Around the Buoy

Chris Fischer loves fish sandwiches, but he knows that without sharks there are no fish sandwiches. In 2007, Chris founded the shark research group OCEARCH, a progressive organization that has changed the way data is gathered by teaming up the world's best fisherman with leading marine scientists on one ship and making their findings open to the public. Gathering more information in one trip than...

"Lead an interesting life".  This was the advice that a young Carol Newman Cronin, hopeful author and sailor, was given when she asked about increasing her odds on achieving her dream of becoming published.  Since asking that question, she has given herself plenty to write about.  Carol has competed at the highest levels of sailing: representing the country in the Athens Olympic Games, '04 Yngling...

The Race to Alaska! A 750-mile Cannonball Run from Port Townsend, WA, up the Inside Passage of the Canadian Coast to Ketchikan, AK has been called the "Iditarod on a Boat", and the only rule is there are no engines allowed.  COVID has pushed the start of the 2020 race back until 2021 but that does not mean you have to quit R2AK cold turkey: Race to Alaska – The Movie will be coming to the small sc...

From the first race around the Isle of Wight in 1851, the America's Cup has been about pushing the envelope of sailing but few people could have predicted that the sport would evolve to where we are today: a 75 foot 50+ knot foiling monohull.  With all these new advancements, it is helpful to have someone there who can educate you on the history of the oldest trophy in international sport but also...

Sara Hastreiter was born and raised landlocked in Wyoming and did not get into sailing until well into her 20's, but she did not let that slow her down.  Working on boats in the Caribbean, she took every opportunity to get sea time; from island hopping to trans-Atlantic races, it did not matter, she signed up.  With only a few years of sailing under her belt, she was asked to be a member of the al...

Today, we take trans-Atlantic flight for granted; jump on a plane in the early evening on the East Coast and arrive in London, Paris, or Amsterdam by sunrise.  But shortly after the Wright Brothers flew in Kitty Hawk in 1903, sights were set to reach Europe by air, and as the world was mired in World War I, this achievement became even more vital to the success of the Allies. The Navy tasked the C...

Sperry Sails is a family run business that has been providing boaters with the highest quality, hand crafted sails and other canvas products for over 40 years.  Throughout their history, adapting has been one of their keys to success.  Starting with Dacron sails, a staple for the traditional wooden boat fleet, the sail makers in the loft now use computers to design and cut carbon fiber sails for t...

The Oliver Hazard Perry is the first fully rigged ocean going vessel to be built in the United States in over one hundred years and she flies the Rhode Island flag proudly as the state's official tall ship.  The Oliver Hazard Perry also is the largest civilian sailing school in the country and we are joined in studio with their new Captain and CEO, Jonathan Kabak.  Coming onboard with a ton of und...

For most of us in the Northeast, sailing is not a year-round sport. But that is not the case with Newport's own James "T" Theiler. T is one of the many sailors of the New England Ice Yacht Association who trade in their shorts and flip flops for long underwear and a helmet when the temps dip below freezing. This, they say, is "hard water" sailing.  Fresh off of winning the North American Ice Boati...

For the past fifty years, fiberglass boats have been considered the cheap and minimal maintenance way to own a boat, but with an estimated 120,0000 glass hulls being decommissioned each year, either destroyed by storms or dumped in landfills, we are starting to realize just how long lasting they are.  Part 2 of this episode continues our conversation with Evan Ridley of the Rhode Island Marine Tra...

Part 1 of 2 For the past fifty years, fiberglass boats have been considered the cheap and minimal maintenance way to own a boat, but with an estimated 120,0000 glass hulls being decommissioned each year, either destroyed by storms or dumped in landfills, we are starting to realize just how long lasting they are.  This episode's guest, Evan Ridley, is the Director of Environmental Programs at the R...

By all accounts, Natasha Lambert is an amazing sailor.  By her early 20's she had  already sailed across the English Channel and most of the British Isles.  What makes her accomplishments even more remarkable is that Natasha was born with the neurological disorder Cerebral Palsy but she is not letting this slow her down.   Never shying away from a challenge, Natasha has set her goals way over the...

Matt and Tami Mullins have traveled the world during a 20 year career in the US Navy. When they finally landed in Newport, RI, they were surprised to learn that in the Ocean State, there was no locally produced sea salt to help bring out the flavors of freshly caught fish, garden vegetables, or even a chocolate chip cookie! This is their story. Listen in!

When Henry Hudson sailed into New York Harbor in 1609, he saw one of the most vibrant and diverse ecosystems the world had ever seen, but as the population of the city grew, all of the oyster reefs were consumed and widespread pollution turned the harbor into a dead zone, unable to support any forms of life.  This began to turn around in the 70's with the passing of the Clean Water Act but there i...

Tracy Edwards was the 27-year old ambitious sailor who skippered Maiden, the first all-female crew to race in the 89-90 Whitbread Around the World Race.  This spring, the critically acclaimed documentary Maiden was released worldwide, and it recounts the struggles and obstacles that Tracy and the rest of the crew faced leading up to, and during, the sailing's toughest test.  The film was directed...

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Hurricane Hunters have the seemingly crazy task of flying directly into one of the most destructive forces known to man.  From June to November, these brave pilots are busy flying researchers, scientist and meteorologist into the Atlantic to gather crucial data that will help forecast, track and warn those in harms way.  For Episod...

Since Tabor Academy moved to the head of Sippican Harbor in Marion MA, the school has empowered students to develop their leadership skills onboard their sailing yacht Tabor Boy.  The current Tabor Boy, (TBIII) a 1914 North Sea Pilot Schooner, has been under the command of Capt. James Geil since 1987, and for the past three decades he has introduced the joys and responsibilities of being out at se...

Tyler and Carter welcome Woody Metzger of First Light Boatworks back into the EPB Studio talk about the latest modification of their award-winning 26' Monomoy, the Pocasset.  The crew at First Light completed the build and launched the hull in mid-October, and instead of transporting her to the owner in Florida the traditional way, over the road with a truck and trailer, Woody decided to make the...

The Talisker Atlantic Challenge ( https://www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com/ ) is a 3000 NM ocean rowing race from The Canary Islands to Antigua and it has been called the "World's Toughest Row". Building on their successful finish last year, a new all-veteran Fight Oar Die team will be casting off on December 12 th  with thirty-four other crews.  Skippered by former Submariner Carl Christen...

Last winter, Tyler headed up to New Hampshire on assignment to photograph Med Chandler, owner of Ship's Coy Forge for an upcoming article in WoodenBoat Magazine about blacksmithing traditional caulking irons.  Med was introduced to blacksmithing as a 7th grader and spent his early adulthood working on traditional wooden schooners and honing his skills reproducing period authentic iron hardware.  I...

Perry Raso grew up digging for little neck clams in Point Judith pond. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island, he opened up the Matunuck Oyster Farm, a small one-acre oyster farm in South Kingston, RI.  The farm quickly grew and then in 2009, Perry became a restaurateur as well, renovating a small dilapidated clam shack at the entrance of the Pond into the critically acclaimed Matunu...

For many, the 12 Metres have been synonymous with the America's Cup, but the class goes way deeper than that. Designed in the early 1900s, it was first sailed as a cruiser/racer, but that changed when the New York Yacht Club picked it as the next class to defend for the Cup.  From 1956 to 1983, the best of the best in the sailing world came to Newport to compete in the waters of Rhode Island Sound...

The S-Boat is one of Nat. Herreshoff's most iconic designs, and this year, it turns 100! In this episode, we talk with Alan Silken who just finished writing Setting Sail in America, a comprehensive history of the class that includes the origins of the design, and the many fleets here in New England, and even on the other side of the world in Hawaii. (Yes, I said Hawaii!)  Then we bring in the Comm...

The David B was built in 1929 and served as a towing vessel for the fishing companies off the coast of Alaska, after being decommissioned in the 1950s she went the route of many wooden boats of that era and was beached and left to rot.  Thankfully, Jeffery and Christine Smith came across her and in 1998 they decided to undertake a full restoration that would get her back on the water.  Jeffery and...