVID, it’s become a daily challenge for simple necessities like an open restaurant or even restrooms. There was also a massive uptick in loads, with so many drivers being out sick. This means my time home has been severely reduced. Not only that but the stress of the economy means that the loads are paying much less than they were before. More work for less money. I’m grateful for the work, as I know many people don’t even have this, but the reduction in income and less time at home has pushed back my sailing dreams even further.
This is only a small overview of my journey. I have a blog to track my progress, where I post pictures and write a little about what I’m doing. If you would like to know more about what I’m doing, go ahead and visit it.
Now down to the point of this write-up. My position and the economy have pushed back my boat plans. Any money coming in would help me with the materials needed to finish my boat. Please consider donating so I can fulfill my dreams of learning to properly sail. First on my local lakes, then onto the great adventure, the ocean.
Please follow along:
https://climbingfrog.com/sailingfrog/
Why is it crazy? Plenty of people manage it. However, they don’t usually live 1,100 miles away from the ocean. You see, I reside in Wyoming, a landlocked American state. There aren’t many sailors in my part of the world and no local places to learn to sail, unlike areas closer to the coasts. Before I got around to fulfilling this dream, real life got in the way. I put my dreams on the back burner and focused on earning a living for my family and me. I was working in oil and gas as a wellsite geologist. My dreams were relegated to only reading about sailing and how to build sailboats during my downtime.
One day I knew that dreaming was simply not enough. I had to learn to sail. My position meant my only option was to do it as much on my own as possible.
My first sailboat was an improvised sail canoe. The lack of sailboat stores meant improvisation was a necessity. My first was made from a canoe my dad left me after he died and material from the local hardware store. My daughter sewed the sail on her small sewing machine out of a tarp. Although our first outings were exciting, it wasn’t really useable by my family.
My second attempt was a fold-a-boat dinghy. Despite my lack of experience, it was much more useable and actually would sail. I recycled the rig from the sail canoe and adapted it to the folding boat. During my time building and sailing it, I had a lot of. I even tried my hand at video. One of the major drawbacks was its size. It was too small, only handling two people at a time, and the lug rig was inefficient. We had a hard time sailing because it felt like a tank. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the resilience of a tank. A strong crosswind snapped the mast step, and that was its end with our family. I was tired of trying to make it go. Thankfully, a friend of mine who I had lured into the sport was willing to try it and bought the boat from me.
I realized I needed a “real” boat. I purchased one from a local family, but it was too small for the extreme winds on our lake. Although we could get going really fast, it nearly killed my wife and me. We had a nasty crash where we ended up caught in the sail and rigging underwater. I was able to find some people who were willing to risk it. I sold it to a lovely young family who wanted to start out sailing like I had—people who had the time and energy to get it working safely. They also have access to lakes with less severe weather patterns.
I finally decided that we needed a larger boat that we all could fit in, with some internal ballast to stabilize it in the crazy Wyoming wind, without being a life hazard. I couldn’t afford to buy a boat outright, so I hatched a scheme.
I decided to build a boat myself.
This is no small feat for experienced builders, and although I do have carpentry experience, I had never built my own boat. I decided I would need a set of plans if it was to ever see the water. I finally chose a set of plans created by Iain Oughtred. He designs boats modeled after Scottish and Norse ships, known for handling rough weather and seas.
Regrettably, around this time, I lost my job as a geologist and had to switch to driving a truck. This once again meant placing my boat low on the priority list. I was only able to work on it when I was home.
Another hurdle arose during this year. Truck driving is a grueling job in the best of times. However, lately, it’s become nearly unbearable. During COVID, it’s become a daily challenge for simple necessities like an open restaurant or even restrooms. There was also a massive uptick in loads, with so many drivers being out sick. This means my time home has been severely reduced. Not only that but the stress of the economy means that the loads are paying much less than they were before. More work for less money. I’m grateful for the work, as I know many people don’t even have this, but the reduction in income and less time at home has pushed back my sailing dreams even further.
This is only a small overview of my journey. I have a blog to track my progress, where I post pictures and write a little about what I’m doing. If you would like to know more about what I’m doing, go ahead and visit it.
Now down to the point of this write-up. My position and the economy have pushed back my boat plans. Any money coming in would help me with the materials needed to finish my boat. Please consider donating so I can fulfill my dreams of learning to properly sail. First on my local lakes, then onto the great adventure, the ocean.
Please follow along:
https://climbingfrog.com/sailingfrog/
Organizer
David Anderson
Organizer
Casper, WY