The Mariner

Losing the mast, rudder or even a single hatch cover at sea in heavy weather can be catastrophic, unless you have been playing the 'what if' game for a while and already have the equipment, procedures and mental capacity developed to deal with the problem, concisely & precisely. If you would like to listen to fantastic stories of sailors in small vessels taking on the ocean in the last 150 yea...

Whenever anyone meets me and hears I am a sailor, the first question is always 'have you been in a big storm?' Well, the answer unsurprisingly is yes, so here in concert with Keith Colwell's excellent 'RYA Sea Survival Handbook', let me lay out some of the ways to avoid becoming a statistic, when the volume on the weather gets cranked to eleven. If you would like to listen to fantastic stories of...

This episode we discuss ketches, yawls and schooners as part of the ABC of sailing, and I explore what are the pitfalls and joys of owning and operating such vessels, through the lens of my own experiences, running open ketch expeditions in Asia. If you would like to listen to fantastic stories of sailors in small vessels taking on the ocean in the last 150 years, all selected & read by me, ch...

Another instalment of my review & expansion of the RYA Sea Survival Handbook, by Keith Colwell. This episode I spend an hour just going through all the things to prep onboard, before heavy weather comes in. An hour! As I point out in the podcast- whatever it is that you need to do on your boat is realistically going to take you longer than that, so FYI maybe best to listen in and find out what...

This episode I continue this series, following the excellent RYA Sea Survival Handbook, by Keith Colwell. Today we look at interpreting the specifics of incoming weather forecasts & the importance of 'aids to navigation' in fog.   Jeepers... that reads bad, no wonder Robert Redford died in that movie.   Look it's not bad- It's interesting.. I tell stories & stuff. Honestly, if you like boa...

This time I answer the one burning question every sailor needs to know the answer to: Is there some way buying an old race boat is a good idea. My take? It can be.... BUT ... like getting a tattoo on your face.. you need to be REALLY certain before you commit.   If you would like to listen to serialized stories of the sea, selected and read by CSM, check out the Mariner's Library Podcast; availabl...

AI wrote this description. It added the word 'hypothetical' FYI. Embrace the unexpected as Chris jests about how sailboats can serve as ideal bug-out vehicles, taking on an interesting twist as he discusses fleeing a hypothetical AI-backed zombie apocalypse. Hear his personal accounts of challenging sailing voyages and learn lessons about readiness and continuous vigilance for potential hazards. I...

 This episode dives once more into the seldom-explored realm of life rafts, highlighting the importance of visibility, stability, and utility in survival scenarios. The discussion includes a thorough examination of rescue measures, the practical usage of survival tools, and alternatives to traditional life rafts. This episode also discusses the importance of emotional management amidst rescue oper...

This episode we wrap up our look at surviving in a life raft.  What is plainly apparent from this six episode deep dive on the life raft is that there is LOADS of information to know, to give yourself and your crew mates a decent chance of survival. If you would like to listen to serialized stories of the sea, selected and read by CSM, check out the Mariner's Library Podcast; available on all podc...

Episode 100 and a new bight-sized (!) format to increase the subjects I can get too and allw me to speak about things that maybe somewhat off topic in a pure sailing show... This week:  1. Did Josh Slocum die when they said he did? 2. Heaving-to in a race boat. 3. Connecting with sailors from history through their accounts. 4. The podcasts numbers get a hearty increase. 5. Sailing boats as bug-out...

Water, water everywhere: and not a drop to drink. When there are only a few pints of water to drink in the life raft and no indication of immediate rescue, it is essential for the life raft leader (who is not also necessarily the captain of the lost vessel) to immediately become extremely smart about water usage, water collection and the problems inherent in limiting humans access to water. And al...

This episode we continue our in-depth look at chapter 7 of Keith Colwell's Sea Survival Handbook, specifically entering a liferaft and the vast amount of actions there are to remember and take to make the most out of the meagre opportunity such a craft offers survivors. If you would like to listen to serialized stories of the sea, selected and read by CSM, check out the Mariner's Library Podcast;...

In this episode I continue the ABC of sailing, with the letter J. and 'J is for Jargon' This time I look at the history, benefits and disadvantages of all the jargon used in sailing and take a look at the entries in the J section of the 1952 volume, 'Mariner's Dictionary' that help to underline just how dense, granular and historically-rooted many of the words used in sailing really are, and how n...

In this episode we discuss Youtube viewer questions relating to: 1. Over rides on winches, how do they happen, how to avoid them and how to deal with them when they appear anyways. 2. Operating winches on boats with awkwardly mounted equipment  (Swans!) 3. Finding gloves that keep you warm and dry. (Hint- the answer is NOT gloves!) If you would like to listen to serialized stories of the sea, sele...

Continuing with the lunchtime recording sessions (while my two year old is having his nap (!), this time we are looking at what happens after you have made the decision to leave the vessel due to fire, sinking, collision etc. This begins with getting into the liferaft of course, but quickly escalates into a whole new kind of seamanship, as you and the other people in the raft have to start to work...

In this episode we continue the brilliant RYA Sea Survival Handbook by Keith Colwell This time we are looking at Abandoning Ship!, words that should drive an icy spear into any good skippers heart! This section of the book will take a few days to cover and I am doing this while snowed in (with a two year old) during the worst winter storm in Nova Scotia in 20 years .. So, apologies if the audio is...

This time we are looking at Abandoning Ship!, words that should drive an icy spear into any good skippers heart! This section of the book will take a few days to cover and I am doing this while snowed in (with a two year old) during the worst winter storm in Nova Scotia in 20 years .. So, apologies if the audio is not as engineered as normal! If you would like to listen to serialized stories of th...

Questions and Tangents ! As always I get to talk about kinda whatever I want in these episodes, and this week it's a newspaper article from 1974 that's got me excited- I think when you hear about 'The Orgy of Destruction outside Barnstaple' you too will be excited. A little shorter this week as we haven't done one of these for a long time and I am short of questions to answer- if you could help me...

This episode we continue reviewing the excellent, RYA Sea Survival Handbook by Keith Colwell with a look at the psychological tactics that must be employed to get you past circumstances that may be life and death in the very real meaning of the phrase.   If you would like to hear more exclusive sailing content, head over to https://www.patreon.com/themariner and there, for $5 a month you can not o...

Continuing the ABC of basic sailing concepts series, I take a look in this episode at the modern revolution in information collection, exchange and processing on board the modern yacht.  So, step away from your Scrimshaw, put down your sextant and lend me your shell-like because you are not going to believe what is possible on a phone in the middle of the Atlantic these days.  

This episode is the first I am going to do about the Global Solo Challenge Race that I intend to join in early December.  I'm still a little way off on the last funding to get the project over the start line but I figure its best to throw myself in completely and go for broke rather than tippy toe around the edges any longer. Presently, my Open 60 Falcon is 95% read to go, I have time available to...

It's been a long time since I published a podcast and I finally I found after many, many attempts that the only way to get back on the horse was to just record whatever came out of my mouth for an hour and we can pick the bones out of it later. In this episode I talk about what has been happening for me in 2023, I talk about the Global Solo Challenge Race coming up in December and answer a great q...

This episode I thought I would share with you an interview I did month or so ago with Paul Trammell on his wonderful podcast 'Offshore Sailing and Cruising '.  It was great to chat to Paul and learn about his sailing to date, but as this was an interview I was doing for him introducing myself to his audience we will have to wait for a future date to really get to know Paul more. As by the end of t...

The features that make 'The Perfect Boat' are an area of sailing that walks the narrow line between philosophical & scientific truth.  Historically it is also beset by sailors claiming dead cert, bald-faced objective truth for their strongly held and decidedly subjective opinions. In this new section on The Mariner, I will be interviewing sailors from across the sailing industry and asking them on...

I found an interesting document on a pen drive over the weekend- given to me by the organizers of the Velux 5 Race  10 years ago, it was a series fo notes prepared by the Race Officers after discussing with Alex Thompson and Mike Golding, Mike's fantastic rescue of Alex in the Southern Ocean in 2006.  At first the notes seemed a little wandering, but I think you will agree when I read you Mike's a...