John Glennie named the Rose-Noëlle after a young woman he met in Tahiti and lost in a tragic plane crash. Sixteen years later, the boat capsized, beginning an extraordinary 119-day survival story. Full Video: https://youtu.be/4HL28zAK0Xc 📗 Get My Book: https://bethecaptain.com

The Rose-Noëlle video hit different — 119 days on an upturned trimaran, and a quarter million of you watched it in a week. Tonight we go deeper. I've been corresponding with John Glennie himself, and I'm bringing what he sent me: the letter he wrote his FIRST NIGHT ashore, the obituary the NZ Herald ran while he was still missing, and details that never made it into any book. Then the counterpoint: Steven Callahan's 76 days alone in a liferaft in the Atlantic — and why these two stories together answer the question every offshore sailor gets wrong: when do you actually step into the raft? On tonight's show: - Behind the scenes of the Rose-Noëlle story — the letters, the research, your questions - 3 oz of Coke a day: how four men solved water, food, and each other - Callahan's 76 days: the raft that became an ecosystem - Fastnet '79 and the doctrine: you step UP into the liferaft - Live Q&A — bring your questions This is Episode 1 of the Be The Captain Podcast — the show formerly known as the Sailing Truth Show. Same Saturday night, same real talk, new name. 🎙️ 📕 GET THE BOOK: Be The Captain. Winner of the 2026 Eric Hoffer Award. 25 years of offshore decisions in one book → https://bethecaptain.com 🔓 FREE first chapter at the link. #bethecaptain

In 1989, four men sailed out of New Zealand aboard the Rose-Noëlle — a trimaran one man had spent 19 years building by hand, and named after a woman who had already been dead for 16 years. Four days out, she flipped upside down in the Southern Ocean. What happened next is one of the greatest survival stories the sea has ever kept: 119 days adrift, given up for dead, mourned and buried by an entire country… and then accused of making the whole thing up. This is the real story, not the Hollywood one. When I set out to tell it, the captain himself, John Glennie, now 85 and living in New Zealand, reached out to me. He shared his letters, his newspaper clippings, and his unpublished memoir — and most of what you'll hear has never been published anywhere. It's muddier, uglier, and more human than the legend. And it's exactly how it happened. If this one stays with you, that's just the sea doing what it does. Thanks for being here. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⏱ CHAPTERS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 0:00 — A Love Story That Ends at the Bottom of the Sea 1:47 — Why These Stories Stay With Me 2:37 — The Man Who Built the Boat 4:41 — Rose Noëlle: The Name (Tahiti, 1968) 6:40 — What a Boat Really Is 7:38 — June 1989: Four Strangers Set Sail 8:46 — The Barometer Falls 10:47 — One Loose Thread: The Trip Line 13:09 — The Wave, and the Capsize 14:34 — Life Upside Down 18:53 — Day 40: The Rain Comes 19:48 — The Boat Becomes a Floating Reef 21:18 — Two Crews, One Cabin 23:31 — The Ship He Refused to Signal 25:02 — The Drift That Defied Every Chart 26:30 — Navigating by a Contrail 27:26 — Landfall at Great Barrier Island 29:50 — "They Called Them Liars" 30:36 — The Star Witness Was a Barnacle 32:18 — Vindicated 33:13 — What Became of the Four Men 36:18 — John's Last Chapter 37:26 — Fair Winds ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⚓ RECOMMENDED GEAR & STORES ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Defender Marine has been outfitting boaters since 1938, with trusted brands, expert advice, and everything you need for maintenance, upgrades, and refits. 👉 Shop Defender Marine: https://defender.com/en_us/ Get 10% off your next Defender Marine order when you purchase a copy of Be The Captain through the link below. 👉 Get the book and claim your discount: https://bethecaptain.com/ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 📖 THE TRUE STORY — FURTHER READING ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ There are two books about these 119 days, written by two very different men. The facts line up. The meaning never does. • "The Spirit of Rose-Noëlle: 119 Days Adrift, A Survival Story" — John Glennie with Jane Phare • "Capsized: Jim Nalepka's Epic 119-Day Survival Voyage Aboard the Rose-Noëlle" — Steven Callahan & Jim Nalepka ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎬 ABOUT THE CHANNEL ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ True stories from the sea — the rescues, the wrecks, and the choices that decide who comes home. You don't have to be a sailor to feel them. But if you are, they might change the way you feel about the water. 🔔 Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss the next one. 📷 Archival photographs courtesy of John Glennie and press/public archives. If you hold the rights to any image used here and would like credit or removal, please contact captain@bethecaptain.com ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ #RoseNoelle #SurvivalStory #LostAtSea #JohnGlennie #SailingStories #TrueStory #Shipwreck #MaritimeHistory #NewZealand #SurvivalAtSea

Orcas have been ramming rudders and sinking sailboats off Spain, Portugal, and Gibraltar — and tonight we roll the tape. This is a Captain's Breakdown: I pause the footage, judge the crew's decisions in real time, and give the verdict — seamanship, panic, or pure luck. Then I'll tell you exactly how I'd transit the Strait of Gibraltar today, orcas and all. The ocean doesn't care about theory. It cares about execution. 📕 GET THE BOOK: Be The Captain — Winner of the 2026 Eric Hoffer Award. 25 years of offshore decisions in one book → https://bethecaptain.com ⚓ New here? This channel used to be Sailing Zingaro. Same captain, new flag. Be The Captain — true stories from the water, live every Saturday. All footage shown belongs to its original creators and news outlets, used in brief excerpts for commentary, criticism, and education. Sources credited on screen and here: - [paste clip links you actually use, one per line] Current orca guidance for sailors: https://www.noonsite.com/cruising-resources/orcas-and-yachts/ #orcas #sailing #BeTheCaptain

After 10 years and 90,000 nautical miles, this is the last video under the Sailing Zingaro name. In 2016 I bought a catamaran, pointed a camera at myself, and made a promise: I'll go, and I'll take you with me. The good, the bad, the ugly. You watched me sail to Ecuador, Easter Island, and Pitcairn. You watched me lose that catamaran off Hawaii. You watched me refit an Oyster 485 over five years, write a book, and become someone with something to say about the ocean. The promise doesn't change. The name does. This channel is now BE THE CAPTAIN: true stories from the sea. Real disasters, real survival, real investigations, told hour by hour by a delivery captain who has stood watch in the same waters and made some of the same mistakes. Every story traces the failure chain back to where it actually started, and what it teaches you about judgment under pressure, whether you sail or not. First up: Rose-Noëlle. 1989. A trimaran flips in the Southern Ocean and four men spend 119 days inside the upturned hull. Everyone gave them up for dead. It's one of the greatest survival stories ever told, and almost nobody knows it. ⚓ THE BOOK Be The Captain, winner of the 2026 Eric Hoffer Award: https://bethecaptain.com/ ⚓ RECOMMENDED GEAR Defender Marine has been outfitting boaters since 1938: https://defender.com Get 10% off your next Defender order when you purchase Be The Captain at bethecaptain.com Much love. See you next week for the first story! - James 0:00 The FIRST Video 0:36 Retiring the Sailing Zingaro Name 0:57 Zingaro Was Never a Boat 2:09 Where My Heart is At 2:44 The Honest Reasons 3:38 Luna, and a House in the Mountains 4:15 Are you Quitting Sailing? (63° South) 4:57 The New Direction: Storytelling 6:21 Every Story Gets the Full Treatment 6:45 New Brand: "Be The Captain" 7:08 The Door Is Always Open 7:40 First Story: Rose-Noëlle 8:06 Hi, My Name Is James

📕 GET THE BOOK: Be The Captain. Winner of the 2026 Eric Hoffer Award. 25 years of offshore decisions in one book → https://bethecaptain.com 🔓 FREE: The Captain's Locker. Printable watch schedules, pre-departure checklists, delivery tools → https://bethecaptain.com/locker It’s time to have an honest conversation. I’ve spent nearly two decades living on the water, but life changes, and right now, mine has[cite: 1]. We need to talk about the future of this channel, why I'm currently living on land in Medellín, and why the traditional sailing vlogs you're used to are coming to an end[cite: 1]. We are officially shifting directions to something completely new, and I want to lay it all out for you guys live[cite: 1]. Bring your questions, bring a drink, and let's talk about what comes next[cite: 1]. 📢 LIVE THIS SATURDAY @ 3 PM EASTERN Standard Time! I do a live stream every Saturday[cite: 1]. Turn on notifications, hit "Remind Me," and don't miss this one. I'll be answering your questions live and giving away signed books during the broadcast[cite: 1]! 📖 UNLOCK YOUR BONUS GEAR DISCOUNTS: Get your copy of my field manual "Be The Captain" to instantly unlock both of our premium community gear discounts: ➡️ https://bethecaptain.com/ 📦 Included with your copy: * 10% Off Defender Marine * 20% Off PredictWind TIMELINE & ISSUES WE'RE COVERING: - The Real Reason Behind the Rebrand - Answering Your Live Chat Questions - Where I Am Living Now (Medellín Studio) - Cruising Realities vs. Maritime Survival Stories - Live Signed Book Giveaway Drawing 🎟️ Sailing Truth Show live every Saturday, 3PM Eastern🎟️ 🎁 LIVE BOOK GIVEAWAY every 30 minutes. Be here, be in the chat, win a signed copy. 💬 DROP A LISTING: paste a YachtWorld or boats.com link in the chat, and I'll work it live. #SailingTruth #Gozzard #BoatBuying #BluewaterSailing #SailingZingaro

In this video, I’m tackling a list of questions collected by my moderator from our recent live streams! From the best pocket cruisers for a Pacific crossing to the raw reality of catamarans vs. monohulls in bad weather, we cover it all. I’m also diving into storm tactics (heaving to vs. running with a drogue), whether sailboats are truly money pits, advice for sailing with kids, and why I’m currently taking a temporary break from the live-aboard life. Join me every Saturday at 3 PM Eastern Time for our live streams where I give away signed copies of my book! ⚓ RECOMMENDED GEAR & STORES Defender Marine has been outfitting boaters since 1938, with trusted brands, expert advice, and everything you need for maintenance, upgrades, and refits. 👉Shop Defender Marine: https://defender.com/en_us/ Get 10% off your next Defender Marine order when you purchase a copy of Be The Captain through the link below. 👉Get the book and claim your discount: https://bethecaptain.com/ CHAPTERS 00:00 - Introduction & Saturday Live Streams 00:24 - Is a Submarine a Good Cruising Boat? 00:55 - The Biggest Mistake Offshore Sailors Make 01:51 - Smallest Boats for a Pacific Crossing 02:42 - Monohull vs. Catamaran for Heavy Weather 03:52 - What’s My Next Boat & Why I’m Taking a Break 06:03 - Is the Scanmar 40 Good for Circumnavigation? 08:29 - The History & Legacy of the Cal 40 10:26 - Storm Tactics: For Reaching, Downwind, or Heaving To? 12:25 - Running with a Drogue: Can You Still Steer? 13:10 - How to Adjust a Drogue (and Jordan Series Drogues) 16:18 - Should You Remove Solar Panels Before a Storm? 17:44 - Junk Sails and Unstayed Masts for Cruising 19:52 - Thoughts on Arrow Rigs & Complex Sailing Systems 21:02 - Can You Wrap a Fiberglass Mast in Carbon Fiber? 22:11 - Are All Sailboats Money Pits? (Buying Under $100k) 23:57 - Best Mid-Size Budget Monohulls for Island Hopping 25:06 - Setting a Realistic Maintenance Budget 26:43 - The Reality of Insuring Older Boats (1980s Hulls) 27:57 - Is 80 Years Old Too Old to Start Offshore Sailing? 29:52 - The Pros and Cons of Solo Sailing 31:29 - Managing Watch Schedules for Couples vs. Extra Crew 33:07 - How to Get Into Sailing (Local Clubs & Dock Walking) 34:25 - Crucial Advice for Sailing with Kids 35:48 - Lightning Round: Lazy Jacks, Autopilots, & Pullman Berths 37:21 - Unexpected Sights & Smells at Sea 38:26 - The Truth About Carrying Weapons on a Boat 40:21 - Why Aren't You Sailing Right Now?

Vetting a boat on Yacht World isn't just about finding something in your budget; it's about knowing how to spot the hidden warning signs before you lose your shirt. In this video, I’m breaking down 9 very different boats currently listed online to show you exactly how I analyze them through the lens of a professional mariner. From green flags like meticulous custom canvas covers and bomb-proof bronze portlights to serious red flags like terrible broker photography, DIY tile counters, and tender hulls, I'm pulling back the curtain on what to look for. Whether you’re looking at an offshore-ready 1976 Westsail 42 or an 80s Jeanneau production cruiser, this is how you separate the hidden gems from the money pits. Get my maritime field manual, "Be The Captain": https://bethecaptain.com/ ⚓ RECOMMENDED GEAR & STORES Defender Marine has been outfitting boaters since 1938, with trusted brands, expert advice, and everything you need for maintenance, upgrades, and refits. 👉Shop Defender Marine: https://defender.com/en_us/ Get 10% off your next Defender Marine order when you purchase a copy of Be The Captain through the link below. 👉Get the book and claim your discount: https://bethecaptain.com/ Chapters: 00:00 - How a Sailor Vets Boat Listings 01:00 - 1976 Westsail 42 (The Wet Snail's Big Brother) 02:07 - Green Flag: Custom Canvas & Covers 03:36 - Finding Offshore-Ready Cruising Sailboats 06:44 - 1982 Jeanneau Trinidad 48 (Production Cruiser Pitfalls) 08:05 - The IOR Racing Rule Red Flag Explained 09:35 - 1996 Manta 40 Catamaran 10:18 - Camber Spar Jibs: Why I Don't Like Them 12:02 - 1976 Formosa 51 (The Captain Ron Pirate Ship) 14:14 - Spotting Leaks & Water Damage in Interior Joinery 17:37 - 1991 Gozzard 31 (Offshore Engineering & Design) 20:02 - Hybrid & Electric Sailboat Conversions: Deal Killer? 22:11 - 1977 Alden Boothbay Explorer 58 24:51 - Classic 1960s Crew & Single Berth Layouts 26:28 - 1985 Contest 41 (Dutch Built Quality & Volvo Engines) 28:22 - Cruising Sailboat Davits & Stern Pulpit Safety 29:31 - Teak Deck Inspections: Missing Bungs & Water Traps 31:13 - 2006 Hallberg-Rassy 53 (The Ultimate Offshore Layout) 33:14 - Center Cockpit Aft Cabins: Split Berth vs. Center Island 36:39 - Shannon 38 (The Voyager's Handbook Icon) 38:03 - Rebuilding a Perkins 4108 Marine Diesel Engine 38:46 - Summary: Choosing the Right Blue Water Cruiser #Sailing #BoatBuying #YachtWorld #OffshoreSailing #BoatRefit #BeTheCaptain

If you’ve ever wanted to sail offshore, you NEED TO WATCH THIS. It may save your life. If you'd like to learn more, pick up a copy of Be The Captain: https://bethecaptain.com/ to ensure you have the skills to handle whatever the ocean throws at you. Johnny was 20 years old, sharp, and eager for his first Atlantic crossing, but he stepped onto the wrong boat with a captain who had no business being at sea. What should have been a dream voyage turned into a harrowing, near-fatal nightmare during a tropical storm. This isn't just one story—it’s a masterclass in why you must learn to vet a captain before you ever set foot on a stranger's boat. We’re breaking down the critical red flags that were ignored, as well as the 8 essential questions you must ask to avoid ending up in the same position. Don’t let a lack of knowledge turn your dream into a tragedy. Resources: Download the 'How to Vet a Captain' form, pre-departure checklists, and watch schedules for free at the Captain's Locker: https://bethecaptain.com/pages/locker ⚓ RECOMMENDED GEAR & STORES Defender Marine has been outfitting boaters since 1938, with trusted brands, expert advice, and everything you need for maintenance, upgrades, and refits. 👉Shop Defender Marine: https://defender.com/en_us/ Get 10% off your next Defender Marine order when you purchase a copy of Be The Captain through the link below. 👉Get the book and claim your discount: https://bethecaptain.com/ Chapters 00:00 The reality nobody warns you about 01:17 Signing up for a nightmare crossing 01:51 Red flag #1: ignoring weather routing 02:59 Why a leaky boat is deadly at sea 04:38 The mainsail shreds 07:05 The Dangerous Quadrant 10:04 Engine dead, a broken rib 11:22 Lying ahull in a hurricane 14:01 Sheer luck and a sunrise 14:48 The difference a real captain makes 17:15 8 questions to vet a captain 20:20 Get the free checklist

📕 GET THE BOOK: Be The Captain. Winner of the 2026 Eric Hoffer Award. 25 years of offshore decisions in one book → https://bethecaptain.com 🔓 FREE: The Captain's Locker. Printable watch schedules, pre-departure checklists, delivery tools → https://bethecaptain.com/locker She's a 1996 Gozzard 44, built by one family in a small Ontario shop that's been doing it by hand for over 40 years, and she's one of the best bluewater boats almost nobody talks about. In this video I'll show you exactly why I'd put her up against cruisers costing twice as much. Most of the great names you grew up admiring got bought, gutted, or moved offshore. Gozzard didn't. Ted Gozzard walked away from a production yard in 1981 to build the opposite: low-volume, semi-custom, roughly nine months a boat, with the owner in the shop watching their own hull come together. I break down what that actually buys you, the inside-out design, the nearly two-inch hull, the engineering that makes her track and take a sea, and why a boat built this way holds value and goes anywhere while the boat-show fleet depreciates the second it splashes. We'll walk this specific 44 from bow to transom, and at the end I'll give you the honest read: who this boat is right for, who should walk, and how to tell a builder that meant it from one that was flipping hulls. ⛵ THE LISTING: https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1996-gozzard-44-ac-10168772/ 🎟️ Sailing Truth Show live every Saturday, 3PM Eastern🎟️ 🎁 LIVE BOOK GIVEAWAY every 30 minutes. Be here, be in the chat, win a signed copy. 💬 DROP A LISTING: paste a YachtWorld or boats.com link in the chat, and I'll work it live. ⚓ Be The Captain comes with $300 in PredictWind + Defender savings. Grab it here → https://bethecaptain.com LIVE every Saturday, 3 PM Eastern. Presentation, live Q&A, and a book every 30 minutes. #SailingTruth #Gozzard #BoatBuying #BluewaterSailing #SailingZingaro

📕 GET THE BOOK: Be The Captain. Winner of the 2026 Eric Hoffer Award. 25 years of offshore decisions in one book → https://bethecaptain.com 🔓 FREE: The Captain's Locker. Printable watch schedules, pre-departure checklists, delivery tools → https://bethecaptain.com/locker She's a 2023 Lagoon 42, almost zero hours on the engines, loaded with watermaker, solar, lithium and electric winches, going to auction with a starting bid of just €100,000. On paper it's the deal of the year. In this video I'll tell you why I wouldn't take her if you handed me the keys. The Lagoon 42 is the best-selling cruising catamaran ever built. That's exactly the problem. I break down how these boats are actually built, how they actually sail, and why "as good as new" doesn't fix what was wrong from the factory. We'll cover why a near-new cat lands at auction for a fraction of its replacement cost, and the real math you need to run before that starting bid seduces you. Watch to the end for the one number that tells you when to bid and when to run. ⛵ AUCTION (ends 30 June 2026): https://yachtbid.com/online-yacht-auctions/lagoon-42 🎟️ Sailing Truth Show live every Saturday, 3PM Eastern 🎁 LIVE BOOK GIVEAWAY every 30 minutes. Be here, be in the chat, win a signed copy. 💬 DROP A LISTING: paste a YachtWorld or boats.com link in the chat and I'll work it live. ⚓ Be The Captain comes with $300 in PredictWind + Defender savings. Grab it here → https://bethecaptain.com LIVE every Saturday, 3 PM Eastern. Presentation, live Q&A, and a book every 30 minutes. #SailingTruthShow #YachtWorld #BoatBuying #BluewaterSailing #SailingZingaro

👉 Shape this book and get the free first chapter: https://bethecaptain.com/pages/crew-field-research A guy learns to sail, earns his certifications, and signs on to crew a delivery to San Diego with two strangers who talked a big game about their offshore miles. On his watch the autopilot quits. The wind builds, the seas build, and when he calls for help to reef, the captain is too seasick to move and the rest of the crew won't come on deck. So he reefs alone, navigates through the storm, and single-hands the boat back into harbor. Then the captain wakes up and blames him. He did everything right. He'd never been taught to heave-to, because nobody ever brought it up. That story, and a stack of emails I get every week from people who dream about this life but can't find the door into it, is why I'm writing my next book: Be The Crew. It's for the new sailor, the career-changer, the 77-year-old who wants to earn his place on a good boat. Whether or not you've ever set foot on a deck. If any of that sounds like you, I want to hear from you. The survey is 7 questions, takes 3 minutes, and everyone who fills it out gets the first chapter free and a real say in how this book takes shape: 👉 https://bethecaptain.com/pages/crew-field-research Or just drop your story in the comments. Tell me what happened to you out there. 📕 GET THE BOOK that started it all (Be The Captain): Winner of the 2026 Eric Hoffer Award. 25 years of offshore decisions in one book → https://bethecaptain.com/ 🎟️ Sailing Truth Show live every Saturday, 3PM Eastern. ⚓ RECOMMENDED GEAR & STORES Defender Marine has been outfitting boaters since 1938, with trusted brands, expert advice, and everything you need for maintenance, upgrades, and refits. 👉Shop Defender Marine: https://defender.com/en_us/ Get 10% off your next Defender Marine order when you purchase a copy of Be The Captain through the link below. 👉Get the book and claim your discount: https://bethecaptain.com/

A 40-year boatbuilder and former charter-fleet operator breaks down which cheap, used cruising sailboats are actually worth buying, and which ones will eat your savings and your dream. If you are shopping for a first bluewater boat on a budget, watch this before you wire a deposit. Kyle Jachney has over 40 years in the boat business, grew up in one of the first charter operations in the Caribbean (a thousand charters a year at its peak), and has had his hands on close to 400 Hylas builds. I commissioned his boats, and this is the conversation I wish every first-time buyer could sit in on. We cover the builders worth your money from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the ones to admire from the dock and walk away from, the keel-bolt panic YouTube got wrong, why high engine hours don't scare him, the plumbing job everyone skips, and the brutal math on the "needs TLC" bargain boat. This episode also finishes the livestream; our internet cut off, so the back half is your Q&A, answered one question at a time. GET THE BOOK Be The Captain, a no-BS offshore field manual from 90,000+ miles at sea, and winner of the 2026 Eric Hoffer Award for best self-published book. Order it, and you unlock 10% off at Defender Marine and 20% off PredictWind. Get the book and claim both discounts: https://bethecaptain.com CONNECT Patreon: https://patreon.com/svzingaro Instagram: @sailingzingaro Web: https://sailingzingaro.com Boats by Kyle: https://www.bluewateryachts.com/ RECOMMENDED GEAR & STORES Defender Marine has been outfitting boaters since 1938, with trusted brands, expert advice, and everything you need for maintenance, upgrades, and refits. Shop Defender Marine: https://defender.com/en_us/ Get 10% off your next Defender Marine order when you purchase a copy of Be The Captain through the link below. Get the book and claim your discount: https://bethecaptain.com/ CHAPTERS 0:00 Meet Kyle: 40 years, 400 boats, 1,000 charters a year 2:26 Quick news: the book, the Eric Hoffer Award, and your discounts 3:18 What actually makes a cheap old cruiser worth buying 4:45 Inside a Caribbean charter fleet, and what it taught him 5:30 Irwin: built for space, not the open ocean 8:20 Why use a partial (60%) skeg rudder 9:12 Hydrodynamics matter more than your rig 10:49 How to stage a passage south (the Bermuda trick) 12:36 Buy for when you screw up, not for speed 14:32 The hard truth: you'll pour money into ANY boat you buy 15:39 The builders worth your money: Bristol, Tartan, Gulfstar 17:20 Why 14,000 engine hours don't scare him 18:13 The job everyone skips: plumbing and tanks 19:30 The high end: Alden, Hinckley, Little Harbor 21:06 The Tartan 34 he stole for $22,000 22:01 Raising a family aboard a 27-foot boat 23:22 Q&A: the questions the livestream cut off 23:41 Should you fear lead-bolted keels? 27:06 The best 30 to 40 footer to refit 31:46 Are 1985 boats really uninsurable? 35:03 A Hylas 44 for $18,500... worth it? 37:52 What happened to Camper & Nicholson? 40:27 Is a Catalina 30 a good starter boat? 42:10 The Cheoy Lee Clipper 48 46:08 Is a Moody 30 enough for offshore? 47:08 Should we keep making these? Leave a comment! Now tell me in the comments: are these hour-long boat talks worth doing, and which boats should Kyle and I pull apart next? #sailing #liveaboard #bluewatersailing #boatbuying #cruising

📕 GET THE BOOK: Be The Captain. Winner of the 2026 Eric Hoffer Award. 25 years of offshore decisions in one book → https://bethecaptain.com 🔓 FREE: The Captain's Locker. Printable watch schedules, pre-departure checklists, delivery tools → https://bethecaptain.com/locker Every week the brokerage sites are full of boats wearing a price tag that has nothing to do with reality. Some are genuine deals hiding in plain sight. Some are floating money pits with a fresh coat of wax and a broker who knows exactly what he's not telling you. Tonight I pull up real YachtWorld listings, live, and we judge them together: DEAL or DISASTER. I'll read the listing the way a surveyor reads it, walk the photos for what they're NOT showing you, name what the survey is going to find, and give you my real number versus the ask. You bring your own listings in the chat and I'll judge those too. This isn't about trashing anyone's boat. It's about the price, the story, and learning to see what's really there before you wire the money. 🎁 LIVE BOOK GIVEAWAY every 30 minutes. Be here, be in the chat, win a signed copy. 💬 DROP A LISTING: paste a YachtWorld or boats.com link in the chat and I'll work it live. ⚓ Be The Captain comes with $300 in PredictWind + Defender savings. Grab it here → https://bethecaptain.com/live LIVE every Saturday, 3 PM Eastern. Presentation, live Q&A, and a book every 30 minutes. #SailingTruthShow #YachtWorld #BoatBuying #BluewaterSailing #SailingZingaro

📕 GET THE BOOK: Be The Captain. Winner of the 2026 Eric Hoffer Award. 25 years of offshore decisions in one book → https://bethecaptain.com 🔓 FREE: The Captain's Locker. Printable watch schedules, pre-departure checklists, delivery tools → https://bethecaptain.com/locker The Blue Water 56 is back for round two, and the factory left us a surprise. The anchor was sitting on the dock, the windlass refused to turn, and when I opened the control box I found the problem: the solenoid was never installed. Not failed. Missing. Something tells me nobody ever tested it. In this episode we finish the commissioning. I install the new solenoid, fix the furler wiring that came swapped from the factory, and rig the ground tackle properly, with a full masterclass on anchor swivels, shackle loading, and lock-wiring so it never comes apart and never cuts a hand. Then the crew from Nance & Underwood tunes the rig in two days flat, and we get the payoff: the first sail of Hull #9, plus why every brand-new rig needs re-tuning under load once the construction stretch sets in. We close with the full walkthrough: three chainplates per side, the old-school structure almost nobody builds anymore, some of the best stainless welding I have ever seen on a production boat, Manship hatches throughout, and an interior in white oak and teak. ⏪ MISSED PART 1? The crane lift, first engine start, and lithium troubleshooting: https://youtu.be/iuZGa8mr_bo 🔧 THE RIGGERS: Nance & Underwood Rigging and Sails, Fort Lauderdale. Stepped and tuned this entire rig in two days: https://www.riggingandsails.com/ 🏴‍☠️ Pirate Pawl Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4j0I12JFMA ⛵ Talk to Kyle about the Blue Water 56: https://www.bluewateryachts.com/ ⚓ RECOMMENDED GEAR & STORES Defender Marine has been outfitting boaters since 1938, with trusted brands, expert advice, and everything you need for maintenance, upgrades, and refits. 👉 Shop Defender Marine: https://defender.com/en_us/ Get 10% off your next Defender Marine order when you purchase a copy of Be The Captain through the link below. 👉 Get the book and claim your discount: https://bethecaptain.com/ MORE FROM ME: https://www.patreon.com/svzingaro IG: https://www.instagram.com/sailing_zingaro/ ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 0:00 - A $2M Boat With a Missing Part 0:19 - Wiring the Electric Furler (Hensel Junction Box) 1:21 - The Windlass Won't Turn 2:10 - The Solenoid the Factory Never Installed 3:04 - Tuning a Brand-New Rig in Two Days 3:57 - Anchor Swivel, Shackles & Lock-Wire Masterclass 7:00 - Final Checks: The Furlers Were Wired Backwards 8:22 - First Sail: Hull #9 Under Canvas 9:52 - Construction Stretch: Why New Rigs Get Re-Tuned 10:47 - Dustin's Story: Tall Ships, Pitcairn & Pirate Paul 12:13 - Kyle on Hull #9, Plus Docking & Lines 13:08 - Exterior Tour: Deck Hardware & the Best Welds I've Seen 18:18 - Three Chainplates Per Side: The Old-School Way 20:15 - Interior Tour: Galley, White Oak & Manship Hatches 24:51 - Wrap-Up: The Next One in October #BlueWater56 #SailingZingaro #BoatCommissioning #YachtTour #Rigging #MarineEngineering

📖 GET MY FIELD MANUAL: https://bethecaptain.com Grab your copy of "Be The Captain" to learn the systems, risk management, and technical seamanship needed to handle any blue water cruiser. What actually happens after a brand-new blue water cruiser leaves the factory? A perfect commissioning means the owner never knows there was a problem to begin with! In this video, we track the journey of a stunning brand-new Blue Water 56 (Hull #9). We start on the deck of a massive cargo ship where the boat has been welded down for transport, cut her free, and watch the high-stakes crane lift as she touches the ocean for the very first time. But it’s not all smooth sailing. Right out of the gate, we run into a tricky lithium battery over-voltage issue when firing up the Cummins generator. I break out the laptop, dive into the Victron and MG systems, and show you exactly how we troubleshoot and dial in a massive 10,000-watt inverter setup. ...And yes, we do a complete interior and exterior walkthrough tour at the end of the video! ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 0:00 - The Reality of Shipping a Blue Water Yacht 1:37 - The Big Crane Lift: Splashing Hull #9 4:56 - First Engine Start (Checking for Leaks) 6:31 - Troubleshooting Lithium Batteries & Generator Bugs 12:49 - Shifting Slips & Preparing the Rig 13:27 - Stepping a Brand New Seldon Mast 16:29 - Full Walkthrough Tour: Exterior & Custom Stainless Work 20:06 - Luxury Yacht Interior Tour (Teak & White Oak) 23:49 - Why Buy Hull #9 (with Kyle from Blue Water) ⚓ RECOMMENDED GEAR & STORES Defender Marine has been outfitting boaters since 1938, with trusted brands, expert advice, and everything you need for maintenance, upgrades, and refits. 👉Shop Defender Marine: https://defender.com/en_us/ Get 10% off your next Defender Marine order when you purchase a copy of Be The Captain through the link below. 👉Get the book and claim your discount: https://bethecaptain.com/ If you love the gritty, technical details of high-end seamanship and marine systems, make sure to hit that subscribe button! #BlueWater56 #BoatLife #MarineEngineering #YachtTour #VictronEnergy #SailingZingaro

⚓ Sailing Truth Show — live every Saturday @ 3:00PM EST⚓ 📘 Get Be The Captain → https://bethecaptain.com📘 90,000 miles offshore. An award-finalist sailing book. And a frankly embarrassing number of times I should not have made it home. Tonight I'm putting myself on the chopping block: the dumbest, scariest, "what was I thinking" moments of my sailing life. Grounding at full speed and punching a chunk of lead out of the keel. Climbing the mast with no harness. Swimming half a mile from the boat in the middle of the ocean. And the night I came feet from losing her on the rocks in Panama. Every one of these left a scar and a lesson. I put the lessons in the book so you can skip the scars. 📘 Get Be The Captain → https://bethecaptain.com📘 The offshore decision-making playbook 8,000+ sailors are using to go cruising with confidence. Drop your own "dumbest thing" in the chat — we're doing this one together.

When the anemometer climbs past 70 knots, the ocean changes. The wind ceases to be just air—it becomes an absolute wall of sound. In this episode, I’m sitting down with my good friend and prolific offshore captain, Ryan Rayfield from Sail Libra. We dive headfirst into what it’s actually like to experience a 74-knot howling gale while holed up on a mooring ball at Block Island. Ryan breaks down the terrifying "harmonica" effect of a ketch rig vibrating in hurricane-force gusts, and the exact tactical survival choices you have to make when a massive New England front comes through with total fury. But surviving the storm was only half the battle. Ryan also shares the legendary story of how he snapped his prop shaft just days before a tropical storm hit Bermuda—and managed to source a car drive shaft from a local automotive junkyard, machine it down, and install it in under 48 hours to save his boat. If you want to know what real, raw, heavy-weather blue-water cruising looks like, this is it. 👇 Want to build real blue-water confidence? Stand watch, handle sails, and learn heavy-weather tactics firsthand by booking an open-ocean passage training trip with Ryan: 🌐 Official Website: https://www.saillibra.com/ ⛵ View Upcoming Passages: https://www.saillibra.com/passages 📗 My Book: https://bethecaptain.com MORE FROM ME: 🎥 The Mason 65 Pacific Crossing series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lo0L22FDq4 https://www.patreon.com/svzingaro https://www.paypal.me/sailingzingaro IG: https://www.instagram.com/sailing_zingaro/ Chapters: 00:00 - Catching up in Grenada & Sail Libra Open Berths 02:10 - Grew up on a Lake: Ryan's Sailing Backstory 03:24 - Delta Airlines, Southeast Asia, & The Sailing Bug 04:08 - Running a Coast Charter Business for 10 Years 07:58 - The Reality of Blue-Water Logistics 11:31 - Snapping the Prop Shaft Off Bermuda 15:10 - Junkyard Marine Engineering: The Automotive Fix 25:38 - Hurricane Gusts: 74 Knots at Block Island 26:57 - The Strategy Behind "Riding the Back of a Storm" 31:49 - Working with the Crew in Heavy Weather 37:25 - Standing Rigging Lifespans & Refits 43:21 - Dealing with Rigging Failures Offshore 48:49 - Crossing the Gulf Stream: Night vs. Daylight 56:51 - Navigating Ocean Eddies & Currents 01:05:38 - Hand-Steering vs. Autopilots in a Gale 01:13:30 - What it Sounds Like Inside a Howling Ketch 01:19:23 - The Art of Heaving-To in a Storm 01:23:52 - Arriving in Bermuda & Radio Chattering Disasters 01:28:11 - True Survival Stories: Cut the Rigging Loose! 01:32:51 - Sailing with Family & Spencer Turning 16 01:42:02 - The Abeking & Rasmussen Pedigree of s/v Libra 01:55:58 - Custom Engine Rooms & Technical Layouts 01:59:01 - Crew Medical Issues & Scopolamine Patch Horror Stories 02:06:33 - Passing through Panama & Spotting Waterspouts 02:12:50 - Cruising Mindset vs. Ocean Racing Speed

When your autopilot dies offshore, you need a backup plan. Two bungee cords and properly trimmed sails can keep you on course for thousands of miles on a catamaran. 📗 Get My Book: https://bethecaptain.com

Everyone chasing the cruising dream gets pointed at the same handful of "name" boats — and most of them are priced out of reach for a first-timer. So today Kyle Jachney and I are talking about the ones nobody puts on a list: the older, affordable fiberglass cruisers from the 70s and 80s that quietly get people offshore for a fraction of the price. We go through the whole spread — Irwin, Gulfstar, Morgan, Endeavour, Pearson, CSY, Alden, Bristol, Little Harbor, Tartan, and more — and the most important thing we get into is that these are not all the same boat. There's a real gap between a value-built production cruiser and a genuinely high-end yacht that's only "affordable" now because it's old. Knowing which is which is the difference between a smart first boat and a money pit. What we cover: – Which of these builders punches above their price today – Where the build-quality lines actually fall (and why "old fiberglass" is a lazy way to think about it) – What to look hard at before you buy a 40-year-old boat – The models that still make sense for real offshore use If you're trying to get on the water without a six-figure budget, this is the conversation we wish someone had handed us early on. 📕 The seamanship manual behind the channel — Be The Captain: https://bethecaptain.com 🎥 Co-hosted with Kyle Jachney of Bluewater Yachts: https://www.bluewateryachts.com/ ⛵ More offshore breakdowns and deliveries: subscribe and hit the bell. Drop your boat in the comments, especially if you own one of these, and we got something wrong. That's half the fun. #sailing #liveaboard #cruising #bluewater #classicplastic #sailboat #boatbuying