On The Wind Sailing

#20. Andy chatted with Nicole Trenholm last week just before she and Matt Rutherford departed for California, the Strictly Sail Oakland boat show, and their voyage across the Pacific to Japan. Nicole talked a lot about her life before the Ocean Research Project, how she got into sailing, what it was like working on a tall ship and later as a scientist for NOAA, and finally, how she met Matt and got involved with the ORP. She wasn't much of a sailor before she moved to the Chesapeake area, but certainly has the chops now - she's done 6,000+ miles already with Matt and the ORP, recently got her captain's license and is about to set out again for another 7,000 miles in the Pacific! Nicole also has the distinction of being the first chick on the 59º North podcast! Thanks Nicole!

#19. Etienne Giroire! Andy and friend Billy Rudek (the third voice you'll hear) sat down with Etienne in his home in Ft. Lauderdale on their way to Marsh Harbor to deliver a sailboat back to Annapolis. Etienne is most know for his namesake sailing company, ATN Inc. (get it?), which produces spinnaker sleeves, trampolines for catamarans, the 'mast climber' harness system and other bits and bobs. But more interesting, Etienne is a sailor in the truest sense of the word. Raised in France on Eric Tabarly and Bernard Moitessier, Etienne became in his own right a single-handed hero just like those heroes he grew up with, winning his class in the famous OSTAR race and going on to sail maxi multihulls with some of the most famous sailiors in the game. He did a leg of the Whitbread with Magnuss Olsson and sailed his own boat single-handed in the Route du Rhum (which ended in disaster, but I'll let him tell that story!). Etienne now is a dual citizen of the USA and France, having come to Florida back in the 1980s and n

#18. Peter Trogdon. New intro song from the Blaggards, 'Botany Bay'! Andy sat down with Peter in January in Annapolis to talk all about Weems & Plath, Peter's history as a sailor, the history of navigation, and the new exhibit on navigation at the Smithsonian Institute in DC. Peter also discussed some of his other non-sailing hobbies. This episode was sponsored by SpinSheet magazine, and is the first in a series of podcast/article projects. Read the article that came from this podcast in the March 2014 issue of SpinSheet, available all around the Chesapeake or on SpinSheet.com. Thanks Peter & SpinSheet!

#17. Paul Exner of Modern Geographic sat down with Andy at the Strictly Sail Chicago boat show and recorded the first-ever LIVE 59º North podcast! Andy and Paul talked all things ocean sailing, from boat design and gear selection to how to handle heavy weather offshore. Thanks to everyone who came to the show, and we look forward to doing more of these in the future!

#16. Matt and Andy sat down again on Burnside Street in Annapolis to discuss the Ocean Research Project's upcoming expedition to Japan. Matt and NIcole Trenholm, his scientific partner, will set out from California in a newly built Harbor 29 to do a plastics research voyage in the Pacific. it'll be the longest-ever research trip of that nature (6,500 nautical miles nonstop), in the smallest-ever boat used for such a purpose. Nicole call it their 'vessel of opportunity' - far from ideal, but good enough to do the work that needs to be done. Matt and Andy also discussed the Kiwi Spirit failures towards the end, so listen through for that. Check out oceanresearchproject.org to get involved with Matt's project.

#15. Erik de Jong designed and built his own 52' steel boat for Arctic expeditions. It's called 'Bagheera', and you can go sailing with him! Erik was super cool to talk to - he and I have a lot in common, having grown up sailing with our dads. Erik has always known he's wanted to design boats since he was a little kid, and followed that dream. He now lives in Halifax working most of the year for a shipbuilding firm, handling engineering and business contracts, and sails for 4 months in the summer on 'Bagheera' up to Greenland and the Arctic.

#14. John Harries of Attainable Adventure Cruising chatted with Andy to announce news of the 'Adventure 40' ocean sailing yacht. John has many, many thousands of miles crossing oceans (most recently in his 56' McCurdy & Rhodes aluminum cutter), mostly in the far North Atlantic and high latitudes of the Arctic. That experience led him to believe that the ideal ocean going production sailing yacht doesn't exist - yet. Now, thanks to John's ideas and to the design and engineering of Erik de Jong, it does. John and Andy discussed how the idea came about, John's specifications for the ideal ocean cruising boat, and how the whole thing came together. It was a fascinating 50 minutes, and really refreshing to hear from someone I admire sharing the same ideas when it comes to ocean sailing. Thanks for the chat John, and come back to the show soon!

#13. I had some fun with this one. We recorded this at the Caribbean 1500 start in Portsmouth, VA back in November (and frankly, I'd forgotten I had the file, or I'd have posted it sooner!). It's my seminar on crossing the Gulf Stream, as told to the 2013 Carib1500 skippers. Yes, we're missing some of the visual aids I used (though you can see some of them online at 59-north.com), and at times it's hard to hear the questions that come up, but overall I think it works. If you've never been offshore, the Gulf Stream is one of those major challenges that everyone coming or going to the American continent is going to eventually have to face. Hopefully this chat eases the tension a bit, and sheds some light on that challenge.  Read on for some of the slides that accompanied the talk, which will hopefully shed some more light on the subject and clear up some of the stuff I mentioned in the podcast. And here is the link to the Ocean Navigator article I reference, and the rest of my archive. Enjoy!  

#12. Andy talked to Tom & Susie from the ARC yacht Adina about just what makes the ARC rally so special. For 27 years now, the event has attracted upwards of 200 boats. And 2013 marks the first-ever ARC+, that saw 43 boats head to the Cape Verdes before continuing across the Atlantic. Tom & Susie offered some excellent insight into just what it takes to complete such an audacious undertaking, and why they felt doing it with the ARC was a perfect fit for them. Thanks guys!

#11. Andy takes a look at breakages in the ARC this year and how crews coped with them. He spent some time on the docks interviewing sailors as they made their repairs. The story appears on the ARC website as one of this week's feature, and we've decided to turn it into a podcast episode as well. So here it is, with the full audio from the sailors on the docks. Thanks for listening!

#10. Russ & Laurie Owen sat down with me on their catamaran 'Nexus' in Tortola last week. They had just completed the Caribbean 1500, and are on their way to St. Lucia now to sail around the world with World ARC. I warmed to Russ & Laurie straightaway in Portsmouth at the start of the rally - they're just genuine, nice people! Russ is very proud of the refit he's done on the boat - he's an aerospace engineer by trade, and one look at the 'guts' of his boat will tell you that he's thought it all through and then some. We chatted about their plans, how they got into sailing and what motivated them to make the leap and embark on such a long adventure. Thanks Russ & Laurie!

#9. Andre and Marie-Claude sailed in the Caribbean 1500 two years ago aboard their Moody 'Dancing Lizard.' This was a conversation I had with them over good French coffee and scrambled eggs aboard their boat in Hampton, VA before the start of the rally. Andre and Marie-Claude were two of my favorite folks in that event, and I see them popping up here and there on Facebook, cheering on their French-Canadian compatriots in this year's rally! Thanks for breakfast guys, and thanks for chatting!

#8. Joe Elder and his wife Alison own and run Skipjack Nautical in Portsmouth, VA. it's one of the few places like it in the USA - a treasure trove of nautical artifacts and artwork stretched throughout a beautiful gallery overlookin the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth. Joe and I talked about how he got involved starting the business, his career as a professional diver and underwater archaeologist, how he and Alison lost it all at the original Skipjack due to a catastrophic fire and Joe's passion for history and all things nautical. We chatted in the back of Skipjack at a table where Joe was just working on valuing a series of swords from a local collector, some dating as far back as the War of 1812. The place is awesome! Thanks Joe!

#7. The LEGENDARY Donald Street in person! I first met Don at the Annapolis Sailboat Show in 2010 when Mia and I had Arcturus on display with Colligo Marine. Don gave me some pointers on the yawl rig, and we hit it off right from the start. He's been the biggest influence on my sailing life since I started reading his books as a kid. Don and I sat down in the small apartment above the Weems & Plath shop in Eastport last week and chatted for almost an hour and a half about his sailing history, his chartwork, his philosophies and everything else he wanted to talk about. And the man can talk! He's in his mid-eighties, but still has the energy of a 20-year-old and is still out there speaking, writing guidebooks and sailing his Dragon in Ireland. Check him out online at www.street-iolaire.com.

#6. Mia and I met Christian in the Aland Islands this past summer. Christian and his wife Annette run the guest harbor at Rodhamn, a beautiful, small island about 10 miles south of Mariehamn, the capital of Aland. The island has some pretty interesting history, having served as the radio station during the wars. The old station remains as a museum, and in the summertime, Christian and Annette actually like in what was the station-keepers house! They keep their boat there as well, an OE-32, designed by the famous Olle Enderlein (of which we saw countless designs while sailing in Sweden). She's a beautiful double-ended sloop that I couldn't stop admiring. Christian and I chatted in the small cabin by the waterside that doubles as the cafe - the place has no electricity or running water (but it has a wood-fired sauna of course!), and Annette would bake bread daily on the propane stove and deliver it to the boats on the dock in the morning. It's a special place, and was our favorite stop in Aland. Don't miss it a

#5. Jim Carrier is a contributing editor for Cruising World magazine, and a fellow Allied Seabreeze owner! His boat, a yawl like Arcturus, is called Ranger. Jim sailed it across the Atlantic with ARC Europe several years back, and his experience with the boat on that long ocean passage convinced Andy & Mia to buy their Seabreeze. Andy and Jim discuss sailing the Seabreeze and Jim's career as a writer. He's done far more than just sailing journalism, writing newspaper columns, advocating for Civil Rights in Alabama and writing about Hurricane Katrina. Check him out on byliner.com - he's among an A-list of writers, including Jon Kraukauer, famous for 'Into the Wild' and 'Into Thin Air.' Thanks Jim!

#4. Lin & Larry Pardey are on the podcast! Two of my sailing heroes, whose voyages, articles, books and advice has spanned at least two generations of sailors. I spoke to them from Sweden - they were half a world away in New Zealand - and we chatted Baltic sailing, what it feels like to stay (more or less) in one place after a lifetime of ocean voyaging and what they think of the modern voyaging sailor. Check out Lin's new edition of 'The Care & Feeding of Sailing Crew' on their website at landlpardey.com, and catch them at the Toronto and Chicago Boat Shows this winter. Thanks Lin & Larry!

#3. Matt Rutherford, the first person ever to sail solo and nonstop around the Americas, recounts the first Ocean Research Project expedition to the North Atlantic Gyre and the inspiration and hard work that got him there in the first place (don't miss Episode 2, released earlier today, when Matt describes the dramatic salvage attempt on the Swan 48 Wolfhound during this trip). Otherwise known as the 'Atlantic Garbage Patch' - the Pacific's ugly cousin - Rutherford and NOAA scientist Nicole Trenholm sailed nearly 7,000 miles to gather and bring back home samples he hopes will help solve at least a little bit of our ocean's problems. The couple spent 80 days at sea, including a short stop in Bermuda for repairs and refueling. This is the story.

#2. This is the riveting story of Matt and the R/V Ault's dramatic five-day salvage attempt on the abandoned Swan 48 Wolfhound, told by the man himself. I caught up with Matt just after his first Ocean Research Project expedition to the Atlantic Gyre. He and scientist Nicole Trenholm were collecting data on the plastics accumulating in the 'Great Atlantic Garbage Patch,' for lack of a better description. They came across the abandoned Swan 48 Wolfhound 700 miles east of Bermuda on their return voyage. The boat had been sighted several times previously, as reported by Charlie Doane on sailfeed.com. Matt knew nothing of this, and went over to investigate, fearing the worst. 

#1. We're kicking things off with Allan Palmer, captain of the brig 'Tre Kronor' out of Stockholm, and native of Mariehamn, in the Aland Islands. Andy and Allan discuss the 'International Association of Cape Horners', what it's like to rig a traditional square-rigged ship, and how he's trying to save some of the old seafaring traditions in the Baltic. We recorded the episode in the captain's quarters aft on the 'Tre Kronor', at a small wooden desk beside the nav station. Very cool.