Offshore Sailing and Cruising with Paul Trammell

Margie Woods sailed her Catalina 34, Haunani, in the 2016 Singlehanded Transpac, from San Francisco to Hawaii, and she did it with minimal offshore sailing experience. We discuss preparing herself and her boat for the race, the good days and the hard days, the worst weather and the best weather, dealing with difficulties, being present and sailing in the moment, the mental challenges of singlehanding, tethering and safety gear, getting back onboard from the water, women in sailing, sailing education, the importance of reading, the Hydrovane, and much more.

Expedition Glacialis is a team of scientists aboard a 43' custom steel Koopmans sailboat. Virginie Wyss, Matthew Ryle, Arnaud Conne, and Richard Mardens are collecting data on wildlife, plastics, and the chemistry of the ocean. Their project has taken them to Greenland, where they were when we spoke. We talk about the magic of Greenland, the difficulties and rewards of sailing in the arctic, their boat Atlas, dressing for the cold, heaters, safety gear, heavy weather strategies, wildlife, the marriage of art and science, preparing for the journey, sailing with a purpose, citizen science, micro and macro plastics, listening to whales, and the crew's favorite species.

Katie is currently trying, at 14 years old, to become the youngest person to sail singlehanded around Great Britain. She is doing so on a beautiful wooden 26' Morgan Giles built in 1950. We talk about her inspirations, her preparations, her boat, the route, the journey so far, and much more.

Pete recently bought a Formosa 51 in Grenada, worked on her enough to make the passage home, and took off for Ireland. Along the way, he had a few mechanical difficulties, including loosing use of his engine, but made the trip regardless. Upon arrival, he accepted a tow into the harbor at Kinsale, which prompted two newspaper articles about his being "rescued at sea," an over-dramification to say the least.

Avoiding the lockdown by sailing north around Scotland to the Azores on a Rival 32, the 1988 OSTAR, capsizing a catamaran in the North Sea, the rescue, cruising around Scotland, provisioning, avoiding old age, and more.

Losing a mast in the Sydney Hobart; setting up his boat, a Thomas Gilmer Aries 32, for the Golden Globe Race; safety protocols; the selection and refit of Harmony; bottom paint; training for the big race; and much more

Kirsten is an extremely accomplished blue-water sailor, with extensive experience in the high latitudes. She is an entrant in the 2022 Golden Globe Race, and a skipper of Skip Novak's expedition sailboat Pelagic. We discuss her sailing history, working for Skip Novak, South Georgia Island, anchoring, heavy weather, heaving-to, dressing for the Southern Ocean, the Golden Globe Race, safety, her Cape George 36 Minnehaha, catching rainwater, dual mainsheets vs a traveler, and singlehand sailing.

Surfing and spearfishing in The Bahamas, sharks, deciding as a couple to sail to Panama from The Bahamas, preparing for the crossing and dealing with anxiety, selecting a weather window, clearing out at Matthew Town, the Windward Passage, crossing the Caribbean, almost getting run over by a Navy ship, trouble clearing in at Bimini, the beginning of Covid in The Bahamas, clearing in at Shelter Bay, surf spots in Bocas del Toro, trees in the water, Escudo de Veraguas

This is the second half of my interview with Joe Richardson onboard his Jason Kerr 63. We talk about his sailing and racing history, sailing in the Mediterranean, safety precautions for singlehanders, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, liferafts, AIS, radar, sleeping while singlehanding, sharks, setting up a high-performance sailboat for singlehanding, climbing the mast alone, reefing, self-tacking jibs, spinnakers, and the banana boat.

Joe's boat, Dark Horse of England, is a Jason Kerr designed 63' ocean racer with a luxury cruising interior. In addition to talking about his magnificent boat, we discuss sailing from Barcelona to the Caribbean, breaking the carbon fiber boom and rebuilding the engine due to saltwater intrusion along the way, various destinations in the Caribbean, his Williams jet tender, the hydrogenerator, seeking safe harbor in St Kitts during a storm, and clearing in at Bocas del Toro.