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.
#349. Peter Gibbons-Neff - the namesake of PGN Ocean Racing - is a solo sailor from Annapolis aiming for the single-handed Mini Transat next year in 2023. Peter & I have crossed paths many times, most recently in Kinsale, Ireland - we were outbound on ICEBEAR heading to Sweden, and Peter was inbound on his Mini arriving from France. We traded photos and I promised then I'd get him on the show! Peter tells me the story of how we wound up in the same harbor an ocean away from home.
#348. 59º North's own Emma Garschagen is back in the interviewee-seat after having sailed 12,000 miles as the mate on ICEBEAR in 2021. Emma takes us through all of the ups and downs of her long voyage, from successfully completing her first trans-Atlantic crossing to an offshore medical emergency.
New to the show? Listen to episode #311 to learn more about Emma and her sailing origins!
#347. Dawn Riley is an expert big-boat and match-racing sailor, and a wonderful storyteller. Emma got Dawn on the phone for an hour of sailing stories from Dawn's incredible career.
Dawn was the first woman ever to manage an entire America’s Cup syndicate, the first American, man or woman, to sail in three America’s Cups and two Whitbread Round the World races. She was on the Maiden crew in the 1989-90 Whitbread Race. Dawn is the Executive Director at Oakcliff Sailing, an organization dedicated to raising the level of sailors and sailing in the United States.
Learn more about Dawn's career here (dawnriley.com) and more about Oakcliff Sailing here (https://www.oakcliffsailing.org/). Learn more about training programs at Oakcliff here (https://www.oakcliffsailing.org/programs/), or how to support their mission here (https://www.oakcliffsailing.org/support-us).
#346. Chris Nolan is a former US Coast Guard cutterman and current USCG reservist. He is a faculty captain and current interim academic dean at Sea Education Association (www.sea.edu) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Chris is also the founder of Practical Navigator (www.practicalnavigator.org) where he provides educational resources to mariners. He runs a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/NavigationTraining/videos) where he shares educational material and stories from his experience at sea. In this episode, Emma and Chris discuss Chris's time in the Coast Guard and subsequent transition into sailing education on tall ships. We explore questions around leadership, being a good shipmate, and how to take care of one's own needs while still looking out for others.
#345. Matt Rutherford (again!). Matt & Andy shoot the shit about sailing origins, how far we've come since 2011, his big-ass schooner refit, missing solo sailing, and Matt's upcoming Greenland expedition with his Ocean Research Project. Want to sail with Matt? He's looking for a female mate to work alongside him, his first mate, and scientist Nicole Trenholm for the duration of the summer. Low pay, high adventure! Contact oceanresearchproject.org to apply.
#344. Taylor Grieger returns to the podcast to talk about how sailing saved his life. Taylor is a military vet, a former US Navy rescue swimmer, who suffered from severe PTSD on his return to civilian life. He returned to a childhood love of sailing, and with two friends, set out to sail around Cape Horn and talk about PTSD for a film called HELL OR HIGH SEAS. Taylor has since started the American Odysseus Sailing Foundation (amodsailing.org) to help other vets and first responders recover from PTSD through sailing. Catch the film at hellorhighseas.com.
#343. Djemila Tassin is a Belgian and Spanish sailor from the island of La Palma. She completed the 2021 Mini Transat aboard her boat Kaïros. Djemila is a determined solo sailor, a trained oceanographer, and an inspiring adventurer. In this episode, Emma and Djemila discuss the mental preparation necessary for an undertaking like the Mini Transat. In addition to her confidence and drive, Djemila found success through advice from mentors and learning to ask for help. Djemila is taking all her lessons on racing and seamanship from last year's race into the next edition of the Mini Transat aboard a new boat. Follow her adventures and contact Djemila at www.djemilasailing.com.
#341. Megan Frye is a tall ship sailor and educator. She has spent the last 10 years at sea, sailing traditionally rigged vessels all over the world. She is pursuing her dream of connecting people through sailing with Ocean's Dream. Emma connected with Megan after the transatlantic on ICEBEAR to hear more of Megan's fantastic story. They discussed how Megan followed her intuition to islands in Norway and Scotland, and the Alaskan coastline. Megan shared the comical and joyful story of her first sailboat, and we dove in to the plan for her sail training nonprofit, Ocean's Dream.
You can find out more about Ocean's Dream and support Megan at https://www.oceansdream.org/
#340. Simon Walker has raced around the world, "the wrong way" twice, sailed the high latitudes at both ends of the globe, and managed several large offshore races. He's also part of The Adventurists, who's putting together hilarious and challenging races in unsuitable vehicles in the air, on the ground and at sea.
#339. I first talked to pro skier-turned-sailor Angel Collinson in the fall of 2020 before she ever set out on an offshore passage. About a year later, I caught up with her and Pete aboard their steel sloop SEABEAR in the Canary Islands, after they'd done their first major ocean crossing. We talked about Pete's lifelong history as a sailor, how he and Angel met in the officers of Teton Gravity Research in Jackson Hole, why they're both such great huggers and how Angel's sailing career is evolving in real-time, just as she's officially announced her retirement from skiing.
#335. Kirsten Neuschäfer is a professional sailor and adventurer, most recently working as a skipper for Skip Novak's Pelagic Expeditions in Antarctica in the Southern Ocean. At 22 she cycled solo 15,000 km from Europe to her home in South Africa, and is now preparing for her biggest challenge yet - the 2022 Golden Globe Race, a solo, nonstop circumnavigation of the globe starting next year!
#334. We met Marcus Hutchinson in Kinsale, Ireland after ICEBEAR's trans-Atlantic, having been referred to him by one of our former crew who used to be his neighbor. Marcus has been deeply involved in the high-end racing scene for most of his career, first as a naval architect with Rob Humphries, later as editor of Seahorse Magazine, on America's Cup campaigns, and now as a coach and mentor for major solo ocean sailing campaigns including the Figaro and Vendee Globe. Andy talked to him at his house in Kinsale back in August.
#333. Lisa Blair is an Australian adventurer who holds multiple world records for her solo sailing adventures. She is a positive and strong voice for confronting climate change, and for pursuing one's dreams full force. Lisa is currently preparing to sail solo, nonstop, and unassisted around Antarctica, in pursuit of world records and groundbreaking ocean data collection. On her boat, Climate Action Now, Lisa will be facing the Southern Ocean again as she races the clock around the world.
#332. Andy kicks off the Fall 2021 podcast season talking cruising the Bahamas, with longtime friend and sponsors of the show, Forbes & Jamie Horton. Forbes and 59º North go WAY back, to our early days in Annapolis circa 2006, and he's one of the few brokers in the trade that has skin in the game when it comes to cruising - last year, at the height of COVID, he and his wife and business partner Jamie took their two young kids out of school and cruised the Bahamas on their 35-foot lobster boat. Forbes & Jamie tell the whole story on the podcast, what they like & dislike about motor boating versus sailing (they previously cruised an S&S Tartan 34 to the Eastern Caribbean), and why they're going back to the Bahamas in 2021!
#330. Megan Frye has spent the last 10 years at sea, sailing traditionally rigged vessels all over the world. She is pursuing her dream of connecting people from around the world through sailing with Ocean's Dream. Emma got to sit down with Megan for a short chat while they were both in Maine, where Megan is spending the summer running a charter sailboat. This is just part one of our conversations with Megan, who has learned many lessons from her travels, and is looking to spread the wisdom of the high seas with others.
#327. Abby Ehler has been working in high performance sailing, on and off the water, for over twenty years. She has competed in three editions of the Volvo Ocean Race as boat captain, most recently competing in the 2017-18 race with Team Brunel, the first edition of the Race to actively promote mixed gender teams. When shore side, Abby has worked for the America’s Cup and Sail GP. Abby founded and runs the Magenta Project, a collective that develops pathways and opportunities for women in performance sailing. The Magenta Project focuses on establishing networks, fostering mentorships, influencing policy, and raising awareness. Abby also hosts her own podcast, the Sailing Show Podcasts, where she interviews professional sailors.
