Offshore Sailing and Cruising with Paul Trammell

Brett and Tess were in the Solomon Islands when I spoke to them. They sail a Corbin 39, surf, spearfish, explore, and interact with the local cultures. We talk all about the Solomon Islands, their boat, colliding with a floating tree and dealing with a damaged skeg and a pernicious leak, hauling out and and fixing the skeg, living on a boat vs living in a house, crocodiles, crocodile safety, ciguatera, dealing with passports and visas, Papua New Guinea, surfing, the people and the culture of the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, sharks, spearfishing, stern-tying to shore, anchoring in deep water, squalls at anchor, dragging, anchor alarms, watermakers, what we love about sailing, making friends, and much more.  Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page Support the podcast through Patreon List or shop for sailboats at https://sailboatsforsale.com/ Shop for tankless dive systems at https://www.diveblu3.com/

Jaz races in the Hanse 303 and RS Venture Connect SCS classes, and sails an Albin Vega 27, in which she recently became the first wheelchair user to sail solo and unassisted around Great Britain and Ireland, and doing so confronted and overcame great difficulties. She lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome,  which means her connective tissue does not function properly, and this also effects her internal organs, and her condition is terminal. Regardless, Jaz is now preparing to compete in the 2026 Worldstar, in which she will attempt to sail solo nonstop unassisted around the world. We talk about her introduction to sailing on a cold wet day in the Cornish Harbor, her obsession with the ocean, growing up with a difficult home situation, being homeless as a child and living on the street, then sleeping in the boats at the sailing club, dealing with fear, living on a shorter time line, finding a new family, comparing the Albin Vega to performance boats, heaving-to, sleeping while solo, hallucinations, breakages, preventers, Project Fear, how the circumnavigation of Britain and Ireland changed her, the extents of her mobility, foul-weather gear, beautiful moments, wildlife, running aground 50 nm from the finish and kedging off, the WorldStar 2026, and more. Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page Support the show through Patreon

Tapio Lehtinen sailed his boat Galiana, a 1972 Swan 55 yawl, in the 2023 Ocean Globe Race. He is now taking paying crew on ocean training passages and offshore races. If interested, send an email to paulwtrammell@hotmail.com and put "Sailing" in the subject line. In this episode, we talk about sailing in the Finnish Archipelago, Galiana and her latest refit, electric winches, autopilots, raising the main with electric winches, varnishing technique and products, sailing around Cape Horn in the 2023 OGR, sailing in heavy weather, how the crew changed during the circumnavigation in the OGR, Galiana's sailing schedule for the coming year, and more.  Links and photos are on the podcast shownotes page Support the show through Patreon

Adam Desrosiers lives in the Alaska panhandle and sails a Cape George 36.  We talk about sailing in the Alaska panhandle (the south), fjords and inlets, weather, currents, storms, dealing with the cold, katabatic winds, Patagonia, anchoring in Alaska, 25' tides, using two anchors, his boat, making the boat more cruiser-friendly, bears on the beach, black bears vs brown bears, bear safety, benefits of a full keel, bottom jobs on the grid, the Pelagic tiller pilot, magnetic disturbances, sailing with kids, hauling out, the love of sailing, and more. photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page Support the show through Patreon

Brian and Helen Russell sail an aluminum Dudley Dix 43 that Brian built. This past summer, they sailed the Viking Route from London to Halifax, Nova Scotia via the Scilly Isles, Scotland, The Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Labrador, and Newfoundland.  We talk about all the places they visited, the pasages in between, the wildlife, difficult situations, sea ice, icebergs, radar, broaching, autopilots, foulweather gear, weather forecasting, making friends while cruising, the benefits of a cockpit enclosure, and more. Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page Support the show through Patreon List your sailboat for sale at sailboatsforsale.com Shop tankless dive systems at diveblu3.com

Norbert Sedlecek Koch is the founder of Innovation Yachts. In July 2026, he will attempt to sail nonstop unassisted solo around the world passing through all the world's oceans, and becoming the first person to do so. He has already circumnavigated in a boat he built and in the Vendee Globe, and he has circumnavigated Antarctica. Innovation Yachts designs and builds custom yachts with attention to detail and sustainability in mind. They also make their own epoxy matrix using volcanic stone. His yacht is an Innovation Yachts Open 60, Ant Arctic Lab.  We talk about the Ant Arctic Lab Challenge, Innovation Yachts' bio based epoxy matrix, boats made at Innovation Yachts, how the boats are built, building a prototype, using balsa core and Airex, negative bows, what it's like to sail his open 60, sailing into older age, circumnavigating Antarctica in an aluminum boat, the benefit of a lifting keel while surfing downwind in heavy conditions, hand-steering vs using the autopilot in heavy conditions, ice and icebergs, staying warm while sailing in cold conditions, arriving in Martinique after the Transat without a rudder, whales, the Vendee Globe, fear, and more. Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page Support the show through Patreon SailboatsForSale.com Meridian Marine Electrical Dinghy Navigation Lights https://showmeyourdinghy.com/

Etienne Messikommer is an entrant in the 2026 Golden Globe Race. He also won the 2021 Globe 5.80 Transtat.  We talk about his first boat (which was steel), selecting his GGR boat (a Tradewinds 35), refitting and preparing the boat for the GGR, converting from wheel to tiller, reefing and furling, reinforcing the chainplates, antifouling, getting advice from previous GGR competitors, books, the rules of the GGR, the Globe 5.80 Transat, the importance of preparation, why he wasn't tempted to do the MGR, why he wants to do the GGR, fear, safety, training for the GGR, Etienne's dream boat, and more. Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page Support the show through Patreon Sell your boat or shop for a boat at sailboatsforsale.com

Mark Sinclair is following the Mini Globe Race in his Lello 34, Coconut (the boat he raced in the 2018 GGR). He was in Antigua last time we spoke (in February 2024) and he was in Darwin, Australia when we spoke this time. We talk about the Mini Globe Race, Darwin Australia, his sail from Antigua to Australia, sailing every other leg with his girlfriend, provisioning, transiting the Panama Canal, Ahe (in the Tuamotus), Tahiti, sailing through the South Pacific, Fiji, Thursday Island, sailing the Globe Mini 5.80 boats, modern navigation, avoiding jet skis and charter catamarans, using a lead line, sailing without a windlass, sailing around Cape Horn under bare poles and dragging a tire for a drogue and navigating with an echo sounder, the La Maire Strait, overfalls, the MGR contestants, sailing fast around the world vs stopping longer, convergence zones and heavy weather, how the MGR sailors have changed during the race, and more. Photos and links can be found on the shownotes page. Support the show through Patreon

Gunnar Christensen is an entrant in the 2026 Golden Globe Race. He owns a Hans Christen 34 and is also a professional sailor and skipper of racing sailboats. We talk about his Baltic 42, a Southerly 42, The Bahamas, the value of a swing-keel, RORC races Gunnar has been competing in, racing a Farr 60, how seamanship differs between racers and cruisers, how racing boats are less forgiving than cruising boats, surfing at 15 knots on a J109, the hard work of sailing a J109 downwind, asymmetrical spinnakers vs symmetrical spinnakers, the Fastnet Race, sailplan for sailing downwind in the Hans Christen 34, sailing wing-on-wing, looking and learning when new on a boat, converting racing boats to cruising boats, the Golden Globe Race and finding a title sponsor, rumors of LSO not being the start of the 2026 GGR, the mental challenges of long solo passages, hurricanes, sailing in Maritime Canada, sailing with balanced sails and wheel tied off, getting seasick, self-tacking staysails, reefing, meditation and how it can help an offshore sailor, and more. photos and links can be found on the shownotes page support the show through Patreon

Kevin Le Poidevin sails an Open 40, Roaring 40 and a Sigma 36 Rogue Wave. He sailed in the 2014 and 2018 Solo Trans Tasman Challenge New Plymouth to Southport, the 2021 and 2024 Sydney Hobart, the 2023 Global Solo Challenge, and the 2025 Melbourne to Osaka Race. He has also solo sailed around Australia and Malaysia, as well as from Osaka back to Australia. He supports the Brain Tumor Alliance Australia, Pankind, and Soldier On charities. We talk about getting into sailing, breaking the boom on the way to the Melbourne Osaka Race, his Open 40, bridge heights in The Netherlands and how not to hit them, sailing the Open 40 in 60 knots, sailing her upwind, preparing the boat for the Global Solo Challenge, sailing in the 2023 GSC, falling down the companionway, what is fun about sailing an Open 40, sleeping when sailing solo, a typical day in a long solo race, whales and orcas, a purple sunset, why racing boats are unforgiving, tacking an Open 40, converting a racing boat to a cruising boat, food and eating, safety, lifejackets, the 2027 Global Solo Challenge, Soldier On, Brain Tumor Australia Alliance, and more. Photos and links are at paultrammell.com/oscpodcastshownotes Support the show through Patreon