I lived on my 34' sailboat for 5 years in the 1980s and like Roy did all sorts to earn my keep. I smuggled video players from duty-free Cyprus to Greece and Whiskey from Rhodes to Marmaris in Turkey. Took cross-Atlantic delivery jobs. Anything to make a living. The only reason I stopped was because I fell in love with a lady who had a beautiful daughter who needed a steady life in the UK. I too had dreams of building a ferro-cement boat and living like Roy so hats off to you mate :)
Roy , you are an inspiration to me, I am 63 and am selling up to sail around the world on a 32 foot sailing boat . I have lived outside of the UK for 34 years and travelled extensively, currently living in South America for 11 years I found your video. I have to say that I can connect with you and your experiences so much. I teach english and have had a million things happen to me slept on beaches been broke, like your self no doubt. Your channel is more inspiring than all of the other sailing channels, thank you Roy!!!!!!
Hi Tom, the sailors life channel is run by me, I am Jutta Birfelder. I am interviewing lots of other sailors who are around me. We, ourselves are sailing around the world and meet interesting people in every anchorage. I will forward your comment to Roy and I guess it will make him happy! If you want to see more interviews, look through the channel and subscribe it for more interesting interviews in the future.
Even with a 40-year-old smaller boat, it's ridiculously expensive to sail around the world full-time. I wish I could do it, but won't ever be the case even though I'm not that poor.
Good on you Roy. Kindred spirit here. I also built a ferro cement boat in the 70’s in Sydney. I love ferro cement, its a wonderful material which if done properly is good for a hundred years, you never have to worry about your boat burning to the water line, and they are far more comfortable at sea. I sold my boat in 1980 and moved to NZ where I did the industrial thing for 17 years, then moved back to Australia and continued the industrial life style for 20 years, all the time missing my years living on the water. I did the same thing you did by blowing up the lines of a Cat Boat and designed a Bristol Channel Cutter, but realized I am too old to build another Ferro boat so bought a 45 ft center board Fiber Glass boat in France and have been living on that for the last 5 years in the Netherlands. But my time here has run out so now have to do the big leap and actually sail my boat back to Australia, starting later this year. I love your story. I should have kept my first boat,…but…they are the choices you make along the way. Thoroughly loving living afloat and soon doing it in warmer waters.
I was born the year Roy left in his sailboat.. sounds like I was born too late because I now dream of the life he has lived. I'm not wealthy so I would have to work from time to time in places and hopefully here in a few years it's still possible.. just goes to show that a proper built ferro boat is definitely strong enough to spend decades afloat.. I love the idea of having a ferro cement sailboat..
Jutta, what a brilliant find. Roy is one of those chaps that so many of us wish we could be, a complete free spirit. Your interview could have lasted an hour and it would have all been fascinating. Tell Roy he has just sold one more book!
What a great guy. We were "stuck" in Tanga, Tanzania with a few other boats when the Indian Ocean shut down during covid. Lots of good times. Rock on, Roy!
Roy is right ! I gave up sailing a couple of years ago. Things have changed, too many boats, too many moorings, everywhere. When we first got to Barbados, we had free showers in the hotel, now they are asking you for money. Sailing has become a big business.
I think the first time Roy came on DHARMA BUM was 12 September 1989 in Kourou, French Guyana and he had devastating news for me. We have been friends since those days and I have met him again in DHARMA BUM II in Nukualofa, Tonga (1995) and DHARMA BUM III in Opua, New Zealand (2008). I very much hope to meet Roy again on DHARMA BUM IV somplace. Carry on, Roy!
Many single man at sea . I sailed into Tonga in the middle of the night, coming from Turkey in 2017. And my 1st trip across to the Carib was in 79. nowadays I'm. In Qld Australia where I've settled down at least for now , at 67 I'm still on my 38 ft sailboat in the river on anchor still ride motorbike and someone offered me a crane job yesterday I've done cranework in all continents just about . Roy come to Cairns on Ur way after cyclone season. There's one on its way here hitting land next week , but plenty of mangroves to hide in . Good luck Roy ❤
Not many like Roy left in this world! And he's probably right, it is too late to try and do what he has achieved!! The world has changed! Well done Roy!!
I went around once singlehanded in the high latitudes north and south including Iceland, South Africa, Southern Ocean, British Columbia, Cape Horn and back home to the U.S. and wished I'd had time for more, but alas, I was getting just too old. Advice for anyone out there thinking about circumnavigation - DON'T WAIT TOO LONG, LIFE IS SHORT.
@rossphillipgerard I am in the same position, but I think I will still do it. Good anchor and a long chain so I can achor far out to not to have to pay.
Darling Roy. So 100% himself! And yes, too many people with too much money out on the Milk Run these days. I'm so looking forward to seeing him again at the end of the year! 😊
Those Early Explorers (World Population - 400,000) - were not contesting the shape of the Earth. They were trying to reach the West Indies, & in fact thought they had arrived there, due to using incomplete Charts & Maps. William Adams, eventually succeeded in Japan under great adversity, in setting up the Dutch East India Trading Company (Inspiration behind the Shogun Series). That was the original goal... Adams, who was an expert Navigator, having sailed under Drake, managed to seal good relations with Eastern Authorities & Build quality Sailing Vessels for Trade, even though he was forbidden ever to return home to his family? ... - One thing about Yachting; it's not boring. A fine Hobby... I agree on mastering the use of a Sextant, in case your equipment should fail in a storm...?
It was a good question, when asked what he thought, as far being close to medical help, at his age. Many men get enlarged prostate, for one example. He would need to get to a Dr., or hospital, in about 3 days, if that happened.
Aussie sailing legend has Jon Sanders has done 11 circumnavigations including a 3 x non stop and 2 x non stop circumnavigation.. Jon completed his 11th circumnavigation at the ripe age of 81. So Roy had better keep on circumnavigating the world 😁
His first solo circumnavigations were done on a S&S 34 named Perie Banou. His triple and double non stop solo circumnavigations were completed on a 36 ft boat named Parry Endeavour. It’s on permanent display at the Fremantle (WA) maritime museum next to Australia 2 (America Cup winning boat). All of his later solo circumnavigations have been undertaken on his 1971 S&S 39 named Perie Banou 2.
@@davecopp9356You’re welcome. Jon was also recognised by the Guinness book of records as the first person to have sailed solo 5 times around the world, let alone a triple non stop solo circumnavigation. He also has done many other amazing passages, eg first person to solo circumnavigate Antarctica, let alone competed in multiple Sydney to Hobart races etc etc. An amazing man and yet is not all that well known.
Can someone help me understand how Roy would have loaded his boat with food when passaging. And how £100 pound can pay for food and rigging and maintenance etc.
You know it’s funny I’m putting my home of 20 years up for sale to buy a boat live on it and travel. What strikes me straight away is all these men that do it are single so am I doomed to loosing the love of my life . Hopefully she’s going to love it as much as me. She’s a paediatric nurse specialist in critical care and teaches as well she needs to do work as a nurse in some capacity that’s her only concern. Right now she’s near idea doing humanitarian work
@@andyb.1026 i have stopped eating the fish now, i just go to my local river and catch a couple of turds, i am back at the bottom of the food chain, but i am still eating everything but packaged as one 🤣🤣
Admirable, but he is flat wrong about several things. First, the majority of cruisers I have met in the last four years in Panama, French Polynesia, Tonga, Fiji, and New Zealand are NOT retired. Nowhere near 99%, at most around 40%. In fact it is becoming even easier to do this young with a mobile flexible career that can be done from anywhere using Starlink. Second, there are endless free anchorages all over the place, simply no need to take moorings if you don't want to. About the only place a mooring was essential was the false pass on Taou in the Tuamotus, called Anse Mayotte, and even there you can anchor if you dare, and they were FREE!. Even Bora-Bora has three places you can anchor for free, plus if the major mooring fields are full you can anchor nearby. He is simply wrong saying you can't do this anymore, I am doing it at 68, just try watching my channel.
Skipping ahead fastforward is the rudest! That is why I clicked on this video to begin with. I wanted to hear his story. You killed the interest. Shame on you! 👎
Very sad to hear him say it's too late now as I first wanted to do the same when I was 18, 50 years ago, and all the books I read were just as he experienced, I never gave mooring costs a thought as none of the books I read ever mentioned them, you just dropped the hook wherever and dusky maidens in grass skirts paddled out in their outriggers to take care of your every need...... (watched too many Bounty films!). I'm just about ready to launch and set off but the world seems too much of a hostile place now and I can't see much point, I don't even want to go back to the places I've sailed to on tall ships and other big yachts particularly the Caribbean (five times) as most of the islands look ghastly now on Google Earth along with a great many places all around the Med, not forgetting all the wars and troubled waters, almost hard to believe a Drascombe once sailed from England to OZ when you look at the route it took.... apparently the Marsh Arabs were the most welcoming of people met on the whole voyage, pity Saddam Hussein didn't feel the same about them. Politics, religion and tourism have ruined just about everywhere, I once thought it would be a great adventure to sail to Grytviken and pay homage to Shackleton until I saw an advert for a cruise liner going there. Anyone want to buy a steel Tahitiana? (only kidding, I'm setting off one day but where the heck to god only knows, where it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to stop over!)
Roy is right ! I gave up sailing a couple of years ago. Things have changed, too many boats, too many moorings, everywhere. When we first got to Barbados, we had free showers in the hotel, now they are asking you for money. Sailing has become a big business.
I lived on my 34' sailboat for 5 years in the 1980s and like Roy did all sorts to earn my keep. I smuggled video players from duty-free Cyprus to Greece and Whiskey from Rhodes to Marmaris in Turkey. Took cross-Atlantic delivery jobs. Anything to make a living. The only reason I stopped was because I fell in love with a lady who had a beautiful daughter who needed a steady life in the UK. I too had dreams of building a ferro-cement boat and living like Roy so hats off to you mate :)
Roy , you are an inspiration to me, I am 63 and am selling up to sail around the world on a 32 foot sailing boat . I have lived outside of the UK for 34 years and travelled extensively, currently living in South America for 11 years I found your video. I have to say that I can connect with you and your experiences so much. I teach english and have had a million things happen to me slept on beaches been broke, like your self no doubt. Your channel is more inspiring than all of the other sailing channels, thank you Roy!!!!!!
Hi Tom, the sailors life channel is run by me, I am Jutta Birfelder. I am interviewing lots of other sailors who are around me. We, ourselves are sailing around the world and meet interesting people in every anchorage. I will forward your comment to Roy and I guess it will make him happy! If you want to see more interviews, look through the channel and subscribe it for more interesting interviews in the future.
I’m 66 and esnt to sail home to Holland from Grenada. Just got a 38’ beneteau
Thank you very much, it is great to inspire others!!!!
Wow Jutta amazing chit chat with Roy incredible adventure I will definitely buy his book ⛵ ❤
I want to take a few musicians over to Spain from the USA ?
A humble and lively life! 5 times around the world without a fancy large boat full of electronics.
Plenty of beautiful anchorage at no cost all around the world. It's never too late. Sail on!
thank you. i shall
Needed to hear this as well. Thanks 👍
Even with a 40-year-old smaller boat, it's ridiculously expensive to sail around the world full-time. I wish I could do it, but won't ever be the case even though I'm not that poor.
Good on you Roy. Kindred spirit here. I also built a ferro cement boat in the 70’s in Sydney. I love ferro cement, its a wonderful material which if done properly is good for a hundred years, you never have to worry about your boat burning to the water line, and they are far more comfortable at sea. I sold my boat in 1980 and moved to NZ where I did the industrial thing for 17 years, then moved back to Australia and continued the industrial life style for 20 years, all the time missing my years living on the water. I did the same thing you did by blowing up the lines of a Cat Boat and designed a Bristol Channel Cutter, but realized I am too old to build another Ferro boat so bought a 45 ft center board Fiber Glass boat in France and have been living on that for the last 5 years in the Netherlands. But my time here has run out so now have to do the big leap and actually sail my boat back to Australia, starting later this year. I love your story. I should have kept my first boat,…but…they are the choices you make along the way. Thoroughly loving living afloat and soon doing it in warmer waters.
maybe see you on the way, Roy is on his way to Australia and I am on a boat called Alila, still in Frensh Polynesia. What is your boats name?
I was born the year Roy left in his sailboat.. sounds like I was born too late because I now dream of the life he has lived. I'm not wealthy so I would have to work from time to time in places and hopefully here in a few years it's still possible.. just goes to show that a proper built ferro boat is definitely strong enough to spend decades afloat.. I love the idea of having a ferro cement sailboat..
Congratulations, beautiful education sailing ⛵️ around the world ⛵️ 🌎
Jutta, what a brilliant find. Roy is one of those chaps that so many of us wish we could be, a complete free spirit. Your interview could have lasted an hour and it would have all been fascinating. Tell Roy he has just sold one more book!
A real salt sea dog, humble and no need to brag. 5 times around in the same old cheap concrete tub says it all.
Thank you Roy.
It's never too late.
Stay safe out there Barry 🙏 🍻
Thank you for sharing
£100 a week? Luxury... Sheer luxury.... And now a movie star! Cheers from Coocooland!
hahaha!!!!
What a great guy. We were "stuck" in Tanga, Tanzania with a few other boats when the Indian Ocean shut down during covid. Lots of good times. Rock on, Roy!
Roy is right !
I gave up sailing a couple of years ago.
Things have changed, too many boats, too many moorings, everywhere.
When we first got to Barbados, we had free showers in the hotel, now they are asking you for money. Sailing has become a big business.
I think the first time Roy came on DHARMA BUM was 12 September 1989 in Kourou, French Guyana and he had devastating news for me. We have been friends since those days and I have met him again in DHARMA BUM II in Nukualofa, Tonga (1995) and DHARMA BUM III in Opua, New Zealand (2008). I very much hope to meet Roy again on DHARMA BUM IV somplace. Carry on, Roy!
I will pass your comment on the him
Cool!!
the grit of the Brit .,.....
thanks for sharing
Wow. Thanks for sharing!
A modern day Joshua Slocum. Good on you from one seafarer to another.
Such an interesting guy Roy is. Great take on life 👏
Remember you well from Tanga, Tanzania
Excellent interview......Roy is a fascinating character...thanx
Many single man at sea . I sailed into Tonga in the middle of the night, coming from Turkey in 2017. And my 1st trip across to the Carib was in 79.
nowadays I'm. In Qld Australia where I've settled down at least for now , at 67 I'm still on my 38 ft sailboat in the river on anchor still ride motorbike and someone offered me a crane job yesterday I've done cranework in all continents just about . Roy come to Cairns on Ur way after cyclone season. There's one on its way here hitting land next week , but plenty of mangroves to hide in . Good luck Roy ❤
Not many like Roy left in this world!
And he's probably right, it is too late to try and do what he has achieved!!
The world has changed!
Well done Roy!!
that might be true, but does not mean, that other people couldn't do it their way!!!
This is golden getting into the nitty gritty of it all
Awesome little Boat!
I went around once singlehanded in the high latitudes north and south including Iceland, South Africa, Southern Ocean, British Columbia, Cape Horn and back home to the U.S. and wished I'd had time for more, but alas, I was getting just too old. Advice for anyone out there thinking about circumnavigation - DON'T WAIT TOO LONG, LIFE IS SHORT.
Absolutely the right advice!! Thank you!
How old is too old?
Brilliant Roy. Amazing lifestyle and adventure’s. You’re certainly living the dream. One life!
Thats exactly how he feels about it!!
Lovely things! Bravo Jutta!
Thank you for sharing that wonderful story.
Next time someone tells me ferro boats are crap, i will send them here. Looks similar lines to a Rival 32.
Originally it was a drawing of a contest 33
That's right, nothing wrong with ferro if done correctly.
Wow! Congratulations Roy.
Amazing. Beautiful. Inspiring. A wonderful video. Thank you for posting. 🌴
you are welcome, I constantly looking for more interesting people to interview!
Great character great interview - would love to buy some of his carvings
I am gonna go for it anyways. Even if I cant afford it.
Yes, you will always find a way!!!!!
@rossphillipgerard I am in the same position, but I think I will still do it. Good anchor and a long chain so I can achor far out to not to have to pay.
very fascinating. I would be very interested in how to build a sailboat with concrete. Is it the same boat that he is on now?
It is the same boat, 50 years old now and still sailing!!!
well interviewed.
good job. i understood your english better than Roys.! ha ha Awesome job Roy. You're a proper legend
:-)
Wow, just found this channel, how interesting and entertaining, thankyou
Darling Roy. So 100% himself! And yes, too many people with too much money out on the Milk Run these days. I'm so looking forward to seeing him again at the end of the year! 😊
Annie, he is also looking forward!!!!
I’m Lasse from Sweden 🇸🇪 Where did you get the skirt whith the swedish flags on? 🇸🇪
a present
Thanks Roy , I don't think the interviewer liked to hear about the truth of the rich taking over these lovely places .
Atta go Roy 👍
Those Early Explorers (World Population - 400,000) - were not contesting the shape of the Earth. They were trying to reach the West Indies, & in fact thought they had arrived there, due to using incomplete Charts & Maps. William Adams, eventually succeeded in Japan under great adversity, in setting up the Dutch East India Trading Company (Inspiration behind the Shogun Series).
That was the original goal... Adams, who was an expert Navigator, having sailed under Drake, managed to seal good relations with Eastern Authorities & Build quality Sailing Vessels for Trade, even though he was forbidden ever to return home to his family? ...
- One thing about Yachting; it's not boring. A fine Hobby...
I agree on mastering the use of a Sextant, in case your equipment should fail in a storm...?
It is too late. That is what he says. However, still, there are still sailors who manage with less money.
Hang in there Roy the world is still waiting for a 6th run!
Does Roy sell these carvings?
Yes he does, but only from the boat wherever he is. At the moment still Nuku Hive, French Polynesia
It's definitely too late if you want to stay on the beaten track,,but asia is still not wrecked
Thank god, I found that comment depressing
Check Jon Sanders, eleven times around the world!
It was a good question, when asked what he thought, as far being close to medical help, at his age. Many men get enlarged prostate, for one example. He would need to get to a Dr., or hospital, in about 3 days, if that happened.
Absolut, I agree. Sailing ourselves, we know that sometimes it is good to have a health insurance, even we are not in his age!!
Or you argue that most illnesses are caused by stress (of modern life)…which he has avoided
Aussie sailing legend has Jon Sanders has done 11 circumnavigations including a 3 x non stop and 2 x non stop circumnavigation.. Jon completed his 11th circumnavigation at the ripe age of 81. So Roy had better keep on circumnavigating the world 😁
What boat was he on?
His first solo circumnavigations were done on a S&S 34 named Perie Banou. His triple and double non stop solo circumnavigations were completed on a 36 ft boat named Parry Endeavour. It’s on permanent display at the Fremantle (WA) maritime museum next to Australia 2 (America Cup winning boat). All of his later solo circumnavigations have been undertaken on his 1971 S&S 39 named Perie Banou 2.
@@1240enzo Thank you for taking the time.
@@davecopp9356You’re welcome. Jon was also recognised by the Guinness book of records as the first person to have sailed solo 5 times around the world, let alone a triple non stop solo circumnavigation. He also has done many other amazing passages, eg first person to solo circumnavigate Antarctica, let alone competed in multiple Sydney to Hobart races etc etc. An amazing man and yet is not all that well known.
@@1240enzo Never heard of Jon Sanders before. Triple non stop solo circumnavigation seems incredible.
My ears pricked up when he said his boat is Ferro
Just goes to show, it can be done.
Interesting that the shot of it being constructed seemed show he was using chicken mesh.
Can someone help me understand how Roy would have loaded his boat with food when passaging. And how £100 pound can pay for food and rigging and maintenance etc.
his boat is very basic and he is living on a very low budget. He lives on 100 pounds today, but earlier on he always worked!
A full UK pension is nearly double that.
You know it’s funny I’m putting my home of 20 years up for sale to buy a boat live on it and travel. What strikes me straight away is all these men that do it are single so am I doomed to loosing the love of my life . Hopefully she’s going to love it as much as me. She’s a paediatric nurse specialist in critical care and teaches as well she needs to do work as a nurse in some capacity that’s her only concern. Right now she’s near idea doing humanitarian work
There is more couples than singles. Having your wife will make it way more enjoyable . Good luck
Het is moeilijker om het niet te doen.😅
09:24 spot on
What over 50 years of sailing and he's only gone around 5 times?
Nah only joking it's an amazing feat and an amazing life
so has he crapped in the sea for all this time,
So is that your input on the question of the meaning of life ?
So where does your crap end up 😮
@@andyb.1026 yeh but we pay taxes to pollute the sea. lol
@daveberry2177 so the microbes eat the crap, the fish eat the microbes, and You eat the fish, and your own Crap, yummy 😋 😜 lol 😆
@@andyb.1026 i have stopped eating the fish now, i just go to my local river and catch a couple of turds, i am back at the bottom of the food chain, but i am still eating everything but packaged as one 🤣🤣
How did his crew die in Dar es Salaam ?
You should read his book, there it is described!!
Good to see he is still going strong,met him in Kudat years ago.
Be careful dreams and ideas can be dangerous.
Freedom is never very safe.
Better to give up on what might have been...? Meh NAAAAH imma go sailin ARRR!!!
Tread carful and don’t just dive into your ideas…my advice.
Life itself is fraught with danger - and ultimate sadness...
Admirable, but he is flat wrong about several things. First, the majority of cruisers I have met in the last four years in Panama, French Polynesia, Tonga, Fiji, and New Zealand are NOT retired. Nowhere near 99%, at most around 40%. In fact it is becoming even easier to do this young with a mobile flexible career that can be done from anywhere using Starlink. Second, there are endless free anchorages all over the place, simply no need to take moorings if you don't want to. About the only place a mooring was essential was the false pass on Taou in the Tuamotus, called Anse Mayotte, and even there you can anchor if you dare, and they were FREE!. Even Bora-Bora has three places you can anchor for free, plus if the major mooring fields are full you can anchor nearby. He is simply wrong saying you can't do this anymore, I am doing it at 68, just try watching my channel.
That's what I really like in my interviews, getting different opinions and getting people to discuss the topics!!
I wish you wouldn't of sped through him walking through the map. 👎
you can soon the whole map in the member section
Skipping ahead fastforward is the rudest! That is why I clicked on this video to begin with. I wanted to hear his story. You killed the interest. Shame on you! 👎
I thought so too.
Would have been too long all together, but if you send me your email Adresse, I will send you the whole route in slow motion.
great
Very sad to hear him say it's too late now as I first wanted to do the same when I was 18, 50 years ago, and all the books I read were just as he experienced, I never gave mooring costs a thought as none of the books I read ever mentioned them, you just dropped the hook wherever and dusky maidens in grass skirts paddled out in their outriggers to take care of your every need...... (watched too many Bounty films!).
I'm just about ready to launch and set off but the world seems too much of a hostile place now and I can't see much point, I don't even want to go back to the places I've sailed to on tall ships and other big yachts particularly the Caribbean (five times) as most of the islands look ghastly now on Google Earth along with a great many places all around the Med, not forgetting all the wars and troubled waters, almost hard to believe a Drascombe once sailed from England to OZ when you look at the route it took.... apparently the Marsh Arabs were the most welcoming of people met on the whole voyage, pity Saddam Hussein didn't feel the same about them.
Politics, religion and tourism have ruined just about everywhere, I once thought it would be a great adventure to sail to Grytviken and pay homage to Shackleton until I saw an advert for a cruise liner going there.
Anyone want to buy a steel Tahitiana? (only kidding, I'm setting off one day but where the heck to god only knows, where it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to stop over!)
Roy is right !
I gave up sailing a couple of years ago.
Things have changed, too many boats, too many moorings, everywhere.
When we first got to Barbados, we had free showers in the hotel, now they are asking you for money. Sailing has become a big business.