On the Wind Sailing

#186: Today’s episode is a recording I made of my seminar on Heavy Weather Sailing I gave at last weekends Ocean Sailing Seminar, hosted by World Cruising Club in Annapolis. While I’m lucky not to have too many gnarly heavy-weather sea stories of my own, I’ve studied the subject for years and enjoying talking about it theoretically. What follows is a discussion on what I feel are the ‘best practices’ for handling heavy weather, of course brought to life by a few of my own sea stories. Follow along with slides from the presentation at 59-north.com/heavyweather.  -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Go to weems-plath.com to see their catalog of nautical instruments & tools.

#185. Retired Senator Tom Harkin & I recorded this ‘recycled’ episode at his house in Hope Town, in the Bahamas, almost two years ago now. Tom was a career senator, but this episode is nothing about politics. Rather, it’s about Tom’s incredible, unbelievable life story. He was a fighter pilot during Vietnam and became one of the few people ever to eject from a jet and survive to tell the tale. He also tells his insane story about building a wooden trimaran in Japan and having it’s Westerbeke engine shipped over on an aircraft carrier. Sailing has been the ‘red thread’ that has tied together Tom’s life story. This is my all-time favorite interview, so even if you’ve heard it before, it’s worth another listen. --  

#184: Olly Cotterell is one of the youngest Clipper Race skippers ever, sailing to a podium position in the 2013-2014 edition of the RTW race onboard OneDLL. He currently skipper’s the prototype, foiling racing yacht ‘Maverick,’ which recently won her class in the RORC Trans-Atlantic Race. Olly & I have a connection in that we’ve both worked for Broadreach. We met up to record this episode in person in Antigua, ahead of the Caribbean 600. Olly has an amazing story that includes growing up on a sailboat in Bermuda, working up the ranks as an RYA instructor, surfing at 35 knots in the Southern Ocean in the Clipper Race and much more. -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Join Andy & Mia on an offshore passage aboard Isbjorn, their classic S&S Swan 48 at 59-north.com/offshore.

#183. Chris Museler, NY Times journalist & sailor extraordinaire, has been a longtime friend of the podcast since the early days, and he’s back yet again for another catch-up. Chris has a remarkable journalism career and is one of the few people who get to write about sailing for the NY Times. He crossed the Atlantic onboard Hugo Boss as an onboard journalist with recent podcast guest Ryan Breymaier, sails in most of the major ocean races, and cruises his own cold-molded schooner Magic out of New England. Chris & I chatted in January about his new boat, composting toilets, the Cruising Club of America, inspiring young people to go sailing, and more. -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Join Andy & Mia on an offshore passage aboard Isbjorn, their classic S&S Swan 48 at 59-north.com/offshore.

#182. Alan Block, aka Mr. Clean, is one of the driving forces behind the hugely popular - and sometimes controversial - Sailing Anarchy website. He’s a staple on the racing scene, traveling far and wide to cover events from the Volvo to the Vendee and lots in between. Alan’s story is a fascinating and circuitous one, and during our 90-minute conversation, we covered the whole thing, from his early days as a lawyer, to his dreams to set off sailing, and ultimately to his serendipitous opportunity to work with Sailing Anarchy. Alan is also the founder and host of the Sailing Anarchy podcast, free on iTunes. -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Join Andy & Mia on an offshore passage aboard Isbjorn, their classic S&S Swan 48 at 59-north.com/offshore.

#181: Yves Gelinas is a French-Canadian single-handed sailor and inventor of the Cape Horn wind vane, the simplest, most robust, and most elegant solution for self-steering on an offshore cruising boat. Yves invented and perfected the gear while circumnavigating nonstop via the Great Capes in his beloved Alberg 30 Jean du Sud in the 80s. During that voyage, he filmed Around the World with Jean du Sud, which quickly came to be considered the greatest sailing movie ever made. Yves still builds the Cape Horn units himself from his workshop in Quebec & still sails Jean du Sud, most recently voyaging to Martinique in 2015. -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Join Andy & Mia on an offshore passage aboard Isbjorn, their classic S&S Swan 48 at 59-north.com/offshore.

#180. Today’s episode is slightly different. Magnus Ormestad is the host of my favorite Swedish podcast, called ‘Husky,’ where he interviews folks into outdoor sports & adventure. Magnus & I met a few years ago over coffee in a bike shop in Stockholm and became quick friends. We recorded in Sweden in January - it was a back-and-forth talk between two people used to ‘hosting’, with him interviewing me a bit and vice versa. But this episode is really more about what ties together outdoor adventure pursuits - how people find the passion and motivation to pursue their dreams, in any environment. Be sure to check out Husky’s English-language episodes on iTunes. -- On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Join Andy & Mia on an offshore passage aboard Isbjorn, their classic S&S Swan 48 at 59-north.com/offshore.

#179. Martin Hasselov is a sailor and PHD scientist based on the beautiful West Coast - which the locals call the ‘best coast’ - of Sweden. Martin has a lifelong love for the sea which started as a small boy fishing in his families rowboats. After college he built a steel ketch from a bare hull to explore further afield. Now armed with a PHD in marine science, Martin recently bought an ex-BT Challenge yacht - a steel 67-footer designed for a southern ocean circumnavigation the ‘wrong way round’ - and uses it as an educational platform for promoting marine science locally, and exploring the world’s oceans further afield. On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Come ocean sailing with Andy & Mia on the Swan 48 Isbjorn - visit 59-north.com/offshore for the latest offshore routes & dates.

#178: Rick Tomlinson is one of yachting’s most accomplished photographers. What I didn’t know before we met, was how accomplished he is as a sailor. Rick was a crew member on four consecutive Whitbread Races, and literally invented the modern concept of onboard reporter. Back in his day, Rick was an integral member of the sailing crew - he took photos onboard as a hobby, on his off-watches, and even developed film in the galley sink offshore! Mia and I traveled to Rick’s beautiful studio in Cowes on the Isle of Wight last September to chat about his career. On the Wind is presented by Weems & Plath. Come ocean sailing with Andy & Mia on their S&S Swan 48 Isbjorn. Visit 59-north.com/offshore to see the full passage calendar.

#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