On the Wind Sailing

#279. Dee Caffari is perhaps the most accomplished sailor I've ever had on the show, and she's easily the most inspiring. Dee has sailed around the world a full 6 times, 3 of them solo and nonstop, and most recently as skipper of the Turn the Tide on Plastic Volvo campaign. There isn't much she hasn't done in racing, whether solo or crewed, as skipper or in another role, but I took away much deeper insights from our conversation on things like leadership, psychology and inspiration. Mia & I met Dee in England to hear her story. -- Celestial Nav workshop in Annapolis, Feb 1 & 2, 2020 at Eastport Yacht Club! Go to 59-north.com/celestial for details & to signup. -- Sail on ICEBEAR in the Caribbean in 2020! New passages added in the Leeward & Windward Islands. Go to 59-north.com/2020-caribe to sign on! -- ON THE WIND is presented by Weems & Plath, makers of fine nautical & weather instruments since 1928. Check out all their navigation tools, clocks, barometers and more at weems-plath.com. ON THE WIND is also supported by Offshore Passage Opportunities and BRNKL Systems Inc. Sign up for Hank Schmitt's OPO membership at sailopo.com, and check out BRNKL's boat-monitoring hardware at brnkl.io.

#278. Kass Schmitt is a solo sailor who has had a dream of completing the OSTAR Race, the original single-handed trans-Atlantic race, which back in the 1960's, began the solo racing scene we know today. Kass, unassuming and thoughtful, set out to make that dream a reality in 2017 on her cold-molded sloop ZEST, but was thwarted halfway across the Atlantic by an unusually strong early summer storm that swept through the fleet, forcing the abandonment of three boats and forcing her to retire. Kass & I sat down in London where she told me the tale.

#277. Sierra Groth & Billy Swezey are the inspiring couple behind Tula's Endless Summer. Their adventure started when Billy bought a dilapidated boat that had been abandoned in a New York boatyard and set about restoring her and meandering his way single-handed down the US East Coast. Billy met Sierra in Florida, and since then they, with their dog Jetty, have been inseparable, cruising the Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean in a variety of boats from the original TULA to a motor trawler named NEVERLAND, and now their ex-racing catamaran ADRENALINE. We spoke to Billy & Sierra onboard ICEBEAR at the recent Annapolis Sailboat Show. -- Sail on ICEBEAR in the Caribbean in 2020! THREE new passages added in the Leeward & Windward Islands. Go to 59-north.com/2020-caribe to sign on! -- ON THE WIND is presented by Weems & Plath, makers of fine nautical & weather instruments since 1928. Check out all their navigation tools, clocks, barometers and more at weems-plath.com. ON THE WIND is also supported by Offshore Passage Opportunities and BRNKL Systems Inc. Sign up for Hank Schmitt's OPO membership at sailopo.com, and check out BRNKL's boat-monitoring hardware at brnkl.io.

#276. Pip Hare is a lifelong professional sailor and a wonderfully inspiring person. Mia & I traveled to the south coast of England to meet Pip aboard her IMOCA 60 SUPER BIGOU, a 'recycled' Open 60 she is gearing up to campaign in the 2020 Vendee Globe Race. While we talked, her friends - including sailing speed record holder Paul Larsen - were on deck prepping the boat for upcoming Transat Jacque Vibre. Pip shared her life's sailing story, from growing up in small cruising boats to sailing a 'desk' with the RNLI, that ultimately led her back into a career on the ocean. -- Sail on ICEBEAR in the Caribbean in 2020! THREE new passages added in the Leeward & Windward Islands. Go to 59-north.com/2020-caribe to sign on! -- ON THE WIND is presented by Weems & Plath, makers of fine nautical & weather instruments since 1928. Check out all their navigation tools, clocks, barometers and more at weems-plath.com. ON THE WIND is also supported by Offshore Passage Opportunities and BRNKL Systems Inc. Sign up for Hank Schmitt's OPO membership at sailopo.com, and check out BRNKL's boat-monitoring hardware at brnkl.io.

#275. The legendary Lin Pardey is back on ON THE WIND! Way back in 2013 when I first started the show, Lin & Larry Pardey were episode #2. Six years and 273 episodes later, and Lin is back, live in person this time, to give us an update on her life and cruising plans. Sadly, Larry is no longer able to travel. Lin recently published the 3rd edition of her beloved 'Self Sufficient Sailor' book, and she explains today why that classic sailing tome got a modern update. -- Sail on ICEBEAR in the Caribbean in 2020! THREE new passages added in the Leeward & Windward Islands. Go to 59-north.com/2020-caribe to sign on! -- ON THE WIND is presented by Weems & Plath, makers of fine nautical & weather instruments since 1928. Check out all their navigation tools, clocks, barometers and more at weems-plath.com. ON THE WIND is also supported by Offshore Passage Opportunities and BRNKL Systems Inc. Sign up for Hank Schmitt's OPO membership at sailopo.com, and check out BRNKL's boat-monitoring hardware at brnkl.io.

#274. Max Campbell left England shortly after his 20th birthday in a rebuilt 22-foot wooden sloop, bound for adventure. He set out, as many Europeans do, travelling for his gap year with no real plans and not a lot of money. When he friend jumped ship in Lisbon to follow his girlfriend, Max set his sights on a solo trans-Atlantic passage, aiming west for Grenada. When his diesel stove exploded, literally setting Max on fire, his passage changed dramatically, as did his outlook on the future. Max told us his story in London last week. -- Sail on ICEBEAR in the Caribbean in 2020! THREE new passages added in the Leeward & Windward Islands. Go to 59-north.com/2020-caribe to sign on! -- ON THE WIND is presented by Weems & Plath, makers of fine nautical & weather instruments since 1928. Check out all their navigation tools, clocks, barometers and more at weems-plath.com. ON THE WIND is also supported by Offshore Passage Opportunities and BRNKL Systems Inc. Sign up for Hank Schmitt's OPO membership at sailopo.com, and check out BRNKL's boat-monitoring hardware at brnkl.io.

#273. Lars Ström is known as 'The Professor' of Nautor's Swan. Now 80 years old and retired, Lars worked at the famed Nautor boatyard in Finland for nearly his entire career, and indeed during the period in the 1970s when ISBJORN, our S&S Swan 48, was built, AND also in the 1990s when ICEBEAR, oru Frers Swan 59 was built. Over the years since we first bought ISBJORN Lars has been a wonderful help to us in learning the boat, as he is to almost any Swan owner who reaches out to him. Mia & I talked to him in Finland about his long and satisfying career.

Episode one of the new season of Sailing Stories, featuring the story of 59 North and SV Delos and their adventures aboard ISJORN in the High Arctic. Buy the second edition of the book at 59-north.com/80north.

Special teaser for the new season of Sailing Stories: 80º North, featuring Andy, Mia, Ship's Photographer James Austrums and the crew of SV Delos! Subscribe to Sailing Stories and stay tuned for Season 3, dropping September 26, 2019! Buy the softcover, 2nd edition copy of 80º North at 59-north.com/80north Join Andy, Mia, SV Delos' Brian & friends in Annapolis for a special two-hour HOW WE THINK ABOUT SAILING panel! Tickets still available at 59-north.com/boatshow

BONUS. Andy & his childhood friend Dane Miller sit down for a special episode of Dane’s ‘The Root’ podcast to talk about some of Andy’s religious experiences offshore. Subscribe to Dane's podcast 'The Root,' wherever you get your podcasts. View the video version on the Earth Fed Muscle YouTube page. Check out Garage Strength and Earth Fed Muscle, and stay tuned to find out how Dane, with Andy & Mia's feedback, is developing a fitness program for staying in shape on the boat.