Paul Exner who leads who runs the Modern Geographic Sailing Academy takes students step-by-step to go anywhere by sail. He teaches sailors the skills they need to sail in the ocean with confidence. This video shows him on a heavy air passage across Hawaii’s Alenuihaha Channel between Maui and Big Island in heavy weather aboard his Cape George Cutter 31, SOLSTICE. He has sailed hard for 40 years before he'd been in conditions that required a storm trysail and storm headsails. His students on this expedition had signed up for sailing in storm sailing conditions. Paul writes, “Bluewater sailing is a ‘practice’ — the same as any professional discipline like law, medicine, engineering, or business … you must practice your ‘art’ under the circumstances you’d expect in the real-world. Before a sailor can grow, they must surround themselves with bluewater conditions to establish a base-line from which mastery grows. “During the MOD GEO expedition you’ll grow as a sailor through hands-on practice on routes that you plan, influenced by weather forecasts you interpret — while you manage an ocean-ready sailing vessel to encounter a complete range of offshore and coastal conditions thrown at you in real time. You’ll learn proven seamanship methods and actionable-info to accelerate the pace and confidence by which you reach your sailing dream.” Paul’s not kidding you with these firm statements — many sailors have learned from Paul Exner how to complete their own Earth circumnavigation, sail multi-year voyages aboard their own boat — OR, become a trusted professional in the marine industry. Paul is a very experienced sailor and he knows how to teach seamanship. He also knows that an ocean-going boat needs dependable equipment. That is why his boat is powered by UK Sailmakers’ bluewater standard dacron cruising sails. In fact, he is just replacing his 18-year-old genoa. That’s a lot of years, especially when most of those miles were done on the ocean.

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Watch Bill Henson’s JPK 45 SIRENE flying downwind with their UK Sailmakers asymmetrical spinnaker in the 2024 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race! Making an incredible debut, SIRENE was crowned IRC Corinthian Division Champion, took 2nd place in IRC Division 2, and finished 15th overall in IRC out of 104 starters—only 74 of which crossed the finish line. Representing Fremantle Sailing Club and equipped with an expertly crafted sail inventory from UK Sailmakers Fremantle, SIRENE showcased the perfect balance of versatility and performance that defines this racer-cruiser. The sails were designed and built by UK Sailmakers, with upwind sails developed by Pat Considine (UK Sailmakers Chicago) and asymmetrical spinnakers by Geoff Bishop (UK Sailmakers Fremantle). SIRENE’s inventory included: • X-Drive mainsail with three reefs • X-Drive J2 race jib, reefable to J3 • Heavy-weather J4 staysail on a furler • Code Zero, A2, A3, A4, and a reaching jib top • Storm jib for safety compliance The sail wardrobe was meticulously planned, combining local expertise with UK Sailmakers' cutting-edge Fluid–Structure Interaction (FSI) modeling—an advanced analytical tool that simulates the interaction between sails and surrounding airflow to optimize performance. The initial sail plan was developed in collaboration with Geoff Bishop of UK Sailmakers and a local rigger, with support from FSI modeling by UK Sailmakers' lead designer, Pat Considine. This resulted in a highly effective combination of a jib with a reef and a furling staysail, minimizing jib sail changes while providing a versatile downwind staysail. Video clip provided by Bill Henson.

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Soulmates has many custom touches, but the interior one that’s unique is the gimbled stove. The stove and oven are part of a unit that includes pot lockers on either side. The stove/oven/pot locker unit has a circular bottom that rides on halyard sheeves. Not only does the stove stay level, but the tops of the pot lockers on both sides of the stove stay level too. When the boat is heeling, the tops of the pot lockers become level surfaces that the cook can use for pouring a cup of coffee or plating dinner. I have never seen a set up like this on any other boat.

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