Small Sailboat Cruising's video: My journey through several boat projects and starting work on Clair de Lune

A wooden boat project with soul. I find irony in the fact that a person would choose the slowest form of transportation known to man and then set out to race one another. And yet, it is true that some of man’s greatest achievements are made while pursuing his deepest folly. My boat projects have gone through a cycle of traditional dinghies, fiberglass trailer sailers and now a 57-year-old King Billy Pine wooden boat project has come into my world. And I am delighted to have her. There is a time for going fast, and a time to contemplate. Life becomes problematic for us humans when the time for contemplation is neglected for the sake of getting somewhere in a hurry. I’m Chris Joseph, I am 65 years old, and I carry the physical scars on my heart from treating life as a race and neglecting the deeper contemplative needs of my soul. Several years ago, I stirred from the couch whilst experiencing the effects of depression and anxiety from life's ups and downs. I had decided to explore more deeply what I loved doing most, after all what was there to lose?. I spied in the corner of my garage, under several layers of accumulated clutter, glimpses of Moonlight, my 12-foot Philp Designed clinker dinghy waiting patiently for this moment of re-discovery. Moonlight was dusted off, and filled with some basic camping gear, and together with my amazing wife we towed her up to Bullock Point at the Southern end of Fraser Island where Moonlight was launched into the Great Sandy Straight. For several days, with stiff SouthEast trade winds on the stern quarter, Moonlight proved herself a very seaworthy little craft as we explored the West Coast of Fraser Island. This time on Fraser led to a number of trips to the Great Sandy Strait where I regularly encountered Dingoes, and spent plenty of time simply contemplating the eye-sweet lines of Moonlight. And so it was, for a time I enjoyed that very rare and special gift of time slowed down that wooden boat owners know so well. But after a time I became restless with that, and before long I came upon a larger, faster, and more comfortable craft. One that needed substantial tender loving care to get her back into sailing shape. Mozart was both exhilarating and fun to sail, and expensive to restore. I retraced many of my journeys in Moonlight and enjoyed being able to hide behind the security of my mozzie net in the evenings and sleep on a relatively comfortable bed. Then someone bought Mozart from me and towed her to the Whitsundays where we were to catch up sometime for a sail that hasn’t happened yet, but then along came Saffron, another sadly neglected vessel. You would think that I would have learned that these projects always end up blowing out of proportion, but now the Sunmaid 20 is very close to being back under sail for the first time in a couple of decades. I’m feeling emotionally torn because just as Saffron is coming together, she holds the promise of many new sailing adventures, but another little boat has grabbed hold of my heartstrings, and I have decided that someone else will enjoy the fruit of my labors on the Sunmaid 20 which will be ready for a new owner by the end of November. The videos I create here are possible because of the work I do in my day job as Wood Underfoot. If you are interested in Having your wooden floor restored or a new overlay floor installed you can find plenty of tips, testimonials, and examples of my work at https://woodunderfoot.com Follow Christopher sailing trailer boats, wooden boat projects, fibreglass boat restoration projects on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sailingmoonlight We have a healthy and growing community conversation about all things sailing, and you are welcome to join us on Sailing Beat https://www.facebook.com/groups/sailingbeat/ Follow Sailing Moonlight on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sailing_moonlight_dinghy/ Get Updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dinghymoonlight Christopher is staying fit, mentally sharp and extending his life on Superfood Sea vegetables. Convenient healthy grub for authentic sailors crammed full of zing. If you use my personal coupon code CHRIS you will get a 10% discount. https://seaweed.ph/ref/1/ These videos are made possible by people like you. If you would like to get early access to videos and behind-the-scenes insights, consider supporting the channel via my Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/sailingmoonlight There are some affiliate links on this page that give us a small commission. All our music is licensed from Artlist https://artlist.io/Christopher-1171683 unless otherwise noted. Predict Wind is an app I use and highly value. See just how helpful it is for sailors like you and me. Go to https://www.predictwind.com/?ref=christophersly Copyright 2021 Vinsek Pty Ltd