#205. Bruce Scwab is the first American sailor to complete the legendary Vendee Globe race. Bruce grew up in northern California and started sailing with his dad a young age, eventually working at a rig shop for many years where he honed his as a solo racing sailor, winning the first event he ever entered. Bruce now lives in Maine and specializes in outfitting cruising boats with alternative energy sources and is on the forefront of marine energy technology. I’m running this recycled chat today ...
Aug 29, 2017•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 205
#204. Randall Reeves is about to embark on an ambitious passage he's dubbed the ‘Figure 8 Voyage,’ in October. With a 39’ steel boat and only his thoughts to accompany him, he's hoping to complete a circumnavigation of both the America’s & Antarctica, alone and nonstop. Inspired by historic explorers and modern sailors like Matt Rutherford, Randall’s is a personal challenge. I spoke to him back in April, while we we’re still in St. Croix, about his sailing past, his preparation & his goa...
Aug 22, 2017•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 204
#203. Cap’n Fatty Goodlander pretty much needs no introduction. He & his wife Carolyn have circumnavigated the globe a full three times, setting an example along the way of how to do it safely & on the cheap. Fatty’s brand of storytelling is legendary - he’s an editor-at-large in Cruising World magazine, and has appeared in basically every sailing publication there was over the past 30 years. He even had a radio show published on NPR. Mia & I met Fatty & Carolyn in Tortola this p...
Aug 15, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 203
#202: Johnny Owens & Paul Rogan are 2/6th of the ‘Ireland to Iceland 2017’ crew whom we met on the docks in the faraway fishing town of Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides. Their gang of merry sailors were on an adventure to the Arctic in a 40-foot steel ketch, Johnny’s father as captain, making music as they want in the pubs along the way. We invited them to Isbjorn to share their story of adventure and creativity. Their expedition is designed to raise funds and awareness for Good2Talk Westmeat...
Aug 08, 2017•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 202
#201. Brion Toss is a certified Master Rigger and author of the bible on the subject, The Rigger’s Apprentice . I’ve long admired Brion and first got to meet him in 2008 at the Annapolis Sailboat Show, right before I became a rigger’s apprentice myself. I’ve managed to keep in touch with him over the years (and of course have a copy of his book aboard Isbjorn), and finally we’re teaming up to host a hands-on rigging seminar weekend in Annapolis this coming October, 2017. This is a recycled versi...
Aug 01, 2017•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 201
#200: It’s been a long-time coming, but Mia Karlsson is FINALLY on the podcast! Mia is my wife, of course, and while we don’t share a last name, we share just about everything else! Mia tongue-in-cheek promised to be the 200th episode on the show, long before she ever thought I’d make it this far, so I called her bluff! We recorded a long & rambling chat just before setting out across the Atlantic while Isbjorn was anchored in St. Croix. As I record this intro, we’ve made it to Sweden and Mi...
Jul 25, 2017•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 200
#199. If you don’t know Johan & Malin of RAN Sailing, go check them out on YouTube right away. They’re a wonderful young Swedish couple on a long-distance voyage in their aluminum sloop ‘RAN’. After months of trading emails, we finally got to meet up with them in Tortola and we hit it off immediately! Mia & I spent three days with Malin & Johan hanging out in Trellis Bay, sharing stories, cooking food and playing Jenga (which was even featured in episode 53 of their YouTube show!). M...
Jul 18, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 199
#198. Special thanks to Thierry Humeau & Telecam Films for directing & producing the TV version of today's podcast with Etienne Giroire. Thierry flew to Florida in April 2016 to film a TV-adaptation of the podcast at Etienne's eponymous shop, ATN Inc. in Ft. Lauderdale. This is the audio-only version of that - to see the full-length film version, go to youtube.com/59northsailing . -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Go to weems-plath.com to shop their line of fine nautical ...
Jul 11, 2017•52 min•Ep. 198
#197. Today’s recycled episode is a family affair, with Ted & Claudia and their kids Max & Anya. Ted & Claudia sailed their Wauquiez Amphitrite ketch from Annapolis to the BVI several years ago, and have never gone home! They’ve setup base camp on Tortola where they live aboard the boat, work locally and send the kids to local school in the islands. Since this podcast first aired, they’ve even sold their house back in Annapolis, so they’re fully committed to cruising now! We recorded...
Jun 27, 2017•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 197
#196. Dennis Schell is affectionately & jokingly known to all my sailing friends as simply ‘Andy’s Dad’. I have him to thank for my sailing career, and for inspiring me to start my own business. Dad raised me as a sailor & taught me everything I know. We recorded this chat aboard Isbjorn in Trellis Bay, BVI, shortly before we both sailed - he on Sojourner, us on Isbjorn - north to Bermuda. We covered the gamut of my dad’s sailing career, from his days sailing sunfish on Blue Marsh Lake, ...
Jun 18, 2017•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 196
#195. Jon Amtrup is a Norwegian sailor who spends a large portion of his time above the Arctic Circle. In fact, when I spoke to him back in January at the Oslo Central Train Station, he had just returned from Tromso after a winter sailing expedition with a group of Russians who wanted to see the northern lights! So Jon’s pretty hard-core to say the least. He’s also an avid single-handed sailor, and is helping another Norwegian sailor put together a campaign for next year’s Golden Globe Race. Jon...
Jun 13, 2017•1 hr•Ep. 195
#194. Dr. Andrew Merrie is not a sailor, per se, but is indeed a vocal advocate for the world’s ocean’s. An expat Kiwi living in Stockholm, he works for the Stockholm Resilience Center, a non-profit, independent research institute specializing in sustainable development and environmental issues. We’re releasing this week’s show early because Andrew is launching his latest research project ‘Radical Ocean Futures’ this weekend at the UN Ocean’s Conference in New York City, June 5-9. Andrew & I...
Jun 01, 2017•59 min•Ep. 194
#193. Greetings from Bermuda, where we recently made landfall on Isbjorn! This week’s recycled episode features Webb Chiles, certainly one of the most adventurous small boat sailors in recent memory, if not one of the greatest. He’s been around the world several times, cross the Pacific in an open boat, nearly drowned when he fell overboard off Florida and on and on. He’s written several books about his adventures over the years, and indeed continues to make new adventures. I spoke to him a few ...
May 30, 2017•59 min•Ep. 193
#192: Susie Goodall is a badass. Mia & I met her in Antigua in February after she’d just completed a solo trans-Atlantic crossing in her Rustler 36. At just 26, she is the first woman to enter next year’s Gold Globe Race, essentially a reenactment of the famous race that Sir Robin Knox-Johnston won in 1968, establishing nonstop solo ocean racing. Susie was prepping for the return voyage to England when we spoke, which will fulfill the races qualifying passage requirement. Despite her youth, ...
May 23, 2017•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 192
#191: Kristoffer Applequist is kind of a big deal in Sweden. One of the countries premier comedians, Kristoffer is also a sailor, and a longtime fan of the podcast. He reached out to me a while back, and we’ve since become friends. Mia & I visited his beautiful house in the Sunne, in central Sweden, to talk to Kristoffer about his comedy background & his sailing ambitions. Since this conversation, his sailing goals have seriously ratcheted up - he recently bought a Hallberg-Rassy Monsun ...
May 16, 2017•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 191
#190: Crossing the Atlantic is at the top of my mind at the moment - by the time you hear this, we’ll be at-sea, en route to Bermuda, the first leg of what will be my 3rd, Mia’s 4th trans-Atlantic passage. I recorded this seminar about our two previous trans-Atlantic experiences the Toronto Boat Show in 2016. Mia & I discuss weather routing, seasonal route options and best practices, and call on our friends David & Isabelle, who completed an Atlantic Circle on their Hunter 42 ‘Morning Ha...
May 09, 2017•1 hr•Ep. 190
#189: Clint Wells is one of my best friends, and Isbjorn’s first mate when Mia can’t make a passage. He was there when I first met Mia in New Zealand, and he sailed across the Atlantic with us on Arcturus back in 2011. Clint is NOT a sailor - or at least wasn’t, until joining us. I spoke to him a few years back about our Atlantic crossing together and the challenges he faced - both physically, and even more so mentally - as a new-to-sailing crew member stuck on a 35-foot boat for 23 days in the ...
May 02, 2017•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 189
#188: Linda Hammarberg & her husband Ludvig recently returned to Sweden after a multi-year circumnavigation with their two young kids, Otto & Lovis, onboard ‘Mary af Roverhamn,’ their Joshua-type steel ketch. During parts of the voyage they were followed by a film crew from Swedish television for the show ‘familje pa Aventyr’ - which basically translates to ‘Families on Adventure.’ The Hammarberg’s are typically Swedish, in that they're very humble, and yet very accomplished sailors. Mia...
Apr 25, 2017•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 188
#187. Matt Rutherford is a longtime friend of the podcast and founder of the Ocean Research Project. Matt became famous, of course, for his legendary Solo the America’s voyage, during which he sailed a 27’ Albin Vega around both American continents. In our latest chat, recorded in Sweden back in January, Matt recalls the summer of 2016 in Greenland, where he & his partner Nicole piloted their research schooner Ault into the uncharted waters of the far north, nearly coming to grief in a wild ...
Apr 18, 2017•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 187
#186: Today’s episode is a recording I made of my seminar on Heavy Weather Sailing I gave at last weekends Ocean Sailing Seminar, hosted by World Cruising Club in Annapolis. While I’m lucky not to have too many gnarly heavy-weather sea stories of my own, I’ve studied the subject for years and enjoying talking about it theoretically. What follows is a discussion on what I feel are the ‘best practices’ for handling heavy weather, of course brought to life by a few of my own sea stories. Follow alo...
Apr 11, 2017•58 min•Ep. 186
#185. Retired Senator Tom Harkin & I recorded this ‘recycled’ episode at his house in Hope Town, in the Bahamas, almost two years ago now. Tom was a career senator, but this episode is nothing about politics. Rather, it’s about Tom’s incredible, unbelievable life story. He was a fighter pilot during Vietnam and became one of the few people ever to eject from a jet and survive to tell the tale. He also tells his insane story about building a wooden trimaran in Japan and having it’s Westerbeke...
Mar 28, 2017•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 185
#184: Olly Cotterell is one of the youngest Clipper Race skippers ever, sailing to a podium position in the 2013-2014 edition of the RTW race onboard OneDLL. He currently skipper’s the prototype, foiling racing yacht ‘Maverick,’ which recently won her class in the RORC Trans-Atlantic Race. Olly & I have a connection in that we’ve both worked for Broadreach. We met up to record this episode in person in Antigua, ahead of the Caribbean 600. Olly has an amazing story that includes growing up on...
Mar 21, 2017•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 184
#183. Chris Museler, NY Times journalist & sailor extraordinaire, has been a longtime friend of the podcast since the early days, and he’s back yet again for another catch-up. Chris has a remarkable journalism career and is one of the few people who get to write about sailing for the NY Times. He crossed the Atlantic onboard Hugo Boss as an onboard journalist with recent podcast guest Ryan Breymaier, sails in most of the major ocean races, and cruises his own cold-molded schooner Magic out o...
Mar 14, 2017•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 183
#182. Alan Block, aka Mr. Clean, is one of the driving forces behind the hugely popular - and sometimes controversial - Sailing Anarchy website. He’s a staple on the racing scene, traveling far and wide to cover events from the Volvo to the Vendee and lots in between. Alan’s story is a fascinating and circuitous one, and during our 90-minute conversation, we covered the whole thing, from his early days as a lawyer, to his dreams to set off sailing, and ultimately to his serendipitous opportunity...
Mar 07, 2017•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 182
#181: Yves Gelinas is a French-Canadian single-handed sailor and inventor of the Cape Horn wind vane, the simplest, most robust, and most elegant solution for self-steering on an offshore cruising boat. Yves invented and perfected the gear while circumnavigating nonstop via the Great Capes in his beloved Alberg 30 Jean du Sud in the 80s. During that voyage, he filmed Around the World with Jean du Sud, which quickly came to be considered the greatest sailing movie ever made. Yves still builds the...
Feb 28, 2017•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 181
#180. Today’s episode is slightly different. Magnus Ormestad is the host of my favorite Swedish podcast, called ‘Husky,’ where he interviews folks into outdoor sports & adventure. Magnus & I met a few years ago over coffee in a bike shop in Stockholm and became quick friends. We recorded in Sweden in January - it was a back-and-forth talk between two people used to ‘hosting’, with him interviewing me a bit and vice versa. But this episode is really more about what ties together outdoor a...
Feb 21, 2017•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 180
#179. Martin Hasselov is a sailor and PHD scientist based on the beautiful West Coast - which the locals call the ‘best coast’ - of Sweden. Martin has a lifelong love for the sea which started as a small boy fishing in his families rowboats. After college he built a steel ketch from a bare hull to explore further afield. Now armed with a PHD in marine science, Martin recently bought an ex-BT Challenge yacht - a steel 67-footer designed for a southern ocean circumnavigation the ‘wrong way round’ ...
Feb 14, 2017•1 hr•Ep. 179
#178: Rick Tomlinson is one of yachting’s most accomplished photographers. What I didn’t know before we met, was how accomplished he is as a sailor. Rick was a crew member on four consecutive Whitbread Races, and literally invented the modern concept of onboard reporter. Back in his day, Rick was an integral member of the sailing crew - he took photos onboard as a hobby, on his off-watches, and even developed film in the galley sink offshore! Mia and I traveled to Rick’s beautiful studio in Cowe...
Feb 07, 2017•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 178
#BONUS: Sailing Stories Season 1, Episode 1. Join Janne Larsson & Kalle Andersson as they set off to sail around the world on a handshake and lots of ambition. Head to iTunes and subscribe to Sailing Stories! First three episodes now live on the SS feed. Find out more at sailingstoriespodcast.com
Feb 02, 2017•47 min
#177: RECYCLED (previously #4). Lin & Larry Pardey need no introduction. They’re cruising legends, inspiring generations of sailors to ‘go small, go simple, and go now.’ I first discovered them through books I found in my parent’s basement - indeed it was the Pardey’s that primarly inspired my mom and dad to first set off on their 32’ sloop for a winter in the Bahamas in 1979. Mia and I read their books in detail when preparing Arcturus for the Atlantic crossing we made in 2011. What follows...
Jan 31, 2017•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 177
