On the Wind Sailing

#31. This is another lecture from Cruiser's University that Andy gave in April in Annapolis. Sorry for the not-perfect quality (he recorded it on his phone), but hopefully the content makes up for it! Andy discusses six common problems you might encounter offshore, and how to deal with them. Indeed, whether some of them are even worth losing sleep over! Of the six, only two are what Andy calls 'deal-breakers' - meaning they can ruin, sometimes dangerously, an otherwise pleasant experience ocean sailing. If you missed it, check out Episode 29 about 'Mentally Preparing to go Offshore,' the other lecture from Cruiser's U. Enjoy!

#30. Andy and Chris met at the 2011 Caribbean 1500 when Chris was covering the rally. They caught up this morning on Skype and had a PHENOMENAL chat about Chris' experience onboard Hugo Boss in the recent New York - Barcelona IMOCA 60 race. It's the first time in history an outside journalist has been allowed onboard a shorthanded (double- or single-handed) to report objectively on what the crews go through in such a lengthy endurance test. Hugo Boss' normal skipper Alex Thomson is of course famous for his mast walk and keel walk escapades in his Hugo Boss clothing. Thomson couldn't make the race, so American Ryan Breymaier stood in...the won the race! Chris discusses life onboard, if it's possible to accurately document a double-handed race with a third person onboard (and Chris offers an awesome Heisenberg uncertainly analogy), what it feels like to sail a cutting edge rocketship like an IMOCA 60, and more! Towards the end Andy and Chris delve into fears offshore and some more philosophical ideas about sailing. Check the 59 North Facebook page for links to some of the stuff we talk about in the podcast. If you like it, please review it! Any comments or questions, interview ideas, etc, please email andy [at] 59-north [dot] com. Thanks for listening! We've got a new intro song from the Blaggards, and a new, simplified podcast logo! Like it? Hate it? Let me know! Any comments or questions, interview ideas, etc, please email andy [at] 59-north [dot] com. Thanks for listening!

#29. Welcome back! This week is a seminar Andy recorded at the Cruiser's University in Annapolis during the Spring Sailboat Show. People talk endlessly about preparing their boats to go offshore, but what about their brains? Andy spends over an hour going through the stages of a voyage, from preparation through to landfall, and discusses the common anxieties, what to expect, and how to keep it all in perspective. Enjoy!

#28. Erik de Jong was one of Andy's favorite guests on the podcast, and spoke at length on Episode 15. This one is a bit shorter. Andy & Erik talked via Skype last Saturday, the day before Erik was set to depart Halifax bound for Greenland in his custom steel 50-footer Bagheera, which Erik designed and built himself (he's a professional ship designer, so he can do that sort of thing!). Andy & Erik discuss how the very cool story of Erik delivering some sculptures to an art Student in Nuuk, Greenland came about after the last podcast episode was released. So as I type, Erik is en route to Nuuk, with a cargo of artwork, on a very cool mission! He'll continue sailing north this summer on his Arctic expeditions (still some crew spots left!). Check out bagheera-sailing.com to follow his progress and book a bunk! Thanks again to Erik for joining the show.

#27. Ben & Teresa Carey Return! Andy spoke with Ben & Teresa from his couch in Lancaster PA. No, they were not on the couch - they were in Maine! In a sweet little cafe while their new boat was anchored offshore1 And that's much of what this episode is about - their new-to-them Norseman 447, how they decided on buying it, what it was like getting down to Panama (the country!) to bring her home, and the adventures they had along the way. Of course Andy, Ben & Teresa take a few detours along the way, talking about sailing philosophy, shipwrecks at sea, this that and the other thing, but that's what old sailing friends do when they haven't caught up in a while. Check out Ben & Teresa's new adventures - and sign up for their sail-training courses this summer! - on morsealpha.com, or on their new oceancourier.org conservation-media site. Thanks guys!

#26. You might not recognize their names, but Jean-Charles & Antoine have been at the top of the multihull game for some time, and I had the chance to chat with them in Bermuda during the ARC Europe stopover. Both guys are French through and through (and I love their accents), and the French are nuts about multihulls. They were commercial mariners and fisherman, respectively, but got invited to join the crew of Geronimo, a 110-foot trimaran that was purpose built to break all the speed-sailing records in the early 2000's. They were both onboard for much of the campaign, including the Jules Verne Trophy (63 days nonstop around the world), the trans-Pacific California to Japan record, the round Australia record and on and on. We spoke aboard the one-off VPLP-designed cat Tosca that had just sailed the 650 miles from Portsmouth, VA to Bermuda in 3 days (!), with a top speed of 18 knots. And this is a cruising boat...Jean-Charles & Antoine couldn't have been nicer hosts - two days later, they invited Mia and I onboard for an evening of wine and cheese and great conversation. Jean-Charles also got me in touch with Mathias Maurios, the actual designer of Tosca who works for VPLP in Paris, so I'll be having him on the podcast soon! Thanks guys!

#25. Paul & Sheryl Shard are well known to many sailors for their Distant Shores TV series and DVD collection. They've been sailing for over 25 years on three boats now, and Andy sat down to Skype with them and talk about it! A very sailorly episode, this one was recorded in Bermuda (where Andy was), while the Shard's were aboard their Southerly 49 in Georgetown, Exuma, Bahamas, actually anchored out! They talked about how they got into sailing, how they built their first boat from a bare hull, started cruising and documenting their trips on video (film back in the day), and how that has all evolved into a career! Buy their DVDs right on 59-north.com.

#24. Magnus Olsson was on the Two Inspired Guys podcast a while back, and I'm relaunching this episode now on 59º North. I interviewed Magnus in downtown Stockholm, at the 'Sprit Museet' (Alcohol Museum) on Djurgården. Our boat Arcturus was tied up in the harbor there after we'd sailed her across the North Sea. Magnus and his partner Vica cycled down to the harbor and had coffee with us on Arcturus before he and I did the podcast. It was initially about an article I wrote for Yachting World on code sails, but turned into a discussion on sailing in general Magnus was truly larger than life, which comes through in this episode, and it was with great sadness that the sailing world learned of his passing last summer in Lanzarote, where he was training with Team SCA, the all-female entry in the next Volvo Ocean Race. I only knew him for short time, but it was a privilege. Thanks for the memories - and the podcast! - Magnus.

#23 is Patrick Shaughnessy, President of Farr Yacht Design. Andy spoke to Patrick in his office in Annapolis, Maryland, where he grew up sailing and worked his way up from the 'basement' of the famous design office to the top dog. They talked about the Kiwi Spirit project and Stanley Paris' record attempt, Patrick's sailing history, yacht design (obviously), and spent a lot of time towards the end of the chat discussing the new Volvo 65 one design project that Patrick and his team at Farr have been developing over the past several years. He couldn't be specific, but Patrick assured me that we'd see 7 teams at the starting line of the next Volvo Ocean Race this coming fall. Awesome chat this one, so thanks to Patrick and the Farr Yacht Design team!

#22. Ashley Rogers is an old friend of mine from my Broadreach days, when I worked out of St. Martin on liveaboard sail-and dive-training expeditions. Ashley was a SCUBA instructor and we got to know each other at Broadreach's 'Pad' during the 2009 summer. Though she was living and teaching diving aboard sailing boats - and actually sailing between isalnds and dive sites - she hated it! Originally from Guatemala, Ashley now lives in New Zealand and spoke to me via Skype about how she got into sailing after reading the classic book 'Dove' by Robin Lee Graham, and decided she wanted to give it a go. Now she's preparing her boat for the 2018 edition of the Solo Trans Tasman race, a big event held every four years that sees sailors cross the Tasman Sea from New Zealand to Queensland, Australia. The 2014 edition of the race just got underway on April 22, so folow the fleet here! Ashley will be only the 5th woman to ever attempt the feat. Follow her on her Facebook page, The Solo Challenge.