Offshore Sailing and Cruising with Paul Trammell

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, sharks, a windvane problem, anchors and anchoring, using multiple anchors, sleeping while underway, anchor alarms, halucinating, radar and its limitations, Dakar, clearing customs and immigration, favorite places, and more.

Podcast shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/podcast-season-7

Support through Patreon here patreon.com/paultrammell

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, The Canary Islands, The Gambia, sailing to The Bahamas on a 16' Hobie Cat, fear, sailing for the sailing or for the destinations, solo sailing and why we love it, the Annapolis Boat Show, and more. 

Tune in next week for a continuation of this conversation. Sam and I got cut off at the end of this one, as he was underway and without reliable internet. 

Shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/podcast-season-7

Support through Patreon here patreon.com/paultrammell

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 perils of listening to bad advice, taking a tow from a coal-barge tug that led to near-disaster, preparing for the GGR, dealing with fear, wildlife encounters, sea snakes, happy people and where to find them, anchors, and more.

Shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/podcast-season-7

Support through Patreon here patreon.com/paultrammell

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 in Patagonia and tying ashore, the importance of having a properly prepared sailboat in the high latitudes, foul-weather gear, his boat, electronics, navigation, elephant seals and other wildlife, navigating through ice, a grizzly-bear threat, pros and cons of aluminum boats, properly isolating steel bolts from aluminum, dragging anchor, and more.

Shownotes and links are here https://www.paultrammell.com/podcast-season-7

Support through Patreon here patreon.com/paultrammell

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 boat in San Blas, Panama; using two anchors in a tidal current; preparing the boat for the storm; alligators and sharks in the anchorage in Florida; crocodiles in the anchorage in Panama; after the hurricane; insurance; a boat that went aground during the storm; and more.

Shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/podcast-season-7

Support through Patreon here patreon.com/paultrammell

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 world, favorite places, what we learn about ourselves through solo sailing, bird visitations, fishing while sailing (or not), sharks, fear, big wind and waves in the Caribbean Sea, creative anchoring, anchors and chain, a beautiful moment, landfalls, the wonder of living on a sailboat, and more. 

Shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/podcast-season-7

Support through Patreon here patreon.com/paultrammell

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.paultrammell.com/podcast-season-7

Support through Patreon here patreon.com/paultrammell

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 onboard, symmetrical vs asymmetrical spinnakers, storm trysails, heavy weather, sailing a full-keel vs a fin-keel boat, sailing with a windvane, whales, reefing, PLB's, modifications needed, dodgers, Tapio's book "On a Belt of Foaming Seas," Southerly Yachts, the mental aspect of long-distance solo sailing, and more. 

Shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/podcast-season-7

Support through Patreon here patreon.com/paultrammell

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 Bermuda to Nova Scotia to Newfoundland, hiking to the top of the mountain at Deadman's Cove, waterfalls, outports, hiking around Francois, bears, blueberries, Hare Bay, Isle aux Mortes, and more.

Podcast show notes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/podcast-season-7

Support the show here patreon.com/paultrammell

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, using preventers, accidental jibes, sailing to a schedule, lessons learned from John Kretschmer, and more.

Podcast shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/podcast-season-7

Support through Patreon here patreon.com/paultrammell