With a father who went to 5 olympics as Flying Dutchman competitor initially and then as coach, Jon Bilger spent his early years around sailing. He bought is first boat after saving $250 and asking his dad to build him an optimist. In a P Class he then won New Zealand’s Tauranga Cup twice amongst a fleet of 120 dinghies that included young sailors such as Craig Monk. Then the move to the 470 and the Olympics followed along with competing in various European sailing regattas before the days of professional coaches.   Jon was thrust into the Tag Heuer 1995 Americas Cup Team as navigator and it opened the door to his newly found passion for weather analysis. From there a decade with the Swiss based, Russell Coutts led, Alinghi Americas Cup syndicate, Jon was responsible for weather modelling for the 2003 and 2007 winning Americas Cup team before the loss in 2010 to Oracle. The weather technology developed for this team led to the model that Predict Wind is based upon today and is now used all over the world by everyday sailors. Visit Ocean Sailing Podcast for offshore sailing opportunities and podcast extras and follow us on Facebook.

Jon Bilger - Dinghy sailor, Americas Cup Winner & Predict Wind founder

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Skippers David Hows and Matt Harvey catch up to review their 2-yacht circumnavigation of Australia in 2023. With 8,500nm covered in just 4 months, they share the highs and lows of covering the 7th largest coastline in the world. The event was spread over 5 legs and 102 crew in total, across the two 72-foot yachts; Silver Fern and Salt Lines, including 3 circumnavigators that completed all 5 legs. With 4,600 meals prepared, it was a planning exercise of military proportions. With engine failures, crocodiles, storms and boat fatigue to deal with, sailing some sections of this vast country are not for the faint hearted. The stunning Great Barrier Reef, North Queensland islands and reefs, Cape York, Thursday Island, the Kimberley’s, 9 metre tides in Broome, the Montebello Island Group, the Great Australian Bight and the wilderness of Tasmania, there is just so much thats remote and incredible to explore. David announces the launch of the next edition of this great event which kicks off in March 2026, with a plan to take 4 yachts, 15 legs and 13 months to circumnavigate Australia next time. With 75% of the time spent exploring and ashore next time, we'll go even deeper into remote Australia. It just gets better. Find out more and join the crew:  https://oceansailingexpeditions.com/australian-circumnavigation-2026 Save an extra $1,000 on any leg/s you register for as crew, if you use the podcast listeners promo code: AC26.

Matt Harvey / David Hows - Australian Circumnavigation Review: 8,500nm in 4 months

Sharon was a teenager heading for trouble when she discovered sailing. Starting in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, Sharon watched Maiden race around the world with an incredible international team of women. They inspired her with the determination and belief that if they could do it, then maybe with a lot of hard work and determination, so could she. Every opportunity to sail was taken. Sharon discovered her passion, the need for camaraderie, the endless adventure seeking and new challenges to overcome.  She wanted to race around the world, but the opportunity to compete in the Europe Class at the Olympic Games came first as the age of 22. At the 1996 Atlanta games, she finished 5th and competed again in Athens in 2004, placing 7th in the Yngling yacht. She has raced around the world 3 times, logging more than 107,000 offshore miles. The first was as part of Tracy Edwards’ first all-female crew, to attempt the Jules Verne non-stop round the world record. She then joined the crew of Amer Sports Too, in the Volvo Ocean Race in 2001/02. Sharon has won sailing titles in multiple classes and holds 5 world speed records. A country girl at heart, she has been an inspiration to many, a great leader and passionate coach. Join Sharon's race crew in 2024 & 2025: https://oceansailingexpeditions.com/racewithsharon 

Sharon Ferris-Choat: From troubled student to Olympian, Volvo Ocean Race, Jules Vern and Extreme Cats

David Hows catches up with Jon Bilger to talk about a long list of innovations and new features at PredictWind. As an Olympic and America’s Cup sailor, Jon is one of the sailing world’s, cool geeks. Very few people have competed at the level Jon has, and possess the ability to turn their knowledge into tech tools that any sailor can use. PredictWind is the global leader in weather forecasting for sailors and its used by both top racers and everyday cruisers alike. As a user of PredictWind for almost a decade, I have found it perfect for my departure planning and weather routing at sea. Having crossed the Tasman 18-times and sailed to increasingly higher latitudes, having good forecasts helps me stay out of trouble. The advent of faster download speeds with Iridium Go Exec and Starlink, along with the new PredictWind Data Hub has made PredictWind even more valuable to use. I don’t normally plug products, but this technology is must have for safety, so here are some extra resources to help you research it further; Features Weather Routing - https://www.predictwind.com/features/weather-routing Departure Planning - https://www.predictwind.com/features/departure-planning AIS Data - https://www.predictwind.com/features/ais-data GPS tracking - https://www.predictwind.com/gps-tracking   Products Iridium GO - https://www.predictwind.com/iridium-go Iridium GO exec - https://www.predictwind.com/iridium-go-exec Starlink - https://www.predictwind.com/starlink DataHub - https://www.predictwind.com/datahub

Jon Bilger - Predicting the Wind

In this episode David Hows and Matt Harvey share their advice and highlights from cruising the stunning Yasawa Islands in Fiji over the past 2 winters. They share tips on getting there, provisioning, repairs and maintenance in remote locations, navigation and weather. From sailing to swimming, snorkelling, underwater caves, untouched, white sand beaches, delicious local cuisine, incredible sea life and the beautiful Fijian people and their rich culture - this destination is a “must do” for cruising sailors and those planning a sailing holiday to a unique destination.   Find out more: about sailing in Fiji  

Exploring the Yasawa Islands in Fiji by yacht

David Hows is back with another ambitious tale and chapter of his exciting plans to expand Ocean Sailing Expeditions with the purchase of another 72-foot luxury expedition super yacht. The 3rd yacht to join Ocean Sailing Expeditions in less than 3 years, this is a great example of what's possible if you create a big vision and boldly go forward and execute on it (even when COVID gets in the way).   This is your chance to get involved, get onboard and sail to places you could normally only dream of, at a fraction of the normal cost. David is releasing his unique and innovative shareholder membership program for the 2nd time in 3 years, for just 35 new members in total. This makes it easier for everyday sailor’s to join his team on a range of new passages, races and expeditions at 20-100% below the normal crew cost. Find out more: https://oceansailingexpeditions.com/membership

Jon Bilger - Dinghy sailor, Americas Cup Winner & Predict Wind founder

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