Tune into John Kretschmer's Captains Hour to Hear What Gear Works and Doesn't after 220k miles!

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 01:10:56 +0000

I hope to see everyone in the upcoming John Kretschmer's Captain's Hour! Here is the info from his email about the zoom meeting.

"The last Captain’s Hour of 2025 is this Tuesday, December 30 at 1900 EST. It’s going to be an interesting one as we discuss the many refits, modifications and serious gear choices we’ve made in nearly a quarter century of sailing. I will discuss the good decisions, and the not so good decisions I’ve made, and gear that’s worked well, and some that hasn’t. I will also describe the current refit taking place right now as we prepare for another busy season. When we reached Opua New Zealand last October, we completed our 200th training passage. I finally put numbers to paper, doing my best to figure out how many miles Quetzal and I have sailed together and it’s a bit crazy. My best guess is that it’s somewhere between 220,000 - 240,000 nm, a lot of miles and a hell of a test laboratory.

When I think back to our first passage to Bermuda in May 2003 and compare that boat to the one that sailed into Opua, I am reminded of the fable of Theseus' ship, or sometimes called Theseus paradox. Theseus was the mythical kind of Athens who saved the city by slaying the Minotaur and escaped to Delos on a ship. The ship, or at least a version of it, was ceremonially sailed from Athens to Delos once a year but like all boats, needed constant maintenance. After many years, Aristotle was reputed to have asked, “is it still Theseus’ ship if it has all new wood and fittings?” Well, I am here to tell you that Quetzal may have a relaminated hull, a hard dodger, a furling staysail, new engine, and no teak decks but she is the same Quetzal, still soaring across the oceans of the world in style and escorting those of us luckily enough to sail her to a magical place.

With that said, please consider joining Captain's Hour and becoming an annual subscriber. As always, there will be plenty of time for your questions. You are welcome to send them in by email ahead of time. If you are already subscribed to Captain's Hour, you will automatically receive the link to join. If you are new to Captain's Hour, you can join for one session ($25) or an annual subscription ($200), just send an email to jrkretschmer@gmail.com All sessions are recorded, so if you can't join live or you can't join for the entire session, then you will be able to watch the recording. "

https://johnkretschmersailing.com

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Fair Winds,
James