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Andy sits down for an impromptu look at the weather for a hypothetical offshore passage from the Chesapeake Bay to the Caribbean and feels STRONGLY that the Salty Dawg Rally should wait until Saturday to depart.
Atlantic hurricane season has been flipped upside down. While the Atlantic sits at just 10% of its normal cyclone energy, the Eastern and Central Pacific are seeing record-breaking storms. Meteorologist and weather-routing specialist Jeremy Davis explains the atmospheric domino effect behind this unusual split, and what it means for sailors. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Peter Gibbons-Neff returns to the podcast to talk about his second attempt at the Mini Trans-At race, but this time in a foiling prototype. The Mini Trans-At is wild - it's a solo race across the Atlantic in tiny, 22-foot, very high performance boats, and is often the entry point for Vendee Globe hopefuls. Peter completed the race in a "series" mini a few years ago, and is making another attempt, this time in a new-build foiling "prototype" mini. The boats are insane, able to make speeds in excess of 30 knots on their foils. Peter and I met in Annapolis during Boat Show and he filled me in on the latest. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales.
Atlantic hurricane season has been flipped upside down. While the Atlantic sits at just 10% of its normal cyclone energy, the Eastern and Central Pacific are seeing record-breaking storms. Meteorologist and weather-routing specialist Jeremy Davis explains the atmospheric domino effect behind this unusual split, and what it means for sailors. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is back on the pod 10 years later! August & I made the pilgrimage to England to interview the OG himself at Clipper Race headquarters in Gosport, this time armed with more confidence and more mutual friends. Robin was relaxed and talkative and we covered everything from his letters with Moitessier to his thoughts about what makes a good skipper to what it's like in the British Merchant Navy. The best part? After the 90-minute recording session, he took us down to SUHAILI, where we spent another hour or so sitting in the cabin of that iconic boat and hearing Golden Globe race stories off the mics! This is an all-timer, enjoy! -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Today, we are bringing you a rerun of a popular episode from four years ago that some of you might have missed. Andy and Lee and Adam talk about propellers! The reason that we are doing a rerun this week is that Andy and August are rushing to leave for England to interview Robin Knox Johnston! That will be for the On The Wind podcast, which is back on next week! Make sure to subscribe to On the Wind so that you don’t miss that. That means that this is the last Quarterdeck podcast episode for now, so make sure you subscribe to this one as well, so that you’ll know when we are back on. You have got to see this new “chart room” that Andy’s made for the website, 59-north.com. Just scroll down from the header page and you will see this interactive globe where you can see all past and all future 59 North trips! Really fun to reminisce if you have already done a trip with us, and perfect for finding your next trip! Just click the “open bunks” filter, and you can explore all of our upcoming adventures right there. There are some really good ones available of FALKEN next spring, Cayman Islands to Key West! That is an amazing trip that I have done myself, Caymans are super fascinating, and you'll get to sail around Cuba and ride the gulf stream. Go check out this chart, it is gorgeous, find a trip and see you onboard! -- This episode is sponsored by BVI Yacht Sales, our boat broker friends from Tortola and Annapolis. Go to bviyachtsales.com to have a look at all the cool boats they have listed right now! And if you find your dream boat elsewhere, they can be your buyers broker!
Which one of you will be the first to snatch up this beauty! ? A gorgeous 1983 Tanton 44 from Portland Oregon, ready for whatever adventure you might be into. Huge thanks to special guest Dennis "Andy's Dad" Schell for joining us on this one! Check the listing and buy the boat here: https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1983-tanton-44-10152829/ The best way to enjoy these is in video form on the Quarterdeck - Our online community. Go to quarterdeck.59-north.com and sign up to see as well as hear about this beautiful boat and to see our faces! Come for the boat-shopping episodes, stay for the community, the seamanship scenarios, the articles, the celestial navigation, the livestreams, and to show your support. Thank you, all of you. Hold fast! -- This episode is sponsored by BVI Yacht Sales, our boat broker friends from Tortola and Annapolis. Go to bviyachtsales.com to have a look at all the cool boats they have listed right now! And if you find your dream boat elsewhere, they can be your buyers broker!
Ahoy, shipmates - We are putting today's boat shopping episode on ice as Andy has been busy with a very exciting project behind the scenes at 59° North, and it was not possible for him to talk about anything else, so we are taking you behind the curtain today into the inner workings of our online platforms, and to give you a glimpse into the future of what we are working on there. This podcast will be extra cool in video form, which is available to our Quarterdeck members on quarterdeck.59-north.com! Also, while you are at it, we really appreciate reviews, likes, hearts and what have you, on our episodes, it really makes a difference for us, so please show our podcasts some love if you like what we do here. Thank you so much for being here, Please enjoy this episode, have a wonderful day, and hold fast. -- This episode is sponsored by BVI Yacht Sales, our boat broker friends from Tortola and Annapolis. Go to bviyachtsales.com to have a look at all the cool boats they have listed right now! And if you find your dream boat elsewhere, they can be your buyers broker!
Today, we’re bringing you a field recording from ISBJØRN! Skipper Manot Berger and August Sandberg were sitting down aboard the boat some days before the crew arrived and discussed the upcoming passage from Bergen, Norway to the Faroe Islands. So you get to be a fly on the wall in ISBJØRN’s salon, listening in on this conversation between two experienced Skippers. Lots of good takeaways here if you are planning to sail the North Sea or the Norwegian Sea! We are spending some time discussing potential stopovers in Shetland or the Orkneys, both located half-way between Norway and the Faroes, and we also look ahead to the next passage, Faroes to Reykjavik and discuss potential routing there. This was recorded in the first week of July, 2026. If this makes your sealegs itch, come sailing with us! We actually have two open bunks on FALKEN coming up on September 21 already, she is sailing from Ensenada to Monterey Bay with Alex and Adam onboard. That is going to be such a fun trip, those guys are just the absolute best, spending time with Adam and Alex, their friendship, it just makes you adore all human beings. You can find that one and other openings on 59-North.com/bunks. We are also about to announce some extra bonus passages in the fall of 2027, probably at the end of this week, and we are also working on 2028, which is going to be a pretty exciting year for both boats. To not miss out on any of this, go to 59-north.com/newsletter and sign up to get exciting sailing opportunities and other news straight to your inbox. Also, join the crew at quarterdeck.59-north.com! Hang out with August, Andy and the rest of the 59 North team, and our wonderful community of sailors. A huge thanks to all of our members for making this podcast possible. Have a wonderful day, and HOLD FAST! " This episode is sponsored by BVI Yacht Sales, our boat broker friends from Tortola and Annapolis. Go to bviyachtsales.com to have a look at all the cool boats they have listed right now! And if you find your dream boat elsewhere, they can be your buyers broker!
This boat is very special to Andy Schell. He lived and cruised on an Allied Princess 36 with his family as a kid! Will his analysis of this boat be cold and pragmatic, or nostalgic and biased? Click play to find out! Of course, if you are a Quarterdeck member, you will have access to the video version of this podcast, and can watch the pictures of this boat and study the listing along with Andy, Mia and August! Quarterdeck members also provide listings for us to analyze! If you are not yet a member, go to quarterdeck.59-north.com, and sign up! You can even snatch a two-week free trail, watch this and tons of other videos for free! Fair winds and following seas to you, my friends, and hold fast. -- This episode is sponsored by BVI Yacht Sales, our boat broker friends from Tortola and Annapolis. Go to bviyachtsales.com to have a look at all the cool boats they have listed right now! And if you find your dream boat elsewhere, they can be your buyers broker!
It’s another Boatshopping episode! Andy and August are taking a look at boat for sale, dissecting the boat and the listing. Of course, if you are a Quarterdeck member, you will have access to the video version of this podcast, and can watch the pictures of this boat and study the listing along with Andy and August! Quarterdeck members also provide listings for us to analyze! If you are not yet a member, go to quarterdeck.59-north.com, and sign up! You can even snatch a two-week free trail, watch this and tons of other videos for free! Fair winds and following seas to you, my friends, and hold fast. -- This episode is sponsored by BVI Yacht Sales, our boat broker friends from Tortola and Annapolis. Go to bviyachtsales.com to have a look at all the cool boats they have listed right now! And if you find your dream boat elsewhere, they can be your buyers broker!
The Quarterdeck Podcast is back! Tell your friends! In this episode, August will share a recording he did, debriefing one of the Sail Training Camps on Isbjørn this spring. He learned a lot, and we hope you will too! -- To learn more about sailing and support what we do, check out our membership site at quarterdeck.59-north.com! You will find a welcoming and knowledgeable community there, along with videos, livestreams, articles, and behind-the-scenes resources from the 59° North team. Welcome onboard! -- This episode is sponsored by BVI Yacht Sales, our boat broker friends from Tortola and Annapolis. Go to bviyachtsales.com to have a look at all the cool boats they have listed right now! And if you find your dream boat elsewhere, they can be your buyer's broker!
Picking up a video call from Andy while at sea at 79 degrees North, Matt Rutherford gives us the very latest on his epic quest to be the first person ever to sail solo, non-stop around the Arctic Ocean. He's only a few days away from entering the first "pinch point" on his Northern Sea Route above Siberia. Matt talkes through how the first 4,000+ miles of his passage has gone so far, how he was featured in Playboy magazine, what he thinks his chances of success are and how much he enjoys being alone at sea. Make sure to check out Matt's youtube channel @oceanresearchproject! Also, check out oceanresearchproject.com and donate to support Matt and his work to save arctic and climate science. Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Guess what? It's Matt Rutherford on the show again! Matt & I recorded this episode while he was at-sea on the Valiant 42, far north of Russia and a few days away from entering the first ""pinch point"" on his Northern Sea Route above Siberia. Meanwhile I was recording from the cabin on SPICA outside Stockholm. Matt & I talked through how the first 4,000+ miles of his passage has gone so far, how he was featured in Playboy magazine, what he thinks his chances of success are and how much he enjoys being alone at sea. Make sure to donate to Matt's Ocean Research Project so they can continue doing the environmental and climate research in the far north, or better yet, come to our Crew Party in Annapolis this October where all proceeds will go to ORP! -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Will Sofrin returns to the podcast to talk about his new book on the USCG EAGLE tall ship. Will, a former "yachtie" turned tallship sailor, first came on the show back in 2023 to talk about delivering the ship used in the film Master & Commander, which became the subject of his first book, "All Hands on Deck," which I LOVE and which has a place in FALKEN's onboard library. This time we talked about his budding career as a writer since the success of that first book, the incredible Nazi history of the EAGLE and about leadership in the wider context. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
The one and only Jimmy Cornell joins the podcast for the first time to talk about his legendary career as the godfather of offshore cruising. Jimmy, now 86, has led an extraordinary life - he escaped communist Romania to go on to become one of the icons of cruising under sail. He's circumnavigated three times, sailed to the far north and the far south, and recently published the 10th edition of his cruising bible "World Cruising Routes." Jimmy and I discuss his remarkable career on this wide-ranging and wild podcast conversation. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Gunnar Christensen is a career yacht captain and racing sailor who is in the midst of pivoting to sail solo, nonstop around the world in the upcoming Golden Globe Race. Gunnar and I talked about his origins as a sailor in New England, his varied career on yachts and racing boats and about the prep on his Bob Perry-designed boat for the round-the-world voyage. Gunnar is the first guest we've had on the show who came to record in-person at the new Mission Control in Sweden! Follow his progress in the GGR at gunnarsails.com. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Conrad Humphries is a career sailor and his adventures have truly run the gamut. He's done everything from Whitbread round-the-world racing to re-enacting the famous voyage of Captain Bligh for a BBC television series. I was connected to him through a mutual friend while Conrad was skippering the racing yacht HOUND, one of my all-time favorite boats (look it up!). Despite his love for sailing fast, Conrad actually bought the replica BOUNTY launch after the filming and sails it on the southwest coast of the UK. Check out his latest adventures on bountyproject.co.uk. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Ben Doerr, friend of the pod, of Sail Bainbridge out in Seattle, returns to the show to talk about a near-miss he and his friends had recently in Alaska. On what should have been Day 1 of their latest Sail 2 Ski adventure, a mile or so outside the harbor the boat caught fire in the engine room. Thanks to some quick-thinking and a lot of good luck, they managed to save the boat, did no harm to the crew, and even managed to get in some skiing later in the week. This is the story. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Most sailors obsess over boat gear and weather routing — but Andy Schell argues the single most important factor in a successful offshore passage is something almost nobody talks about: your mental state. Drawing on marathon training philosophy, solo circumnavigation stories, and his own mid-Atlantic spiritual awakening, this seminar reframes ocean sailing as an emotional journey with predictable stages — and teaches you how to navigate each one. This episode was originally recorded as a live seminar back in 2014, before 59º North was even a thing. You can read the full transcript and learn about Andy's insights, what has changed in the 12 years since first published this, and more as a Quarterdeck member! -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
