Missed us on Wednesday but want to join for Thursday! The forecast is calling for lots of rain at the boat show, so why not spend the day, warm & dry, learning about seamanship with us! See ya there!
The offshore sailing workshop will teach you how to THINK like a sailor. We’ll cover all aspects of ocean sailing from boat prep & gear selection to weather routing & strategy. Led by professional skippers Andy Schell & Nikki Henderson and the rest of the 59º North team, you’ll learn seamanship essentials, taught by the best in the business.
By the end of the workshop you will have a solid, nuanced framework on how to make decisions through each phase of a voyage - how to ‘think’, not how to ‘do’, because there are many ‘right’ ways to do it. You’ll be able to apply that framework in a way that will empower you to make sound, informed decisions for yourself offshore.
Seamanship
This two-day seminar is appropriate for a range of experiences, from newcomers to salty circumnavigators. Because we focus on high-level thinking, you can apply the lessons across a range of experience & cruising plans.
Ready to take your sailing goals to the next level? If you can sail, you can sail offshore. But to do so successfully requires proper seamanship. True seamanship is the art of combining both knowledge and practice. Only then can a sailor expect to have the kind of repeatable success on the ocean that elevates offshore sailing to — in our view — the philosophical, even spiritual realm. This two-day workshop will touch on all aspects of the ‘knowledge’ side of this equation.
Offshore, the actual ‘sailing’ of the boat is the easy part and will take the least of your time. Seamanship, then, is first and foremost about proper preparation, when 99% of the work of a successful ocean crossing is accomplished. With proper prep, all that’s left is execution.
WORKSHOP DETAILS
WHEN: October 13, 0900-1500 (Thursday of Annapolis Sailboat Show weekend. The show itself runs from Thursday Oct 13 thru Monday Oct 17).
WHERE: Ram’s Head On Stage, West Street, Annapolis
WHO: Led by Andy, Mia, Emma & Nikki, plus special guests Pam Wall & others TBA.
COST: $300 per person
INCLUDES: Coffee & tea, DIY taco lunch buffet (veg, meat & fish options) + boat show ticket valid for ANY day of the show.
OPTIONS: Beer, wine & soft drinks available for purchase.
QUARTERDECK: Extended FREE TRIAL of The Quarterdeck, our online membership platform where we teach and discuss seamanship, valid from the time you purchase your ticket.
We are ready to roll at Ram’s Head, THE coolest venue in Annapolis and just a short walk from the Boat Show! This two-day offshore event, held at the music venue Ram’s Head On Stage, includes:
Coffee & tea at the morning session, free of charge
A buffet build-your-own taco lunch, free of charge
A free boat show ticket valid for any day of the show
Access to the event recording afterwards, free of charge
Beer, wine & cocktails available for purchase from lunch through the afternoon session
Nikki Henderson is flying over from England to join Andy & Mia and the 59º North Sailing team to put on the most comprehensive offshore workshop we’ve ever done. Nikki is known for being the youngest skipper EVER to lead a round-the-world race team, coming 2nd in the Clipper Race in 2018 when she was 25, and for sailing with Greta Thunberg across the Atlantic on La Vagabond’s Outremer catamaran. More recently Nikki has worked for 59º North as one of our primary skippers - she and Mia completed another Atlantic crossing on ICEBEAR in February 2022.
Andy at the helm of ICEBEAR off Kinsale, Ireland, 2021.
Workshop Specifics
Offshore, seamanship is about learning to live aboard in constant motion, how to sleep, how to cook efficient, tasty and nutritious meals, how to maintain systems and how to live without them when (not if) they fail. It’s about learning weather forecasting tools in order to strategize not necessarily the fastest route, but the smartest and most comfortable. It’s about boat handling in a way that minimizes risks like broken fittings, chafing gear, flogging sails and worse, person-overboard situations. Most importantly, seamanship is about cultivating a mindset of risk management – of always thinking ahead proactively and being comfortable with uncertainty.
This two-day workshop will be focused on cultivating that mindset and applying it to a variety of decisions & situations you’ll encounter offshore. We’ll focus specifically on several topics and how to think about them:
How to think about boat design and construction
‘Mission critical’ systems & equipment
Weather forecasting tools & strategy (this will be a major focus of the workshop)
Heavy Weather Sailing
Light Weather Sailing
Sail selection & sail handling
Crew & watch rotations
Meal planning & cooking
Inspiring destinations
…and more!
Hoisting the staysail on route from Key West to Bermuda, 2019.
Marstrand to Stockholm, Sweden 2021.
