Offshore Sailing and Cruising with Paul Trammell

MJ and Amy Sizemore from Motherload Sailing sailed in November from Linton Bay, Panama, to Ft. Pierce, Florida, through the Windward Passage, and without stopping. They sail a Bavaria 50 with their five boys, but have sold it and are buying a Lagoon 410 catamaran.  We talk about clearing out of Panama, the Ngäbe indigenous people, their nonstop passage, weather routing, foul weather in the Windwar...

Helga Marie Lovenskiold Kveseth, aka Mara, is a Norwegian entered in the 2026 Golden Globe Race, an around-the-world, solo, and nonstop race using only technology from 1968 or before. She holds a Captain's License and has over 25,000 nm sailing experience. She once trained for the olympics in fencing, was a rower competing on the world stage, and even a bobsleder. We talk about preparing for the G...

Lin Pardey is a living legend best known for sailing long offshore passages in small traditional boats witout engines or electronics. Lin and her late husband Larry have sailed over 200,000nm, have circumnavigated in both directions, and have sailed around all the great capes east to west (contrary to prevailing wind). She is the author of 14 sailing nonfiction books, including her latest "Passage...

Bert Terhart is a Canadian adventurer who has cicumnavigated solo, nonstop,  navigating only with a sextant. He also crossed Canada from west coast to east coast in a canoe in one season, which we talk about on my other podcast "Dream Chasers and Eccentrics." In this episode, we talk about his circumnavigation and why he did it, sharks, preparing for worst-case scenarios, Captain Cook, broaching a...

Dealtry Pickford is a South African sailor entered in the 2027 Global Solo Challenge, an around-the-world nonstop solo race. HIs background is dinghy racing, and his boat is a class 40.  We talk about sailing a class 40, speed, different points of sail, difficult situations, sailing around South Africa, training for the Global Solo Challenge, the desire to do the race, the Southern Ocean, being al...

Pat Lawless is an entrant in the 2026 Golden Globe Race. He also sailed in the 2022 GGR, but had a failure of his windvane and retired in Cape Town, South Africa.  We talk about the Canary Islands, his passage from Ireland, his Saltram Saga 36, sextant navigation, AIS, lightning, lessons learned in the 2022 GGR, finishing teak, waterproofing deck hardware, making to-do lists, using teak oil, meeti...

Ambre was born in Paris, but moved to the US when she was 10. She went to school and graduated with a degree in economics. After a brief career in New York City, she gave it all up to become a sailor, and now races Class Mini with her eyes on the Ocean Race and the Vendée Globe. She tells us about her new boat, #618, On the Road Again II, and training for the Mini Transat 2025. We talk about the n...

Scott Johnston runs Yachting Scotland, an adventure-sailing and sailing tourism operation located in the Firth of Clyde on the west coast of Scotland. Our discussion begins with us talking about our boats and comparing the pros and cons of my full-keel cruiser and his modern performance cruiser. We also talk about the weather and sailing conditions in Scotland, sailing destinations in Scotland, le...

Doug Jackson spent fifteen years building a 75' steel junk-rigged sailboat in Tulsa Oklahoma. Aron Erwin introduced me to Doug, and I interviewed them both in episode 221 in the before and after Hurricane Milton episode. Doug had such an interesting boat that I had to do this episode.  We talk about St Augustine Florida, a boat that went aground in the Hurricane Milton, designing and building Seek...

Adam lives off-grid in southeast Alaska and sails a Cape George 36. He was also a small-boat commercial fisherman and a merchant marine.  We talk about Alaska, his history of commercial fishing, why we love untying the lines ashore, working as a merchant marine, finding the right boat, the Cape George 36, the Golden Globe Race and Kirsten Neuschafer, sailing in the fjords, the anchorages, Deigo Ga...

Erden Eruc is an entrant in the 2026 Golden Globe Race, and has purchased Simon Curwen's Biscay 36, Clara. Erden is also one of only two people to have circumnavigated under human power, and Erden is the only to have done it solo, and he did it by rowing, cycling, kayaking, and hiking. He holds an amazing 18 Guiness World Records.  We talk about his boat, his sailing experience, reasons he wants t...

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...

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 Ba...

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 f...

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 h...

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...

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 ourse...

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...

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, s...

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 t...

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 sched...

Porter Fox grew up on the coast of Maine sailing small boats. His father designed and built Whistler sailboats and founded Able Marine. Porter has written three books and also writes stories for The New York Times and other journals.  His latest book is Category Five, which we talk about.  We also talk about sailing around New York City, sailing a Whistler that his father built, sailing a cat ketc...

Dave winkler is a Sea Two captain in Boston. We talk about sailing in Boston, problems sailers face and ask Sea Tow for help with, towing sailboats and using drogues during rudder-failure, mast breakage, the importance of taping over cotterpins in the standing rigging and lifelines, dangerous rescues, lobster bouys, rescuing a leatherback turtle, tips to avoid needing to call for help, and more. F...

Captain James is a former submariner in the US Navy. He's sailed over 70,000 nm on a wide variety of boats. We talk about life on a submarine, catamarans, sailing through the South Pacific, a near-disaster on a catamaran breaking up in a storm, dual rudders, center cockpits, raised deck salons, pointing high, chasing your dreams and doing what you really want instead of what you think you are supp...

In this bonus mid-week episode, I interview Sea Tow captain Ethan Maass, from Sea Tow Boston.  We talk about how Sea Tow serves sailors, how far they go to help, working with the Coast Guard when there's a problem, communications, what membership includes and doesn't, collisions, common safety shortcomings in boaters, emergency anchoring, getting lost, using divers, ordering pizza, and more. Shown...