Offshore Sailing and Cruising with Paul Trammell

Brian Russell and his wife Helen, who you might remember from season 2, recently sailed Helacious, the boat the Brian built, from the USVI to the Azores and then to Ireland and Scotland. We talk about sailing from the USVI to the Azores, swimming in the open ocean, downwind sailing, arriving in the Azores, the Portuguese language, his wind generator, sailing from the Azores to Ireland, cruising Scotland, weather routing, charts, bugs, hiking in Scotland, hurricanes, and much more.

Dr. Rikki Grober Eriksen is a PhD Marine Biologist and the Director of Marine Programs for the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation. She lives on a sailboat in the Caribbean and is a wealth of information on coral reef ecology. We talk about her boat, spotted eagle rays, a magical dolphin encounter, coral reef decline, overfishing, where to and not to anchor, spearfishing, ocean acidification and its repercussions, microplastics, and much more.

Pat is preparing his boat, a Saltram Saga, for the 2022 Golden Globe Race, a singlehand, non-stop circumnavigation that allows only pre-1968 technology and old-fashioned boats. He recently sailed from Ireland to Iceland for a shakedown. We discuss his list of tasks, the cruise, and the upcoming race.

This one is just me talking about my time here in Bocas del Toro, Panama. I talk about the anchorages, the town, my new dinghy, spearfishing, surfing, some of the other islands, rip currents, my plans of going to Cartagena next and The Bahamas after that.

This is the second half of my interview with spearfisherman, freediver, kiteboarder, and sailor, Adventureman Dan. If you haven't already listened to Part 1, it is the episode directly before this one.

Adventureman Dan is a spearfisherman, freediver, and solo sailor, currently in the Bahamas. As a nice coincidence, Dan ran into Stephanie Shuldt, from the previous episode, right after I invited him to be on the podcast. As I interviewed him, he was rafted up with Sail La Vie and two other boats in her entourage. Dan and I talk about spearfishing, the Bahamas, surviving a 70-knot storm on a paddleboard, meeting other cruisers, acquiring freshwater, sharks, sobriety, future plans, and much more.

Stephanie left a corporate job just a few years ago to chase her dream of living a nomadic life on a catamaran, sailing, freediving, and spearfishing. We talk about the obstacles she overcame, her boat (a 46' Fountaine Pajot Bahia), The Bahamas, freediving, spearfishing, freedive training, sharks, ciguatera, coral reefs, and more.

Robert Perry has been designing boats since he was 14, and is one of the most well-respected and prolific sailboat designers of all time. We discuss his career, feedback from sailors, boats in the GGR, double-enders, different keel shapes, balanced rudders, draft, his new Carbon Cutter, Sail Drive, the Valiant 40, roller furling, staysails, his book, books he loves, and a final word to his supporters and boat owners.

Margie Woods sailed her Catalina 34, Haunani, in the 2016 Singlehanded Transpac, from San Francisco to Hawaii, and she did it with minimal offshore sailing experience. We discuss preparing herself and her boat for the race, the good days and the hard days, the worst weather and the best weather, dealing with difficulties, being present and sailing in the moment, the mental challenges of singlehanding, tethering and safety gear, getting back onboard from the water, women in sailing, sailing education, the importance of reading, the Hydrovane, and much more.

Expedition Glacialis is a team of scientists aboard a 43' custom steel Koopmans sailboat. Virginie Wyss, Matthew Ryle, Arnaud Conne, and Richard Mardens are collecting data on wildlife, plastics, and the chemistry of the ocean. Their project has taken them to Greenland, where they were when we spoke. We talk about the magic of Greenland, the difficulties and rewards of sailing in the arctic, their boat Atlas, dressing for the cold, heaters, safety gear, heavy weather strategies, wildlife, the marriage of art and science, preparing for the journey, sailing with a purpose, citizen science, micro and macro plastics, listening to whales, and the crew's favorite species.

Katie is currently trying, at 14 years old, to become the youngest person to sail singlehanded around Great Britain. She is doing so on a beautiful wooden 26' Morgan Giles built in 1950. We talk about her inspirations, her preparations, her boat, the route, the journey so far, and much more.

Pete recently bought a Formosa 51 in Grenada, worked on her enough to make the passage home, and took off for Ireland. Along the way, he had a few mechanical difficulties, including loosing use of his engine, but made the trip regardless. Upon arrival, he accepted a tow into the harbor at Kinsale, which prompted two newspaper articles about his being "rescued at sea," an over-dramification to say the least.

Avoiding the lockdown by sailing north around Scotland to the Azores on a Rival 32, the 1988 OSTAR, capsizing a catamaran in the North Sea, the rescue, cruising around Scotland, provisioning, avoiding old age, and more.

Losing a mast in the Sydney Hobart; setting up his boat, a Thomas Gilmer Aries 32, for the Golden Globe Race; safety protocols; the selection and refit of Harmony; bottom paint; training for the big race; and much more

Kirsten is an extremely accomplished blue-water sailor, with extensive experience in the high latitudes. She is an entrant in the 2022 Golden Globe Race, and a skipper of Skip Novak's expedition sailboat Pelagic. We discuss her sailing history, working for Skip Novak, South Georgia Island, anchoring, heavy weather, heaving-to, dressing for the Southern Ocean, the Golden Globe Race, safety, her Cape George 36 Minnehaha, catching rainwater, dual mainsheets vs a traveler, and singlehand sailing.

Surfing and spearfishing in The Bahamas, sharks, deciding as a couple to sail to Panama from The Bahamas, preparing for the crossing and dealing with anxiety, selecting a weather window, clearing out at Matthew Town, the Windward Passage, crossing the Caribbean, almost getting run over by a Navy ship, trouble clearing in at Bimini, the beginning of Covid in The Bahamas, clearing in at Shelter Bay, surf spots in Bocas del Toro, trees in the water, Escudo de Veraguas

This is the second half of my interview with Joe Richardson onboard his Jason Kerr 63. We talk about his sailing and racing history, sailing in the Mediterranean, safety precautions for singlehanders, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, liferafts, AIS, radar, sleeping while singlehanding, sharks, setting up a high-performance sailboat for singlehanding, climbing the mast alone, reefing, self-tacking jibs, spinnakers, and the banana boat.

Joe's boat, Dark Horse of England, is a Jason Kerr designed 63' ocean racer with a luxury cruising interior. In addition to talking about his magnificent boat, we discuss sailing from Barcelona to the Caribbean, breaking the carbon fiber boom and rebuilding the engine due to saltwater intrusion along the way, various destinations in the Caribbean, his Williams jet tender, the hydrogenerator, seeking safe harbor in St Kitts during a storm, and clearing in at Bocas del Toro.

Sailing from the Bahamas to San Andres, and San Andres to Bocas del Toro, Panama, clearing customs in Panama and the fees, Bocas Town, Bastimentos, surfing, freediving, ciguatera, Red Frog Beach

I love when episodes are full of laughter, and this one is the fullest! While we are not laughing, we talk about sailing in The Netherlands, crashing into the Queen's boat, sailing in the Mediterranean, choosing a steel boat, falling in love with a heavy steel boat, losing the headstay while under sail, Isla Mujeres, using an ATN Mastclimber, siglehanding and why we love it, making decisions when alone, sailing intuitively, safety, San Andres and the Armada National, running from hurricane Iota, the South Pacific, leaking water tanks, solar panels, sewing, air conditioning vs fans and open windows, sailing in strong wind, noises, and living close to nature.

I met Rick at Isla San Andres, Colombia, while on my way to Panama. We talk about his sailing background, his previous boats, how he made the decision to sail away from terrestrial life, how he chose and negotiated for Sophisticated Lady, how he made her self-sufficient and comfortable, air conditioning, lithium batteries, solar power, his electric galley, surviving Hurricane Iota while at anchor, his YouTube channel, and more.

Sailing in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, crime and piracy hotspots in the Caribbean, sailing upwind in 75 knots, losing steering offshore, Haitian pirates, heaving-to, trailing warps, paying bribes, Caribbean culture, the San Blas Islands, Kuna culture, a swimming thief in Cartagena

I met Andreas at San Andres, Colombia. He is a very knowledgeable sailor with many stories and a fine catamaran - a Lagoon 45. we talk about sailing in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, his boat and its electronics, anchoring, heavy weather, and much more.

Peter is an Irish sailor who has been, for the last five years, preparing his boat, Waxwing, a Rival 41, for a solo nonstop circumnavigation via the Southern Ocean and the five great capes. We talk about his preparations, foul weather gear, his heavy weather strategy, safety gear, provisioning, wildlife, and sailing in general.

Landrail Point, Crooked Island, sailing to Great Inagua, sleeping as a singlehander, some recent lessons learned, another shark, Man O War Bay, Great Inagua, clearing out at Matthew Town, future plans

Sailing to Eleuthera from the Berry Islands, Hatchet Bay, surfing, capsizing the dinghy, sailing out of Hatchet Bay, Sailing from Eleuthera to Cat Island, spearing a big mutton snapper, a tiger shark comes to the boat, sailing from Cat Island to Long Cay, surfing again, spearing a tiger grouper, future sailing plans

This episode is a second interview with Dr. Vonderheide, during which he describes a gale in the Gulf Stream and his first offshore passage, at the beginning of which he had no sailing experience.

Carl is a bike messenger from New York City, sailing, now on his fourth sailboat, in The Bahamas. He has many interesting and unique stories from a perspective that many of us are unfamiliar with, such as living in New York on a sailboat in the winter, losing the mast at the beginning of a passage, being "rescued" when rescue was not desired, seeing a missile launch from the water at night, and saving enough money to go cruising in The Bahamas on a bike messenger's budget. This was recorded at the dinghy dock in Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera, The Bahamas, with plenty of authentic background sounds (hopefully not too much!). Enjoy!

crossing the Gulf Stream in 25 knots North, nearly drowning while clearing a net off the rudder, petting wild dolphin while underway, electronics, communicating with ships, running aground in The Bahamas and nearly sinking, whale strike, Bermuda Triangle incident, remora attack, sailing alone offshore, letting go of fear and just being, spritualism, meditation, abandoning dualistic thinking

I met this friendly couple in Great Harbor Cay, The Bahamas, where we were both waiting out some weather. I anchored in front of their grey steel Bruce Roberts 53 and was pleased to meet such a fun couple. Andy, like myself, is an ex-performing musician turned sober sailor. We discuss building a steel boat, sailing in the north, dressing for the cold, tenacity, lessons learned, safety, escaping covid, hank-on sails, sailing a big boat without working too hard, communications, using a lead-line, sailing sober, and much more.

Surfing Egg Reef, sailing to Harbor Island, spearfishing at Man Island, sailing back to Egg Island, rowing through Current Cut, sailing to Great Harbor Cay

This is my second interview with the sailing couple Erick and Jenny VanMalssen. We discuss the cruising life, freediving, spearfishing, surfing from a sailboat, lessens learned while living aboard, and various locations in The Bahamas.

My second update from The Bahamas in the Southern Abacos, then Eleuthera. I also discuss encountering five large ships at sea, all at once, using the AIS in this situation, and communicating with ships. I also included a long post about this subject that I took from a Facebook post, as it was full of very useful information.

Bahamas covid requirements for sailors, my passage to The Bahamas and my first two weeks here, anchorages, spearfishing, surfing, and future plans

Brian created Pelagic Autopilots in effort to make a better tiller pilot for his use in solo offshore racing in the San Francisco Bay area, including the Transpac. Many offshore sailors consider the Pelagic to be the best tillerpilot on the market, and it is the only one that incorporates a rate gyro. He has since developed a unit for wheel-steered boats as well. We discuss offshore racing, the Transpac, how autopilots work, what makes Pelagic Autopilots unique, tiller vs wheel steering, love of offshore sailing, and wildlife encounters.

Marco Nannini is the organizer of the Global Solo Challenge, an around-the-world solo sailing event in production sailboats, set to take place in 2023. Unlike the Golden Globe, this is not a "retro" race, and thus will allow the use of any technology. Marco is also a very accomplished offshore racer. He took 1st place in the 2009 OSTAR in the IRC3 class, 2nd in the Round Britain and Ireland 2010, 27th in the Route du Rhum 2010, and 2nd in the Global Ocean Race 2011.

Elliott Smith, whom you might remember from episode 7, is entering the 2022 Golden Globe Race. We talk about dealing with the cold, shopping for a boat, sailing alone, Moitessier's inspiration, preparing for the big race, personal strengths and weaknesses, and love of the ocean. "The right moment is always in front of you to start making steps in the right direction."

This episode is just me, talking about my new book, "Chasing the Nomadic Dream," the six-month refit of Windflower that is just now complete, short discussions of the other four books I've published, and the coming journey to Panama.

Pat Lawless is an Irish Fisherman and Cabinetmaker, and has entered the Golden Globe Race. We discuss his boat, a Saga Saltram, sailing in the North Atlantic, his preparations for the race, love of the ocean, sailing around the other Cape Horn, and north atlantic wildlife.

Guy deBoer hopes to become the first American to win a singlehanded, non-stop, around-the-world sailing race. We discuss his aspirations, his preparations, his training, and his boat, Spirit, a Tashiba 36, which he will sail in the 2022 Golden Globe Race.

Gaurav Shinde is entered in the 2022 Golden Globe Race, a solo, nonstop circumnavigation race that allows only pre-1968 technology in full-keel production cruising boats designed before 1988. Gaurav will be racing in a Baba 35, Good Hope. He is the youngest entrant, and the only person of color in the race. Gaurav was born in India and lives in Canada. He has logged over 20,000 nautical miles of ocean racing, has competed in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, has been awarded the Admiral Ramdas Trophy for offshore sailing, and won many other awards for offshore racing.

Jaye tells us about sailing as crew on El Galeon, a replica of a Spanish Galeon. She and her husband Dan sailed on El Galeon twice from Florida north to Nova Scotia, into the St Lawrence River, and into the great lakes. We also talk a bit about their liveaboard sailboat, Cinderella, a CSY 33.

While in The Bahamas this year, I was on a mission to meet other sailors. My strategy was to row over to boats I liked and say hello. SV Hellacious stood out and called my name. She is an aluminum Dudley Dix 43 with red trim, a hard dodger, and a cutter rig. It turns out that Brian built her, and she is a beauty. We talk about Hellacious, as well as the learning process that building such a boat entails, as well as sailing, electronics, soft shackles, safety gear and lots more.

In this self-indulgent episode, I discuss my journey into the world of sailing, writing books, buying a bigger boat, and my sailing adventure in The Bahamas in 2020.

I talked to Alex and Lisa Tarlecky about their experience repowering their Cabo Rico 38. They replaced and old Westerbeke 46 with a Beta. Since I was considering doing the same to Windflower, who had an old Westerbeke 40, I wanted to talk to Alex and Lisa anyway. After recording the podcast, I found a leak in my engine's rear main seal, which was the last straw, and I ordered a Beta. We also discuss some of their experiences sailing the Cabo Rico, The Bahamas, and their new boat, a Manta catamaran.

Jasna and I discuss her books "A Drop in the Ocean," "Get Real Get Gone," and "All the Colours of Polynesia," as well as steel boats vs fiberglass boats, the Cap Horn windvane autopilot, lessons learned at sea, managing emotions, swimming with whales and sharks, French Polynesia, atolls, solo sailing vs sailing with passengers, the extra responsibilities of being the captain, keeping eggs fresh, books, and more.

Ralph and Leslie have been cruising The Bahamas for many years and share their favorite places to go and things to do. We discuss gear, monohulls vs catamarans, crossing the Gulf Stream, sheltering in the Ragged Islands during the lockdown, ordering groceries from the mailboats, spearfishing, watermakers, lots of islands and anchorages, and places to snorkel and spearfish.

Elliot is a young man who is chasing his dream and making it happen on a shoestring budget. We talk about his first time sailing to The Bahamas, which was also his first time offshore, singlehand sailing, spearfishing, surfing in The Bahamas, and lots more. He shares his mistakes and successes in this laughter-filled interview. Elliot is full of fun stories and was a pleasure to talk to.

I recorded this in March of 2018 while sailing alone in The Bahamas, crossing the Crooked Island Passage between the Ragged Islands and Long Island. It was this trip that I wrote about in the book "Journey to the Ragged Islands." I tell of events including a squall at night in the Gulf Stream, an encounter with an enormous oceanic whitetip shark, surfing an offshore reef, nearly drowning in a blue hole, and beautiful sailing.

Jim Abernethy has spent nearly 40 years diving with sharks, without a cage. He has learned to befriend them, has removed hundreds of fish hooks from their mouths, and even pets them like dogs. In this interview, I set out to learn all that a sailor, snorkeler, surfer, and spearfisher needs to know about sharks so we can all overcome our fears and enjoy their habitat safely.