On the Wind Sailing

#75. This is Part 4 of Andy & Mia's last big offshore passage on Arcturus from 2012, when they sailed direct to Sweden from Scotland. If you missed Parts 1, 2 & 3 they were the last two Friday episodes, so you'll want to hear these in order. Thanks to the Blaggards for the music! Check them out at blaggards.com. Want to come ocean sailing with Andy? New passages for 2015 announced on a Shnnon 43 ketch, a Swan 57 and a trip to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on Sojourner! Visit 59-north.com/events for details and to register.

#74. Frank & Patty Fabian are the philosophical opposites of last week's guests, Ted & Claudia Reshetiloff. But their story is no less inspiring. Where Ted & Claudia packed up their working lives, yanked their young kids out of school and set off for new lives in the Caribbean, Frank & Patty took a more deliberate route. Learning the ropes for 17 years on their Catalina 30, they taught themselves ocean sailing, worked hard and saved harder, and finally bought a Leopard 48 catamaran - for cash - to set off with the Caribbean 1500 rally and realize a nearly lifelong dream. Newly retired, the Fabian's told me their story from the luxurious cabin of Sunsplash. And you can sail with them! Visit sailsunsplash.com to book a crewed charter with Frank & Patty in the Virgin Islands (I didn't even know they were running a business on the boat until halfway through this conversation!). As an aside, they offer some very simple yet GREAT financial advice within for those looking to follow in their footsteps, young or old. Want to go ocean sailing with Andy? Sign up for an offshore passage at 59-north.com/events.

#73. This is Part 3 of Andy & Mia's last big offshore passage on Arcturus from 2012, when they sailed direct to Sweden from Scotland. If you missed Parts 1 & 2, it was last the last two Friday episodes, so you'll want to hear these in order. Thanks to the Blaggards for the music! Check them out at blaggards.com. Want to come ocean sailing with Andy? New passages for 2015 announced on a Shnnon 43 ketch, a Swan 57 and a trip to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on Sojourner! Visit 59-north.com/events for details and to register.

#72. Welcome to the best episode yet...no joke. If you ever dreamed of leaving the corporate life and sailing off, on a tight bugdet and with a young family, listen to this episode. These are my friends Ted & Claudia Reshetiloff and their two kids, Max and Anya, 11 and 9. Mia and I joined them on ther boat, Demeter, a Wauquiez Amphitrite ketch in Nanny Cay Marina in Tortola to hear the story of how they left it all behind and headed out for adventure on the high seas and an entirely new lifestyle. They left Annapolis in 2012 and haven't looked back since. Anya's now in local school in Tortola, Ted works managing an outboard retail shop and they go sailing every weekend, taking longer stints off to head down island to Dominica and beyond. The voices you hear in the background are Mia (she makes her first podcast appearance!) and Paul Exner, who's been on the show twice and also happens to live in Tortola. What a cool evening on Demeter. This is what long-term cruising is all about.

#71. This is Part 2 of Andy & Mia's last big offshore passage on Arcturus from 2012, when they sailed direct to Sweden from Scotland. If you missed Part 1, it was last Friday's episode, so you'll want to hear these in order.

#70. Bill Cullen, accomplished offshore sailor and crewmember aboard Serenity in this year's Caribbean 1500, guest-hosts the podcast to discuss his favorite gadgets for offshore sailing and down-island cruising. These are far from your 'mission critical' items that Andy is constantly harping on, but they're fun, clever ideas for making the best of your time at sea. Bill has sailed in most parts of the world, and has a website called thebookofsail.com, where you can find examples to most of the gadgets he talks about today. This episode was recorded LIVE at the Caribbean 1500 seminar program in Portsmouth, VA. Check out Bill at thebookofsail.com/

#69. Andy reads from a handwritten log entry during Arcturus' North Sea crossing from 2012. This is the first of a four-part series on the voyage from Scotland to Sweden, the last major offshore passage that Andy and Mia have done on Arcturus since crossing the Atlantic in 2011. Since then, the boat's been in the sheltered waters of the Baltic archipelagos. Stay tuned over the next three weeks for parts 2, 3 and 4.

#68. Andy chatted with Erik for a third time about a month ago now, just after Erik had returned from 4 months in the Arctic on Bagheera. They discussed why he's drawn to sailing in the ice, how he made it all the way to 78º north, how he rebuilt his engine in Nuuk, Greenland, and his design ideas on the Adventure 40 he's working on with John Harries. Follow Erik on bagheera-sailing.com.

#67. Andy gives a seminar on Tuesday at the Caribbean 1500 on mentally preparing to go offshore. This is similar to the one that was up previously, but is specific to the Caribbean 1500 and more generally the route from the Chesapeake to the Caribbean, regardless of whether or not you're with a rally. This was recorded at Roger Brown's on High St. in Portsmouth during the pre-departure program in front of a live audience. Follow the 1500 on carib1500.com.

#66. Andy sat in on the Ocean Research Project's two-year anniversary party and 'friendraiser' at Heavy Seas Brewery in Baltimore. He got to sit next to Senator Tom Harkin and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley during the ORP's presentation! Matt, Jamin and NIcole talked about the ORP's last two years and what happening next summer in Greenland. Jamin's part of the presentation was exceptionally interesting - they'll be using drones to study the glaciers in Arctic Greenland, and Matt is understandably excited to be heading back to the ice! Thanks to Zack for getting the audio.