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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
#259. Alex & Brady are the other half of SV Delos. After meeting them for the first time up in Svalbard, Mia & I reunited with the whole Delos crew in Antigua after our Atlantic crossing on ISBJORN. We spent 3 weeks chillin' on the beach and hanging out in shorts! While Brian & Kazza were off on their honeymoon in New York City, Mia & I recorded a long meandering chat with Brady & Alex aboard Delos about their side of the Delos story.
#256: Oda Pedersen Taule is a 20-something Norwegian sailor who set out single-handed on her little sloop SNUPPA, bound for Australia. Self-taught at ocean sailing, Oda learned the hard way, getting badly beaten up on her first Bay of Biscay crossing, even needing to call the coast guard for help, and tearfully sharing some emotional moments with the crew who came to her rescue. The experience didn't discourage her though - on the contrary. Oda & I met in Bergen in December to record the podcast in person, and despite her youth, I discovered that Oda is wise beyond her years and can teach us all a lot about patience, perseverance, and the passion to follow your dreams.
#253: Jessie Zevalnkink & Luke Yeates were on the podcast back in October 2017, right after they'd crossed the Atlantic in their 37' yawl DESIREE. Mia & I caught up with them in person aboard their boat in Lagos, Portugal, as we were getting ISBJORN ready to cross the Atlantic. We sat in their cockpit as the sun went down, hearing stories of their dramatic knockdown off Cape St. Vincent, their 6 weeks rebuilding their rudder here in Lagos, life as a married couple and what their future plans are as sailors. Jessie is a professional portrait photographer and also came by ISBJORN later to photograph Mia & I, so check out her work in the show notes.
#246. Lee & Rachel Cumberland are two of Mia and my best friends, and this episode has been a long time coming. Together, Lee & Rachel, in their late-twenties, bought and refit a Tayana 37, quit their jobs and sailed off to Panama. We recorded the podcast at their house, which Lee built with his own two hands, over a glass of wine late in the evening. The conversation traces their story from dream to reality, including all the scary bits, and for the first time ever publicly, I finally got them to share their story of a terrible storm in the Bahamas that led them to deliberately beach their beloved boat Satori. Any of you young folks out there who need inspiration to follow your sailing dreams, this one is for you.
Website: beautifulcrazyhappiness.com
Instagram: @beautifulcrazyhappiness
On The Wind is the evolution of 59º North, and is, quite simply, long-form conversations with sailors from around the world. 'On the Wind' Sailing Podcast is informal chats with people from around the world of sailing - tall ship captains, Cape Horners, sailing authors, Volvo Ocean Race skippers, yacht designers, family cruisers, Arctic adventurers and more. Our aim is to define what creates success in the sailing world and figure out how to accomplish dreams on the high seas.
So that's the gist of it - the more cash money we have coming in, the better the show will be going out. Read About the Podcast for more details about the show and where your money actually goes.
#235. Sara Hastreiter is of course one of the members of Team SCA, the all-female crew in the previous edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. Sara was on the podcast back in 2015, immediately following that Volvo to talk about how she went from horseback riding in Wyoming to sailing in one of the world’s premier ocean races. I got to speak with her again in March about what it felt like to be left off the Volvo race this time, her mountaineering expeditions in the Himalayas and her ‘Seven Seas, Seven Summits’ project, speaking at the Explorer’s Club in New York, continuing to race on multihulls around the world, and her goals to inspire young people to follow their dreams.
On The Wind is the evolution of 59º North, and is, quite simply, long-form conversations with sailors from around the world. 'On the Wind' Sailing Podcast is informal chats with people from around the world of sailing - tall ship captains, Cape Horners, sailing authors, Volvo Ocean Race skippers, yacht designers, family cruisers, Arctic adventurers and more. Our aim is to define what creates success in the sailing world and figure out how to accomplish dreams on the high seas.
So that's the gist of it - the more cash money we have coming in, the better the show will be going out. Read About the Podcast for more details about the show and where your money actually goes.
#228: Liz Karamavros is 59 North's first-ever apprentice. She came to us at the 2015 Annapolis Sailboat Show, and made such a good impression when we basically made up the apprentice position for her! Since then she's continued to carve out her own path towards her dream of professional ocean racing. Liz has recently signed onto her first big gig and is headed to the Caribbean to race onboard a Volvo 60!
Jessie Zevalkink is half of the 'Katie & Jessie On a Boat' duo that sailed the Great Loop in their early 20's, and had a popular blog that documented the journey. Mia & I met Jessie and her partner Luke (Katie was absent) at the Annapolis Sailboat Show in October and talked about that Great Loop trip, Jessie & Luke's recent trans-Atlantic passage, and their plans to sail around the world.
#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.
It’s been a long-time coming, but Mia Karlsson is FINALLY on the podcast! Mia is my wife, of course, and while we don’t share a last name, we share just about everything else! Mia tongue-in-cheek promised to be the 200th episode on the show, long before she ever thought I’d make it this far, so I called her bluff! We recorded a long & rambling chat just before setting out across the Atlantic while Isbjorn was anchored in St. Croix. As I record this intro, we’ve made it to Sweden and Mia has completed her 4th Atlantic crossing, one more than me, which she’s quick to point out. We talked about Mia’s history as a competitive swimmer, growing up in the Swedish countryside, traveling, and of course how she’s come to love the sailing lifestyle.
Susie Goodall is a badass. Mia & I met her in Antigua in February after she’d just completed a solo trans-Atlantic crossing in her Rustler 36. At just 26, she is the first woman to enter next year’s Gold Globe Race, essentially a reenactment of the famous race that Sir Robin Knox-Johnston won in 1968, establishing nonstop solo ocean racing. Susie was prepping for the return voyage to England when we spoke, which will fulfill the races qualifying passage requirement. Despite her youth, she’s an accomplished sailor, having worked as a skipper with Rubicon 3 in the Arctic and has sailed thousands of offshore miles. Follow Susie’s adventures at susiegoodall.com.
Olly Cotterell is one of the youngest Clipper Race skippers ever, sailing to a podium position in the 2013-2014 edition of the RTW race onboard OneDLL. He currently skipper’s the prototype, foiling racing yacht ‘Maverick,’ which recently won her class in the RORC Trans-Atlantic Race. Olly & I have a connection in that we’ve both worked for Broadreach. We met up to record this episode in person in Antigua, ahead of the Caribbean 600. Olly has an amazing story that includes growing up on a sailboat in Bermuda, working up the ranks as an RYA instructor, surfing at 35 knots in the Southern Ocean in the Clipper Race and much more.
#176. Presented by Weems & Plath. SV Delos' videos have become an internet sensation. After leaving Seattle in 2009, Brian, who later met Karin in new Zealand, and his brother Brady have been sailing the world and filming their adventures. Almost by accident they've become the most popular sailing videos on YouTube and it's become their primary source of income. Andy & Mia met them in Stockholm for the podcast.
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.
Episode 143 is Emma Louise Wyn Jones, a very charming and inspiring 22-year-old sailor and yachting photographer from the UK. I met Emma during the recent Caribbean 600 Race. I was interested in talking to Emma about how she decided to go into yachting photography, her sailing history in general, and about what it’s like starting from scratch and trying to move up in the sailing world. I get a lot of emails from college students and twenty-somethings looking for advice, so this episode is particularly interesting if you’re one of those people wondering how to get your start.
Simon discusses growing up and sailing with his family, what it’s like on a long ocean passage, how Swedish sailing and boating culture works, why Swedes don’t drink and drive and how his sailing actually helped his preparation for the Stockholm Swimrun in June. Simon & his competition partner Rasmus are gunning for the world championships in Swimrun on September 7, racing in O-till-O, a 75km jaunt through the outer Stockholm archipelago. Follow them on ostersjosimmet.com.
Episode 115 is Sara Hastreiter, crewmember aboard Team SCA in the most recent Volvo Ocean Race. Sara's been featured in the NY Times, on NPR, in the Wall Street Journal and other places as her star has risen in the sailing world. She only got started in 2008 after moving from Wyoming to St. Croix, and getting work on charter boats and racing yachts in the Caribbean. It had always been a goal to reach the pinnacle of the sport, and she did that with Team SCA. Sara and Andy discussed her career and what it's like ocean racing on a VO65 for over an hour, Sara speaking on Skype from her new home base in the UK.
Andy sits down in person with one of his best friends in Oslo, Norway to reminisce about sailing across the North Atlantic. Clint, a non-sailor, joined Andy & Mia in Halifax for the cruise up the Canadian Maritimes and across the pond to Ireland, a 23-day passage, and the first time Clint was at sea. In between jokes and fun memories, Clint comes up with some great pearls of wisdom for anybody looking to cross an ocean, but might not know what to expect. He's honest, funny and sincere about how the experience changed his life for the better.
Ashley Rogers is an old friend of mine from my Broadreach days, when I worked out of St. Martin on liveaboard sail-and dive-training expeditions. Ashley was a SCUBA instructor and we got to know each other at Broadreach's 'Pad' during the 2009 summer. Though she was living and teaching diving aboard sailing boats - and actually sailing between isalnds and dive sites - she hated it! Originally from Guatemala, Ashley now lives in New Zealand and spoke to me via Skype about how she got into sailing after reading the classic book 'Dove' by Robin Lee Graham, and decided she wanted to give it a go.
