Interview
Laura Parent
Nikki Henderson // Winning The Race To Alaska

Nikki Henderson is no stranger to the 59N family. She’s a skipper, a podcaster, master of the Quarterdeck and a dear friend in the community. But when she signs off from these watches, she doesn’t quit. You likely know that she’s been on heaps of other seafaring adventures, including skippering the famed Whitbread machine, Maiden; the Clipper Round the World Race; and her first attempt at the Race To Alaska with Team Sail Like a Girl. I sat down to talk with Nikki about her second, most recent attempt at the R2AK, its challenges, and what made this one such a successful campaign in what I think is one of the greatest adventure races on earth. Guest-Hosted by Ben Doerr.

Nikki Henderson // Winning The Race To Alaska
Interview
Laura Parent
#404: How to be a Sailing Parent w/ Andy, ...

Navigating the challenges of parenthood whilst also maintaining an atypical lifestyle — be that of a sailor, adventurer, or anything that doesn’t involve a 9-5 desk job — has been a consistent theme of this podcast. Now the tables have turned. Andy, Mia and August are raising their two boys whilst running a business and working as professional sailors themselves. Hoping to be a parent myself one day, I took the opportunity to put them on the spot to discuss what has surprised them about parenthood, what they wish they had known before taking the plunge, and what advice they have for anyone else dreaming of a similar future.

#404: How to be a Sailing Parent w/ Andy, August and Mia
Interview
Laura Parent
#403: Pam Wall // Reminiscing on a Life at Sea

Pam Wall returns to the podcast, live from her living room in Ft. Lauderdale. Andy sat down to talk to Pam about the treasure trove of memories in her house, how she stays happy and inspirational despite the tragedy of losing her husband and daughter too soon, the relationship she has with her son, how she stays fit at nearly 80, and lots lots more.

#403: Pam Wall // Reminiscing on a Life at Sea
Interview
Laura Parent
#402: Celeste Pomerantz // To Svalbard in ...

Celeste Pomerantz wasn't a sailor until she signed up for a sail & ski trip out of Tromsø, Norway, that was headed north in search of un-skied peaks in Svalbard. The boat was called SOFIE, and was owned and skippered by friend of 59º North, Mats Grimsaeth. I discovered Celeste in the ski film Wavy 2 about the adventure and immediately reached out to her. We talked about sailing in the Arctic, her upbringing in the mountains of western British Columbia, similarities between big mountain skiing and offshore sailing, managing fear, 'imposter syndrome' and her studies in renewable energy.

#402: Celeste Pomerantz // To Svalbard in Search of Un-skied Couloirs
Interview
Laura Parent
#401: Terje Andre Pedersen // Sailing in the ...

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first to reach the South Pole and the North Pole, but his greatest achievement may have been leading the first successful crossing of the Northwest Passage in 1906. Terje Andre Pedersen grew up inspired by Amundsen's great stories of exploration. He has followed his own dreams, and is soon to set sail towards the Northwest Passage in Amundsen's wake with a ship made of wood and a crew made of iron.

#401: Terje Andre Pedersen // Sailing in the Wake of Amundsen

Recycled

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RECYCLED: Rick Tomlinson // Photographer

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RECYCLED: Rick Tomlinson // Photographer

#178 RECYCLED. Rick Tomlinson is one of yachting’s most accomplished photographers. What I didn’t know before we met, was how accomplished he is as a sailor. Rick was a crew member on four consecutive Whitbread Races, and literally invented the modern concept of onboard reporter. Back in his day, Rick was an integral member of the sailing crew - he took photos onboard as a hobby, on his off-watches, and even developed film in the galley sink offshore! Mia and I traveled to Rick’s beautiful studio in Cowes on the Isle of Wight last September to chat about his career.

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RECYCLED: Gary Jobson // America's Cup Legend

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RECYCLED: Gary Jobson // America's Cup Legend

RECYCLED #99. Gary Jobson is one of the few household names in the American sailing world. He’s is a former All-American collegiate sailor and won the America's Cup in 1977 as tactician for Ted Turner. Gary then became a professional broadcaster & producer, working for ESPN and other national media organizations, and more recently has done the TV announcing work for the recent America’s Cups. He’s an Editor at Large for both Sailing World & Cruising World Magazines. He continues to sail out of his homeport in Annapolis and remains one of America’s strongest sailing ambassadors. I had the privilege to sit down with Gary in his home office in Annapolis back in April of 2015 to talk about his career. This episode originally aired as #99. Enjoy!

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212: Sara Hastreiter RECYCLED

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212: Sara Hastreiter RECYCLED

#212. RECYCLED. Sara Hastreiter sailed in the previous Volvo Ocean Race aboard the all-women Team SCA, skippered by Dee Caffari. Sara's off mountaineer for this year's event, set to sail on October 22. But Dee Caffari is heading up the mixed-crew team on 'Turn the Tide on Plastic,' so you know who I'll be rooting for this year! Mia & I met and sailed with Sara in NYC a few years back, and I had a chance to talk to her on Skype immediately following the last Volvo.

205: Bruce Schwab RECYCLED // Vendee Globe

205: Bruce Schwab RECYCLED // Vendee Globe

205: Bruce Scwab is the first American sailor to complete the legendary Vendee Globe race. Bruce grew up in northern California and started sailing with his dad a young age, eventually working at a rig shop for many years where he honed his as a solo racing sailor, winning the first event he ever entered. Bruce now lives in Maine and specializes in outfitting cruising boats with alternative energy sources and is on the forefront of marine energy technology. I’m running this recycled chat today ahead of another chat I have planned with Bruce in October about the more technical side of outfitting & managing onboard energy systems. Find Bruce online at oceanplanetenergy.com.

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201: Brion Toss RECYCLED

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201: Brion Toss RECYCLED

#201: Brion Toss is a certified Master Rigger and author of the bible on the subject, The Rigger’s Apprentice. I’ve long admired Brion and first got to meet him in 2008 at the Annapolis Sailboat Show, right before I became a rigger’s apprentice myself. I’ve managed to keep in touch with him over the years (and of course have a copy of his book aboard Isbjorn), and finally we’re teaming up to host a hands-on rigging seminar weekend in Annapolis this coming October, 2017. This is a recycled version of a lengthy and informative chat I had with Brion back in 2014 on all things yacht rigging.

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197: Ted & Claudia Family RECYCLED

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197: Ted & Claudia Family RECYCLED

Today’s recycled episode is a family affair, with Ted & Claudia Reshetiloff and their kids Max & Anya. Ted & Claudia sailed their Wauquiez Amphitrite ketch from Annapolis to the BVI several years ago, and have never gone home! They’ve setup base camp on Tortola where they live aboard the boat, work locally and send the kids to local school in the islands. Since this podcast first aired, they’ve even sold their house back in Annapolis, so they’re fully committed to cruising now! We recorded this chat onboard their boat in Tortola back in 2014. You’ll also hear Mia & Paul Exner in the background!

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193: Webb Chiles RECYCLED

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193: Webb Chiles RECYCLED

193. Greetings from Bermuda, where we recently made landfall on Isbjorn! This week’s recycled episode features Webb Chiles, certainly one of the most adventurous small boat sailors in recent memory, if not one of the greatest. He’s been around the world several times, cross the Pacific in an open boat, nearly drowned when he fell overboard off Florida and on and on. He’s written several books about his adventures over the years, and indeed continues to make new adventures. I spoke to him a few years back about his exploits, why he pursues them, how he handles fear, what motivates him towards his sailing goals and more. 

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189: Clint Wells RECYCLED

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189: Clint Wells RECYCLED

Clint Wells is one of my best friends, and Isbjorn’s first mate when Mia can’t make a passage. He was there when I first met Mia in New Zealand, and he sailed across the Atlantic with us on Arcturus back in 2011. Clint is NOT a sailor - or at least wasn’t, until joining us. I spoke to him a few years back about our Atlantic crossing together and the challenges he faced - both physically, and even more so mentally - as a new-to-sailing crew member stuck on a 35-foot boat for 23 days in the North Atlantic. For those of you new to ocean sailing, Clint has some words of wisdom. 

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185: Tom Harkin RECYCLED

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185: Tom Harkin RECYCLED

Retired Senator Tom Harkin & I recorded this ‘recycled’ episode at his house in Hope Town, in the Bahamas, almost two years ago now. Tom was a career senator, but this episode is nothing about politics. Rather, it’s about Tom’s incredible, unbelievable life story. He was a fighter pilot during Vietnam and became one of the few people ever to eject from a jet and survive to tell the tale. He also tells his insane story about building a wooden trimaran in Japan and having it’s Westerbeke engine shipped over on an aircraft carrier. Sailing has been the ‘red thread’ that has tied together Tom’s life story. This is my all-time favorite interview, so even if you’ve heard it before, it’s worth another listen. 

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181: Yves Gelinas RECYCLED

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181: Yves Gelinas RECYCLED

RECYCLED: Yves Gelinas is a French-Canadian single-handed sailor and inventor of the Cape Horn wind vane, the simplest, most robust, and most elegant solution for self-steering on an offshore cruising boat. Yves invented and perfected the gear while circumnavigating nonstop via the Great Capes in his beloved Alberg 30 Jean du Sud in the 80s. During that voyage, he filmed Around the World with Jean du Sud, which quickly came to be considered the greatest sailing movie ever made. Yves still builds the Cape Horn units himself from his workshop in Quebec & still sails Jean du Sud, most recently voyaging to Martinique in 2015.

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172: Recycled: Don Street 2013

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172: Recycled: Don Street 2013

I’ve called a lot of people ‘legendary’ on the podcast, but Don Street truly fits the bill. Now deep into his 80s, he’s seen & done it all. He’s been instrumental in creating modern cruising as we know it. Street pioneered cruising the Caribbean on his engineless yawl Iolaire, and to this day continues updating charts of the region. He helped design the Caribbean’s first charter yacht, the CSY 44 and was ousted from Grenada during the US invasion. And the list goes on. Don told me these stories & many more in person a few years back.

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168: Recycled: Matt Rutherford circa 2011

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168: Recycled: Matt Rutherford circa 2011

In 2012 Matt Rutherford became the first person to sail solo and nonstop around the America’s via the Northwest Passage and Cape Horn on his 27-foot Albin Vega ‘St Brendan.’ He’s completed some truly remarkable voyages since, including a Pacific crossing in a daysailor, a 7,000-mile plastic research voyage in the Atlantic, and two expeditions to far northern Greenland. This recycled chat is from 2011, before Matt even began his audacious journey round the Americas, and offers some insight into his remarkable personality.