On the Wind Sailing

#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, to his working at a Ft. Lauderdale boatyard, building and marketing his own sailboat, the ‘Salt 19,’ his first ocean passage in a 50-knot gale off Cape Hatteras and tons more! -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. View their collection of fine nautical & weather instruments at weems-plath.com.

#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 & I spoke at length about his career and his & our future Arctic plans. Contact Jon at explorenorth.no -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Visit weems-plath.com to see their line of fine nautical and weather instruments. Since 1928. -- Come ocean sailing on Andy & Mia's Swan 48 Isbjorn at 59-north.com/offshore.

#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 talk about his background, growing up in New Zealand, his move to Sweden and his ocean’s project, which is part art, part science and part science fiction. You can see his work at radicaloceanfutures.earth. -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Visit weems-plath.com to see their full catalog of fine nautical and weather instruments & tools. Go ocean sailing on the Swan 48 Isbjorn. Sign-on to crew at 59-north.com/offshore.

#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 years back about his exploits, why he pursues them, how he handles fear, what motivates him towards his sailing goals and more. -- On the Wind is sponsored by Weems & Plath. -- Come ocean sailing on Andy & Mia's Swan 48 Isbjorn at 59-north.com/offshore.

#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, she’s an accomplished sailor, having worked as a skipper with Rubicon 3 in the Arctic and has sailed thousands of offshore miles. Follow Susie’s adventures at susiegoodall.com. -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Visit their catalog of traditional nav tools and weather instruments at weems-plath.com. -- Come ocean sailing on a Swan 48 with Andy & Mia. View routes & dates on 59-north.com/offshore.

#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 31, and has even bigger cruising plans. Follow him on Instagram @appelstoffe. Ask us Anything! Send questions to mia@59-north.com, or leave us a voicemail on 443-440-5411 and we'll play it on the show! -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Go online for their full catalog of nautical & weather instruments at weems-plath.com. -- Come offshore sailing with Andy & Mia on Isbjorn at 59-north.com/offshore.

#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 Haze’. To follow along with the slides, go to the show notes page at 59-north.com/podcast. Ask us Anything! If you’ve been curious about something I haven’t covered on the show, or just want to know what our favorite food is, send your questions to mia@59-north.com. If you want to get on the show itself, leave us a voicemail on 443-440-5411 - we’ll play the recording back, and answer your question! -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath, makers of fine nautical & weather instruments. Browse and buy online at weems-plath.com. -- Come offshore sailing with Andy & Mia aboard Isbjorn, a classic S&S Swan 48. For routes, dates & what to expect, visit 59-north.com/offshore.

#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 North Atlantic. For those of you new to ocean sailing, Clint has some words of wisdom. -- On the Wind is sponsored by Weems & Plath. Shop navigation & weather instruments at weems-plath.com. -- Crew offshore on Isbjorn, our Swan 48. Routes & dates at 59-north.com/offshore.

#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 & I spoke to them in their shoreside home in Marstrand in January about their adventures sailing around the world and the struggles they had on returning home. Follow their continuing adventures on symary.com. -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Shop online at weems-plath.com. -- Come ocean sailing on Isbjorn, our Swan 48, at 59-north.com.

#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 Arctic storm and subsequently being rescued by the Danish Navy. Matt is one of the best storytellers we’ve had on the show, so I just let him go to town again in this one, and he doesn’t disappoint. Follow Matt’s ongoing adventures at oceanresearchproject.org. -- On the Wind is sponsored by Weems & Plath. Visit weems-plath.com to see their full catalog of fine nautical & weather instruments. Since 1928. Come offshore sailing on Isbjorn with Andy & Mia! Visit 59-north.com/offshore to see the latest passages routes and availability.