Out The Gate Sailing

In this episode, I sit down with Michael and Anne Hartshorn, special friends with whom my family and I have been cruising for nearly the past two years. They departed the UK in 2008, and since they have sailed across the Atlantic, through the Caribbean and the Panama Canal, up the west coast of the US to Canada and Alaska, up and down the Sea of Cortez, across the Pacific to French Polynesia, Fiji...

I sit down with Duncan Copeland and Larissa Clark, a couple currently sailing the Pacific with their two children aboard their Bruce Farr designed Beneteau 50, Freeranger. While cruising they are running a global non-profit called Free Range Ocean, focused on inspiring sailors and non-sailors to get involved in citizen science with the goal of inspiring action among boating and costal communities...

In this episode, I sit down with Nica and Jeremy Waters, a couple cruising on their 28 foot Bristol Channel Cutter, Calypso. We met up on the north side of Nuka Hiva in the Marquesas. You might recognize Nica’s voice from The Boat Galley podcast she does with Carolyn Shearlock. Jermey has created an affordable weather routing tool for all cruisers called Fast Seas . They both provide information a...

At 21-years-old Jasmine Harrison became the youngest female to row solo across the Atlantic. A year later she set a record as the first woman to swim the full length of the British Isles. Currently, she’s participating in the Mini Globe Race, a solo, around-the-world race for 5.8 meter mostly home-built yachts. Before starting the race, Jasmine didn’t know how to sail. We crossed paths in the Marq...

Andy Schell of 59° North Sailing is no stranger to the Out The Gate podcast. We’d both been wanting to follow up on our last podcast conversation, but hadn’t managed to connect over Zoom. So, when Falken, 59° North's Farr 65, and Dovka both happened to pull into Hiva Oa in the Marquesas the same morning, we took the opportunity to finally sit down and chat. We talked about our respective Pacific c...

After completing a nearly 3,000 nautical mile passage from Banderas Bay, Mexico to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, my crew and I sit down to debrief our voyage. Joining me on Dovka for the 23.5 day ocean crossing was my brother Jon Shaw and my college buddy Tim Field. A few days after arrival, the three of us sat down to discuss the highs and lows of the trip, from a magical manta ray v...

Mark Synnott is a professional rock climber and author. He’s climb many first ascents, written a multitude of National Geographic articles and simply put had a ton of bad ass adventures. He took up sailing about 20 years ago, and recently sailed his boat, Polar Sun, through the Northwest Passage on a quest to unlock the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the Franklin Expedition. Mark has a n...

I met 23-year-old Kevin Boyle when he sailed into La Cruz Mexico aboard his Ericson 32 and I took his lines at the dock. Kevin stuck out in the sailing community of La Cruz because of his young age. He reminded me of myself when I went cruising in my 20s and I really wanted to talk to him about his experience cruising a young person and seeing how he made that happen. He’s currently crossing the P...

Tim Carden is not new to adventure, having ridden his motorcycle solo all over the world. But, he is relatively new to sailing and he’s planning an audacious journey in his trailerable 27-foot trimaran. He’s planning to drive his Corsair F-27 south from his home in Albuquerque, NM, to launch it in the Sea of Cortez. From there, he’ll sail solo down the Sea of Cortez, out across the Pacific to Fren...

Heather Richard is a skilled sailor, an exceptional teacher, a great storyteller, and a kick-ass mother! As a high school graduation present for her son, they double-handed in the Pacific Cup Race to Hawaii, aboard the boat on which she raised him! Heather and I talk about prepping for this race, the crossing, and the long sail back. We discuss why she’s decided to sell her boat and what she’s loo...

Raffi Patatian is one of the most conscientious, careful, and knowledgeable sailors I know. He set off for Mexico aboard his Hallberg Rassy 43, Wind River, in the fall of 2023. Since then, he has sailed many miles down the West Coast and across the Pacific Ocean, mostly singlehanded. He’s an entrepreneur who ran his own IT business in the Bay Area before heading off cruising. Raffi and I caught up...

Jamie and Behan Gifford have been sailing their Stevens 47, Totem , around the world for more than a decade. They raised three children aboard but are now empty nesters, planning the next chapter of their cruising life. Lauren and I joined them aboard Totem to discuss life afloat, upgrades to their beloved boat, their successful coaching business, and their upcoming sailing plans. (Photo by Jill H...

Jon Bilger is the director and founder of PredictWind . Jon founded the company after working on forecasting for the Alinghi Americas Cup team. The technology has revolutionized accessibility of weather forecasting and routing for both racers and cruisers. I talk to Jon about his own sailing background, how he developed Predict Wind, some new exciting tools - like 100 meter accuracy tidal current...

John Taussig is the founder and executive director of Backcountry Medical Guides and the subsidiary Maritime Medical Guides . He’s a career paramedic who’s worked on helicopters, in ambulances, on ski patrol, as a ranger, and as a captain on boats. He’s a surfer, climber, kayaker, mountain biker, snow boarder, sailer, and and all around adventurer based in Bellingham Washington. John and I talked...

Michael Rohde is rebuilding - bow to stern, keel to masthead - a late 70s Cape George 36 named Akela. He welcomed me aboard the boat last August when it was on the hard at Napa Valley Marina. He’s jumped into this major project with both feet and is making good progress. Inspired by other YouTubers, he’s documenting the entire refit on his channel RohdeSoda .

Andre Lay is licensed Captain from the Bay Area who is in the process of circumnavigating North America in a compact trawler. He’s currently in Barra de Navidad on the Mexican mainland and is soon headed for El Salvador. He is doing this trip simply to prove too himself he can, to meet people, and to see what’s out there. He’d also like to raise awareness for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but as Andre...

Scott Racette and Ashley Gremel met sailing in San Francisco Bay in 2016. Five years later they sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge together aboard their Pearson 365, Azimuth, to begin a trip from the San Francisco Bay to the Chesapeake Bay. Along the way they adopted a cat, transited the Panama Canal, fixed leaking through-hulls, and learned a whole lot. I talk to them about the adventure.

Brendan Borrell is a corespondent for Outside Magazine. Along with photographer Tom Fowlks, he recently paddled from the Central Valley of California to the headwaters of the San Francisco Bay. Taking advantage of a very wet winter last year, which led to the reformation of Tulare Lake, they paddled over flooded farmland, up irrigation ditches and down rivers, braving putrid water, a sinking boat,...

As my wife, two daughters and I prepare to move aboard and sail south aboard Dovka, our 1981 Hallberg Rassy 352, the four of us sit down with my parents Sid and Rebecca shaw to talk about the boat--which they used to own--and our coming travels. Follow our trip at www. Dovka.com

Andy Schell , along with his wife Mia Karlsson , founded the ocean sailing business 59 North to share the wisdom of the high seas. Lauren and I sailed with them in July of 2019 and that’s when I last had Andy on the show. Since then Andy and Mia have grown 59 North by leaps and bounds. In this episode, I catch up with Andy to hear about the changes and the difficulties and stresses they’ve faced i...

Pam Wall has encouraged and inspired so many individuals and families to find joy from sailing and cruising. She has spent decades sharing her knowledge through lectures, boat show seminars, and of course podcasts like this. Pam first took off cruising with her husband Andy Wall aboard their 30-ft sloop Carronade. Later, with children, they cruised aboard the 39-ft sloop Kandarik. While I’ve never...

Isabel Lardner has sailed many miles on tall ships, something I’ve always dreamed of doing. She share stories of her time at sea and describes what it’s like sailing these special ships.

Mary SwiftSwan is the founder of Afterguard Sailing in Oakland. Afterguard is only one of the three sailing schools she’s founded. She began teaching sailing in 1984, became the very first woman ASA instructor/evaluator, and has literally written the book on ASA instruction - helping write the ASA curriculum for the 101 and 103 courses.

Ryan May run’s his charter business, May on the Bay, out of Sausalito aboard his Catalina 34. A U.S. Coast Guard Captain, Ryan has logged over 25,000 offshore nautical miles since learning to sail as a kid in Toronto - visiting nearly 40 countries by sail. Ryan and I met because our kids went to the same school in San Francisco and quickly bonded over our similar sailing experience. Book a sail wi...

Leigh Hunt is President and CEO of Modern Sailing school and club. Modern has been introducing people to sailing on SF Bay since 1983. In 2014, Leigh, decided to make his passion for sailing into a business - leaving a career in product management to purchase Modern from the previous owner. Recently Modern has expanded their operations, taking over the space in the Berkeley Marine Center that used...