Tumblehome

I thought I would take this day, Father's Day, the day in which we celebrate all of those special irreplaceable men in our lives, to announce a venture I am embarking on with my own Father.
One I am extremely excited about... 

Tumblehome.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram you may have seen this post already, but I wanted to announce it here, as well as go a little more in depth about it!

Tumblehome is a brand my father, the sailor, and I are starting together.
(That's right friends, you are finally going to gain the privilege of learning a little bit more about the other person behind all of my #daughterofasailor posts.)

We both value the art of mindful and intentional living and sailing embodies so much of that mindset for us. 

There's a simplicity that comes with being on a boat that teaches you to have an intentional mindset in other areas of your life as well.
Because so often it's just you, the wind, the water, and going from point A to point B.
You learn to be patient, to slow down and that it's about the journey, not the destination. 
It's one of the biggest parts of my life, and I know my Father's as well, that consistently reminds me of that.
It strips everything down and there's a stillness and peacefulness that allows for the contemplation of what really matters.

Which is why we are pursuing the venture of making well made, quality goods that we design and hand craft together.
Because quality vs. quantity is another one of our mottos, and we want our creative endeavors and pursuits to reflect that as well.
We hope that you'll be up for sharing that mantra as we gain inspiration in our day to day adventures together and apart.

All goods will be handcrafted here in Richmond, VA with found and recycled materials or sourced here in the US whenever possible.

There might be a website in the works but in the meantime follow us on Instagram and Facebook as we start to talk more about our adventures and prep handmade goods for the shop this summer!

In closing, I'll leave you with a little definition of the word Tumblehome...

tum·ble·home
ˈtəmbəlˌhōm/

noun
the inward slope of the upper part of the sides of a boat or ship.

Sailing To Oxford

Photos taken in Oxford, Maryland around this time last year. 
A little waterfront town I will always be in love with.

To Your River

Been traveling these wide roads for so long
My heart’s been far from you
Ten-thousand miles gone

Oh, I wanna come near and give ya
Every part of me
But there is blood on my hands
And my lips aren’t clean

In my darkness I remember
Momma’s words reoccur to me
"Surrender to the good Lord
And he’ll wipe your slate clean"

Take me to your river
I wanna go
Oh, go on
Take me to your river
I wanna know

Tip me in your smooth waters
I go in
As a man with many crimes
Come up for air
As my sins flow down the Jordan

Oh, I wanna come near and give ya
Every part of me
But there is blood on my hands
And my lips aren’t clean

Take me to your river
I wanna go
Go on,
Take me to your river
I wanna know

I wanna go, wanna go, wanna go
I wanna know, wanna know, wanna know
Wanna go, wanna go, wanna go
Wanna know, wanna know, wanna know
Wanna go, wanna go, wanna go
Wanna know, wanna know, wanna know

Take me to your river
I wanna go
Lord, please let me know
Take me to your river
I wanna know

—River by Leon Bridges

A Winter Sail

A crisp overnight sail.
Listening to The Replacements, drinking beer-then-whiskey, "I don't think Morrissey cares about French girls", knitting in the cockpit, stuffing over-layered limbs into sleeping bags and underneath piled high blankets and watching the night progress and move behind and around a lone lit lantern with a kind of enrapture and attentiveness that can only come from being in the warm belly of a boat on a winters night out on the open water.

A Boat Story | Luna

This is a story about a boat.
We drove all the way to Mattawan Michigan for her, and then we brought her back. 
I feel overly fortunate to be able to say that I consider both of my parents to be some of my very best friends. This road trip with my Dad in particular is home now to some of my favorite times with him that are going to be hard to beat to be honest.
Discovering an abandoned Airstream trailer (post with photos forthcoming) during our trip was of course a highlight and culprit to intensifying my Airstream dream, and there was a stop at a yarn shop (no surprise there). But those experiences aside, there's very little that means more to me than just simply being with the people I love and doing life with them, in whatever way it's presented to us. Whether it's having coffee on their back porch, dancing our feet off wherever there's good music (or even when there's not), sitting at a kitchen counter talking while they cook (because we all know my cooking skills leave much to be desired) or sitting shotgun in a truck for twelve hours.

On the first day of the road trip we passed a sailboat off the highway that was sitting in a yard and on her transom was the name Moon Dust. I wrote it down because I loved it so much.
I'm forever making notes and lists and scribbles of words/phrases/lyrics/sentences I like. 
But it must've stuck somehow because on the way home, as we were brainstorming the name for her, I couldn't get Luna out of my head.
And so it just sort of came out. 
And it just sort of stuck.
So Luna she was christened. 
(Not to be confused with Una of course, her sister)

The day after getting home I realized how attached I already was to her. Perhaps it was because I helped name her, and as humans we often get so attached to the things we name, or perhaps it's because of the journey and the memories along the way in retrieving her.
I'm not really questioning it though, whatever the reason.
She's going to be a great new adventure. 
Even her old name, Andiamo, which is "Go" in Italian, speaks to a spirit of adventure and seeking out and discovering new waters and places unseen that I think she already embodies.

---

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The Call of The Sea

The call of God is like the call of the sea- no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. || Oswald Chambers

Can't wait to get back to the water.
It's been calling my name. 
////
I hope you all have a lovely Easter Sunday.
Thankful that He's risen.

Adventures | Sailing Una

Meet Una.

She's the product of my father, the sailor's, hands.
He built her in a garage in the suburbs of Richmond over a ten month period.
And, if it means anything to you, she's a Iain Oughtred Sooty Tern. A double-ended yawl, sporting a balanced lug main and bermuda mizzen.
Her name means pure, holy, feminine and single (one).
She's Scottish/Gaelic/Norse in her origin.  

In my father's words she was "a labor of love, a commitment to a dream and a promise of adventure".
(You can see where I get a bit of that wanderlust soul from...) 
Seeing how proud he's been of this boat and how happy it's made him in the building and completion of it has been one of the highlights of my year.

We took her out for an overnight adventure last month and it was, simply put, one of the top ten best experiences of my life.
(I can actually list these experiences for you too... if you don't believe me)
I will treasure this time and the memories made during this brief but wonderful trip for forever and always.

My father is one of the people I adore and most look up to in this world and while this experience is one I hold very dear to my heart, I hesitated sharing it here because of it's sacredness.
However, I wanted the opportunity to showcase his wonderful talent and to give his beautiful creation the spotlight it deserves.

As I've stated before, being on a boat makes you look outward and there's a special kind of soul searching that happens when you're surrounded by all that blue.
There's also a kind of serenity that comes with it that's not easy to find these days.
It's something that neither words or pictures can really fully express.
You just have to experience it for yourself.

///////////

If you're so inclined, and understand such ruminations (or simply have an appreciation for them), you can read my father's blog on the building of Una

here

.

As We Sailed Into The Mystic

One of my favorite photos I've taken recently with one of my favorite songs.

I hope you're having a lovely weekend. 

Go have an adventure. 

//////////

Into The Mystic by 

Van Morrison

We were born before the wind

Also younger than the sun

Ere the bonnie boat was won 

As we sailed into the mystic

Hark, now hear the sailors cry

Smell the sea and feel the sky

Let your soul and spirit fly

Into the mystic 

And when that fog horn blows 

I will be coming home, mmm mmm

And when the fog horn blows 

I want to hear it

I don't have to fear it

I wanna rock your gypsy soul

Just like way back in the days of old

Then magnificently we will float 

Into the mystic

When that fog horn blows 

You know I will be coming home

And when that fog horn whistle blows 

I gotta hear it

I don't have to fear it

And I wanna rock your gypsy soul

Just like way back in the days of old

And together we will float 

Into the mystic

Come on girl

Will they stop now

Adventures | Tangier Island

Tangier Island is a tiny little place in the Chesapeake Bay.

The population is less than a thousand and the true natives speak in a unique english like accent that is pretty unmistakeable and something thats super neat to hear. They also primarily drive golf carts, or scooters as there's no real need for cars on such a small piece of land. 

Milton (as seen in the last photo) is the keeper of the Marina and has quite a lot of cool stories to tell if you happen to run into him and have time to chat for a bit. He was on the island before they had electricity and was among the first graduating class of the local high school. 

(Quite an accomplishment to be sure)

It's definitely a cool place to wander around and explore, which you can do in less than an hour or so since the whole island is only about a mile long!

P.s. There are also

a lot

of cats.

So there's that too. 

Stay Close

Shot with b/w 35mm film // Minolta x-700

"stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive." | hafiz