Click the small 'square' icon with the 'down arrow' in the player above to download today's show.
160: Brian Porter was on the build team for the record-breaking supermaxi ‘Comanche,’ and continues to work on owner’s Jim & Kristy Clark’s shore crew. He came on the podcast to talk about his boat-building beginnings, getting a dream job building Comanche, working alongside pro sailors Ken Red, Stan Honey & Jimmy Spithill, Comanche’s recent trans-Atlantic record, the America’s Cup and much more.
Sponsored By:
Weather Routing, Inc. (WRI) is a private forecasting company specializing in marine weather for over 50 years. WRI provide marine weather forecasts and routing advice to yachtsmen worldwide for trans-ocean crossings, coastal transits, area cruises, and day trips. Indeed we use WRI on all of our ocean passages aboard Isbjorn - I can personally attest that they are the real deal, and having WRI just a sat phone call away helps me sleep better at night offshore. WRI - Oceans of Experience. Visit them online at wriwx.com.
Two quick notes before today’s show - First, I’m hosting a Celestial Navigation workshop in Annapolis on the weekend of October 22. Join me a my friends for a weekend of traditional navigation & storytelling and to learn the dying art of the true navigator. Visit 59-north.com/celestial for details and to register.
And, drumroll please, Isbjorn will officially be featured IN the Annapolis Sailboat Show this fall, so come say hi to Mia, my dad & I and check out our beautiful Swan 48. Some former passage crew will also be on hand to share stories of their adventures. You’ll find us at the head of Ego Alley, side-to on the concrete bulkhead just across from the Market House in town. You can even buy your show tickets directly from us to help support the business. Go to 59-north.com/boatshow to learn more.
Show Notes:
Topics and places talked about in the podcast:
Cape Cod, home for Brian Porter.
SpinSheet Magazine, Annapolis, where Andy was recording the podcast from
Isbjorn crew got a tour of Comanche in July at the Newport Shipyard during the stop for Andy’s appendicitis surgery
Brian is Boat builder and shore crew for Comanche
Brian started working with Comanche in Jan 2014, when the haul was just getting laid up.
The boat was launched in September 2014, and she sailed the first time in October
Arey’s Pond Boat Yard, where Brian first started to work during summers.
“It is awesome, its wood shop all day and I am getting paid for it!”
Worked at Pleasant Bay Boat & Spar Company in Orleans, MA since high school
The Landing School, where Brian went to school after high school, a boat building school with courses such as yacht design, boat building, marine systems and more.
Taking the leap from small cold moulded constructions to work for Comanche “Signing on with Comanche was way over my head”
Le Voliles de St. Barts, race that takes place in St. Barts, mid-April
s/v Athena, owned by Jim Clark. Where he stays during some races.
Mustang survival offshore gear used onboard Comanche
The dagger boards are only used for going upwind. They were taken out for the record to save weight, “if we would have needed them, we knew we would not break the record anyway so they were take out”
People mentioned in the podcast
Jim & Kristy Clark, owner of Comanche
Jimmy Spithill, Comanche crew and also skipper on Americas Cup Oracle.
Ken Reed, first skipper on Comanche was committed to TV commentating at the America’s Cup World Series in England and could not be onboard during the transatlantic record.
Casey Smith, skipper of Comanche during the transatlantic record
