Episode 156 is the latest Ocean Sailing Forum panel discussion, recorded LIVE in Toronto with Sheryl Shard, Mia Karlsson, Colin Kilgour, Les Suter and Joy & Ian Winterborn. With special guest Liza Copeland. It's two hours of talking offshore sailing best practices, tactics & sharing sea stories!
155: Andy Schell
154: Appendicitis Offshore
Andy gets appendicitis on Isbjorn's Leg 6, from Annapolis to Lunenburg. They were 90 miles south of Newport when the symptoms got bad enough to warrant a diversion. Here's the story of what happened onboard, how the surgery went, where the business stands and how Andy made it back onto the boat only 12 hours after entering the hospital.
153: John Franta on Rigging Tech.
We start the discussion by focusing on one of John’s most recent inventions, the so-called ‘ELHF’ furling system, and I use that as a sort of primer for discussing in general how he comes up with new ideas and what the design and production life cycle is like. John is as pure an engineer as there is, and LOVES the technical aspects of running a synthetic yacht rigging company, and it’s a joy to hear him talk about his passions so, well, passionately! He gets to play with CAD and 3D printers all day long, so what’s not to like (if you’re an engineer!).
152: Jeremy Davis, Weather Routing Inc.
“We’ve talked to clients that have been in those Category 3 Hurricanes coming across the Yucatan and, you know, we’re constantly calling them, making sure they’re okay. It does get tough emotionally. A lot of these clients have used us for years. Of course we want them safe, we know them, sometimes on a personal level. You’ve got to take the emotion out of it, try to not get too caught up.” -Jeremy Davis, WRI Weather Forecaster & episode #152's guest!
151: On the Brink
It’s been a while since I did an in-depth essay podcast about the business. Episode 133 was tangentially related - the Money one - but before that, it was back in episode 113 that I talked about the first voyage of Isbjorn. That happened nearly a year ago now! Obviously lots has happened since.
I feel like the business is ‘on the brink’ - either we finally get to enjoy all we’ve worked for over the past ten years, living out what I’d only dreamed about. Or, it doesn’t work out, we don’t sell enough bunks to make a living, and we do something else. A few things here or there could tip the scales either way.