On the Wind Sailing

#165. Weather Routing Inc. provides all of the forecasting for the passages Mia & I run aboard Isbjorn. I consult with them to plan the best departure window before a passage, and once offshore can get updates on-demand when I feel I need them. Jeremy Davis & Amanda Delaney, meteorologists for WRI, came by Isbjorn during last week's Annapolis Boat Show to talk weather, namely, Hurricane Matthew, which we spent the majority of the episode discussing.

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Hurricane Matthew is the subject of most of today's episode. It's with a heavy heart that I report that one of our best friends lost their boat in the storm literally only hours after we recorded this, on the Friday of Annapolis Boat Show. It's a long story, but they were forced to leave the boat, an Ericsson 35, in Daytona after having to replace their engine following a winter cruising in the Bahamas. It was a chain of events that started all the way back in April, culminating in the worst news you'd ever want to hear as a boat owner. They'd owned the boat for nearly 30 years.

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I'm in Connecticut as I record this, at my producer Liz' apartment. Big thanks to Liz for setting up our first university lecture at her school at UConn Avery Point, definitely one of the more beautiful campus' I've visited. And thanks to all of you who came out to hear us talk ocean sailing! We had a blast! And if there's anyone out there listening who wants to set up a talk at their school, please reach out! Mia & I would love to come and chat and hang out on campus!

#164 is Kari Finstad, a 30-something Norwegian sailor and yoga instructor. Kari recently purchased and refit a 32-foot Wauquiez Centurion - one of my favorite boats, and comparable to the legendary Contessa 32 - and spends most of her time above the Arctic Circle. We talked about her yoga travels to India & the east, her winter on Bjornoya in the Arctic working at the meteorology station, refitting the Wauquiez, her cat companion, baking bread, making kombucha & much more.

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Want to go ocean sailing? Join Andy & Mia on their Swan 48 at 59-north.com/offshore.

#163 is Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, a sailing legend. In 1968 he became the first person to sail solo & nonstop around the world in the infamous Golden Globe Race, in a wooden ketch he built himself, and inspiring modern ocean racing as we know it. Sir Robin went on to compete in several Whitbread races, completed some little-known feats of traditional navigation, set the Jules Verne record with Peter Blake, created the Clipper Race and on and on. I sat down with him in England to reflect on his career.

"I got a job in Durban, as captain of a ship, running up & down the east coast. And that's when Chichester went past on his voyage around the world and I began to think about it. I got home, and I saw him come in, saw him come up the Thames, and I thought, 'There's one thing left to do - go around without stopping.'"

You're listening to On the Wind, my podcast about ocean sailing. I'm Andy Schell.

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Want to go ocean sailing? Join Andy & Mia on their Swan 48 Isbjorn at 59-north.com/offshore.

#162. Moxie Marlinspike is a legend in tech. As a programmer, he literally wrote the code that enables everyday encryption. He's friendly with Edward Snowden and was recently feature in WIRED magazine. Moxie, though, is a sailor at heart. I worked together with him at Broadreach way back in 2008. We caught up to talk about his unique sailing philosophy, his movie 'HOLD FAST' & his rise in the tech world.

If you've followed the news even tangentially, you'll have heard about encryption. Remember Edward Snowden? His revelations about the FBI's mass collection of data from everyday Americans set off a wave of stories centered around personal privacy & national security. Today's guest is at the center of that debate - Moxie Marlinspike, almost single-handedly invented everyday encryption, and his code was recently implemented in WhatsApp and Facebook's new 'secret' Messenger service. If you're interested in this sort of thing at all, I highly recommend watching the documentary about Snowden called Citizen Four, and reading the recent WIRED Magazine profile on Moxie, which you can easily find on Google, or I'll link it in the show notes.

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This episode is sponsored by Forbes Horton Yachts. Visit his online inventory and get in touch to buy or sell your next boat at forbesyachts.com.

#161 is John & Amanda Neal for a third time, who have run adventure sailing expeditions on their Hallberg-Rassy 46 Mahina Tiare for over 20 years. They've sailed 220,000 miles on the boat, taking her quite literally to the ends of the earth. We chatted in-person at the Hallberg-Rassy boatyard in Sweden about their recent summer in the Arctic.

In case you missed it, in last week's newsletter Mia and I officially published our 2018 offshore passage calendar. Isbjorn is headed north! That's right, we're Arctic bound in summer 2018, with passages to Scotland, Norway, Spitsbergen & Iceland. Visit 59-north.com/arctic for details & to register. As a nod to our podcast fans, we've not 'linked' this page online yet - so you guys get first dibs before the big launch at the boat show. You can come visit us on Dock H at the Annapolis Sailboat Show to tour Isbjorn and talk about ocean sailing.

#160. Brian Porter was on the build team for the record-breaking, 100-foot supermaxi 'Comanche,' and continues to work on owner's Jim & Kristy Clark's shore crew. He came on the podcast to talk about his boat-building beginnings, getting a dream job building Comanche, working alongside pro sailors Ken Red, Stan Honey & Jimmy Spithill, Comanche's recent trans-Atlantic record, the America's Cup and much more.

Want to try your hand at ocean sailing? Sign on as crew on Andy & Mia's Swan 48 'Isbjorn' and learn what it takes to cross an ocean in safety, comfort and style. See the full passage calendar, including trans-Atlantic voyages, a North Sea crossing and a trip into the Baltic at 59-north.com/offshore.

#159. Pam Wall, the film version. When we changed the name of the show to ON THE WIND, I hinted about new projects in the works. Today I can finally announce one of them. The episode that follows is the audio version of this week's ON THE WIND, which in its original form is actually a film, directed by Thierry Humeau and shot in Pam Wall's backyard in Ft. Lauderdale back in April. This is the first of what will become a sort of special addition to the podcast when Thierry and I have time to film & produce it. The film version will release simultaneously with the podcast, so make sure to visit 59-north.com/onthewindtv to watch it, or subscribe to our new YouTube channel at youtube.com/59northsailing. There's also some special bonus footage, including a film tour with Pam and I or her iconic Freya 39 KANDARIK. Thanks to Pam for participating! And big thanks also to Liz Karamavros for helping to brainstorm the name; to Cameron Deyell, for composing and recording the music especially for the show; to Mia Karlsson; and to Thierry for coming up with the idea in the first place! I truly hope you enjoy it. Follow along with Pam Wall at pamwall.com.

#158 Isbjorn sailed to Cuba in April. Finally, my full-length essay on the experience in Havana. This one is for the dreamers, filled with descriptions of what it's like at marina Hemingway, chasing signs of Che, Fidel and the Cuban revolution, drinking daquaries at La Floridita, sipping Havana Club rum, smoking cigars, driving around in old cars and everything else that defines the Cuban experience. Don't miss the music too, recorded locally.

#157. is John Harries, the founder of morganscloud.com, AKA 'Attainable Adventure Cruising,' and in my opinion the foremost authority on safe and simple ocean sailing boats & equipment. He's an accomplished high latitudes sailor with over 150,000 miles under his keel. Mia and I met him for a round 2 on the podcast in Lunenburg, where he dinghied out to Isbjorn for an in-person chat.

We discussed sailing in the Arctic, Isbjorn's original owner Warren Browne, who John sailed with, Skip Novak, batteries for offshore cruising boats, the Adventure 40 project, podcasting and media in general and much, much more.

We're joined in this episode by some of Isbjorn's crew for the leg 9, south from Lunenburg to Annapolis. They chime in later in the chat with their own comments and questions, and are my good friend Tom Herrington, the guy with the Richmond accent; crew member Dan Levine; my producer, Liz Karamavros; and Mia.

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Thanks for listening to 'On the Wind,' the podcast about sailing. If you've enjoyed the show, do us a big favor and help spread the word. Review us on iTunes, or better yet, share the podcast with your friends who you think might dig it. We really appreciate it.

On the Wind is produced by me and Liz Karamavros. Cameron Deyell composed and performs the new intro music for the show. Blaggards are behind the outro music. Steve Olson is the graphic designer for all of 59 North's projects, including the podcast artwork.

Subscribe to 'On the Wind' on iTunes, Google Play, or wherever else you get your podcasts. If you haven't done so yet, please head over to iTunes and leave a review for the show, it really & truly helps. And finally, huge thanks to all of our awesome listeners! Keep sending in your feedback and suggestions to [email protected]. See you next week!

#156 is another World Cruising Club 'Ocean Sailing Forum,' this one recorded back in January at the Toronto International Boat Show. In the Forum, I moderated a panel of experienced ocean sailors including Les Suter, who you'll recall from episode 97, Toronto native Colin Kilgour, Sheryl Shard of the Distant Shores TV show, Caribbean 1500 and ARC Europe vets Joy & Ian Winterborn, and finally, drumroll please, Mia Karlsson! I give a thorough introduction to who all of the panelists are in the actual episode. Towards the last third, there is also a guest appearance by author & circumnavigator Liza Copeland!

These panel discussions, which we try and do at all of the boat shows - the next one, by the way, is coming up in Annapolis this fall…go to 59-north.com/events to register - touch on all aspects of ocean voyaging, from boat selection and outfitting, to sailing routes, crew selection, weather routing & forecasting and much more. This is a long one, running at close to 2 hours, so get comfy and enjoy the chat! While I've posted two previous Forums on the podcast, they've all had different panelists, so you can always learn something new. Finally, big thanks to the Toronto Show staff, specifically Rich, the sound engineering, for facilitating me recording our seminars there!

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Join me and my friends at Chesapeake Sailmakers in Annapolis for a weekend of traditional navigation and good old storytelling. Go to 59-north.com/celestial for details and to signup! Course is limited to the first twelve people to register. Hope to see you there!

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This episode is sponsored by Marine Electric Systems in Annapolis, MD. Patrick Tewes and his crew are gurus in electrical systems and design, from the 'guts' of the system like batteries and alternators, to the electronic nav aids like radar and autopilots. Patrick's mentor, Bob Campbell, used to be affectionately known around town as the 'Yoda' of boat electrical systems. Which must make Patrick the 'Luke Skywalker' I suppose!? Patrick redid the entire electrical system on my dad's Sojourner prior to his first Caribbean trip in 2013, and recently installed a Watt & Sea Hydrogenerator aboard Isbjorn prior to our Canadian Maritimes passage. The unit, when sailing over 6 knots and with the larger, 280mm prop, puts out up to 40 amps of clean power, making us entirely sustainable offshore. It's my favorite new addition to the boat. Marine Electric Systems - specializing in custom electrical & electronic system design, installation, consulting, service, repair and education. Visit marineelectricsystems.net to contact Patrick and get started designing your dream system.