Salty Coffee Sailing Expeditions

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Salty Coffee Sailing Expeditions

Cast off and sail with us! Join us on sailing expeditions that challenge you to cast off from home, sail the high seas and make landfall on a distant shore.

11/12/2024

Salty Coffee Sailing Expeditions has some exciting news for you!

We are opening applications for the 2025 sailing season November 30! 🎉

All you have to do is visit www.saltycoffeesailing.com, choose your passage and click, “APPLY HERE.”

It’s going to be an epic adventure and we can’t wait to hear from you!

10/16/2024

The sky(e) has been showing off lately. 🤩

10/11/2024

Our first magnetic storm 🤩

10/10/2024

I just can’t stop admiring how beautiful Arbella is! 😍

Want to learn more about her?

Tucker wrote all about Arbella on our website, just head to the “About” and “Arbella” page and you’ll find just how in love with her we are!

My favorite quote is, “She felt like a caged whale, the hull shape just begged for open ocean!”

Go read for yourself, the link is in bio.

10/05/2024

Close hauled sailing in flat waters on a gorgeous summer day! ☀️

10/04/2024

Tucker aloft, fine tuning the rig. Believe it or not, sometimes fine tuning requires a hefty mallet! 😉

10/03/2024

We love getting people aboard and teaching them how to be comfortable at the helm! This gorgeous lady learned the ropes quickly and had us easily sailing 7 knots in no time.

If you’re interested in coming aboard, go to our website and check out our passages. We’d love to show you how it’s done! (Link in bio)
🌬️⛵️

09/19/2024

One of the best parts of an offshore passage is connecting to the environment!

One element is knowing which phase the moon is in and how it could impact your sail, especially when coming into or leaving port. You don’t need to google it or reference an app because you’re almost always outside and tuning in! 🌑🌘🌗🌖🌕

05/03/2024

Tucker explains how to set up a swell bridal and the satisfaction that comes with implementing a new skill:

“The beauty of this method is its simplicity, being accomplished in a few easy steps.

1) Rig a block off of the stern cleat on the opposite side from which you want to turn the bow.
2) Take a line at least the same diameter as your snubber, and at least one and a half boat lengths and secure it with a rolling hitch to the anchor rode.
3) Lead the line through the stern block to a sheet winch and make it off.
4) Start letting out additional anchor rode. The stern line will become taught and the boat will begin to pivot as it is now attached to the anchor rode by two points. You simply adjust the length of the anchor rode until your bow, as opposed to your beam, is meeting each incoming swell.
5) When you are happy with the new angle, hook up the snubber at the bow.
6) It is easy to fine tune the angle at this point by easing or taking in on the winch.

The change in motion is immediate and the change in attitude and comfort of the captain and crew is just as quick.

Back at Soldier Cay with the bow now head onto the swell everything was right with the world. Filleting a freshly speared fish was accomplished easily on the stable deck and nothing could quell the sense of accomplishment that comes from learning and implementing a new skill successfully. As we ate dinner in the cockpit I couldn’t help nodding in agreement as I found new meaning in Bob Marley’s wisdom, “cause I don’t want my boat to be rockin.“

05/02/2024

Tucker wrote an article a few years about using a swell bridal in an uncomfortable anchorage and this is a little piece from it!
“An eastern swell was wrapping around the northern point and hitting us square on the beam, making our 30ft fin-keeled sloop roll from gunwale to gunwale. The roll is not a consistent motion and is almost impossible to get used to. The oscillation of the boat from side to side doesn’t match up with the period of the swells, so you end up with moments of calm followed by extreme motion, like a repetitive Jack-in-the-Box. Everything must be stowed as if you are at sea and after a few hours it feels as if you are in a core workout class, what with constantly bracing yourself. After my fiancé’s favorite sentimental mug broke when a particularly vicious roll got us, I was sufficiently inspired to try to remedy the situation.
I had come across something called a ‘swell bridal’ in the small library of sailing books I’d read to prepare for this trip. At the time it hadn’t seemed like such a useful bit of knowledge, but I’ve found many things don’t seem too important when being read from a warm couch 1000 miles from the sea. The swell bridal is a way of changing the orientation of the boat at anchor. Instead of being lined up bow to wind, you essentially pull the stern of the boat out until you are lined up with the swell, and as anyone who has been in this situation knows, it is infinitely more comfortable to have a pitching motion than a roll.”

05/01/2024

Nothing quite says adventure like hopping on a paddle board and exploring the island you just sailed too! 🌴

04/30/2024

And the corrects answer is….(drum roll) 🥁

The ITCZ! Or more commonly called the Doldrums by seafarers.

The ITZC (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone) or doldrums is where the northeast and southeast trade winds converge near the equator and create a low pressure belt. It is known for its light, variable winds, squalls and a place that most sailors want to spend as little time as possible.

In the Pacific Doldrums, I remember it being so incredibly hot that I would wish for the squalls to come over us so we could have a refreshing shower! I sure did miss the trades but it was also beautiful 🤩

04/29/2024

If I gave you some hints could you guess what meteorological zone I took this photo in? It’s well known and I’ve heard it talked about by sailors with a bit of distaste or endearing nostalgia. Give it a try!

HINTS
It’s known for its:
1. Light and variable winds
2. Perpetual squalls
4. Changes in size and location

Bonus points if you can name both its meteorological term and its name known by seafarers!

04/25/2024

Getting to watch every sunrise and sunset on the water is like pouring honey on your soul. 🍯

Experience it for yourself with us!

04/24/2024

Uninvited, just along for the ride, squawking crew but we love to have ‘em! 😋

One of my favorite wildlife encounters aboard a sailboat was the one legged b***y that joined us while sailing from the Revillagigedo Archipelago to Isle Clipperton!That one can rest his wings with us anytime.🩵

Can’t wait to see what wildlife is in store for us this coming season!

***y

04/22/2024

Happy Earth Day to our one and only earth! Every day is Earth Day for us and we just love admiring you from our sailboat! 🌎 🩵⛵️

04/17/2024

A calm anchorage, rolling waves, a friend heading out on a paddle board, dolphins riding the waves, the full moon, another vessels lights passing by in the night, the horizon bobbing up and down. Just a few of the little meditative moments one can have on a sailing passage and at anchor ☺️

04/10/2024

The other day, Tucker and I were talking about the moment when I’m guessing most people truly fall in love with sailing. It’s a moment of trust and bonding.
When you begin to trust the boat you are sailing as well as trust yourself you feel as free as a bird and oh so proud. It’s impossible to forget the feeling and I promise you that moment will always hold a special little place in your heart! 💙 Memories that like fill me to the brim and remind me I can do anything! 😊

Updates coming soon, promise!

📸: Aboard Havili sailing to the Tuamotus

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Portland, ME
04103

Website

http://www.saltycoffeesailing.com/

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Let us show you how to do it the right way! Do you have questions about what to expect on a passage? The link in our BIO will take you to our website where you can find a FAQ page with many answers to common questions. Have one that’s not there? Ask away, we are happy to answer! ☺️ #saltycoffeesailingexpeditions #offshoresailing #skye51 #adventuretravel #sailing #maine

MEET ARBELLA! 🥳 We can finally officially introduce you to Salty Coffee Sailing Expedition’s vessel, Arbella. She is a Skye 51 cutter rigged ketch designed by Kaufman and Ladd and commissioned by Alden Yachts at the Mao Ta Shipyard in Taiwan. She is a performance cruiser and although only 18 have been built, this design has made a name for itself and is highly regarded as a fantastic offshore sailboat. Specs: LOA: 51 ft LWL: 42.92 ft Beam: 14.25 ft Draft: 7 ft Displacement: 38,708 lbs Ballast: 15,500 lbs Sail Area: 1,247 sq ft We have some work cut out for us before we can put her in the water so we’re very happy to have her home in Portland so we can get her ready! Thanks @belmontboatworks for helping us get her here safely! #saltycoffeesailingexpeditions #offshoresailing #sailboat #skye51 #sailing

“A sailor’s joys are as simple as a child’s.” -Bernard Moitessier #saltycoffeesailingexpeditions #offshoresailing #bernardmoitessier #sailing

Definitely want to have rules of the road down when an imperial star destroyer shows up on the horizon, especially at night! 👀😜 📸: Aboard Dragonfly in The Bahamas #saltycoffeesailingexpeditions #rulesoftheroad #nightsailing #sailing #imperialstardestroyer #offshoresailing