Standing Before the Mast

My guest for this episode is professional sailor, Erica Lush. Erica began sailing at a young age with positive influence from her parents, and followed her passion sailing competitively for her high school and university teams. Erica is also involved in the Maiden Factor. Maiden carried the first all-female crew to sail around the world when Tracey Edwards skippered her in the 1989/1990 Whitbread...

Meet Kelsy Patnaude. Kelsy is a Visual-Artist with an M.F.A. in Visual Art from Lesley University of Art and Design, Cambridge, MA. which she earned in 2019. Kelsy also has a B.A. in Studio Art and a Minor in Art History from Salve Regina University here in Newport which she earned in 2012. A professional sailor, Kelsy came to sailing a bit later than some, but has had many great experiences inclu...

Meet Kate Wilson Somers, Sailor, Sailing Instructor and Entrepreneur. A life-long sailor, and sailing instructor, Kate has also been involved with the Volvo Ocean Race as support crew for Team Vestas 11th Hour Racing, the America's Cup with Oracle Team USA in 2012-2013, and The Rolex Big Boat Series in San Francisco. At the 24th Annual Providence Boat Show (2017), the Rhode Island Marine Trades As...

Our guest for this episode is Charlie Doane. Charlie is a sailor and sailing journalist. He’s currently the cruising editor for SAIL magazine. Charlie has been writing professionally since 1986 for many publications including New England Off Shore and Cruising World. He’s written two books: The Modern Cruising Sailboat, and The Sea Is Not Full. Charlie is currently working on a new book, a non-fic...

Our guest for this episode is Sailor, Author and Broadcaster Tom Cunliffe. Tom has written for many major sailing publications and currently works with Sailing Today and Classic Boat in the UK. He is the author of over two dozen books - notably the Shell Channel Pilot, Celestial Navigation, and Topsail & Battleaxe. Topsail & Battleaxe tells the tale of the time he retraced the path of the Vikings...

My guest for this episode is Marcello of La Gondola Providence, Inc. Marcello is the second owner of the business who came to the job during his college years. He’s very well traveled and extremely knowledgeable about the culture, history and construction of the Venetian Gondola. Marcello gives us his history with the company, how he met the original owners, and where he’s taken it. In addition to...

This is a bit of a diversion from the normal podcast episodes I do. Given all that’s going on right now, I thought we’d check in with Capt. Tim Mills, Harbormaster for the City of Newport, and find out what to expect when we take to the water this summer. Tim gives us the latest information on quarantine rules for boaters, restrictions on use of facilities, launches and boat ramps. Tim reminds us...

Latest podcast available now. Meet Kate Masury, Program Director for the non-profit Eating With The Ecosystem. If you love seafood or just want to expand your knowledge of what’s available to us, this podcast is for you. Eating With The Ecosystem was founded in 2014 with a mission to “promote a place-based approach to sustaining New England’s wild seafood, through flourishing food webs, healthy ha...

Daniel Forster is a world renowned marine photographer who has had his work appear in every major yachting magazine in Europe, the USA, New Zealand and Australia. Two of his images have appeared on the cover of Time magazine - once in 1987 featuring Dennis Conner; then again in 1995 featuring Team New Zealand. Born in Switzerland, photography was introduced to Daniel at a young age through his fam...

Nat Benjamin, along with his partner Ross Gannon, and a talented crew have built over 70 boats - mostly of his design - and repaired and rebuilt many others. A visit to the Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway is a step back in time. It’s a place where classic wood boats are restored, repaired and built new using nothing but traditional materials and methods. The people who work there have a special a...

This one’s for the adrenaline junkies out there, present company included. My guest is Dave Lussier. Dave is a long-time competitive multi-hull sailor of catamarans and trimarans who has recently found a new passion: Blokarting or land yacht racing. Blokarts come from New Zealand and haven’t caught on in the US as they have in other countries. A Blokart is a 3-wheeled kart with a free-standing sai...

My guest for this episode is Capt. Breezy Grenier. Capt. Breezy served in the US Coast Guard, has degrees in Geology and Geological Oceanography, and minors in Marine Biology and Marine Archeology. In addition to being a licensed captain, she’s a scuba instructor, snowboard instructor, sailor, cook, surfer, teacher, lecturer and world traveler. She’s sailed to Bermuda, and by the time this podcast...

This is a special excerpt from a much longer episode which will be published at a later date. In this conversation, Joe shares a bit about his involvement with the 12 Metre Worlds currently taking place in Newport, Rhode Island. Joe talks about his involvement, the impact of the Warrior Sailing Project, and the overall atmosphere of the event. Joe is also my first repeat guest. Hosted on Acast. Se...

Learn about the person in charge of the crew that keeps the City of Newport's harbor assets in top form. Capt. Tim Mills has spent his life on the water which has included, sailing and racing with family and friends, working on a NOAA ship and owning and operating his own boat and mooring business - where he also wound up getting involved in marine archeology. Now the full time Harbormaster for th...

My guest for this episode is Andy Green. Some of you may recognize Andy’s voice - particularly if you followed the Volvo Ocean Race visit in Newport - as he was the commentator for that event. Andy has also been a commentator for the America’s Cup World Series and the London 2012 Olympics. In addition to his role as commentator, Andy is an active life long sailor who will be participating in the 1...

My guest for this episode is former New York Times columnist Barbara Lloyd. Barbara covered Sailing, Skiing and other sports, as well as writing a gear column for the New York Times. But Barbara has humble roots here at home with the Newport Daily News. It was at the Newport Daily News where she began as a cub reporter. Barbara honed her skills covering the America’s Cup races and interviewing sai...

My guests for this episode are Denis and Allie of Mr. Badger & Co. Mr. Badger is their 41’ Concordia yawl. We recently got together and cracked open a few beers while they shared their tale of how they came to own Mr. Badger. But that wasn’t the only tale. Denis boasts an impressive sailing résumé and both are well traveled. It’s a wide-ranging chat that covers: sailing the Greek islands; an unsuc...

My guest in this episode is Anne Vandromme-Hood. Anne is a partner and leading force behind the publication, Yacht Insider’s Guide. Originally from Paris, she spent much of her time sailing out of Brittney with her family on a variety of boats. Anne is also an avid windsurfer who brought her gear along with her as she pursued crew positions on charter yachts. Her time spent working professionally...

My guest for episode 15 is Joe Cooper of Joe Cooper Sailing. Joe arrived to the podcast straight from coaching a high school sailing team - still half decked out in his drysuit. Joe was born in Sydney, Australia, and learned to sail just to the north in an estuary with similar characteristics to that of our Narragansett Bay. Joe has over 60,000 miles at sea and crewed for Australia in the 1977 and...

My guest for this episode is John Fulweiler. John is an attorney who specializes in Maritime and Admiralty law, but he is also a licensed US Coast Guard Captain; a former towing and salvage captain; a sailor and an author. John has written about the Jones Act as well as a book about a harrowing tale of survival when a local man falls off his boat. That book is called ‘A Swim’ and is available on A...

In this episode I speak with Hank Kniskern, former Chairman of the Newport Waterfront Commission, about the proposed changes to the mooring regulations in Newport Harbor. There have been two public meetings, and a first reading by the Newport City Council addressing the changes. There are passionate positions held by both current mooring holders, and those on the waiting list. Hank explains the pr...

Episode 12 features a talk with Fair Leads owner Jess. Jess produces custom hand made dog leashes and collars out of all marine grade materials. She's made and shipped over 3000 of them around the world. Jess is a marine scientist who also boasts an impressive sailing history covering over 40,000 miles in nearly every ocean, and she's the former Executive Director of the Tall Ship Oliver Hazard Pe...

I had a blast talking with Greg and Alana of the Antique Yacht Collection in Newport, RI and Mystic, CT. They are a young, energetic, fun and ambitious couple who have a really cool vibe. They are entrepreneurs in the yacht charter and yacht management scene in southern New England. Their business has been featured in The Wall Street Journal's travel section, and they are the recipient of the 2018...

My guest for this episode is Onne van der Wal. Onne is a world renowned marine photographer based in Newport, Rhode Island where he also has a gallery that features his work. His photography has appeared in most of the top sailing magazines, boat brochures and the patagonia catalog. Onne is a member of the exclusive Canon Explorers of Light program which is home to some of the most influential pho...

In this episode I speak with Patrick Abrecht who, along with his wife Monika, own and operate the classic Alden yawl 'Hope San'. You can charter Hope San for a sailing adventure on Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. Patrick's story begins in his native Switzerland and takes us to Newport, Rhode Island through the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) and then on to their purchase and restor...