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We are the family crew of SV Ophelia, a 1992 Privilege 482 sailing catamaran.  We are Eric, Loren, Rivers (age 8), and head of canine security, Zeke, and "Escape normal" is our mantra.  We sold everything and broke away in search of broader life experiences for ourselves and our son.  After 5 years and thousands of miles sailing the numerous Caribbean islands, the Bahamas, and the US (3 years of that aboard our 46' monohull, Cecilia and 2500 miles aboard Ophelia with one functioning diesel), we now have our sites set on an Atlantic crossing.  But after all the challenges and adventures of the past 5 years (there have been a LOT), we're undertaking our biggest one yet - ditching both of these smelly, greasy, loud old diesels and converting our 30-year-old cat to ELECTRIC PROPULSION. This will be a completely DIY undertaking, which is the only way we operate and the only way we can possibly afford it.  But when we're done, we'll have 24 kilowatts of electric motor power backed by 600 amp hours of LifePo4 batteries and 2400 watts of solar.  We aim to show that electric power is within reach (and cheaper than diesels) for mere mortals and very feasable for large passagemaking sailboats...as long you understand the philosophy of how to use them.  Not to mention better than diesels in many other ways including a little extra kindness to our planet.  But...we could be wrong!  And we know there are definite trade-offs.  Click the YouTube icon above to subscribe and stick with us every Sunday to find out where this journey takes us.  To learn more about all the elements of the new system head over to the "Sailing ELECTRIC" page.  Thanks for visiting!

VLOG

VLOG

WELCOME To Our NEIGHBORHOOD! - Catamaran Refit in St. Martin | SailAway 273
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Episode #273

Welcome to our neighborhood!  We're here in St. Martin and starting this massive refit, working, sailing, meeting the residents, and realizing there's so much more to this place than we thought.

Episode #272

A year and a half ago, we were in a pretty bad place.  It may not have come through in our videos, but we were on the brink of giving up everything...sailing, the life, you name it.  But as it often happens, we managed to catch up to that bad luck curve...and now we have our sites on an Atlantic crossing!

We Were In A BAD PLACE | SailAway 272
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OUR PARTNERS

A huge thanks to our partners whose amazing products have dramatically improved our life aboard and our journey!  Click the links to learn more:

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