Offshore Sailing and Cruising with Paul Trammell

Colm Walker was signed up to race in the Golden Globe Race (GGR), but was not able to make the start. He was in Mexico the last time he was on the show, then sailed to Panama, through the canal, and all the way to France, solo and nonstop, in his Tayana 37.

We talk about the GGR competitors, Matthew Wright's Galicia a Galicia circumnavigation, the mental strain of being stuck in light air, sailing through squalls, suffering from the desire to be somewhere else, his decision not to do the GGR (this year), sailing into the Sitran fleet on his way in to Les Sables d'Olonne, leaks in his boat, plans to do the 2030 GGR, the Golden Globe Race family, solitude, solo sailing - who enjoys it and who does not, GGR history, the point at which we feel the exhale, the passage from Mexico to Panama, sailing with an incomplete sail wardrobe, building confidence offshore, the Panama Canal, using an agent to transit the canal, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, Guy Waites, the pass/fail mental aspect of the GGR, his passage from Panama through the Caribbean and on to France, the Windward Passage, Cuba, rough weather, sailing downwind, slowing down and dealing with difficult situations, lightning, navigation, celestial navigation, sailing without modern instruments, different reasons people enjoy sailing, a solar eclpise, listening to the boat, letting the boat swing, the zen of sailing offshore, meditation, letting go of attachment and suffering, preparing mentally for long offshore passanges like the GGR, having an external dialogue with yourself, the importance of not rushing, Spain and Portugal, a dream boat, the Mini Globe Race, and more.

The Golden Globe Race (GGR) is underway again. Many of the skippers from past and present races have been on the podcast. In this episode, I have made a compilation of past GGR racers talking about the mental strain of the race, storms, and other difficult situations. Included are Ertan Beskardes, Guy Waites, Simon Curwen, Kirsten Neuschafer, Elliot Smith, and Pat Lawless.

Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page

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Ambre Hasson learned to sail in 2020, then after owning a small cruising boat, she decided to train for the Mini Transat. She got the ball rolling, but lost her boat while qualifying for the 2023 Mini Transat race. Ambre persisted, got a new boat, prepared it, qualified, and completed the 2025 Mini Transat. She then sailed acrtoss the Atlatic back to France, her home country, in a Class 40.

We talk about the 2025 Mini Transat, hiding from a hurricane in Peniche, Portugal, whales, hand-steering, tuning your autopilot, hand-steering pros and cons, why planing boats don't use windvane autopilots, beautiful moments on the ocean, the stars and bioluminescense, getting in tune with the weather, predicting wind shifts, squalls, thermal winds, clouds, sailing from Martinique back to France in the winter, comparing the mini 6.50 to a class 40, sailing two-handed, hallucinations, a visit from JarJar Binks, symptoms of sleep deprivation, losing her boat on the rocks in 2023 and lessons learned, and more.

Photos and links are on the podcast website

Sail in New England with Sailing Resolution

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Tim Skillman is a long-time sailor and author of "Looped: from the Staits of Mackinac to the Bitter End," a book about his mid-life-crisis journey from the Great Lakes down the Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers to the Gulf of Mexico and on to the Virgin Islands on a Cheoy Lee 53.

We talk about growing up racing small boats in Michigan, buying an Erickson 46, the secret to not getting burned out on maintaining a boat, lunch with Richard Branson, meeting his future wife on the beach, the journey down from the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, walking away from his career and family, dealing with the locks and river traffic, why he avoided the Missisippi River, entering the Gulf of Mexico, Key West, crossing the bank between Key West and Nassua, sailing to a foreign country for the first time, a shark encounter while spearfishing in The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, guns on the boat, the Virgin Islands, an awakening, the San Blas Islands, the Guna people, aliens, and more.

Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page

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Shop for or sell sailboats at SailboatsForSale.com

Sail in New England / Canada with Sailing Resolution

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Captain Ryan Rayfield runs Sail Libra, an offshore sailing charter operation aboard a 60' ketch built in 1969 by Abeking & Rasmussen and designed by William H. Tripp Jr. Based in Newport, RI. They sail around New England, to Bermuda, to the Caribbean, and will sail to the Azores and Portugal in 2027. Ryan is a USCG-licensed STCW A-2 Internationally endorsed captain.

We talk about sailing from Newport around Long Island Sound and New York City, the East River closure when the UN is in session, anchoring in NYC, a failure of the exhaust anti-siphoning valve and fixing the resulting problem with water in the engine, champagne sailing, flying a spinnaker, racing vs cruising, sail changes, roller furling, dealing with the general public and taking them aboard, sailing upwind (or not), maintaining a 60' offshore sailboat, licensing required for an offshore charter operation, STCW certification, whether or not you need a USCG license to operate a charter operation in a foreign country, other certifications, chartering laws, endorsements, insurance, openings for Bermuda to St. Thomas, orcas, and more.

Photos and links are on the podcast website

Sail in New England with Sailing Resolution

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Pure Yachts is a new German shipyard based in Kiel, northern Germany, building high-performance aluminum cruising yachts featuring hydraulic-lift keel systems, modern planing hull lines, and the use of lightweight composite materials for the interior components. Their boats use the highest quality aluminium and top-shelf components to make them long lasting, secure and fit for world-wide bluewater cruising and high-latitude expeditions.

We talk about sailing in the Baltic Sea, the details of the yachts they build, custom hatches, precision design and boat building, boat performance in various conditions, the advantages of fast high-performance boats, their design philosophy and market niche, the expected lifespan of a Pure Yacht, things owners need to know about aluminum boats, the portlights, bulkheads (or not), construction of the aluminum hull, the lifting keel, dual rudders, drying out, customization, and more.

Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page

Support the show through Patreon

Shop for or sell sailboats at SailboatsForSale.com

Sail in New England / Canada with Sailing Resolution

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Shop LED navigation lights at Signal Mate

Richard and Judith sail a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410. They were on the show in June of 2025 and have a YouTube Chanel "Sailing Helios" and a Vimeo chanel "Sailing Helios Naturally," where they may or may not be clothed.

Richard and Judith were in Cartagen, Spain when I spoke with them, and we talk about Cartagena and the marina, learning foreign languages, the people and culture in Spain, whether to stay longer in the Med or go to the Caribbean, the pros and cons of visiting new places vs familiar places, the Balearics, Air B&B and how it's changed the tourism industry, storms in the Med, a windlass problem, dragging anchor in a storm, ditching the anchor to save the boat, an angle grinder, the friendliest people, dinghies, outboards both gasoline and electric, watermakers, induction stoves, Lookout mast cameras, Sailproof tablets, Smartboatia, their YouTube channel, their OnlyFans channel, and more.

Support the show through Patreon

Links and Photos are at https://www.paultrammell.com/offshoresailingandcruising

Shop dinghy lights at https://showmeyourdinghy.com/

Sail with Sailing Resolution

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You might remember Olivia Wyatt from two previous episodes. She sails a Robert Perry Panda 34 solo and has been sailing around the world visiting remote places and documenting indigenous people in her instagram posts.

We talk about Namibia and why she loves it, the magical landscape, the wildlife, Walvis Bay, language, clearing in to various countries, a roller-furling problem and how she dealt with it, foul weather in the Indian Ocean, locking the wheel while using the Hydrovane, a spirit that lives in her boat, guiding voices, freediving, nitrogen narcosis, the lemurs of madagascar, sailing solo and when a second person would be ideal, The Golden Globe Race and her alternate plan, the indigenous people of Namibia, a proposition from a chief, the friendliest people, the places she would live if she had to pick from places she has been, modifications and additions she has made to her boat, her Hydrovane, a UFO sighting, alien abductions, finding adventure every day, why she chose to back out of the GGR, seven years of bliss, cold water, and more.

Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page

Support th show through Patreon

Shop for or sell sailboats at SailboatsForSale.com

Sail in New England / Canada with Sailing Resolution

Sail California / Hawaii with Shearwater Sailing

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Diana Vega was the first mate aboard Team UNICEF in the 2025-2026 Clipper Round The Wolrd Yacht Race, a circumnavigation on one-design 70' ocean racing yachts with professional skippers and amateur crew. Diana grew up sailing in Cowes, started sailing professionally during the pandemic, and went on to crew in the Solent and Caribbean. She co-skippered the Clipper Race with skipper Guy Waites. The race started in Portsmouth, UK, then stopped in Spain, Uruguay, South Africa, West Australia, East Australia, The Phillipines, China, South Korea, Seattle, Panama, Washington DC, Scotland, and back to Portsmouth.

We talk about completing the race and what it was like to finish, the accomplishment of circumnavigating and taking 50 amateur crew safely around the world, an injury and medical evacuation during heavy weather off Japan, a rogue wave, tethers, their sail wardrobe, safety, when to clip in with a tether, things she learned from her skipper Guy Waites, the crew, the stars, how sailing humbles us, the mysterious green flash, UFO's, hand-steering, not helming to the instruments, the North Pacific, books, heavy weather, the Bay of Biscay, future sailing plans, cruising vs racing, navigating the high-traffic of the South China Sea, dealing with fleets of fishing boats, transfering to another boat, managing a crew, and more.

Support the show through Patreon

Links and Photos are at https://www.paultrammell.com/offshoresailingandcruising

Shop tankless dive systems at diveblu3.com

Shop dinghy lights at https://showmeyourdinghy.com/

Sail with Sailing Resolution

Shop or list sailboats at SailboatsforSale.com

MIke and Danielle live aboard their Catalina 34 in La Paz Mexico. They recently bought another boat, a 1999 Catalina 42, in Virginia and sailed her to Panama, where I met them. On the way, they were forced to stop in Cuba to fix their motor and were able to explore and cruise a bit.

We talk about their boat, Panama, poisonous snakes, immigration in the US and the current political climate, discovering surf breaks, sailing down the US East Coast, sailing to Cuba, entering and clearing in to Cuba, the Cuban people, the embargo, politics, Castro, propaganda, Cuban fishermen, generosity, home-made boats, spearfishing for sharks, lobster, Mexico, and more.

Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page

Shop for or sell sailboats at SailboatsFroSale.com

Sail in New England / Canada with Sailing Resolution

Sail California / Hawaii with Shearwater Sailing

Get marine electrical help from Meridian Marine Electrial