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.
#298. Mike Beemer is an instructor at Skagit Valley Community College out in the Pacific Northwest. The school has recently purchased an old Westsail 39 that his students will renovate over the course of the next school year into an offshore-capable cruising boat, which they'll sell to an inspired sailor! They'll document the progress on the SVC 'Skallywags" YouTube channel.
#297. Dylan Magaster is the founder of FLORB Productions, or "floating orb", which , in a nutshell, films interviews with folks into the "alternative house" - think 'tiny house' - movement. Dylan was himself a #vanlifer, until he recently made the jump to a Morgan 38 sailboat and began learning the ways of the sea. Dylan & I spoke last week about his Christian upbringing and desire to become a pastor before he set out on a continuing journey around the world by van & by boat.
#296. Susie Goodall sailed her 36' Rustler DHL STARLIGHT in the 2018 solo round-the-world Golden Globe Race, getting pitchpoled in the Southern Ocean and needing a dramatic rescue to get safely to shore. For the first time publicly, Susie recounts the race, both the highlights and the drama. Susie would have been the skipper on ICEBEAR in 2020 if it weren't for COVID-19, and we can't wait to get her back aboard once our boats are sailing again.
#294. Bill Pinkney first dreamed about the ocean as a small boy growing up in Chicago. He got his first real start on the ocean with the US Navy int he 1950s, and for years held on to his sailing dreams. Finally, in 1992, he completed a solo circumnavigation on his Valiant 47 COMMITMENT, which was more than just a sailing trip, but an educational opportunity for thousands of Chicago kids following his journey. Bill was also the captain of the tallship AMISTAD and is heavily involved with the Mystic Seaport maritime museum.
#293. Andy hosts a live panel discussion with Brian Trautman from SV Delos, John Harries of morganscloud.com, legendary solo sailor Pete Goss and Meg & Morgen of Ocean Racers. This two-hour chat covers how each of these accomplished sailors thinks about outfitting their boats, risk management, decision making, and more.
#292. Gunnar Krantz has competed in 4 of the iconic Whitbread/Volvo Round-the-World races, skippering two of them and sailing hundreds of thousands of offshore miles in the process. He was also recently the skipper of the Swedish TV show 'Over Atlanten', where he shepherded 6 non-sailing Swedish celebrities across the Pond in a Swan 80. Gunnar visited Andy & Mia on their farm to record a fascinating interview about his career.
#291. Now made obsolete by technology, the romantic aspect of celestial navigation will never die. Andy & August talk history & philosophy of celestial during our latest LIVE session. If you want to see the visuals, watch the replay at crowdcast.io/holdfast.
#289. Joscha & Niklas are two friends from Germany who set out on the dark-blue-hulled Bavaria in search of adventure. They've found it in spades, crossing the far north Atlantic via Iceland & Greenland, and winding up in the Caribbean before they got stuck in French Martinique during the coronavirus lockdown. Follow their travels on sailingnaked.de
Ryan Ellison & Sophie Darsy have become close friends of ours in the years since we first met them in Stockholm. Non-sailors initially, they bought a Beneteau 40 they named POLAR SEAL, and set out on a cruise of undetermined length, leaving Stockholm and sailing south, first to the Mediterranean and last year across the Atlantic. We met them in the Saintes and recorded onboard ICEBEAR.
#282. Liz Wardley has never NOT been a professional racing skipper. Getting her first taste of sailing at age 13 on a Hobie Cat, she was instantly hooked. At 15, she convinced her parents to let her drop out of school, and by 18 she was racing in the Sydney-Hobart race. Since then she’s done 3 Volvo Ocean Race’s and is aiming for another in next year’s event. Currently, she’s skippering the famous Whitbread yacht MAIDEN, and working closely with founder Tracy Edwards to fulfill the goals of The MAIDEN Factor as they sail around the world with an all-girl crew.
#281 (#251 Re-Issue). Rachel Slade is the acclaimed author of INTO THE RAGING SEA, the riveting and heartbreaking account of the loss of the American merchant ship EL FARO, with all hands, in hurricane Joaquin in 2015. We’re re-issuing this episode today ahead of the audio release of INTO THE RAGING SEA on Season 4 of Sailing Stories! Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and HOLD FAST!
#280. Back in 2018, the crew of SV DELOS joined Mia, James & I onboard ISBJORN for a 3-week adventure in the High Arctic. Needless to say, it was life-changing. Earlier this fall, we got to relive the adventure with Brian & Brady, who flew out to the Annapolis Sailboat Show to give a presentation on our trip, and show the first-ever screening of their '80 NORTH' film project to a USA audience. What follows is the audio of that presentation, which I hope you'll enjoy.
#279. Dee Caffari is perhaps the most accomplished sailor I've ever had on the show, and she's easily the most inspiring. Dee has sailed around the world a full 6 times, 3 of them solo and nonstop, and most recently as skipper of the Turn the Tide on Plastic Volvo campaign. There isn't much she hasn't done in racing, whether solo or crewed, as skipper or in another role, but I took away much deeper insights from our conversation on things like leadership, psychology and inspiration. Mia & I met Dee in England to hear her story.
#278. Kass Schmitt is a solo sailor who has had a dream of completing the OSTAR Race, the original single-handed trans-Atlantic race, which back in the 1960's, began the solo racing scene we know today. Kass, unassuming and thoughtful, set out to make that dream a reality in 2017 on her cold-molded sloop ZEST, but was thwarted halfway across the Atlantic by an unusually strong early summer storm that swept through the fleet, forcing the abandonment of three boats and forcing her to retire. Kass & I sat down in London where she told me the tale.
