Gerry Fitzgerald is your consummate mariner. We dive into a lifetime of sailing on the ocean; from Queensland catamaran racing, to Antarctica expeditions, being boarded by hostile natives in the Solomon Islands, competing in the fatal 98 Sydney to Hobart Race, sailing an 1,800 ton tall ship out of Sydney Harbour and exploring the worlds seven oceans. Gerry has a lifetime of maritime sailing stories to share.

Gerry’s experience, wisdom, advice and observations are second to none and no one is better equipped than he is, to offer marine safety and training courses, a passion he has turned his hand to, in recent years and he starts to spend more time on land, after decades sailing worlds seven oceans.

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We check in with Mark Stephenson, Commodore of the Mersey Yacht Club in Devonport, Tasmania just weeks after the biggest storm they have seen in 50 years, swept away their marina and the vessels berthed at it.

In this candid chat, Mark shares details of the people and vessels rescued and sad stories of those that were lost. This interview provides a graphic insight into the forces of nature and the major impact a 24-hour storm can have on people’s lives. Nestled on the edge of Bass Strait, one of the most treacherous passages of ocean for sailors in the world, Mark tells us first hand what it was like to see his marina swept away.

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In this episode we catch up with Ian Thomson, organiser of the 6,350nm Around Australia Yacht Race. Its set to start in August 2017 with competitors sailing out of Sydney and this will be the first event held, since Sir Peter Blake won it sailing his catamaran around Australia in 1988.

Ian is the current solo sailing mono-hull record holder, after circumnavigating Australia in 2012. From Ian’s live aboard yacht in the marina at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, we delve into what’s driven him to organise the 2017 race and find out more about the Ocean Crusaders; an organisation that Ian founded that has taken its ocean preservation education program into 18,000 schools so far.

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We check in with Kym Fleet from Gold Cast City Marina and David Hanton of Bradford Marine to drill into essential tips for recognising, avoiding and protecting yourself from problems that can result from poor hull maintenance.

Kym discusses the challenges, evolution and opportunities that have come with running the largest marina and shipyard facility in the Southern Hemisphere and talks about the standards yacht owners should expect from a top class shipyard.

David covers the types of anti-foul applications for racing and cruising sailors, advice on how to avoid inheriting someone else’s problems and when its worth stripping an older hull bare and starting all over again. He shares the tips and maintenance advice for keeping your hull ship shape especially if you are sailing offshore.

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In this bonus episode courtesy of Andy Schell from the 59 North Podcast, we join a training workshop with Andy’s sail maker Chuck O’Malley who he has worked with on various projects for more than a decade.

In this episode, recorded at the WCC Ocean Sailing Seminar, Chuck discusses the technical aspects of building and maintaining ocean-going cruising sails. Chuck talks about design and construction characteristics, downwind sail choices, three-reef versus storm trysail setups; storm jibs; gennakers and Code 0 sails; and much more

Chuck is founder and loft manager of Chesapeake Sails, a business he started in 2002 and he has successfully collaborated with numerous racing teams and has guided countless numbers of extended cruisers on how to plan and prepare their sail inventories for offshore sailing. 

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