Sailing Tropical Dawn

Kay & Dimi

Kay, Dimi, and Coco exploring the world and the cruising lifestyle on a small (9.3 meter) sailing yacht We are Kay and Dimi and in this podcast we share our learnings as we sail from Cape Town, South Africa off to far horizons. We have never done anything like this before so this is all new for us. We switched from living in a house to living on a small sailboat and now are making our way around, in our own time. We are making this podcast to let the people back home (friends and family) know what we are up to and also in the hope of inspiring others to realise their dream of sailing off to remote islands and tropical destinations. Hosting the podcast costs money, if you are able to, please contribute so we can keep making and hosting our podcast: ko-fi.com/svtropicaldawn Let us know what you think and get in touch with us via our blog or social media: https://svtropicaldawn.blog/contact/ read less

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48. What are our future sailing plans

48. What are our future sailing plans

In this episode of our podcast we talk about our future sailing plans now that we are back home in Cape Town. We are not planning to do weekly podcasts any more for now, but if you like hearing what we are up to you can listen to our weekly Princess and The Big Blue […]

Episodes

48. What are our future sailing plans

48. What are our future sailing plans

In this episode of our podcast we talk about our future sailing plans now that we are back home in Cape Town. We are not planning to do weekly podcasts any more for now, but if you like hearing what we are up to you can listen to our weekly Princess and The Big Blue […]

47. We are back in South Africa

47. We are back in South Africa

We are so happy to be back in South Africa, and not just because we were tired of being on the water and love having solid ground under our feet. We both missed the very special country on the southern end of the African continent. In today’s podcast episode we’ll tell you about our experiences […]

Reflections on day 14 of our passage (extra episode)

Reflections on day 14 of our passage (extra episode)

We recorded a podcast episode during our passage from Brazil to South Africa, about two weeks in. Reflections on our departure from Cabedelo and the start of the big South Atlantic passage.

46. We made it back to Cape Town

46. We made it back to Cape Town

After 45 days at sea, crossing the South Atlantic from Cabedelo, Brazil to Cape Town, South Africa, we are back home. It wasn’t an easy passage, and not just because it was our longest yet. We’ll tell all about it in this episode of our podcast.

45. Brazil, it was great, till next time

45. Brazil, it was great, till next time

A special episode of our podcast where we look back at our time spent in Brazil.

44. We are (almost) ready to go cross an ocean

44. We are (almost) ready to go cross an ocean

This week on our podcast we talk about our last minute preparations ans our offerings to the orisha of the water.

43. Our engine is fixed, so why are we still in Cabedelo?

43. Our engine is fixed, so why are we still in Cabedelo?

Our engine is finally fixed, but we are still in Cabedelo, Brazil, so what’s up with that? Listen to find out. We also complete our the safety inspection for the boat, tasted a delicious chocolate pizza and pizza pie, Brazilian style. Content warning: towards the end of the podcast we talk about violence and safety […]

42. Ranting (we are still in Cabedelo)

42. Ranting (we are still in Cabedelo)

We are still in Cabedelo, Brazil. We’ll explain where we are with our engine repairs and when we think we’ll leave here. And we get into a rant or two.

41. Our engine still isn’t working

41. Our engine still isn’t working

We are still ion Brazil and not crossing an ocean. What is happening with our engine and how did we get around coming to the end of our 90 day tourist visa in Brazil? Listen to this week's episode of our podcast to find out!

40. Preparations and an outing to Pipa

40. Preparations and an outing to Pipa

The engine is finally back inside the boat and we are preparing for our big passage from Brazil back to Cape Town. We went on a nice weekend outing to Pipa with our Brazilian friend Thallys.

39. Splash! We are back in the water

39. Splash! We are back in the water

We went back in the water, after finishing painting a few new layers of anti fouling, checking the seacocks, replacing the anodes and a few other things. Other great news is that the parts for the engine have finally arrived so hopefully it will be repaired soon!

38. Forró dancing and gender roles

38. Forró dancing and gender roles

This week we talk about gender roles within the sailing context and how the principle of "there can only be one skipper on board" can conflict with relating as equals within a romantic partnership. But before that, we talk about what we did this week, such as learning to dance Forró and Coco getting pricked.

37. Reflections and/on our Big News

37. Reflections and/on our Big News

This week we are reflecting on some big news we shared with the world as well as on the fact that we got married exactly 4 years ago. We have some good news regarding our diesel engine repairs and have been enjoying the Brazilian music and food.

36. Boat outings in João Pessoa

36. Boat outings in João Pessoa

This week we made a few different boat outings here in João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. Dimi went sailing on a dingue, a Brazilian made Sailing dingy, with our friend Fernando. We watched the solar eclipse, right here in Jacaré at the marina. We went snorkelling to the Piscinas do Seixas, getting there on a pirate […]

35. Engine trouble and other trials and tribulations

35. Engine trouble and other trials and tribulations

We are still trying to get our diesel engine fixed, it feels like we are getting closer to getting this resolved. Keeping our fingers crossed. Our rudder is also getting closer to being fixed and good for another few years in the water. Luckily it wasn't all work and no play, our Brazilian friends took us to see the São Francisco church and cultural centre and some other special places.

34. This weeks highlights (and some lows as well)

34. This weeks highlights (and some lows as well)

This week Coco (and we) made a new friend at the laundromats. Some friends left and some friends arrived. Some of the stuff we ordered online arrived. Frustrations mounted as we scraped endless layers of paint off the rudder. And we got some not so good news regarding our engine.

33. Cruising Life: Ups and Downs, Barnacles and Cappuccinos

33. Cruising Life: Ups and Downs, Barnacles and Cappuccinos

So what happened to our boat and us this week? Some good things and some bad, ups and downs, sweet and dour! Listen to this week's episode of Sailing Tropical Dawn to get the lowdown.

32. This week we are finally getting things done

32. This week we are finally getting things done

We managed to get ahead on some of the boat work and we also finally have some more information on our diesel engine.

31. Fixing our boat in exotic places

31. Fixing our boat in exotic places

There's a saying among sailors that cruising is just fixing your boat in exotic places. We are still in Jacaré/Cabedelo Brazil and we might be for a while longer since we are getting our diesel engine and a few other things fixed.

Catching up with S/V Trinity (bonus episode)

Catching up with S/V Trinity (bonus episode)

We catch up with the crew of S/V Trinity in Cabedelo, Brazil before they head North and we head South. We chat a bout our respective experiences in sailing from Str Helena to Brazil as well as things that can and did go wrong.