On the Wind Sailing

#83. Bruce Scwab is the first American sailor to complete the legendary solo, nonstop Vendee Globe ocean race. It was his second solo circumnavigation onboard Ocean Planet, the boat he designed and developed on the west coast.  Bruce grew up in northern California and started sailing with his dad a young age, eventually working at a rig shop for many years where he honed his skills on the owners b...

#82. Kamau Iandiataiyero is a learner. He discovered sailing in July 2013 on a Rainbow in Annapolis, and has taken to the sport incredibly quickly. So quickly, in fact, that he's building his own bluewater boat - one that he also designed - and hopes to set off by 2017. Kamau is not your average sailor. He's not average anything - at 6'7", he found production boats literally don't fit him. But the...

#81. Andy sits down with yachting photographer Tim Wright last week at the ARC finish in Saint Lucia. Tim has been photographing the ARC finish since 2000, and has been a professional photographer since the early 1990s.  He sailed, single-handed, in the first ARC in 1986 on a 29-footer, and never went home. After a lightbulb idea to photograph a race in Bequia, he took the success of that and expa...

#80. Brenda and Thane Paulsen spoke with Andy from their Bavaria 39 'Asylum' at Rodney Bay Marina in Saint Lucia. They'd just completed their first Atlantic crossing, sailing in the ARC+ rally, which departs Las Palmas and stops in the Cape Verde islands en route to the Caribbean. Brenda and Thane sailed double-handed, and spoke about the challenges of short-handed sailing. They delved into their...

#79. Andy sits down with Samuli & Timo in Saint Lucia to talk about Leopard's record-breaking run in this year's ARC. Nearly 3,000 miles in just over 8 days! While the boat was long gone, Samuli and Timo were still on island with their families and graciously chatted with Andy at Elena's Cafe in Rodney Bay Marina for an in-person chat. They talk about sailing culture in Finland, Samuli's pro racin...

#78. Matt Rutherford is back, and joins Andy via Skype from the R/V Ault, the Ocean Research Project's Colvin schooner in Annapolis. They discuss Matt's tumultuous history as a youngster, which was depicted in the newly released documentary 'Red Dot on the Ocean.' Matt touches on living in a cult, spending weeks in prison, living on and off the streets and how he relates to money (or lack thereof)...

#77. I wrote this piece in 2008, long before I got into any of this sailing stuff professionally (or even otherwise). I was dreaming of going offshore, and this is how I put that initial dream into practice. It's read in the present tense, but remember, was written in 2008, so it's not what I'm thinking now, but what I was thinking then. Hopefully it can inspire you to put your own dreams into act...

#76. We recorded this one live in Tortola at the end of the Caribbean 1500 rally. Andy gives an informal chat on his favorite places to visit down-island in the Caribbean. Basically St. Martin and south - the Eastern Caribbean's Leeward & Windward Islands. (By the way, that sound you hear in the background? It's the waves at the beach where we recorded this!) If you want to follow along graphicall...

#75. This is Part 4 of Andy & Mia's last big offshore passage on Arcturus from 2012, when they sailed direct to Sweden from Scotland. If you missed Parts 1, 2 & 3 they were  the last two Friday episodes, so you'll want to hear these in order. Thanks to the Blaggards for the music! Check them out at blaggards.com . Want to come ocean sailing with Andy? New passages for 2015 announced on a Shnnon 43...

#74. Frank & Patty Fabian are the philosophical opposites of last week's guests, Ted & Claudia Reshetiloff. But their story is no less inspiring. Where Ted & Claudia packed up their working lives, yanked their young kids out of school and set off for new lives in the Caribbean, Frank & Patty took a more deliberate route. Learning the ropes for 17 years on their Catalina 30, they taught themselves...

#73. This is Part 3 of Andy & Mia's last big offshore passage on Arcturus from 2012, when they sailed direct to Sweden from Scotland. If you missed Parts 1 & 2, it was last  the last two Friday episodes, so you'll want to hear these in order. Thanks to the Blaggards for the music! Check them out at blaggards.com . Want to come ocean sailing with Andy? New passages for 2015 announced on a Shnnon 43...

#72. Welcome to the best episode yet...no joke. If you ever dreamed of leaving the corporate life and sailing off, on a tight bugdet and with a young family, listen to this episode. These are my friends Ted & Claudia Reshetiloff and their two kids, Max and Anya, 11 and 9. Mia and I joined them on ther boat, Demeter, a Wauquiez Amphitrite ketch in Nanny Cay Marina in Tortola to hear the story of ho...

#71. This is Part 2 of Andy & Mia's last big offshore passage on Arcturus from 2012, when they sailed direct to Sweden from Scotland. If you missed Part 1, it was last Friday's episode, so you'll want to hear these in order.

#70. Bill Cullen, accomplished offshore sailor and crewmember aboard Serenity in this year's Caribbean 1500 , guest-hosts the podcast to discuss his favorite gadgets for offshore sailing and down-island cruising. These are far from your 'mission critical' items that Andy is constantly harping on, but they're fun, clever ideas for making the best of your time at sea. Bill has sailed in most parts o...

#69. Andy reads from a handwritten log entry during Arcturus' North Sea crossing from 2012. This is the first of a four-part series on the voyage from Scotland to Sweden, the last major offshore passage that Andy and Mia have done on Arcturus since crossing the Atlantic in 2011. Since then, the boat's been in the sheltered waters of the Baltic archipelagos. Stay tuned over the next three weeks for...

#68. Andy chatted with Erik for a third time about a month ago now, just after Erik had returned from 4 months in the Arctic on Bagheera. They discussed why he's drawn to sailing in the ice, how he made it all the way to 78º north, how he rebuilt his engine in Nuuk, Greenland, and his design ideas on the Adventure 40 he's working on with John Harries. Follow Erik on bagheera-sailing.com.

#67. Andy gives a seminar on Tuesday at the Caribbean 1500 on mentally preparing to go offshore. This is similar to the one that was up previously, but is specific to the Caribbean 1500 and more generally the route from the Chesapeake to the Caribbean, regardless of whether or not you're with a rally. This was recorded at Roger Brown's on High St. in Portsmouth during the pre-departure program in...

#66. Andy sat in on the Ocean Research Project's two-year anniversary party and 'friendraiser' at Heavy Seas Brewery in Baltimore. He got to sit next to Senator Tom Harkin and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley during the ORP's presentation! Matt, Jamin and NIcole talked about the ORP's last two years and what happening next summer in Greenland. Jamin's part of the presentation was exceptionally in...

#65. Andy discusses his way of getting and interpreting weather forecasts offshore, and why he thinks people tend to overanalyze it to the detriment of their enjoyment of ocean sailing. This is apart educational, part rant, and part just what works for Andy & Mia. What works for you when it comes to offshore weather?

#62. Andy recounts a tale about a run-in with immigration authorities in Grenada that nearly cost him a weekend in prison. This is from his 2009 experience skippering Broadreach's Arc of the Caribbean adventure travel program.

#61. Part 2 of the World Cruising Club 'Ocean Sailing Forum,' live from the Annapolis Sailboat Show. Andy moderates a panel including SAIL's Charlie Doane, Paul & Sheryl Shard from 'Distant Shores,' and Jennifer & Scott Brigham of the Valiant 40 'Pendragon.' They discussed all things ocean sailing, from boat selection watch planning, seasickness, fears, joys and more! If you missed Part 1, go to 5...

#60. Part 1 of the World Cruising Club 'Ocean Sailing Forum,' live from the Annapolis Sailboat Show. Andy moderates a panel including SAIL's Charlie Doane, Paul & Sheryl Shard from 'Distant Shores,' and Jennifer & Scott Brigham of the Valiant 40 'Pendragon.' They discussed all things ocean sailing, from boat selection to watch planning, seasickness, fears, joys and more! Check for Part 2 later thi...

#59. NPR's Scott Neuman chats with Andy about their favorite books that they'd bring along to a desert island or on a long offshore passage. They get going discussing some classic sailing books, then venture into fiction and nonfiction. If you're looking for something new to read, take notes! Thanks to Scott for inspiring this podcast!

#58. Andy reads a story called 'High Adventure' he wrote in February 2008. He and a friend, Michael, summited the hightes peak in Ireland. They were traveling together after meeting at a TEFL course in Prague.

#57. Brion's back to chat with Andy about some more technical aspects of yacht rigging, specifically to how it relates to ocean sailing, in Part 2 of yesterday's interview. They discuss proper preventers, rig tune, rig inspections, Dynex Dux and the advent of synthetics, and much more.