Ocean Sailing Podcast

In this one-of-a-kind, "not-about-sailing" episode, I sit down with the bold and enthusiastic Stephanie Neil , Founder of Fiji Surf Charter, to uncover the story behind her leap from the laid-back shores of Northern NSW to launching a live-aboard surf adventure business in the heart of the South Pacific. We explore the serendipitous way our paths first crossed and the incredible vision Stephanie h...

David shares an update on the latest challenges at Ocean Sailing Expeditions. Buying an IMOCA Open 60 yacht complete with a carbon mast and canting keel is enough of a project, without adding a 105 foot motor-yacht to the fleet at the same time. From start-up to 4 vessels in 5 years, it's been a roller coaster ride at times. Battle weary from 6 months of boat yards, budget blow-outs and upgrades,...

Do you have the drive for adventure and the desire to push your limits? Whether you're an experienced sailor or a keen adventurer looking for the ultimate challenge, this episode is a live webinar recording, designed to invite you as a crew member, inside the exciting world of high performance ocean racing . Join Sharon Ferris-Choat and David Hows as they dive into what makes the Ocean Sailing Exp...

David Hows catches up with Sharon Ferris-Choat for a debrief on the IMOCA Open 60 project - Awen. With less than 8 weeks to get Awen into MCA Cat 0 survey and to the start line, for the what turned out to be a treacherous edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, it was mission impossible. Despite the odds, Sharon led a passionate team, who worked around the clock during October and November...

David's daughter Madison interviews him about life lessons, building a sailing business, setbacks, challenges and the future ahead. In this episode, Madison dive's into Davids background as a 16-year school leaver and the 34 year journey he took, to launch and build Ocean Sailing Expeditions at age 50 as COVID 19 hit. This episode as about passion and resilience and not being afraid to take risks,...

In this episode we share the webinar recording with David Hows, Skipper and Founder of Ocean Sailing Expeditions, where he covers: - Details on the upcoming 15-leg Australian Circumnavigation in 2026-27 and why its bigger, better and more exciting than the previous event in 2023 - A sneak peek at the new sailing destinations, that haven't been released yet - Information about the new racing events...

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....

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 di...

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...

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 lif...

Ginny met Steve at a wooden boat festival in the 1990's when he was selling his book, Three Years in a 12-Foot Boat. She thought something like, "The crazy things people do!" Fast forward to 2022 and retired City Planner, Stephen Ladd (who married Ginny) shares an amazing story of the 5-years they spent exploring the coasts and inland rivers of South America in a 21-foot yacht and gave birth to a...

Neil grew up sailing in the UK and quickly became accustomed to the range of weather conditions that it serves up. By the time he was a few months old, he completed his first English Channel crossing. He fell into maritime training as a teenager at his local sailing club, before emigrating to Australia and launching his own Sydney based training company 'Above and Beyond Boating'. Unlike some of t...

David Hows crossed the Tasman Sea for the first time in 2013, relieved to have survived a 1,500nm crossing that he never expected to repeat. 9 years and 13 Tasman Sea Crossings later, David has experienced winds as high as 55 knots, 10 metre seas, boat speeds hitting 24 knots and squalls tracked with radar moving at up to 106 knots. David shares 17 lessons that are applicable for anyone sailing of...

Derek Hamer has devoted his life to helping save seals and whales. It's a great insight into the impact that fishing has on our oceans and the work thats been done by a handful of people to change how fishermen think about sustainability. Derek is passionate about protecting our oceans for future generations and has accrued decades of experience working on the management of marine mammal conservat...

Walter Van Lier finds a 1980's Beneteau yacht for sale online and flies half way around the world during COVID to buy it. This is the story of a crazy adventurer with a heart of gold and his remarkable journey from Spain to Hobart, Australia. From a broken forestay, to engine failure, shredded mainsail and steering failure this tale has it all. Walter is a full time vagabond and part time fruit pi...

Imagine discovering a log that had just floated down a Tasmanian River in a storm and building an ocean going yacht out of it. Not just any log, but   a rare Huon Pine log, felled 40 years earlier from a tree estimated at 1,000 years old. Thats what Derek Shields set out to do, with no background in boat building. After years sailing on other peoples yachts, he had found a John Muir design in 1982...

Meet Suzie Christensen; sailor and CEO of the stunning Lord Howe Island. On my 4th visit to Lord Howe Island in 5 years I managed to catch up with the newly appointed island CEO for a chat about island life. Suzie shares her early experience on fitting into her new role after moving from Queensland, Australia to the tropical island paradise, 300nm off Australia's East Coast. We chat about the hist...

We catch up with Matt Harvey on the challenge of flying 32 hours to Tahiti, to pick up a rookie crew and prepare to deliver his new yacht 'Salt Lines' to Sydney, Australia to join Ocean Sailing Expeditions. Salt Lines (originally John Laing), had been parked up for 2 years in Tahiti due to COVID-19. Matt's challenge was to fly in, prepare the vessel for departure and sail non-stop to Sydney on a j...

Dan Farmer, owner and skipper of the Sydney 41 yacht 'B52', shares the story of his epic adventure in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, where more than 40% of the fleet retired due to damage or injuries. Dan explained crew selection, training, boat preparation and their strategy in the the first 36 hours of the race when more than 30 yachts retired in the tough 'wind against current', southerly c...

I met Matt Harvey in June 2021 when he joined me onboard Silver Fern as Chief Mate on the 600nm passage from Southport to Hamilton Island, Queensland. With the various challenges that unfolded along the way, Matt proved himself as a capable and composed skipper, especially under pressure. Fast forward 4 months and Matt has just completed the purchase (sight unseen) of a 70-foot expedition yacht, t...

With a dream to sail the Atlantic one day, Maryanne (Scotland) met Kyle (USA) in 2002 and setting abut turning her dream into reality. They kicked their adventures on a 25 foot monohull on Lake Eerie and 19 years later they have not only crossed together but have also crossed the Pacific 5 times and have spent the last decade as live aboard cruisers. They share the tales of their travels including...

David Hows shares an update on his 72-foot expedition yacht project - Silver Fern, with details of the last 6-months including the Americas Cup, the 10-month certification process with Maritime New Zealand, big budget blow-outs on the refit. David dives into some of his early sailing adventure challenges on Silver Fern including; a forced lee shore anchorage in a heavy weather, being grounded for...

I catch up with America's Cup analyst and expert - Jack Griffin from CupExperience.com and we dive into the AC75 class, the shocks and surprises to date and the rocky road to the America's Cup Match in Auckland, New Zealand in March 2021 and what the future holds for the Auld Mug. This episode is packed with observations, thoughts and some bold predictions as to what's about to happen next, as Lun...

In this episode I meet with Rodney Keenan, founder of Evolution Sails, at his incredible high-tech membrane plant in Auckland, New Zealand about sail planning for my new project: Silver Fern. Rodney shares his advice on sail planning and the background story of how he built a global sail making business that sends sails to customers all over the world. As a 7-year client of Evolution, I was fascin...

Vernon Deck is a great example of jumping headfirst into sailing and just figuring it out as you go along. We initially interviewed Vernon in episode 68 and discovered how he purchased a Sayer 37 yacht 'Schiehallion' and before heading offshore to Solomon Islands, then onto Papua New Guinea and then Indonesia. This time we catch-up with Vernon to find out about cruising Indonesia and the challenge...