On the Wind Sailing

#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

#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 is a 'recycled' chat about their cruising careers that I had with Lin & Larry back in 2013, when the podcast first started. On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Come offshore sailing with Andy & Mia aboard Isbjorn, their Swan 48, at 59-north.com/offshore.

#176. SV Delos' videos have become an internet sensation. After leaving Seattle in 2009, Brian, who later met Karin in new Zealand, and his brother Brady have been sailing the world and filming their adventures. Almost by accident they've become the most popular sailing videos on YouTube and it's become their primary source of income. Andy & Mia met them in Stockholm for an in-person chat on the podcast. On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath.

#175: Behan & Jamie Gifford set off from Seattle Washington in Totem, their Stevens 47 sloop, in 2008. They've been sailing the world ever since, raising their three kids aboard the boat while crossing oceans, exploring landfalls and meeting interesting people along the way. Mia & I were invited aboard while Totem was in Annapolis last fall and had an enlightening conversation with the whole family about how they got inspired to go cruising, how the 'identify' themselves, where they call home, and what's in store for their future cruising plans. On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Come ocean sailing with Andy & Mia aboard Isbjorn, a classic Swan 48. 59-north.com.

#174: Nigel Calder is universally recognized as the guru of yacht systems. His hardcover tomes grace the bookshelves of yachts the world over. On Isbjorn, his are some of my most referenced books. But while many of you will know Nigel for his writing, I'd bet that few know his background. I didn't. He came aboard Isbjorn during the Annapolis Sailboat Show last October and told me his backstory, which included living in a commune in the UK, years working on oil rigs in the Gulf and much, much more. On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath, makers of fine nautical & weather instruments since 1928. Weems-Plath.com.

#BONUS. Happy Holidays! Here's a sneak preview of 'Sailing Stories,' a new podcast produced by 59º North, hosted by Lee Cumberland & narrated by Duncan Hood. The show is currently in production and will be out sometime in early 2017. Stay tuned!

#173. The Reverend Bob Shepton, now 81, got his start shortly after WWII as a climbing instructor in the British Armed Forces, where he used the outdoors to teach leadership & scripture. He didn't start sailing until much later in life, but got real serious about it real quickly. I sat down with him at the Southampton Boat Show to talk religion, spirituality, his early days as a climber, losing his boat during an Arctic winter, his 15 Atlantic crossings, meeting the Wild Bunch, and the story behind the film series 'Vertical Sailing Greenland.' The music in this episode is courtesy of the Wild Bunch. This episode is sponsored by Forbes Horton Yachts. Visit forbesyachts.com. Bob Shepton might not be a household name in the US, but he certainly is in the UK. He was honored as 'Yachtsman of the Year in 2014, which may sound irrelevant until you realize the winners in 2013 & 2015 - that would be Sir Ben Ainslie & Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. Good company indeed. Anyway, Bob is one of the most accomplished and yet most humble sailors I've ever met. My interview with him was like sitting down with your favorite grandfather and hearing him tell old stories. We could have talked for hours, and Bob seemed to enjoy every second of it. Before you listen to this episode, take five minutes and watch Episode 2 of Vertical Sailing Greenland - it's linked for you in the show notes. That film is what initially inspired me to reach out to Bob, and he tells the behind-the-scenes story of it at length about halfway through our chat.

#172. I've called a lot of people 'legendary' on the podcast, but Don Street truly fits the bill. Now deep into his 80s, he's seen & done it all. He's been instrumental in creating modern cruising as we know it. Street pioneered cruising the Caribbean on his engineless yawl Iolaire, and to this day continues updating charts of the region. He helped design the Caribbean's first charter yacht, the CSY 44 and was ousted from Grenada during the US invasion. And the list goes on. Don told me these stories & many more in person a few years back. For show notes & links on today's episode, go to 59-north.com/podcast. To go ocean sailing on Isbjorn, visit 59-north.com/offshore.

#171, The legendary yacht designer German Frers…He earned his chops working for S&S under Olin Stephens himself, but it was only through a chance meeting that he got to sketch his first namesake yacht. Frers' one-off designs quickly began attracting the best production builders like Swan & Hallberg-Rassy, who hired him to design their bluewater cruising boats, and some of the most iconic super yachts ever built came off of his drawing board. I spoke to German on Skype from his office in Argentina about all this & much more. -- Big thanks to last week's guest & Hallberg-Rassy CEO Magnus Rassy for helping arrange this week's interview with German Frers. The two episodes kind of go together, as German & I started our conversation discussing his side of the HR44 story, from the designer's perspective which Magnus told at length last week from the sort of visionary's/boat-builders perspective. You don't need to listen to one to understand the other, but they're fun to hear back-to-back.

#170. Magnus Rassy is one of my favorite characters in sailing. He's the CEO of Hallberg-Rassy and one of the most enthusiastic people in the sport. When I asked him how the new HR44 came to be, and why they needed a new model at all, his answer was pure Magnus. The man has a twinkle in his eye when he talks about his boats and it was a joy to catch up with him for a second podcast interview, again recorded onboard the flagship HR 64 at their yard in Sweden, a year after our first. -- Happy Thanksgiving, to those of you listening in the US! Mia & I just returned to the US after a blistering passage south with the Caribbean 1500. The 8 ½-day trip was a heck of a way to finish off the sailing season for us. We had it all - big winds and big seas up north, a few calm spells, and classic Trade Wind sailing under the SuperMoon a few weeks back. Our landfall in Tortola, as the moon was setting and the sun was rising, was a career highlight for me. Huge thanks to our crew of Ed, Bruce, David & Tom for making it such a memorable trip for Mia & I. By the time you hear this, Mia & I will be on the way to Sweden. We've got the next two months 'off', so to speak - off the boat anyway. For me, it'll be a time to rest and reflect - during the long dark days of the Swedish winter, I'll be hibernating, and it'll be great. I'll also be working of course, a little bit anyway - on this podcast, mainly, but also on some new creative projects, on keeping in touch with our crew for our 2017 passages and on answering emails from our listeners - so if I haven't gotten back to you yet, be patient, I'll try. And if you have something to say, now's a good time to get my attention, so fire away any ideas, suggestions or just a note to say hi. Finally, we've made a few minor schedule changes for 2017, and a few of our crew have changed passages for next year so we have some open spots - 1 crew spot left for the Grendad-BVI trip in March; 3 available on the April Leeward Island & Dominica trip, which is now just ten days and scheduled to get you home in time for Easter; and 1 spot on the Azores to Scotland trip in June. That one in particular will be a great chance to do a proper long & challenging ocean passage. It's 1,200 miles in potential heavy weather, and the temperature will be dropping as we sail north to Oban. And of course we're all set up for the Arctic passages in 2018. See everything we have available and sign-up for a passage on 59-north.com/offshore.

#169. Ben Doerr is living the dream in the Pacific Northwest. A thirty-something husband, father & sailor, Ben didn't wait until retirement to chase his dreams. He recently refit a classic John Alden-designed Pearson Countess ketch, and sails her out of Bainbridge Island, off the coast near Seattle, running day-trips and longer adventure charters along that beautiful coastline. Ben & I hit it off immediately, and chatted at length about his sailing career, life as a dad, his 'real' career as a musician, building and running a sailing business, & lots more. Sail offshore on Andy & Mia's Swan 48 Isbjorn. Visit 59-north.com/offshore for the full passage calendar, including passages in the Arctic in 2018.

#168 is Matt Rutherford, recycled. We're trying something new today. Or rather, something old. This week's show is a rerun. A few episodes ago I hinted at publishing new episodes three times per month. I decided recently to fill that extra week with an old show, the idea being that some of our new listeners may not yet have 'binged' through the back catalog and caught up! So I'm going to recycle some of my old favorites and some of the 'classics', record a new intro, put them in the 'On the Wind' format and publish them in the 'off' weeks. So in effect, we're now publishing weekly, save for a few holiday breaks here and there. It'll be very obvious in your podcast feed when it's a recycled episode. Our first recycled episode features the very first conversation I ever recorded with Matt Rutherford, from way back in 2011. Makes me realize how long I've been doing this! This is cool because it was recorded before Matt was 'Matt Rutherford,' the famous explorer who became the first and only person to sail solo and non-stop around the Americas, and it's an interesting insight into his motivations, having seen now the remarkable voyages he's completed since. It's also appropriate timing because Matt just recently returned to Annapolis from Greenland. I'd like to know what you think of my recycled episodes concept. Good idea or bad idea? Send your comments and suggestion to [email protected].

#167 is Ryan Breymaier, solo sailor, family man and absolute badass! Ryan is one of the few American sailors into short-handed ocean racing & won the double-handed New York to Barcelona race as co-skipper of Hugo Boss (a story Chris Museler told way back on episode #30). Ryan was in France when I spoke to him, working with Team Safran on preparing for the next Vendee Globe. We talked about his early years racing at St. Mary's, how he got to France, what sailing on a 100-foot trimaran is like, and how to manages to balance his lifestyle with his young family. Want to go ocean sailing yourself? Join Andy & Mia on an offshore passage expedition aboard 'Isbjorn', their Swan 48. Full calendar on 59-north.com/offshore.

#166: Annie Dike is a reformed lawyer-turned-sailor - that is, she left the profession in her early 30s to pursue a more passionate life. Her and her partner Philip sail a Niagara 35 on the west coast of Florida, and they recently crossed the Atlantic to France on a high-tech Catamaran. Annie & I discussed how she left the lawyer world behind, what the Atlantic crossing was like for a first-time ocean sailor, her various movie projects, her friendship with Pam Wall & her passion for helping others pursue the cruising lifestyle. — Annie Dike is a truly interesting & inspiring character, and what follows was one of the more fun-loving and honest interviews I've done in a while. Annie has an infectious personality, and has been using her lawyer-like work ethic to offer cruising opportunities to other aspiring sailors. Mia & I recently teamed up with Annie to offer one of our offshore passages aboard Isbjorn to one of her fans - check out Annie's Patreon page on patreon.com/havewindwilltravel for details.

#165. Weather Routing Inc. provides all of the forecasting for the passages Mia & I run aboard Isbjorn. I consult with them to plan the best departure window before a passage, and once offshore can get updates on-demand when I feel I need them. Jeremy Davis & Amanda Delaney, meteorologists for WRI, came by Isbjorn during last week's Annapolis Boat Show to talk weather, namely, Hurricane Matthew, which we spent the majority of the episode discussing. — Hurricane Matthew is the subject of most of today's episode. It's with a heavy heart that I report that one of our best friends lost their boat in the storm literally only hours after we recorded this, on the Friday of Annapolis Boat Show. It's a long story, but they were forced to leave the boat, an Ericsson 35, in Daytona after having to replace their engine following a winter cruising in the Bahamas. It was a chain of events that started all the way back in April, culminating in the worst news you'd ever want to hear as a boat owner. They'd owned the boat for nearly 30 years. — I'm in Connecticut as I record this, at my producer Liz' apartment. Big thanks to Liz for setting up our first university lecture at her school at UConn Avery Point, definitely one of the more beautiful campus' I've visited. And thanks to all of you who came out to hear us talk ocean sailing! We had a blast! And if there's anyone out there listening who wants to set up a talk at their school, please reach out! Mia & I would love to come and chat and hang out on campus!

#164 is Kari Finstad, a 30-something Norwegian sailor and yoga instructor. Kari recently purchased and refit a 32-foot Wauquiez Centurion - one of my favorite boats, and comparable to the legendary Contessa 32 - and spends most of her time above the Arctic Circle. We talked about her yoga travels to India & the east, her winter on Bjornoya in the Arctic working at the meteorology station, refitting the Wauquiez, her cat companion, baking bread, making kombucha & much more. -- Want to go ocean sailing? Join Andy & Mia on their Swan 48 at 59-north.com/offshore.

#163 is Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, a sailing legend. In 1968 he became the first person to sail solo & nonstop around the world in the infamous Golden Globe Race, in a wooden ketch he built himself, and inspiring modern ocean racing as we know it. Sir Robin went on to compete in several Whitbread races, completed some little-known feats of traditional navigation, set the Jules Verne record with Peter Blake, created the Clipper Race and on and on. I sat down with him in England to reflect on his career. "I got a job in Durban, as captain of a ship, running up & down the east coast. And that's when Chichester went past on his voyage around the world and I began to think about it. I got home, and I saw him come in, saw him come up the Thames, and I thought, 'There's one thing left to do - go around without stopping.'" You're listening to On the Wind, my podcast about ocean sailing. I'm Andy Schell. -- Want to go ocean sailing? Join Andy & Mia on their Swan 48 Isbjorn at 59-north.com/offshore.

#162. Moxie Marlinspike is a legend in tech. As a programmer, he literally wrote the code that enables everyday encryption. He's friendly with Edward Snowden and was recently feature in WIRED magazine. Moxie, though, is a sailor at heart. I worked together with him at Broadreach way back in 2008. We caught up to talk about his unique sailing philosophy, his movie 'HOLD FAST' & his rise in the tech world. If you've followed the news even tangentially, you'll have heard about encryption. Remember Edward Snowden? His revelations about the FBI's mass collection of data from everyday Americans set off a wave of stories centered around personal privacy & national security. Today's guest is at the center of that debate - Moxie Marlinspike, almost single-handedly invented everyday encryption, and his code was recently implemented in WhatsApp and Facebook's new 'secret' Messenger service. If you're interested in this sort of thing at all, I highly recommend watching the documentary about Snowden called Citizen Four, and reading the recent WIRED Magazine profile on Moxie, which you can easily find on Google, or I'll link it in the show notes. -- This episode is sponsored by Forbes Horton Yachts. Visit his online inventory and get in touch to buy or sell your next boat at forbesyachts.com.

#161 is John & Amanda Neal for a third time, who have run adventure sailing expeditions on their Hallberg-Rassy 46 Mahina Tiare for over 20 years. They've sailed 220,000 miles on the boat, taking her quite literally to the ends of the earth. We chatted in-person at the Hallberg-Rassy boatyard in Sweden about their recent summer in the Arctic. In case you missed it, in last week's newsletter Mia and I officially published our 2018 offshore passage calendar. Isbjorn is headed north! That's right, we're Arctic bound in summer 2018, with passages to Scotland, Norway, Spitsbergen & Iceland. Visit 59-north.com/arctic for details & to register. As a nod to our podcast fans, we've not 'linked' this page online yet - so you guys get first dibs before the big launch at the boat show. You can come visit us on Dock H at the Annapolis Sailboat Show to tour Isbjorn and talk about ocean sailing.

#160. Brian Porter was on the build team for the record-breaking, 100-foot supermaxi 'Comanche,' and continues to work on owner's Jim & Kristy Clark's shore crew. He came on the podcast to talk about his boat-building beginnings, getting a dream job building Comanche, working alongside pro sailors Ken Red, Stan Honey & Jimmy Spithill, Comanche's recent trans-Atlantic record, the America's Cup and much more. Want to try your hand at ocean sailing? Sign on as crew on Andy & Mia's Swan 48 'Isbjorn' and learn what it takes to cross an ocean in safety, comfort and style. See the full passage calendar, including trans-Atlantic voyages, a North Sea crossing and a trip into the Baltic at 59-north.com/offshore.

#159. Pam Wall, the film version. When we changed the name of the show to ON THE WIND, I hinted about new projects in the works. Today I can finally announce one of them. The episode that follows is the audio version of this week's ON THE WIND, which in its original form is actually a film, directed by Thierry Humeau and shot in Pam Wall's backyard in Ft. Lauderdale back in April. This is the first of what will become a sort of special addition to the podcast when Thierry and I have time to film & produce it. The film version will release simultaneously with the podcast, so make sure to visit 59-north.com/onthewindtv to watch it, or subscribe to our new YouTube channel at youtube.com/59northsailing. There's also some special bonus footage, including a film tour with Pam and I or her iconic Freya 39 KANDARIK. Thanks to Pam for participating! And big thanks also to Liz Karamavros for helping to brainstorm the name; to Cameron Deyell, for composing and recording the music especially for the show; to Mia Karlsson; and to Thierry for coming up with the idea in the first place! I truly hope you enjoy it. Follow along with Pam Wall at pamwall.com.

#158 Isbjorn sailed to Cuba in April. Finally, my full-length essay on the experience in Havana. This one is for the dreamers, filled with descriptions of what it's like at marina Hemingway, chasing signs of Che, Fidel and the Cuban revolution, drinking daquaries at La Floridita, sipping Havana Club rum, smoking cigars, driving around in old cars and everything else that defines the Cuban experience. Don't miss the music too, recorded locally.

#157. is John Harries, the founder of morganscloud.com, AKA 'Attainable Adventure Cruising,' and in my opinion the foremost authority on safe and simple ocean sailing boats & equipment. He's an accomplished high latitudes sailor with over 150,000 miles under his keel. Mia and I met him for a round 2 on the podcast in Lunenburg, where he dinghied out to Isbjorn for an in-person chat. We discussed sailing in the Arctic, Isbjorn's original owner Warren Browne, who John sailed with, Skip Novak, batteries for offshore cruising boats, the Adventure 40 project, podcasting and media in general and much, much more. We're joined in this episode by some of Isbjorn's crew for the leg 9, south from Lunenburg to Annapolis. They chime in later in the chat with their own comments and questions, and are my good friend Tom Herrington, the guy with the Richmond accent; crew member Dan Levine; my producer, Liz Karamavros; and Mia. -- Thanks for listening to 'On the Wind,' the podcast about sailing. If you've enjoyed the show, do us a big favor and help spread the word. Review us on iTunes, or better yet, share the podcast with your friends who you think might dig it. We really appreciate it. On the Wind is produced by me and Liz Karamavros. Cameron Deyell composed and performs the new intro music for the show. Blaggards are behind the outro music. Steve Olson is the graphic designer for all of 59 North's projects, including the podcast artwork. Subscribe to 'On the Wind' on iTunes, Google Play, or wherever else you get your podcasts. If you haven't done so yet, please head over to iTunes and leave a review for the show, it really & truly helps. And finally, huge thanks to all of our awesome listeners! Keep sending in your feedback and suggestions to [email protected]. See you next week!

#156 is another World Cruising Club 'Ocean Sailing Forum,' this one recorded back in January at the Toronto International Boat Show. In the Forum, I moderated a panel of experienced ocean sailors including Les Suter, who you'll recall from episode 97, Toronto native Colin Kilgour, Sheryl Shard of the Distant Shores TV show, Caribbean 1500 and ARC Europe vets Joy & Ian Winterborn, and finally, drumroll please, Mia Karlsson! I give a thorough introduction to who all of the panelists are in the actual episode. Towards the last third, there is also a guest appearance by author & circumnavigator Liza Copeland! These panel discussions, which we try and do at all of the boat shows - the next one, by the way, is coming up in Annapolis this fall…go to 59-north.com/events to register - touch on all aspects of ocean voyaging, from boat selection and outfitting, to sailing routes, crew selection, weather routing & forecasting and much more. This is a long one, running at close to 2 hours, so get comfy and enjoy the chat! While I've posted two previous Forums on the podcast, they've all had different panelists, so you can always learn something new. Finally, big thanks to the Toronto Show staff, specifically Rich, the sound engineering, for facilitating me recording our seminars there! -- Join me and my friends at Chesapeake Sailmakers in Annapolis for a weekend of traditional navigation and good old storytelling. Go to 59-north.com/celestial for details and to signup! Course is limited to the first twelve people to register. Hope to see you there! -- This episode is sponsored by Marine Electric Systems in Annapolis, MD. Patrick Tewes and his crew are gurus in electrical systems and design, from the 'guts' of the system like batteries and alternators, to the electronic nav aids like radar and autopilots. Patrick's mentor, Bob Campbell, used to be affectionately known around town as the 'Yoda' of boat electrical systems. Which must make Patrick the 'Luke Skywalker' I suppose!? Patrick redid the entire electrical system on my dad's Sojourner prior to his first Caribbean trip in 2013, and recently installed a Watt & Sea Hydrogenerator aboard Isbjorn prior to our Canadian Maritimes passage. The unit, when sailing over 6 knots and with the larger, 280mm prop, puts out up to 40 amps of clean power, making us entirely sustainable offshore. It's my favorite new addition to the boat. Marine Electric Systems - specializing in custom electrical & electronic system design, installation, consulting, service, repair and education. Visit marineelectricsystems.net to contact Patrick and get started designing your dream system.

#155 is…me. Back in January, Teddy J of the Sail Loot podcast and I had a marathon recording session, banging out two-and-a-half hours of material while Mia and I were up there for the Toronto Boat Show. I had a bit of a cold, hence my voice sounding a bit off. The first hour-and-a-half was Teddy interviewing me for his show. Sail Loot focuses on folks in sailing who have figured out a way to make money by doing what they love (like in my case), or make some kind of passive income so they are free to actually go sailing. Teddy's working on that himself. Anyway, Teddy's half of the interview, where I turned the tables and interviewed him, appeared on my show earlier this year. Simultaneously, my portion released on his show on the same day. I know there will be some of you guys who tuned in to Sail Loot to hear me on Teddy's show, but for those of you who haven't what follows is a fresh look at my entire sailing history, going way back to when my parents had just gotten married and went on their first captained charter on their honeymoon from Florida to the Bahamas. I talk about how my dad's dad, 'Pappap' as I know him, started a restaurant in 1952 so he could own and train his own race horses, how that same restaurant is now run by my dad and my uncle (and which affords my dad the income and the flexibility that allows him to sail as much as he does), how I grew up on the Chesapeake with my parents, where I went to college and what for, my first job on the Woodwind and on and on. I don't think Teddy left too many stones unturned here, and there are a lot of little practical nuggets in here of just how I positioned my career to end up at the point we are at today. This stuff didn't just happen by accident (well, some of it maybe). Anyway, enjoy the conversation between me and Teddy, and let me know in an email what else you'd like to know about me! As per usual, thanks to all of you for listening, and for all the great support I got this week after my surgery! Enjoy episode 155 with yours truly. --- I just got in to Lunenburg earlier this afternoon. It's Saturday, July 9 as I record this intro. Isbjorn is due in sometime tonight, but they've been beating against a 20-25 knot northeasterly, so it's been challenging, and slow going. I, you might recall, am on day 4 of recovering from my appendectomy. Today is the best day yet, and I'm confident that I'll be ready to head back to sea in another two days and very much looking forward to Newfoundland. Don't forget, anybody with last minute vacation time, we've still got a couple spots left for Leg 9, the return from Lunenburg to Annapolis. If you even remotely have the inclination to do it, come! Lunenburg is such a cool town, as I was reminded yet again on my arrival today. If you can't make a sailing trip with us but still want to support the podcast and the business, head over to 59-north.com/shop and buy a bag of 'Oh-Dark-Thirty' coffee, an Isbjorn sailing t-shirt, or one of our new isbjorn sailing winter beanies, which are pretty sweet.

#154. About 48 hours has passed since my appendectomy. I'm sitting at my cousin Dan's kitchen table in North Andover, about 20 miles from Boston, writing this while I spend a few days here recovering. Isbjorn is back at sea, having departed Newport yesterday morning around 0800, about the same time I jumped in the car to drive the two hours north to here. I'm stiff. I'm sore. I haven't had a good poop since Sunday morning. I'm bored. I've watched more TV than I have in years. On the plus side, Wimbledon and the Tour de France is on in the mornings, and Germany is about to play France this afternoon in the Euro football championships to see who gets to play Portugal in the Finals. This whole thing feels surreal. The thing is, I never get sick. Ever. At least not the kind of sick that requires a visit to the doctor, let alone to the hospital. In an ambulance! The occasional cold, sure. The flu? I had it once in the past ten years. I was due for this, in a pessimistic way I guess. And almost fitting that it happened not only on the boat, but also while we were offshore at sea, and with paying crew to boot! And to me! Anyway. Here's what happened.

#153. John Franta of Colligo Marine has been on the podcast before of course, in episode 45, where we discuss his career and some of the technical aspects of Colligo 'Dux,' the synthetic, dyneema-based standing rigging that we put on Arcturus before crossing the Atlantic. John's back this week to discuss some more technical aspects of his job at Colligo. We start the discussion by focusing on one of John's most recent inventions, the so-called 'ELHF' furling system, and I use that as a sort of primer for discussing in general how he comes up with new ideas and what the design and production life cycle is like. John is as pure an engineer as there is, and LOVES the technical aspects of running a synthetic yacht rigging company, and it's a joy to hear him talk about his passions so, well, passionately! He gets to play with CAD and 3D printers all day long, so what's not to like (if you're an engineer!). John's also been a dear friend of mine since we first met in 2009, and you can kind of see that in the way we talk throughout the episode, it's definitely a lot less formal than some of my other interviews. I think you'll dig it. Crew arrives this afternoon for our next trip up to Lunenburg. By the time you hear this we'll be offshore, bound for Nova Scotia - check out our passage logs and follow the trip on 59-north.com/tracking. We've also got a few spots left for the return passage, August 6-14 from Halifax to Annapolis. It's not too late to join! Go to 59-north.com/offshore for details - I hope by the time we get to Lunenburg, one of you faithful listeners out there has decided to sign up an join us! Finally, we've got some new swag! In time for our passage to colder climes, we've ordered #isbjornsailing beanies. They come in any color, so long as it's black! Go to 59-north.com/shop to check them out and get yours now. $25, plus shipping. Okay, enough about us. Enjoy episode 153 with John Franta!

#152. Jeremy Davis from Weather Routing Inc. talks with Andy Schell about climate change, pilot charts, hurricane season, Bahamian 'doratios' (i.e. wicked and sustained thunderstorms), how to become a meteorologist, the difference between weather routing & weather forecasting & much much more in a very informative and technical episode 152 on weather.

#151. I feel like the business is 'on the brink' - either we finally get to enjoy all we've worked for over the past ten years, living out what I'd only dreamed about. Or, it doesn't work out, we don't sell enough bunks to make a living, and we do something else. A few things here or there could tip the scales either way. Here's how.

#150. is my good friend, sailmaker Chuck O'Malley. I've worked with Chuck and his business at Chesapeake Sailmakers since first moving to Annapolis after college in 2006, and he's been my sailmaker ever since. Back then, I was living on my dad's boat Sojourner, and Chuck repaired a spinnaker we had onboard. He'd eventually build all three new sails for Arcturus before our Atlantic crossing, build my dad a new mainsail before his first Caribbean 1500 on Sojourner, and is currently finishing up the two new genoas that will complement the new Hydranet mainsail on Isbjorn. In this episode, recorded at the WCC Ocean Sailing Seminar weekend in March, Chuck discusses the technical aspects of building and maintaining ocean-going cruising sails. It's the second or third time he's spoken at our events, and his talk is yearly surveyed as a favorite among seminar attendees. Chuck talks about design and construction characteristics; downwind sail choices; three-reef versus storm trysail setups; storm jibs; gennakers and Code 0 sails; and much more. Before we get to this week's show, a quick little update on Isbjorn. We've changed our schedule for the remainder of the summer, and will return to Annapolis from Newfoundland in August, instead of crossing the Atlantic as planned. Mia and I are realizing that delivering the passages to the high-level that we strive towards is a lot more stressful than we'd anticipated. Having to cross the Atlantic twice to get to the Caribbean in time for our 2017 program was just biting off more than we can chew. We're learning the hard way that with ocean sailing, stuff doesn't always go to plan, so we're changing the plan. You can read the full backstory about the changes, why they happened, how the new plans affect our crew, and what's in the future on our most recent newsletter at 59-north.com/news. With the changes, we've got some new opportunities to sail with us. July 25-August 4th we'll be sailing south from St. John's, Newfoundland to Chester, Nova Scotia, just outside Halifax. It'll be a combination of cruising and exploring ashore on the fjords of Newfoundland, with some offshore, overnight sailing down to Nova Scotia. It's new grounds for us, so will be a real adventure. Then, August 4-11, we'll depart the Halifax area bound 600 miles nonstop for Annapolis. We'll also be sailing south again with the Caribbean 1500 in November, and have added 2 Caribbean passages to the calendar in early 2017. Go to 59-north.com/offshore for the updated calendar and to register. Also due in part to our schedule changes, we've added a few events to the schedule. We get lots of emails from friends and fans in the places we'll be sailing - if you're in the Lunenburg or St. John's area this summer, give us a shout and we'd love to show you around Isbjorn between trips! If you can make it to Annapolis in the fall, we're hosting another Open House aboard the boat on the Friday of Boat Show, October 7. Finally, on the weekend of October 21-23, I'm hosting another Celestial Navigation workshop in Annapolis. It'll be $500 and limited to the first 12 people to register. Go to 59-north.com/seminars to sign up!

#149. Chris Museler and I talk sailing to Cuba. He describes the fear and excitement he experienced in Haiti, the 'two sides' of Jamaica, the emotional roller coaster on sailing between vastly different cultures in a relatively short period of time, what Cuba is really like, how he ran out of cash getting to Havana and much more. Throughout our conversation, I chime in a describe what our experience was like on the north shore of the island where we left Isbjorn in Marina Hemingway and stayed ashore in Havana for five days. Chris and I go back several years and it's always fun to catch up with each other and hear about our latest projects. Don't miss Chris' recent coverage of the America's Cup in New York City in last week's New York Times. You'll most likely know of course that Mia and I just visited Havana aboard Isbjorn last month, sailing over from Fajardo, Puerto Rico on what was truly the adventure of a lifetime, both for us and for our crew. Chris sailed to Cuba by another means back in January of 2015, aboard the wooden schooner Charlotte, a custom boat built by Gannon & Benjamin on Martha's Vineyard. On that voyage, they took a more circuitous route - Chris actually flew in to Haiti, where he met the boat (only after a frightening and exciting four-hour journey from Port au Prince to get there). They continued on to Port Antonio in Jamaica before making their Cuban landfall in Cienfuegos on Cuba's south coast. — As for Isbjorn, by the time you hear this we'll be back offshore, bringing the boat home to Annapolis from Ft. Lauderdale. If you got our recent newsletter you'll know we're all but sold out for 2016 - just one space remains on the Ireland-Portugal passage in September - but our 2017 calendar is open and we encourage you to join us on the high seas! If you DON'T get our newsletter, go to 59-north.com/news to register. We only send updates once in a while so won't flood your inbox. And finally, please head over to iTunes and review the podcast. It truly helps in getting the word out, and I just love doing this week to week. Thanks for all the support!

#148. Paul & Sheryl Shard talk to us live from Toronto about their start in sailing, how they got into movie-making, combining their passion for movies, travel and sailing, Paul's career as a boat-builder, Sheryl's theatre background and lots more! Audience Q&A included throughout. -- I wanted to post my episode about Cuba this week, but being at the rally has left me with little time to finish it up. It's a very cool story, but I think I can make it even cooler, so I'm putting it off a week. Instead, episode 148 is another interview with Paul & Sheryl Shard of the Distant Shores sailing tv show. I've been hanging on to this one for a while now - we recorded it live in Toronto back in January - and it's a really cool deep dive into their sailing history, the popularity of their show, some of their favorite stories from over the years and all their traveling and lots more. Paul & Sheryl are professional media people, so they do a really nice job of storytelling. We mixed in a few audience questions throughout as well. Mia and I have gotten to know the Shard's quite well over the past several years. They're some of our favorite people in sailing, and we love catching up with them at boat shows and on the water. In fact, while we were racing Isbjorn in the Caribbean 600, we saw them sailing north, and downwind, as we sailed south and around Montserrat, beating our brains out upwind in the race! As for Isbjorn, she remains on the canal next to Pam Wall's house in Ft. Lauderdale. Mia and I head back down on May 15th ahead of our next leg north to Annapolis. We have some very cool projects in the works with Pam that I'll just tease now, but which won't release for a while, so stay tuned for news on that. Our passages are sold out for the rest of 2016, but we've got a lot of cool stuff happening in 2017, including two Atlantic crossings and some sailing in the Azores and Scotland, so check out the calendar and register at 59-north.com/offshore to come sailing with us! And just today I got the maps for our 2018 passage routes to the Arctic and Iceland from our graphics guy Steve Olson, which is VERY exciting! I'll be opening those trips and publishing the full schedule soon, for what will truly be the adventure of a lifetime! Finally, if you enjoy the podcast, please do me a favor and review it on iTunes. I appreciate all the great feedback - if you've emailed me at some point and I haven't replied, send a gentle reminder and I promise I will! I genuinely try to get to all of them, and really enjoy hearing from our fans. Okay, with that, please enjoy my latest conversation, live from Toronto, with Paul & Sheryl Shard!

#147. is a fun one. Back in March, I had planned to do another podcast with Matt Rutherford to get an update on what he's doing with his Ocean Research Project. As it were, Paul Exner was also in town to speak at a seminar Mia and I hosted in Annapolis. AND, ship's pilot Mark Baummer was around, and had asked me for some advice to help him plan a passage to Bermuda on his Gemini catamaran. So, the inklings of an idea sprang to life - why not get the three of these guys together, all former podcasts guests, and have a little roundtable chat? So that's exactly what we did. Matt invited us over to the house he's taking care of in Eastport, and we sat around the coffee table in the living room. I got things going with Matt, and the hope was that everyone would kind of just jump in at points and start talking on their own. I was not let down. After a while, Matt, Paul & Mark just kinda started needing out on each other, and MAN was it fun to see! The longer the episode goes, the less you'll hear my voice, as I just sat back and smiled and watched! We covered an array of topics, from Matt's latest adventures, to Mark's new boat, thoughts on electronics and radar, why Mark as a ship captain thinks required AIS might actually be a bad thing on the Chesapeake and much much more! This is a long and meandering episode, but I think you'll agree it's definitely worth your time! — A quick update on Isbjorn before we get to the show. Thanks to our good friend Pam Wall, she's safely docked on a canal in Ft. Lauderdale until our trip north which starts May 18. The Cuba passage was a highlight of my sailing and traveling career - and I promise I'll have an entire episode dedicated to that very soon - and it was great fun to share it with our awesome crew. We have one spot left on the Annapolis-Lunenburg passage from July 1-8, so check out the details on that at 59-north.com/offshore. We also just opened another spot for the Caribbean 600 race next February, so if you want to 'level up' and do some serious ocean racing, check out 59-north.com/oceanracing for details on that. Alright, with that, enjoy an awesome roundtable chat with me, Matt Rutherford, Mark Baummer & Paul Exner! -- This episode is sponsored by Broadreach, my former employer and one of the coolest sailing jobs I've ever had. Aside from being an amazing place to send your kids for an adventurer summer (listen up parents!), they're on the lookout for skippers and mates to work the upcoming summer season out of St. Martin. Contract length varies from two to three months starting in early June through early to late August. Go to broadreachstaff.com to complete the initial job application! Broadreach - The World is Yours to Discover!

#145 is Tory Salvia, founder and executive producer of The Sailing Channel. Tory and I sat down in person in Annapolis a few weeks ago and had a fascinating conversation. We talked about Tory's sailing career in general and how he got started, his love of good old boats, how he's been influenced over the years, and more recently, his starting thesailingchannel.tv. Tory made his career in media production, making videos for the Navy for a long while as both producer and director on many of his projects. He has a love for film, which has shaped his career all along, but eventually he wanted to combine that with his love of sailing, and so The Sailing Channel was born. Today, thesailingchannel.tv is a mix of curation - Tory hosts many popular sailing movies from now and from the past - and original production. If you've seen 'Red Dot on the Ocean,' the Matt Rutherford story, that was one of Tory's prouder moments as producer, as he brought it to life. We delve into how he made the business happen, some of his favorite sailing films, some technical aspects of how filmmaking has changed in the digital age, and much more. I'm recording this intro a little bit ahead of schedule - we're currently anchored in Grand Case, on the French side of St. Martin. As I talk, Liz is sitting at the galley table making the show notes for this episode - one of the perks of doing that for us is she gets to hear the episodes before they release! As a reminder, you can find all the links and notes on these episodes on their blog page at 59northpodcast.com. Mia, meanwhile, just had the Sailrite sewing machine out to make some leather chafe guards for the anchor rode. The three of us are about to sail for Puerto Rico to meet the crew for the Havana passage. The big Cuba adventure is about to begin! But, of course, by the time this releases, we should already be back in Key West, or on our way. I hope it goes well! Thanks again to everyone who continues to email in. Keep them coming! And don't forget to check out the calendar for 2017 if you want to come sailing on Isbjorn - that's at 59-north.com/offshore. And finally, if you haven't tried it yet, I encourage you to buy a bag of freshly roasted 'Oh-Dark-Thirty' coffee! We just got a new batch in for the boat, and it's great!

#143 is Emma Louise Wyn Jones, a very charming and inspiring 22-year-old sailor and yachting photographer from the UK. I met Emma during the recent Caribbean 600 Race. If you happened to catch that video that the race media posted about Paul & I discussing the weather for the race, it was Emma who shot it. If you didn't see it yet, check out this episode's show notes page for the link. I was interested in talking to Emma about how she decided to go into yachting photography, her sailing history in general, and about what it's like starting from scratch and trying to move up in the sailing world. I get a lot of emails from college students and twenty-somethings looking for advice, so this episode is particularly interesting if you're one of those people wondering how to get your start. When we left Antigua in early March, Emma had gotten a crew job aboard 'The Blue Peter', the classic, 1930s-era 65-foot wooden sloop you might remember me mentioning in the Race Recap podcast that barged in on us at the start. I met the boat's owner, Mat, who bought me a beer at the bar and apologized for the foul language his crew shouted at us! Anyway, Emma's on that boat now, and will remain in the Caribbean for the rest of the winter season, doing her thing. In case you're wondering, Emma has no secret formula for success, just a willingness to work hard and sleep in strange places. What a cool story! Contact Emma...For more information, enquiries for commissons or photo requests, feel free to get in touch! Email: [email protected] Antigua Mobile: +1268 7855073 UK Mobile: +447551939849

#142. We've got two new sponsors for this show, but before we get to them, a quick note on Mia and I. We're back stateside for a week, driving to Annapolis on the day this releases. If you're in town, join us at Fawcett Boat Supplies on Thursday March 17th (St Patty's Day!) for a free seminar we're giving on fulfilling ocean sailing dreams. Fawcett's has been holding these winter seminar series' for a while now - in fact, Matt Rutherford's is tonight, March 15 - and they're a great way to pass the off season. Hope to see you on Thursday! This episode is sponsored by Mallard Marine Services & ATN Inc. Episode #141 is David Hayes & Isabelle Tremblay and their beautiful girls Rebecca & Demi. The 'Morning Haze' family, as we know they - by their boat name of course! - are veterans of the podcast, having been on the show, way back in episode #53. When we spoke then, their boat 'Morning Haze' was still on the other side of the Atlantic. Since then, they've sailed another several thousand miles together as a family, completing an Atlantic Circle and returning to their shoreside home in Quebec. We spoke in front of a live audience during the Toronto Boat Show in January, and delved a little bit into their family history, how and why they embarked on such an ambitious cruising project, what crossing an ocean (twice) in a Hunter is like, home-schooling, exploring Morocco and more. It was a lot of fun having Demi & Rebecca there this time too, to hear a bit of their perspective on what it's like cruising as kids. The family is shore-based again, enjoying hunting and camping in the wilderness at their cabin up north. Isabelle also recently joined the World Cruising Club team and will be working part-time from her home in Quebec helping out with admin and event management on the North American side. As usual, thanks for all the great support from my awesome fans! If you want to support the podcast, go to 59-north.com and buy some small-batch-roasted Oh Dark Thirty coffee, sign up for a passage with us, or just send a friendly email. Thanks for all of it.

#141. It's only been a week since our last episode, but when we went bi-weekly, I promised an interview every two weeks. Episode 140 is a live seminar I recorded from Toronto on Sailing the Baltic. Not an interview, of course, so sort of a bonus episode this week. I highly recommend going to 59-north.com/baltic to follow along with the slides from this talk. You'll also find a load of show notes and links that will be useful if you ever plan to sail in the Baltic yourself. In this episode, Mia and I discuss sailing in the Baltic from our own perspective. We spent three summers in the Baltic on Arcturus, mainly sailing the Swedish coast, but also covering the Baltic islands of Aland and Gotland. This talk is full of practical notes and inspirational stories from our experiences there. Before we get to it, a few notes from us. Many of you have requested lists of books I talk about, and I finally got around to building a books page on the website. Go to 59-north.com/books to see all my favorites, sorted by category - some technical, some inspirational, and some having nothing at all to do with sailing! There's also a form there if you have any you want to recommend yourself! Finally, we just sold the last crew space on the trans-Atlantic passage from Newfoundland to Ireland, which means we have just two spaces left to crew on Isbjorn for all of 2016. Those are both on our Ireland-Lisbon passage in mid-September. That'll be a challenging Bay of Biscay crossing late in the season, with some potential for heavy weather, but at least it'll get warmer as we sail south! For those of you from the US, it's easier and cheaper than you think to fly to and from Europe, so don't rule this one out because of the distance! Read details about the passage and signup on 59-north.com/offshore.

#139. if not THE BEST one yet, it's certainly the one I'm most proud of, for a number of reasons. It's the highly-produced, onboard audio, musically-enhanced storytelling podcast of Isbjorn's crew racing in the RORC Caribbean 600, only last week. Behind skipper Paul Exner, the crew of Dan, Charly, Vanessa, Keith, Ken & Michael and I charged around this most grueling of racecourses. We were in third place until I noticed a structural failure in the rudder bearings, forcing us to retire. This is the story, narrated by Andy and interspersed with live audio from onboard the boat during the race and music by Blaggards throughout. What do you think of this style of podcast? It's my first, and I hope you dig it! This episode is sponsored by Forbes Yachts. Visit forbesyachts.com to find your dream bluewater boat.

#138. I sat down with John & Amanda Neal of Mahina Expeditions, two of my favorite people in sailing and a huge inspiration both philosophically and practically in building my own offshore passage business with Isbjorn. This is the first of several podcasts I recorded in front of a live audience at the Toronto Boat Show in January, so you'll hear some questions pop in from the handful of people we had in attendance. John & Amanda have varying and extremely interesting backgrounds that led them to the place they are today in sailing. John grew up on the west coast and did a bunch of single-handed sailing on his 27' Albin Vega - the same kind of boat that Matt Rutherford completed his Around the America's voyage on, by the way - and began giving lectures on how to go ocean sailing. He also became a pilot, a hobby he continues today. Meanwhile Amanda, half a world away in New Zealand, grew up cruising with her family and eventually wound up crewing on the first-ever all-female team in the Whitbread Race aboard Maiden. Their paths crossed many years later and since then the couple have sailed hundreds of thousands of miles together in their Hallberg-Rassy's they call Mahina. Their voyages have taken them and over 1,000 crew members literally to the ends of the earth, from Arctic Norway to Antarctica and round the Horn over half a dozen times. They are consummate professionals and people to look up to if you're interested in going offshore. Their website, mahina.com, is a treasure trove of information on all things offshore from boat design to checklists and everything in between, so be sure to check it out. As for our offshore passages, Mia and I only have 3 spots left for all of 2016 on Isbjorn. Just today we added another Caribbean trip for March of 2017, a week-long, downwind passage from Grenada to St Croix and the BVI following our trans-Atlantic from the Canaries. This week we're gearing up for the Caribbean 600 Race, and we just completed the first two passages of 2016 with an awesome crew, despite some setbacks (check out the passages logs page on 59-north.com if you haven't heard about it). You can find all of our passage info and sign up on 59-north.com/offshore. Thanks again for listening and I greatly appreciate the support of both my podcast fans and the awesome crews that have come sailing with us so far! Huge thanks to Ryan, Todd, Dan, Cicci, Greg, Andy & Mike for making the first two passages of 2016 so memorable and fun. With that, enjoy episode 138 with John & Amanda Neal! This episode is sponsored by Forbes Horton Yachts. Visit forbesyachts.com.

#137. is a unique one. It's Part 2 of a very long conversation I had with Teddy J of the Sail Loot podcast. Teddy and I recorded over Skype when I was up in Toronto two weeks ago and wound up talking for over two and a half hours! This is unique in that It's a 'part 2.' Teddy and I are releasing these episodes simultaneously on each other's shows, so to catch Part 1 - in which I spend over 90 minutes talking about my own sailing history and a lot of the aspects of not only the Isbjorn business but also my entrepreneurial inspiration from my dad and my grandfather. So head on over to the Sail Loot podcast - just search Sail Loot in iTunes, or stream online at sailloot.com - and listen to Part 1. In Part 2 that follows here, I turned the tables on Teddy and spent the next hour talking to him about how he got inspired to go sailing after a trip in Dominica he did with some friends. Ever since then he's always wondered how people managed to pay for their dreams, and hence the Sail Loot podcast was born. Teddy has over 30 episodes now interviewing a lot of well-known sailors about just how they make their dreams financially viable. Teddy and I also spend some time discussing the technical aspects of podcasting, talking about the gear we use and our production process. This was one of the most fun two and half hours I've ever spent on the phone! Again, be sure to download the Sail Loot podcast to hear me and Teddy in Part 1, and catch Part 2 here! Enjoy!

#136. is Rick & Julie Palm, live from Cruiser's University in Annapolis way back in October. Rick & Julie Palm have been mentors of sorts for Mia and I. They had the role of event managers for World Cruising Club before we took over and have been active in the Caribbean 1500 basically since its inception under Steve Black, who was a dear friend of theirs. And they are consummate ocean sailors. If you want to follow the lead of a successful and humble ocean sailing couple, you can't beat these two. They started cruising on a Tayana 37 and then upgraded to a Tayana 52 and completed a circumnavigation. Recently, now in their 70s, they bought an Outremer 51 catamaran. Comparable to the Gunboats in flat out speed, their new boat, Archer, is capable of speeds over 20 knots and is a true performance catamaran. In this episode Rick, Julie and I talk to a Cruiser's University class about making the transition from monohull to catamaran, delving into Rick & Julie's cruising history and what it's like sailing over 20 knots in their new cat! If you're in the Caribbean or Maine, look for the Ferrari red cat called Archer and say hi.

#135. is a bonus episode with Jesse Osborn, last week's guest along with his wife Samantha. In this episode, Jesse reads a journal post he titled 'IF YOU DON'T WANT SOMETHING, YOU MAY SETTLE FOR ANYTHING. BUT ANYTHING, COULD BE NOTHING AT ALL.' Read Jesse & Samantha's blog at empiricusembarks.com.

#134. Happy New Year! Welcome to the first episode of 59º North in 2016! Episode 134 is Jesse & Samantha Osborn. You won't have heard of them, but they're some of the most interesting and accomplished cruising sailors I've ever come across. Matt Rutherford introduced me to them last fall and they ended up sleeping aboard Isbjorn during the week of the Annapolis Boat Show, bunk-mates with the legendary Don Street, who also took up residency aboard. Jesse & Samantha sail a one-off, steel-hulled gaffer called Empiricus and recently completed the Northwest Passage, and only just, narrowing avoiding getting frozen in for a long winter. Empiricus remains hauled out in Iceland, where they'll be continuing their adventures in the Arctic next summer. Amazingly, the couple had little prior sailing experience before their adventure in the Arctic. In the offseason, Jesse & Samantha live a sort of home-steading lifestyle in Alaska. Samantha is a veteran bush pilot, flying into and out of remote regions in Arctic Canada on float planes and ice planes, providing supplies to wilderness communities. Jesse is a former police officer and has since given that up in pursuit of his dream to live simply on the water and off. They started and run Seven Seas Sailing Logistics, a self-declared 'sailing concierge, with the goal of helping others achieve their bluewater dreams. Samantha & Jesse are also young, and I always get extra excited speaking to sailors in the up and coming generation, and these guys are super inspiring. A favorite quote I discovered on their boat's website, empiricusembarks.com states "IF YOU DON'T WANT SOMETHING, YOU MAY SETTLE FOR ANYTHING. BUT ANYTHING, COULD BE NOTHING AT ALL." It pretty well sums up their dreams and ambitions. Check out the podcast page on 59-north.com/sailingpodcast for some bonus content that goes alongside this episode, including links to Jesse & Samantha's adventures. This episode was recorded during a break I had at Cruiser's University in Annapolis last October, and about a third of the way in, Pam Wall pops into the conversation as a surprise special guest! Pam had asked to listen in on the conversation as we recorded. I think she meant to remain off-mic, but Jesse & Samantha's stories were so compelling that she couldn't resist asking them some questions of her own. It was truly inspiring watching Pam, a legend of her generation of cruisers, interact with us up-and-coming younger sailors and seeing her eyes light up at Jesse & Samantha's stories. It was a real honor having Pam sort of co-host this episode. --- Thanks to everyone who answered the call to donate after the bonus 'Money' episode, in particular longtime listener Pedro for his generous gift. If you'd like to help support the show and Isbjorn Sailing, visit 59-north.com/shop to buy some small-batch gourmet Oh Dark Thirty coffee, an Isbjorn Sailing t-shirt or simply donate to the podcast. Of course a nice email is always welcome, as are reviews on iTunes. Thanks to all of you for the continued support. Both Mia and I wish you all a happy and healthy 2016!

#133 is Pam Wall, circumnavigator and another of my sailing heroes. Pam is a staple in most of the sailing magazines and seminar circuits, and made a career in sailing working for and with West Marine after sailing round the world in her beloved Freya 39 Kandarik. I spoke to Pam during her lunch break one day at Cruiser's University in Annapolis this fall, where we were both on the speaking schedule. Pam's sailing career started in the 60s when on a whim she moved to Ft. Lauderdale to pursue a sport she knew little about. Inspired by Australian sailors who had worked their way all the way into the Great Lakes, where she grew up, Pam decided the life was for her. Pam describes what it was like back in the day in Ft. Lauderdale, a yachtie town if there ever was one, and how she met her husband, Andy, their plan to build a boat and sail away, how she became involved with West Marine, Andy's agonizing death not too long ago and how she's only now starting to recover again from a hellish few years. Pam, recently let go by West Marine, now works for Steve Dashew and was on her way to New Zealand after our chat to get acquainted with Steve's revolutionary long-distance motor yachts. Get in touch with Pam on her website at pamwall.com.

#BONUS Episode! Andy spends 25 minutes or so discussing the evolution of the isbjorn Sailing business, and in the bigger picture, the evolution of he and Mia's sailing 'career' in general over the past 8 years. This one is full of practical advice, so grab a pencil and take some notes! Or better yet, head over to 59-north.com/sailingpodcast and find this episode's show notes for the full transcript plus links. Enjoy!

#132 is Ken & Jen Kaye, the father-daughter duo who, alongside Jen's mom Ellen Kaye, run the Schooner Woodwind out of Annapolis, MD. This is a very special episode for me, as crewing on the Woodwind was my first stint as a paid sailor, and I worked a whole lot alongside Jen and Ken, who usually were out on the water skippering the boats. If you're a longtime listener to the show, you'll have heard the stories of how i grew up sailing on my mom and dad's boat on the Chesapeake. That's all well and good, but I truly learned how to sail when I started working on the Woodwind. Jen and her dad are racing sailors at heart, and the Woodwind, while appearing pretty traditional on deck, has a modern, sleek underbody, fin keel, and huge, skeg-mounted rudder. She's a hell of a boat to sail, and Jen & ken sail her fast!

#131 is Tucker Thompson, TV & Publich Host of the America's Cup, former America's Cup sailor himself and Annapolis, Maryland native. I met Tucker at the Annapolis Boat Show launch party in early October when we were introduced by a mutual friend. For the first time in Annapolis show history, the Auld Mug was on display, and was a highlight of the launch party, where guests were invited to pose for photos with it. Mia and I were the very last people that night to get a photo with the cup before the Secret Service agents in charge of guarding it (yes, you heard that right), packed it up for the evening in it's Loius Vitton trunk. I was politely reprimanded for leaning my elbow on the table the cup stood on during the photo.

#130. is John Kretschmer, one of my all-time heroes and a mentor of mine. John's motto is 'never lost, just hard to find,' and it's a pretty good summation of how it was tracking him down for the podcast. I finally got in touch with him over Skype, me in Annapolis and he at home in Ft Lauderdale getting ready for another passage on his boat Quetzal. John and I talked a bit about how he's inspired me to follow this career, how he got into it in the first place, about rounding Cape Horn in a 32' boat going to wrong way, his career as a delivery skipper, Hurricane Lenny and much, much more. Find John, online at least, at yayablues.com.

#129. is Mark Baummer, a Chesapeake Bay Pilot, one of the guys who will go out and take command of commercial ships when they enter the Bay from an ocean voyage. In this episode Mark and I talk about our trip together (Mia and I did a ride-along with Mark on a 750-foot coal ship), about how he got into the merchant marine in the first place, what it is a pilot actually does, how he became a pilot and much, much more. This is a fascinating look at a professional maritime career, and a real treat to have Mark on the show. Enjoy!

#128 was actually recorded at 59º North - which of course is the latitude of Stockholm, Swedden - in the offices of På Kryss, a popular Swedish sailing magazine, and my guest was Johan Bostrom. We talked about his sailing career, what the sailing culture is like in Sweden, how he single-handed his HR Monsoon 31 across the Atlantic from New York to Sweden and lots of other cross-cultural topics related to Sweden, the US and sailing.