Pat Lawless is an entrant in the 2026 Golden Globe Race. He also sailed in the 2022 GGR, but had a failure of his windvane and retired in Cape Town, South Africa. We talk about the Canary Islands, his passage from Ireland, his Saltram Saga 36, sextant navigation, AIS, lightning, lessons learned in the 2022 GGR, finishing teak, waterproofing deck ha…

Ambre was born in Paris, but moved to the US when she was 10. She went to school and graduated with a degree in economics. After a brief career in New York City, she gave it all up to become a sailor, and now races Class Mini with her eyes on the Ocean Race and the Vendée Globe. She tells us about her new boat, #618, On the Road Again II, and train…

Scott Johnston runs Yachting Scotland, an adventure-sailing and sailing tourism operation located in the Firth of Clyde on the west coast of Scotland. Our discussion begins with us talking about our boats and comparing the pros and cons of my full-keel cruiser and his modern performance cruiser. We also talk about the weather and sailing conditions…

Doug Jackson spent fifteen years building a 75' steel junk-rigged sailboat in Tulsa Oklahoma. Aron Erwin introduced me to Doug, and I interviewed them both in episode 221 in the before and after Hurricane Milton episode. Doug had such an interesting boat that I had to do this episode. We talk about St Augustine Florida, a boat that went aground in …

Adam lives off-grid in southeast Alaska and sails a Cape George 36. He was also a small-boat commercial fisherman and a merchant marine. We talk about Alaska, his history of commercial fishing, why we love untying the lines ashore, working as a merchant marine, finding the right boat, the Cape George 36, the Golden Globe Race and Kirsten Neuschafer…

Erden Eruc is an entrant in the 2026 Golden Globe Race, and has purchased Simon Curwen's Biscay 36, Clara. Erden is also one of only two people to have circumnavigated under human power, and Erden is the only to have done it solo, and he did it by rowing, cycling, kayaking, and hiking. He holds an amazing 18 Guiness World Records. We talk about his…

When I spoke with Sam the previous week (ep. 224) he was en route to Dakar. In this episode, he is in Dakar. I also talk about my recent passage from San Blas to Linton Bay and then on to Escudo de Veraguas. Sam and I talk about the passage and trouble encountered on the way including damaging a spreader, reefing, using a modified climbing harness,…

Sam was sailing in his Cape Dory 28 between the Canary Islands and Dakkar when I spoke to him. Before the interview, I talk about the San Blas Islands. Sam and I talk about the conditions, his Cape Dory 28, his windvane and electronic autopilots, sailing a full-keel boat, replacing the bronze chainplates, fixing a leaking hull-deck joint, Morocco, …

Olivia Owens Wyatt is a solo sailor, a filmaker, and a USCG 50-Ton Master certified captain. She is on her way around the world, currently in SE Asia, on a Panda 34. She is also entered in the 2026 Golden Globe Race We talk about Papua New Guinea, piracy, self-defense, Wayag, dealing with squalls, going without sleep, sailing through Indonesia, the…

Andrew recently completed a three-year journey around the Americas including the Faroe Islands, Greenland, through the Northwest Passage, Alaska, Costa Rica, Patagonia, Brazil, and Svalbard, in a JFA 45, an aluminum expedition yacht. We talk about highlights of the trip, as well as difficulties, favorite places, sailing in heavy weather, anchoring …

Aaron and Doug were anchored in the Intracoastal Waterway just north of St Augustine, Florida, during hurricane Milton (and Helene). I interviewed them before and then after Hurricane Milton. We talk about anchoring; setting a tandem anchor; using multiple anchors; selecting a spot to sit out a hurricane; we get interuppted by a food delivery to my…

Jacqueline Evers set off from The Netherlands in July 2023 and is now in New Zealand. She sails a 1977 Grinde 27 called Loveworkx, designed by Peter Bruun and built in Denmark. We talk about New Zealand, clearing into various countries and expenses, sailing solo with family visiting, her boat, the inner forestay, why she is sailing solo around the …

Recorded at Esnasdup island in San Blas, aka Guna Yala, I discuss my year and a half in Panama. I talk about navigating here, places I've been, anchorages, marinas, the weather, wildlife, crime, clearing in and out, surfing, spearfishing, tropical disaeses, getting proper exercise when living on a boat, and much more. Shownotes are here https://www…

Gunnar Christensen is an entrant in the 2026 Golden Globe Race, and he recently bought a Hans Christian 34 in Trinidad and sailed it, solo, home to the UK. We talk about the boat, the voyage, his self-steering, Hydrovanes, Watt&Sea, trailing warps in heavy weather, sailing with hank-on headsails, jacklines and tethers, emergency ways to climb back …

Tom Fisher sails a Biscay 36. He was inspired to go to Newfoundland after readingthe book "Sailing to Newfoundland," and visited many of the places I went in 2022. We talk about growing up sailing in the UK, sailing barges, folkboats, comparing traditional full-keel boats to modern charter boats, his Biscay 36, radar, Starlink, AIS, St. Martin to B…

Nathan and his wife Vivian run Ocean Passages, offering training passages aboard their Compass 47. We also talk about Tahiti and the Society Islands, dealing with cyclone season, Nova Scotia, dealing with heavy weather, electronics, anchoring, his association with John Kretschmer, training passages, heaving-to, different boats, different rigs, usin…

Porter Fox grew up on the coast of Maine sailing small boats. His father designed and built Whistler sailboats and founded Able Marine. Porter has written three books and also writes stories for The New York Times and other journals. His latest book is Category Five, which we talk about. We also talk about sailing around New York City, sailing a Wh…

Dave winkler is a Sea Two captain in Boston. We talk about sailing in Boston, problems sailers face and ask Sea Tow for help with, towing sailboats and using drogues during rudder-failure, mast breakage, the importance of taping over cotterpins in the standing rigging and lifelines, dangerous rescues, lobster bouys, rescuing a leatherback turtle, t…

Captain James is a former submariner in the US Navy. He's sailed over 70,000 nm on a wide variety of boats. We talk about life on a submarine, catamarans, sailing through the South Pacific, a near-disaster on a catamaran breaking up in a storm, dual rudders, center cockpits, raised deck salons, pointing high, chasing your dreams and doing what you …

In this bonus mid-week episode, I interview Sea Tow captain Ethan Maass, from Sea Tow Boston. We talk about how Sea Tow serves sailors, how far they go to help, working with the Coast Guard when there's a problem, communications, what membership includes and doesn't, collisions, common safety shortcomings in boaters, emergency anchoring, getting lo…

Erick and Jenny had just arrived in Fiji when I spoke with them, after having spent a year in French Polynesia. I interviewed the sepparately and asked the same questions, then editied it so you can hear their different, or similar, responses. We talk about favorite places, pleasant and difficult passages, favorite diving experiences, wildlife, sha…

Tom and Chris are two sailors from the UK who developed SailTies, a free app that makes it easy to record all your sailing experience in one place. The app keeps a digital record of all your voyages, certificates, crew, vessels, and clubs. We talk about their sailing experiences, chartering in the Med, sailing around Sicily, the SailTies app, and m…

Kyle Davis, aka Captain Ky the Seaglass Guy, was in the San Blas islands in Panama when he came down with dengue fever. He ended up in a bad situation in a prison-like hospital and had to escape. Kyle is a sailor and a sea-glass hunter, and has also been know to catch crocodiles by hand. We also talk about fishing, sailing from Panama to Cartagena,…

Grant Headifen is the founder and Global Director of Education of NauticEd, a modern sailing education organization that provides online sailing courses, a global network of sailing schools, and virtual-reality sail training. In addition to sailing education, we talk about the force of wind and why it quadruples when wind speed doubles, a different…

Jack Patton sails an electric Passport 42, and was sailing to Hawaii when we spoke. He is also the owner of Poerflow Marine, which makes electric-motor systems for sailboats. We talk about sailing an electric boat, the conversion from diesel, the cost comparison between repowering with diesel vs electric, cooling systems, regeneration, the Ecostar …

Timo and Jo bought NV, a 66' IMOCA ex-Vendee Globe sailboat and converted her into a family cruiser, without sacrificing performance. The draft is still 4.5m and the mast 100'. NV was originally designed, built & raced by famous Hungarian sailor Nándor Fa. He competed in her in the 1992 Vendée Globe finishing 5th, becoming the first non-frenchman t…

Skip Novak is a lifetime offshore sailor, veteran of four Whitbread Round the World and other races, and owner of Pelagic Expeditions. He recently published the boat "On Sailing." We talk about the book, learning to sail, Kirsten Neuschafer, combining sailing and climbing, design aspects of proper bluewater cruising boats, deck layout on Skip's boa…

Keith and Becca bought a Pearson 424 that needed a refit, and when the time came to repower, they found an inexpensive electric motor and made a quick decision to build an electri-motor system. They eventually sailed off from Texas to the Caribbean, worked their way upwind to the Windward Islands, then to the Azores, where they were when I talked t…

Tanguy de Lamotte is a French sailor and naval architect, and veteran of many offshore races, including the two Vendeé Globes and several Transats. He is also part of Vita Power, a company that makes electric boats. We talk about electric boats and their environmental advantages, the Vita Power boats, sailing IMOCA boats, foiling, cruising, and mor…

Simon Curwen recently skippered Translated 9, a Swan 65, in the Ocean Globe Race, which was a re-creation of the 1973 Whitbread Round the World Race. The race consisted of 4 legs, from the UK to Cape Town, South Africa; to Aukland, New Zealand; to Punta del Este, Uruguay; and back to the UK. Simon started as the navigator aboard Translated 9, and w…

Carl Damm is a sailing instructor and owner of Damsel Marine, a yacht managment and maintenance consulting service. We talk about the basics of trimming sails, like using adjustable jib-sheet cars, the boom vang, the outhaul, halyard tension, asymetrical spinnakers, using a spinnaker net, downwind sailing, flying the main or not when on a deep broa…

Gunnar Christensen is entered in the 2026 Golden Globe Race. We talk about his motivations, what he hopes to gain from the race, his competetiveness, preparing mentally and physically, singlehanding and being alone on the ocean, Tapio's book, The Whitbread, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, sailing full-keeled vs fin-keeled boats, jacklines an…

Alan Fishbone lives on his Lord Nelson 35, currently in the British Virgin Islands. He sailed there from New York in December and encountered heavy weather, which we discuss. We also talk about living on a boat, solar power, Lord Nelson sailboats, heavy weather and sailplans, accidental jibes, the Bermuda Triangle, full-keel cutters, boom brakes, t…

Kirsten won the 2022 Golden Globe Race, and became the first woman to win a sailing race around the world by the three great capes, crewed or solo, and the first South African to win an around the world race. Kirsten sailed Minnehaha, a Cape George 36 in the race, which she refit over one year in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Before the race, she w…

Jerome Rand is the host of the podcast Sailing into Oblivion, and author of the book by the same name, describing his solo nonstop sail around the wolrd in Mighty Sparrow, his Westsail 32. This episode is not one of us interviewing the other, but rather a conversation between us. We talk about our boats, reefing, safety, the higher latitudes, cold …

Heather Thomas skippered SV Maiden to victory in the 2023 Ocean Globe Race (OGR), and the crew became the first first all-female crew to win an around the world race. Heather was also the youngest skipper in the race, at 27 years old. We talk about how she learned to sail and gain enough experience to be chosen to skipper Maiden in the OGR, prepari…

Owen Murphy recently crossed the Panama Canal, then sailed to the Galapagos islands, and on to the Marquesas, solo, on his Pacific Seacraft 34. We talk about learning French, Polynesian tattoos, provisioning, cyclones, sailing from Panama to The Marquesas, siglehanding, Owen's Pacific Seacraft 34, spinnaker mishaps and lessons, going up the mast, g…

Lutz Kohne is entered in the 2026 Golden Globe Race, and was part of the race organization in the 2022 GGR, taking satellite calls from the sailors and dealing with emergencies. We talk about learning to sail, making mistakes, going offshore for the first time, losing the engine while docking, working with Don McIntyre in the 2022 Golden Globe Race…

Rob and his family, aka The Cruising Kiwis, bought their 43ft catamaran, Javelot, with minimal sailing experience to retrace the tragic sailing trip of Rob's eldest brother, Kerry, who was captured and executed by the Kmer Rouge in Cambodia in 1978. When we spoke, they were in the Maldives, having just visited Thailand, and making progress on their…

John spends his summers sailing in Puget Sound, and the winters in La Paz, Mexico. He is the owner, founder, and sailing director of Cruise-n-Learn Sailing International. We talk about learning to sail, La Paz, Mexico, live-aboard sail training, asymmetrical spinnakers, reefing, anchors, electronics, Starlink, heaters, the school-boat fleet in La P…

After making a life for myself cruising, sailing offshore, and living aboard full time, I share tips and lessons I've learned along the way. I talk about ways to prepare for this lifestyle and how to enjoy it once out on the water, living in a sailboat. I also talk about sailing education, safety, getting used to the water, the importance of water …

Brian is a solo sailor on a Hughes 38, currently in Georgetown, The Bahamas. He supports his cruising by playing the guitar and singing, sometimes putting on dinghy concerts from his boat in the anchorage. We talk about anchoring and the new mooring balls in Georgetown, sailing from Lake Huron to The Bahamas, sailing with a tiny fuel tank, losing a…

Michael Brooks of Expedition Sailing has been taking clients on skiing and climbing expeditions from South America to Antarctica. We talk about sailing to Antarctica, picking the right weather window, steel boats, their maintenance, pros and cons; Michael's dream boat, running expeditions in Antarctica, Antarctica politics, anchoring/mooring in Ant…

Helen recently completed a four-year journey from the UK to New Zealand and visited 35 countries along the way. We talk about her boat, the journey, some of her favorite countries, The Gambia, sailing under the bridge on The Gambia River with only inches to spare, hippos, the people and culture, anchoring, her electrical and solar systems, and much…

Tapio Lehtinen was in the port of Punta del Este, Uruguay, during the last stop of the Ocean Globe Race, a re-creation of the Whitbread Round the World Race, when we spoke. He was sailing on Galiana With Secure, a 1970 S&S 55 yawl with a young crew of Finnish sailors. We talk about the boat, sailing from the last stop in New Zeland to Uruguay, goin…

Ronnie Simpson was racing solo around the world in an Open 50 when he dismasted soon after rounding Cape Horn, and with a storm approaching with forecasted 70-knot wind and 30' seas. We discuss the events leading up to the dismasting, making the decision to call for rescue, as well as the race, details about sailing a thirty-year-old open 50 in an …

Brendan and Chanell recently sailed their Bruce Roberts 36 from Bocas del Toro, Panama, to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, in late December, saw some dificult weather and had to adapt their plans. We also talk about the passage, the boat they bought in Florida, a 1985 Noresman 447 designed by Robert Perry, Panama, Tobobe, the Ngobe Indians, Starlink, pirates…

In this episode, I talk about the Global Solo Challenge and the boats in the race, focusing on sailboat data and how that affects a sailboat's performance. I also talk about what I've been up to, components on my boat that I like or dislike, angry local surfers, theft in Panama, seasickness, my electrical system upgrade to a lithium battery, and mo…

When Suzanne was 7 years old, she set sail from Plymouth, England, on the schooner Wavewalker with her parents and brother. Their trip, which was recreating Captain Cook's third voyage around the world, was supposed to last for three years but ended up taking a decade. Along the way they were shipwrecked in the Indian Ocean and, as she grew older, …

Tom and Kelsey live in Colorado and cruise and race in a 28' Corsair trimaran. I met the in the Ragged Islands, The Bahamas. They also raced the trimaran in the Race to Alaska. We talk about The Bahamas, Greenland, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, foul-weather gear, spearfishing, sharks, the Race to Alaska, human propulsion systems, restoring an aluminum…