In episode 100 of the Ocean Sailing Podcast, David Hows dives into his latest ‘Silver Fern’ 72-foot expedition yacht project and does a big update on the past 4 months of long days and unexpected obstacles, that included unplanned upgrades, Maritime NZ compliance challenges, a complete yacht rewire, making the decision to take the jump into full time adventure sailing and stories from his 7th Tasman Sea crossing in December 2020.
David also launches an Ocean Sailing Expeditions - Shareholder Membership release with details on how to take advantage of the limited opportunity to maximise your own sailing adventures.
Find out more about membership: https://www.oceansailingpodcast.com/membership
In this episode I meet with Rodney Keenan, founder of Evolution Sails, at his incredible high-tech membrane plant in Auckland, New Zealand about sail planning for my new project: Silver Fern.
Rodney shares his advice on sail planning and the background story of how he built a global sail making business that sends sails to customers all over the world. As a 7-year client of Evolution, I was fascinated to find out first-hand about the latest trends in carbon/technora membrane sail technology and whether this next step up makes sense for my 72 foot expedition/racing project and I discover how sail making has changed over the past 20 years.
Find out more about podcast content and sailing opportunities: https://www.oceansailingpodcast.com
Vernon Deck is a great example of jumping headfirst into sailing and just figuring it out as you go along. We initially interviewed Vernon in episode 68 and discovered how he purchased a Sayer 37 yacht 'Schiehallion' and before heading offshore to Solomon Islands, then onto Papua New Guinea and then Indonesia.
This time we catch-up with Vernon to find out about cruising Indonesia and the challenges for cruising live-aboard sailors with COVID19 and the border issues.
Find out more about podcast content and sailing opportunities: https://www.oceansailingpodcast.com
David Hows and Phil Jarvis join the crew of Coastguard Nelson for a post-rescue debrief session, followed by a recorded podcast interview to discuss how yachties can learn lessons from previous Coastguard rescue case studies and tips on getting found and staying alive at sea.
It's easy to assume when sailing in calm weather, that it will never happen to you, but the chat with the crew of Coastguard Nelson reinforces that having the right safety equipment, keeping it serviced and knowing how to use it could save your life one day.
Help them fund their rescue boat: https://coastguardnelson.org.nz
Find out more about podcast content and sailing opportunities: https://www.oceansailingpodcast.com
Jana McGeachy and Mick O'Keefe (Beef) are not your typical semi-retired cruising sailors. As young sailors, they've worked hard, saved up and sold up. I first found out about their ambitious cruising plans in Episode 73. Now 14-months later, I catch up with them at home in Australia to find out all about their sailing adventures through the Caribbean including; The Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Puerto Rico, Tortola, Antigua and The Virgin Islands.
They share the challenges of COVID-19 for cruisers, hiring a private plane to get out of Antigua, their engagement, their first cruising baby on the way and some essential boat maintenance stories.
Find out more about podcast content and sailing opportunities: https://www.oceansailingpodcast.com
I have yet to meet anyone more inspirational than Dustin Reynolds when it comes to turning personal tragedy and financial ruin into a completely new path in life.
Hit by a drunk driver and left for dead on the side of the road with his arm ripped from his body and life multiple threatening injuries, Dustin survived but the mounting health bills buried him financially. He made the decision to sell up and walk away from the business's he had diligently built, to rediscover a new life on the ocean in a $12,000 yacht with a goal of circumnavigating the planet. His story, determination and passion for deep connections with people is powerful and inspiring.
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Geoff’s Wilson's life changed forever on Boxing Day 2004. Within days of the Banda Aceh earthquake and tsunami, he was working on the ground as a relief team translator. The death and destruction was a huge wake-up call for Geoff and what he has achieved since is nothing short of inspiring. From near death escapes and grand desert journeys to extreme Antarctic expeditions, Geoff now holds six world records;
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Involved in ocean racing as a teenager and competing regularly as crew in all the Australian Blue Water Classics, Mark first became part of the wooden boat community 25 years ago with the purchase of the 1964 Sparkman and Stevens designed 'Cotton Blossom'. His romance with classic boats established, it was the purchase of his second boat, the 1956 Philip Rhodes designed 'Fair Winds' in Auckland that found him with a seaworthy vessel ready for the demands of both adventure and racing.
Thousands of miles and many ocean crossings and races later, Mark also talks about the deep bond and lifelong friendships that you develop with your crew, especially when you sail together for decades.
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An inspirational interview with Dylan Magaster who flew to South America at the age of 21 with only $1,000 in the bank and his camera gear and decided to go traveling.
He backpacked for 6 months, converted a van into his home and began creating influential short documentaries showcasing ‘Alternative Living’. After nearly two years living in a van, Dylan
decided to move to the Mediterranean in pursuit of new adventure. With just 7 days of sailing experience, he bought a 1979 Morgan 382 sailing boat and has lived aboard the ‘Arianrhod’ since.
He has now sailed more than 6,000 nm to 3 continents and traveled to 27 countries, sharing countless inspiring stories of Alternative Living. With 100 million video views on YouTube, Dylan is proof of the hunger for adventure so many of us crave.
Dylan’s main passions are adventure storytelling and sustainable living ad he is also CEO of FLORB, a successful film production company he created based in Los Angeles, California.
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David Hows shares this sneak preview of his exciting new sailing expeditions that lay ahead and the 70-foot expedition super yacht he is acquiring to make it all possible.
This is your chance to get involved, get onboard and sail to places you could normally only dream of and at a fraction of the normal cost. David is launching a unique and innovative shareholder membership program, for just 20 members in total, to make it easier for sailor’s to join him on a range of new passages, races and expeditions at a fraction of the normal crew cost (including front row seats at the America’s Cup in 2021 in Auckland).
If you have often thought about;
Then find out more by watching this pre-release video.
https://www.oceansailingpodcast.com/membership
This episode is about sharing the lessons from an initial mechanical failure that occurred in the middle of the Tasman Sea, that set off a chain of events over the course of 520nm, resulting in the Coastguard rescue of a 45-foot Beneteau yacht and its crew of 6.
As a sequel to episode 88, skipper David Hows conducts a full post mortem with the crew, who share their thoughts on what they would do differently, how they would prepare and what they got right in this multifaceted, near disaster story that took place 4 days after departing Hobart, Australia to sail 1,250nm across the Tasman Sea to Picton, New Zealand. The crew of the Ocean Gem had to face a steering cable failure in the early morning hours, followed by two crash gybes that snapped the boom preventer and broke the boom in half. What followed 500nm later was the failure of the steel emergency tiller and then the autopilot, causing total steering loss and ultimately a call for a rescue tow from while mid Cook Strait and 53nm from Nelson.
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Parlay Revival is a story about a young man from New Zealand, Colin, who spend's his life savings from a 10 year career as a Super yacht engineer, to buy a Lagoon catamaran that was badly damaged and partially sunk during Hurricane Irma and repair it in Guatemala.
With friends from all over the world they spent months fixing her up, to get her to sail around the world. The next mission was to sail across the Pacific from the Caribbean to New Zealand to make it to Auckland, Colin's home town, in time for the America's Cup, but the plans come unstuck as Covid-19 shuts down access to the Pacific Islands and the crew find themselves anchored up in Panama.
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4 days after departing Hobart Australia to sail 1,250nm across the Tasman Sea to Picton, New Zealand the crew of the Ocean Gem had to face a steering cable failure in the early morning hours, followed by two crash gybes that snapped the boom preventer and broke the boom in half. What followed 500nm later was the failure of the steel emergency tiller and then the autopilot, causing total steering loss and ultimately a call for a rescue tow from while mid Cook Strait and 53nm from Nelson.
This is a tale of determination, resilience and creative thinking by a crew of six who faced 500nm of hand steering a 12 ton yacht in seas of up to 4 metres and winds up to 29 knots, using emergency steering constructed from 2 block and tackles, an emergency tiller and bow sprit before this eventually failed too. This episode was first recorded as a Facebook Live broadcast by Skipper David Hows.
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This is the inspirational story of Amanda and Darren who decided to, give up great jobs and sell up and go sailing while in their early thirties. Whats amazing is they did not grow up around boats, they new nothing about sailing and they had not even stepped aboard a sail boat until they took their Amel Sharki "SV Panda" for a test sail.
We catch-up with Amanda and Darren in Puerto Rico about the lead up to their decision to go sailing, the boat preparation required, the costs involved, their annual sailing budget and what its been like to adapt to living on a 40 foot boat on a big ocean!
After sailing from Florida to the Bahamas and then onto Puerto Rico, they are holed up waiting for COVID-19 restrictions to ease, before considering heading north for a clockwise Atlantic circuit.
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On the eve of the 4 year anniversary of the Ocean Sailing Podcast and the 500,000 download milestone achieved this month, producer David Hows shares a big update on whats next for him. With exciting new plans for his Ocean Gem Sailing adventures he has just released in the Ocean Sailing Podcast sailing calendar, this is a bumper update from David. It also includes personal reflections on the changes and challenges he has experienced over the past 2 years and details of all of the sailing adventures and destinations he has planned ahead, to some very unique, remote and challenging locations that very few sailors ever get to.
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Guest host Paul Trammell interviews Andrew Bishop of the World Cruising Club just prior to the 2019 Caribbean 600. Andrew completed his first Fastnet Race at age 15 and was later knocked unconscious in the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers in 1989, without a lifejacket on. Fortunately he survived and went on to meet Jimmy Cornell shortly after, offering to get involved in newly created World Rally for Cruisers. He joined the WCC in 1991 and helped launch and run the inaugural 16-month WRC for 35 yachts. If you are interested in joining a cruising rally, Andrew discusses the benefits that WCC cruising couples have found most valuable.
Andrew has spent a life on the water both in the Navy and as a sailor and he shares valuable advice on safety equipment for offshore cruisers, the rising safety standards that are required and he philosophy on being self-sufficient and not expecting to be rescued.
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The inspirational tale of Dave and Gabes who act on their dreams, throw in their jobs and spend 7 months sailing 5,000nm up the east coast of Australia from their home port in Hobart, Tasmania to the Whitsundays in Queensland and home again. Its a great example of whats possible if you cut out the spending on unnecessary lifestyle costs, save hard, buy a boat that fits your budget and then invest your own time in preparing it for cruising as a live-aboard.
Dave and Gabes are both passionate and practical sailors, who are living life on the water by 'working to sail' instead of 'living to work'.
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In March 2019 David Hows sailed 1,250 miles from Southport, Australia across the Tasman Sea to Auckland, New Zealand via Opua in the Bay of Islands with his crew of 4 onboard a Beneteau 45 named Ocean Gem. A fantastic 7-day reaching / running passage was enhanced by a series of unexpected events, starting with a cast alloy anchor stem bow fitting that broke in two, a broken steering cable 400nm offshore, a parade of 150+ dolphins and finally a crew emergency requiring ambulance evacuation on arrival.
This story reinforces that despite having great plans, you should always expect the unexpected and adapt to the challenges that occur along the way in almost every ocean passage.
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Behan and Jamie left great careers in the USA 12 years ago to sail the globe with 3 young children in tow. They share some of the highlights, challenges and lessons from offshore cruising with kids, their roles as a sailing couple and what its meant for their relationship.
Behan and Jamie have developed the ability to earn income as they sail and they devote a lot of time to helping others start the cruising life. Recorded onboard Totem in Mexico, they have now travelled to 48 countries and are a glowing example of whats possible if you commit a date to paper.
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James & Kimmi have sailed and free dived together since shortly after James purchased the 38 catamaran; SV Zingaro in 2016 before they met in Mexico. They share the story of their Catamaran's structural failure 60nm off the coast of Hawaii and their desperate efforts to stay afloat for several long hours while awaiting the US Coastguard's arrival. They also highlight their earlier adventures from more than 3 years of sailing the coastline and islands of South America and the Pacific and the amazing communities their travels have taken them to.
On the technical front they dive into para-anchors and drogues and recount their personal experience of what works and what doesn't in strong winds and big seas.
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