131 | The Mainsail That Would Not Die

The Mariner

This episode tells the full story of the sail that’s been with me through it all — my old Open 60 mainsail, which, although it has impossibly high mileage (100,000nm!), has proven indefatigable, indestructable and faithful right through to the end.

But, it’s about more than gear. It’s about the kind of grit and grace it takes to keep going when the world says you shouldn’t, whatever your passion may be.

The first half of the episode dives into how this sail came to me, how I bent it on in the middle of the Atlantic alone over 20 hours, how it carried me through the Newport Bermuda Race in 2024 (when it was already over 20 years old!) and how it feels now to look up at it as it drives me one last time solo across the Atlantic to meet up with its successor .

This episode is about our connection to supposedly inanimate objects — to the people for whom I make these podcasts, to the sea, and to the idea that life doesn't need to be easy to be good.

Here is the Youtube playlist of my solo transatlantic voyage on the Open 60 'Falcon':

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEtiOvex8NBvt_ai1Megepf2zcPSPSHY&si=jFDPmyFtOvqiqx1R

In the second half of the show, I walk through the details of the new mainsail — five reefs, batten choices, batten closures, reinforced reefing pointa, luff handles, hybrid Maxi/ Open 60 design — everything I’ve learned from decades of sailing distilled into one sail.

This isn’t a luxury project. It’s a mission. It’s the very machinery I need to sail west, non-stop around the world and tell the real story of solo sailing — not “rich boy goes yachting,” but something raw, real, and meaningful, that everyone can benefit from.

You can own a piece of the mainsail that wouldn’t die as your own talisman of Tenacity, a reminder to you in the straits of your passion, that perseverance, persistence and sheer bloody-mindedness are the currency of personal growth and will bring your goals within your grasp.

For a pledge of $100, you’ll get one of the hand-cut and signed sections from this legendary, 100,000Nm mainsail, with all the funds going directly to the new sail wardrobe and the Osprey Westabout campaign.

If you believe in what I'm doing — the story, the struggle, the adventure —then this is your chance to own a piece of the mainsail of the mainsail that would not die and allow it to fuel all that comes after it's work is done.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/own-piece-of-not-134326761?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link