The Morning Muster Sailing Podcast

Thinking about planning a bareboat charter? This episode gives you sharp, practical tips to make your charter more efficient, fun, and far less stressful. Two pro instructors share their insights: when to DIY and when to call the base, what to actually pack (hint: leave the tools at home), and why a recommended skipper can be “the cheapest insurance policy you’ll ever get.” Learn how to present a...

John Neal on Boat Choices, Outfitting, Insurance, and Experience This is a topic that every sailor eventually faces, and that's choosing the right boat, navigating insurance, understanding the market and important outfitting considerations. Our guest today is John Neal. John is widely respected in the sailing community for his decades of passage making experience and for his consulting work, helpi...

This episode is all about cruising the Med. We also get into cruising with kids, because both our guests are cruising with kids. Learn about the weather, the mooring techniques, the cost of cruising the Med, resources and guides, the latest intel on Orcas, and get great insight into why both our guests loved it so much—that Will and Sarah are heading back again after crossing the Caribbean just la...

Our guests this episode are Scott Woodruff, a seasoned boat broker and consultant, and Ian Stewart, an experienced marine surveyor. It's a great episode, worth careful listening for the nuggets are plentiful and the conversation moves quickly through a bunch of great topics. This episode dives into how to buy and sell used cruising sailboats wisely, focusing on when you absolutely should hire a ma...

This is a fascinating episode with lots of great insights and experience shared! Sailing across the Atlantic Ocean is a demanding undertaking! In this episode we discuss the preps and plans for a West to East crossing with two sailors, who recently made the passage. We discuss what they were thinking about before departure, the projects they did, the weather planning and routing decisions, the wat...

The trend in bluewater cruising, liveaboard, oceans sailing yachts has been moving towards bigger boats, comfortable living spaces with multiple cabins, galley, and larger bathrooms. But these sailboats are expensive to buy, maintain, and insure, requires more crew, are more difficult to handle, both offshore and in marinas or tight areas. We talk with Kim Stephens & John Harries about what ma...

World schooling is the educational approach where learning takes place primarily through travel and experiencing different cultures and environments around the world.  Sometimes, World Schooling can involve short-term trips, like the 3-months Teresa and I are currently spending in Italy while our son, Haven, attends a school here. We’re doing this with a program called Boundless Life . Sometimes,...

This Episode: Today we’ll eavesdrop on a conversation Ben had with two sailors who are cruising in the Bahamas. Our guests are Nica Waters, who you may know from the Boat Galley Podcast or her blog Fit2Sail , and Dave Martin , a former MoA Student and Marine industry professional turned (mostly) full-time cruiser.  Ben talked with them about their recent crossings to the Bahamas, which they did ea...

In this episode, we’re talking about delivering boats with two sailors who recently completed their first yacht delivery and learned a lot. Teresa sat down with Nicki Ripple , a professional captain who’s worked for Morse Alpha, Outward Bound, and a number of tall ships. We're also talking with Mischa Kapijimpanga who was a Morse Alpha student last summer (2023) and recently bought his own Freya 3...

In this episode, we delve into the lives of cruisers who effortlessly balance content creation—blogs, podcasts, videos—with the pleasures of sailing. Discover how these adventurous souls manage to capture their sailing experiences while still relishing the joys of life at sea. Breena Litzenberger, sailor, host of Litzenbergers Saiing Podcast.  Started sailing back in 2010 with her husband and they...

Ben sat down with Jon Bilger, the founding director of PredictWind, a weather app – well, more than a weather app. It helps sailors plan voyages and find weather windows. Ben also talked with Behan Gifford, Circumnavigator and cruising consultant. The three of them talked about Weather forecasting tools and the professional-level data that is available to all of us now, anywhere in the world. Abou...

We invited Amanda Swan on the show today because not only does she have hundreds of thousands of sea miles under her belt, but she is also educator (and we like educators). She is also a sailmaker, and rigger. And today we’ll be talking about rigging. Yes – the ropes and wires we rely on but rarely make our maintenance checklists. Let’s be real, when was the last time you walked around you boat an...

We chat with Behan Gifford and John Worth about sailing at night, standing watch, working on commercial vessels, making passages, ship traffic, AIS, and more. Behan Gifford has made her home aboard a Stevens 47 for the last fifteen years, circumnavigating with her husband and three children. It's given her meaningful experience with sailing at night! The prospect of nighttime sailing is intimidati...

Let's talk about boat projects! We love them and hate them, or do we? They require alot of planning and thought, in addition to the actual labor. We chat with two sailors — Steve Swartz and Daphne Douglas, who are both knee-deep in large refits of their boats to discuss the ins and outs of the process. They offer some tips on planning and execution, as well as finding the right balance between mon...

Murray Beach , has sailed extensively for the past 18 years, but learned to sail on his dinghy as a young teen.  He love offshore sailing, especially short handed or single handed. He's raced to Bermuda many many times, and cruises all over New England regularly. Marie Rogers is first black woman commodore of Los Angeles Yacht Club, honored with 2021 BoatUS/NWSA Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award...

A discussion about GPS! We all use it everyday, more than we probably even realize. But is it all it's cracked up to be and will it last?  We chat with Pauline Cook, formerly a Coast Guard captain who's involved with the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation and Scott Logan, a GPS consultant and expert. This episode of The Morning Muster Podcast is sponsored by: Our friends Katie & Lyall...

What a cool episode this is. We cover a lot of topics and get into some real life saving details that you can take to your own boat and utilize. Deb's goal is to prevent problems at sea. Brian's job is to bail you out when there are no other options. Each guest brings a different perspective on emergencies, how to prevent them, and how to respond. Some of what we talk about: Station Bills Effectiv...

What a fun episode about R2AK and all the ins and outs of racing, sailing, living, pooping, etc... Stage 1 Race start: June 13, 2022, Port Townsend, Washington Stage 2 Race start: June 16, 2022, Victoria, BC Application deadline: Tax Day baby! April 15th The inside passage to Alaska has been paddled by native canoes since time immemorial, sailing craft for centuries, and after someone found gold i...

A lovely chat about the life of living, cruising and working. The struggles, the rewards and the freedom. Pat has been on the go for decades! He runs http://wandererfinancial.com — you can sign up and work with him to help realize your financial independence and cruising dreams. Cindy works in the entertainment industry and is making the most of her career while she sails with her family. This epi...

An in depth discussion with 3 of our students, Daphne , Chris and Brandon plus our mate, Angela and that guy Ben. Teresa hosted and gave us all a hard time. We discuss the camaraderie and the group dynamics aboard a smallish boat and how to feed the diverse dietary requirements. We talk about keeping things organized and the benefits of preparation. We conclude there’s alot of value in dividing jo...

You can find more information about our guests: Shemaya Laurel's blog www.sailingauklet.com . Adam Cove can be found in instagram @adam.cove . This episode of The Morning Muster Podcast is sponsored by: Our friends Katie & Lyall at Sun Powered Yachts   who helped us expand our solar array. They’re a SunPower authorized dealer and offer both flexible  panels and fixed frame panels ranging from...

Barry Kennedy has sailed thousands of blue water miles and in the far regions of the world... 2 seasons in Antarctica. He's headed to the Arctic this year aboard his new boat. We're talking a little bit about offshore boats, gear choices, upgrades and the process of upgrading/refitting. We touch on ideas for best boat design for offshore, sail choices, rigging for simplicity, deck layouts, layouts...

A fun episode with a great group if sailors who shared a special expedition from Bermuda to Rockland in July 2021 with us. We talk real candidly about about romance of life offshore and the challenges, like waking up for watch, heaving-to so close to land, using the head, cooking underway, going to sleep, steering in big swells, and dodging lightening. Real people, real sailing. This episode is sp...

We dive deep into the boat selection process with Pippa Turton and Mike Firestone. We consider and discuss: what makes a good first boat, what size makes sense, considering cruising plans and goals, assessing your own skills, budget considerations, sailing before refit,  priority features, and more. Pippa Turton is a long time RYA sailing instructor, who's sailed thousands of miles on a variety of...

Guests: Rob Parker • Vancouver 36 Dorothy Mammen • Oyster 43 & Beneteau 423 Sponsor: Fiorentino Para-Anchor Fiorentino makes smart products that slow or stop your boat's drift during a storm or mechanical failure at sea. They have an improved parachute anchor and a Shark Drogue which can be used as either a speed limiting drogue or for emergency steering.  We’ve tested both aboard Rocinante, w...