Wildling Sailingvideo
They Designed, Built and Sailed Around the World - Spirit of Gaia, Pahi 63 (Boat Tour)
29 May 2026 · 23 min · 83K views · A Coruña
What this video covers
Spirit of Gaia, a Wharram Pahi 63 catamaran built from 11mm Douglas fir plywood and glass starting in 1987 and launched May 16, 1992, receives a detailed walkthrough from her owner-builder after completing a circumnavigation.▶ 7:38 The boat displaces roughly 12 tons at sea and carries no conventional furniture — every structural element doubles as storage, seating, or a bunk.▶ 1:47 Two 9.9 hp outboards have run for 10 years; six cross-beams lash the hulls with polyester and nylon rope, tightened once a decade.▶ 0:39 Watertight bulkheads divide each hull into sections, eliminating the need for a life raft and providing fire containment.▶ 2:00 The unstayed masts rest in deck pods that stiffen the rig; the boomless mainsail swings clear of the deck and drops reliably in following wind.▶ 0:47 The tour covers the double-sheet staysail system that halves sheet load, a grid compass, rainwater collection from grab rails, and anchor lighting visible from shore.▶ 4:11 The circumnavigation route ran Portugal, Spain, Canaries (1994), Antigua, Martinique, Panama, Galapagos, Pacific gathering at Raiatea (March 1995), New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Brisbane, then Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Oman, Red Sea, and Suez Canal — with the Red Sea requiring heaving-to in strong northerlies to restitch sails by sewing machine on deck.▶ 9:44
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