On The Wind Sailing

#124 is Matt Rutherford (again). Matt and Nicole recently returned from another lengthy expedition, this one to the far northern reaches of Greenland in pursuit of scientific research. Matt & Nicole made it all the way to 78º North, further even than Nasa this summer, and helped chart one of the last areas on earth that’s never been surveyed before. We talked about the expedition, the logistics of navigating 24/7 in thick ice, how they anchored and what anchoring hardware they used, the locals, wildlife, carrying rifles ashore and polar bears! Check out his blog on oceanresearchproject.org. Thanks to Sailrite for sponsoring this episode! Want to go ocean sailing? Join us on Isbjorn, our classic Swan 48. Click here!

#123 starts out with a short story about the refit on Isbjorn. Andy reflects on the past three weeks and what he, Mia and a whole host of friends, old and new accomplished on the boat. There’s still lots to do, but boy have we come a long way! The guest this week is Nuno Antunes. Nuno’s from Portugal, but has lived in Sweden for over 20 years and has a fascinating personal story, including growing up in rural Portugal, becoming a Navy diver and being involed in the Balkans War. All the while, Nuno had a dream to sail over the horizon. His relentless pursuit of that dream and his unconventional means of making it come true are precisely why I wanted to have him on the show. This episode is one for the dreamers out there, a real-life example of one family who made their dreams come true and a practical lesson in how to actually do it. You can follow Nuno and Jenny’s adventures on dreamalive.se, where he’ll be keeping an ongoing blog of their trip. Nuno is also the Swedish distributor for the Air Head composting

#122 is Ben & Teresa Carey (again!). Mia and Andy had a chance to watch their movie, 'One Simple Question' and Andy spoke to them about it for a bit (spolier alert - it's awesome!). We also talked a lot about their 'Hello Ocean' citizen-science research projects, what motivates them to work so hard in sailing, and what they're up to at the upcoming Annapolis Boat Show! Hello Ocean can be found at helloocean.org, where there is also a link to their Indie Gogo page. Ben & Teresa's sail-training is at morsealpha.com. Get details on DVD orders for 'One Simple Question' at simplequestionmovie.com Want to go ocean sailing with Andy? Book a berth on Isbjorn, a classic Swan 48, at isbjornsailing.com.

#121. Cameron Deyell is a musician based in Brooklyn by way of Auckland, New Zealand. Note the new intro music this week, a song called 'Hey Rose' by his band 'Streets of Laredo.' The full song plays at the conclusion of the episode. Cameron's also a sailor and traveler, and much of his solo music is informed by his sailing experience and sailing dreams. Cameron invited Andy to his Brooklyn studio to record this interview, where they discuss his music career and his sailing background. Cameron also wrote and performed the new ad music for the podcast. Look for a bonus episode this week with a look behind-the-scenes at how that came together. Check out Cameron's band at 'Streets of Laredo' at streets-of-laredo.com. Cameron's solo project is at totarajack.com.  Want to go ocean sailing with Andy? Book a berth on Isbjorn, a classic Swan 48, at isbjornsailing.com. And to find Franz Amussen and his podcasts and sailing tutorials, visit medsailor.com.

#120 is Magnus Rassy. If the name sounds familiar, it should – Magnus is CEO of Hallberg-Rassy, builder of some of the finest cruising yachts in the world.  Orust island is legendary for producing sailing yachts, and in fact Magnus has an almost unbelieveable story to share about the history of this place.  Go to the show's website page at 59northpodcast.com to see some photos from the HR yard in Sweden! Want to go ocean sailing with Andy? Book a berth on Isbjorn, a classic Swan 48, at isbjornsailing.com.

#119. Going to the way-back machine for this week’s show, re-releasing episode #10 of my old Two Inspired Guys show. This is Joe Reed, multi-time Caribbean 1500 sailor and NASA scientist, recorded in Tortola after the rally in 2012. For those of you who have listened to 59º North for a while now, you’ll notice a BIG difference in this episode! I’m slightly embarrassed to even release this again, but it is fun to go back and hear how far the podcast has come in terms of both my hosting and the production quality. Plus, Joe’s a super guy, and has a super story. He’s sailed in the 1500 every year since this was recorded, and is indeed signed up again for 2015. If you want to come ocean sailing with Mia and I on our Swan 48 'Isbjorn,' check out the passage calendar on 59-north.com/offshore.  

#118 is Matt Grant of Sailrite, makers of the Ultrafeed sewing machine and inspiration to thousands of DIY sailors around the world. Matt’s father Jim started the company back in the 1960s, and he’s followed in the family footsteps, taking the reigns after college and moving the business into the future. Want to go ocean sailing with Andy? Book a berth on Isbjorn, a classic Swan 48, at isbjornsailing.com.

#117 is Simon Borjeson, a twenty-something Swedish sailor and athlete living in Norway and working as an engineer in the oil industry. I met Simon at the start of the ARC Europe rally in Portsmouth, VA. He, along with three of his friends, were crewing onboard Euphoria, a brand-new Xc-42 that Simon’s dad Len had recently bought. 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. As an aside, you might hear that I talk a bit different in this episode. I know Simon in Swedish, and we rarely talk English to each other. So it’s a bit strange for both of us to be speaking English together

#116 is one of the best yet! Yan Miles, captain of the tall ship ‘Pride of Baltimore II’ is full of stories, and boy can he tell them! Yan and Andy spoke from the captain’s quarters onboard the ‘Pride’ itself, docked in Annapolis at City Dock. He has been involved with the ‘Pride’ since it’s inception in the 1980s. Yan tells the story of how he got involved in sailing, worked his way up in the private and classic yachting scene, the story of the ‘Pride’s’ inception, the first ‘Pride’s’ tragic sinking, the building of the second ‘Pride’ and what it’s like barreling down the Bay during the Schooner Race and overtaking the schooner Woodwind, which Andy was aboard! Join Andy on an offshore sailing passage on his Swan 48 'Isbjorn' at 59-north.com/offshore.

#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. Want to go ocean sailing with Andy? Book a berth on Isbjorn, a classic Swan 48, at isbjornsailing.com.

#114. Paul Exner speaks at the World Cruising Club's 'Ocean Sailing Seminar' in Annapolis, MD in March on what it's like to sail offshore in strong conditions. Paul touches on heavy weather in theory and mixes in his own experiences from his varied career as an ocean sailing skipper. Want to go ocean sailing with Andy or Paul? Book a berth on 'Isbjorn,' our classic Swan 48, at 59-north.com/offshore.

#113. is an essay about the first passage of Andy & Mia's Swan 48 Isbjorn. They sailed to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, departing Annapolis on July 4, with Charly, Dan, John and Sean onboard as the inaugural crew. Andy talks about the passage and reflects a bit on how it all went down and what it felt like to reach this milestone. To see some photos of the trip, go to 59-north.com/passagelogs. Want to go ocean sailing with Andy? Book a berth on Isbjorn, a classic Swan 48, at isbjornsailing.com.

#112. is a Two Inspired Guys rerun with Pawel Motawa, a Polish sailor Andy met at the ARC Rally a few years back. Pawel had a TV studio in Poland, and then bought his dream boat - a steel sloop - and has been spending the past several years sailing in Antarctica. The interview was recorded onboard his boat 'Malaika' in St. Lucia after he'd crossed the Atlantic from Europe. Want to go ocean sailing with Andy? Book a berth on Isbjorn, a classic Swan 48, at isbjornsailing.com.

#111 is Miles Poor. Miles and his wife Anne run MRP Refits, both here in Annapolis and at their winter base in Nanny Cay, BVI. MRP specializes in project management on pretty fancy sailboats. Miles’ main career was as a facial surgeon. We sat down on Miles’ Tayana 55 in Annapolis, a boat he uses for MRP as his ‘showroom’ and discussed his very interesting history – he was born in Stockholm and went  to boarding school in Switzerland, learning to sail on Lake Geneva – and then delve into some ocean sailing stuff.  Book your next passage with Isbjorn, our classic Swan 48, at 59-north.com/offshore.

#110 is Duncan Hood, a long-time sailor and technically an Annapolis resident for more than two decades, but who’s traveled the world teaching instructors how to teach sailing. Duncan works as an ASA instructor and years ago got asked to travel to China to help start a sailing school in the south, near the border with North Korea, and his story of that misadventure makes up a good chunk of the middle of this episode. It’s a riveting tale! Come ocean sailing with Andy & Mia on Isbjorn, their classic Swan 48 at 59-north.com/offshore.  

#109 is guest-hosted by Magnus Ormestad, of the hugely popular Swedish outdoor sports podcast ‘Husky.’ I met Magnus in Stockholm in May. He had a chance to go to Iceland and stay aboard the Aurora Arktika, a 60-foot former Clipper RTW race boat. His interview with skipper ‘Siggi’ Jonsson had me spellbound – they spent a week sailing in the fjords of Iceland and skiing the surrounding mountain peaks. Magnus agreed to let me air his chat with Siggi on my show, so here it is! Be sure to check out the Husky Podcast at huskypodcast.com, and visit 59northpodcast.com for more links and videos on ski-sailing in Iceland! Want to go ocean sailing with Andy? Book a berth on Isbjorn, a classic Swan 48, at isbjornsailing.com.

#108 is a followup to the very popular blog post I wrote last week about our too-close encounter with a Navy ship en route from Bermuda to NYC. Douglas MacDonald, owner of the HR43 we were sailing, comes on the show to discuss what happened from his perspective. He's very humble about the experience, and wants to provide his insight on how you can avoid this kind of thing yourself. If you haven't read the article, click here. Want to go ocean sailing with Andy? Book a berth on Isbjorn, a classic Swan 48, at isbjornsailing.com.

#107. Paul Exner sits down with Brian Duff in Tortola. Brian's old friends with both Paul & Andy. Brian started Southbound Rigging in Annapolis, MD a few years back, where Andy first started working as a rigger in 2009. Brian sold the shop to Mike Meer (who's been on the podcast!) and sailed his Westsail 32 south to the BVI to start a new life as a boat broker. Paul of course lives in the BVI, and soon became friends with Brian. They chat on this episode about Brian's work as a boat broker, his life as a rigger, how he moved south from Annapolis and his new venture as a restaurant owner at The Island Last Resort in Trellis Bay. If you're ever cruising in the BVI, stop in and have a drink! Want to go ocean sailing with Andy or Paul? Book a berth on Isbjorn, our Swan 48 at 59-north.com/offshore, or on Paul's Solstice, a Cape George 31 at moderngeographic.com.

#106. Hank and Andy go back several years, having continually bumped into each other in various landfalls around the US and Caribbean. Those of us who work in sailing full-time are few and far between, so it's a small world. Andy sat down with Hank in Bermuda during the ARC Europe stopover and chatted for almost an hour and a half! Hank talked about his career working on offshore oil rigs, how he got into racing as a teenager (and lived a sailing bums life in the 70s), & how he started OPO and the NARC Rally. Towards the second half of the episode, Hank discusses candidly some scary stuff - the loss of a crew member in the NARC Rally in 2010, and the abandonment of the Alpha catamaran during an ill-fated delivery last January. It's an inspiring look at one of the biggest names in the American offshore cruising business. Want to go ocean sailing with Andy? Book a berth Isbjorn, our Swan 48, at 59-north.com/offshore.

#105 is an essay in which Andy describes the ups and downs of starting a sailing business. Financially and emotionally it's been a roller coaster ride since buying Isbjorn. Andy talks about that process and how far he and Mia have come since buying the Swan 48 in February. Want to go ocean sailing with Andy? Book a berth on Isbjorn, a classi Swan 48, at isbjornsailing.com.