Elise Currey heads up a ‘volunteer army’ at the Coffs Harbour Marina, north of Sydney on Australia’s East Coast. With her office smashed to pieces by a storm, that sent 14 metre swells surging through her marina a few weeks ago. Elise as marina manager is literally running her operations out of a shipping container as we speak to her, while the damage repairs that will take a few months, get underway.
When your office backs onto the Tasman Sea, sometimes a breakwater is not enough to keep nature out. In this contrasting story to episode 16, we find out the challenges of being situated in a ringside seat, with a wild ocean as your backdrop.
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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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We catch up with Rob White from Evolution Sails on sail wardrobe planning and material selection choices for both cruising and racing sailors. Rob shares four decades of sail planning, sailing, design and production experience and the changes and advances he is seeing, including the adoption of exotic materials at club racing level. Rob talks specifically about tips for making your boat go faster regardless of how old your sails or boat are.
Rob covers everything from Dacron to Carbon Fibre and the choices in between and we also spend some time talking about the ideal set up for short handed cruising sailors, so that speed to your next sailing destination does not have to be compromised.
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Andy Lamont updates us on his preparations for his solo sailing world record attempt to sail, non-stop, westward around the world in a ‘vessel less than 40 feet’ in length, departing from the Gold Coast, Australia on October 2nd this year.
In this follow up to episode’s 2 & 3, Andy explains the process of registering for a world record sailing attempt, the ongoing preparations of ‘Impulse’; Andy’s S&S 34, lessons learned so far, the financial challenges, Andy’s growing list of supporters and some of the changes he has made to his original plans, 3 months on from when we last spoke to him.
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We catch up with Jessica Watson, 6 years after completing her sailing voyage as the youngest person ever to sail non-stop, unassisted around the world in her S&S 34 ‘Ella’s Pink Lady’.
We talk with Jessica about her pre-departure fears; how she dealt with the extreme weather she faced on her trip, life on land after her sailing voyage and her new tech venture in the marine industry and where her future passion in sailing lies.
Andy Lamont (from Episodes 2 & 3) joins the interview and gets some first hand advice from Jessica for his upcoming westward bound sailing circumnavigation in an S&S 34, departing Oct 2016.
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We talk with Andrew Randell about a sail boat building project his father started in 1963 that came to a standstill when tragedy struck his family while on holiday in 1966. 36 years later Andrew rescues the partly built sailing yacht that had steadily deteriorated over almost 4 decades and he starts a 7 year mission to complete what his father had started.
For a guy that had never built a boat before, let alone sailed one, its a great story of what can be achieved when you are determined and focused. As a result of Andrews fine craftsmanship he was awarded the Hal Harper Award by the New South Wales Wooden Boat Association in 2011 for his demonstration of wooden boat building skills and the preservation of historical wooden sailing boats.
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In this episode we talk with Ken Thackeray the founder of the Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club about how the unplanned idea for SICYC came about by sheer chance and how this unique yacht club has grown into a large organisation with no employees, no physical yacht club venue and 4,700+ sailing members in 14 countries.
SICYC is a great resources for cruising sailors and has created friendships is the most unusual of places as you'll find out in this candid chat with Ken at their 7th anniversary party.
Its annual Gloucester Rendezvous at Whitsunday in Queensland sees 200+ boats gather for 4 days of sailing, fun and activities.
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In this 2nd of the 2-part episode we continue to talk to Peter Montgomery, respected internationally as the voice of New Zealand Yachting after personally commentating on 12 Americas Cups, 9 Olympic Games and every Whitbread and Volvo around the world races to date.
If you missed Episode 6, I recommend you listen to it before this episode.
Peter shares personal insights into his 40 year career in broadcasting, how the Americas Cup sailing has changed, thoughts on some of the big personalities that drive the international yachting and why commentating will never be the same again.
Peters reputation for colourful commentary that enhances sailing for the layman, helped develop a nations passion for sailing, through both the Americas Cup and Whitbread/Volvo Round the World Campaigns that New Zealand has been heavily involved in since the early 1980's.
This candid discussion with one of New Zealand's greatest ever sailing broadcasters is a unique opportunity to understand what inspired Peter Montgomery to approach the task with such energy and passion.
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In this 1st of a 2-part episode we talk to Peter Montgomery, respected internationally as the voice of New Zealand Yachting after personally commentating on 12 Americas Cups, 9 Olympic Games and every Whitbread and Volvo around the world races to date.
Peter shares personal insights into his 40 year career in broadcasting, how the Americas Cup sailing has changed, thoughts on some of the big personalities that drive the international yachting and why commentating will never be the same again.
Peters reputation for colourful commentary that enhances sailing for the layman, helped develop a nations passion for sailing, through both the Americas Cup and Whitbread/Volvo Round the World Campaigns that New Zealand has been heavily involved in since the early 1980's.
This candid discussion with one of New Zealand's greatest ever sailing broadcasters is a unique opportunity to understand what inspired Peter Montgomery to approach the task with such energy and passion.
Visit Ocean Sailing Podcast for offshore sailing opportunities and podcast extras and follow us on Facebook.
We discover one of the most fascinating ocean sailing passages of the 20th century in this episode. In 1972 John Lucas set out from Geelong, Victoria to sail a 40-foot house boat, with a makeshift mast, sailing 3,000 nautical miles north up the east coast of Australia to Thursday Island, New Guinea for missionaries desperately in need of vessel to transit rivers to their local villages.
This 3-month journey led by skipper John Lucas and 3 novice crew led to the sailing adventure of a lifetime. They faced storms, mutiny, sand bars, media scrutiny, and needed the approval from 26 different government departments across 3 different states, just to start their journey.
John recounts his story from 44 years ago with such clarity that you would think he had just completed it yesterday. Described as Australia's Kon-tiki, the media coverage in 1972 fascinated a nation.
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In this episode we interview Ray McMahon, director of the Southport Yacht Club in the month the club celebrates its 70th birthday. Despite 70 years of history, offshore keelboat yacht racing only gathered momentum at the Southport Yacht Club in the past decade.
The Southport Yacht Club is located on the edge of the Broadwater at Main Beach, near Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia.
We retrace the birth of yacht racing at SYC and discover how a few passionate volunteers founded, what has grown into a successful club that hosts more than 500 races a year today.
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We continue to talk with Andy Lamont (in part 2 of a 2 part episode) who is setting off from the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia to sail his S&S 34 non-stop, singled-handed around the world. Its a fascinating story about his lifelong passion to sail around the world.
Andy provides a step by step insight into his preparation, refit, provisioning plans and philosophy about life in general. This candid 2-hour, 2-part podcast is a great example of how easy it can be to buy a simple yacht, do some basic preparations and set off sailing around the world.
We will follow Andy's story in his lead up to departure from Southport on Australia's Gold Coast later this year and check in regularly to capture and track his 300+ day sailing voyage around the planet.
Visit Ocean Sailing Podcast for offshore sailing opportunities and podcast extras and follow us on Facebook.
We talk with Andy Lamont (in part 1 of a 2 part episode) who is setting off from the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia to sail his S&S 34 non-stop, singled-handed around the world. Its a fascinating story about his lifelong passion to sail around the world.
Andy provides a step by step insight into his preparation, refit, provisioning plans and philosophy about life in general. This candid 2-hour, 2-part podcast is a great example of how easy it can be to buy a simple yacht, do some basic preparations and set off sailing around the world.
We will follow Andy's story in his lead up to departure from Southport on Australia's Gold Coast later this year and check in regularly to capture and track his 300+ day sailing voyage around the planet.
Visit Ocean Sailing Podcast for offshore sailing opportunities and podcast extras and follow us on Facebook.
In this episode we interview Rob Mundle, yachting commentator, writer and sailor for more than 40 years. Having covered the successful 1983 Australian Americas Cup Challenge and several since along with 44 Sydney to Hobart's and every Hamilton Island Race Week, Rob is known as the voice of Australian yachting and the nations maritime biographer.
His book 'Fatal Storm' based on the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race has sold more than 250,000 copies in 6 languages globally. Rob has a unique perspective on yachting; past, present and future and his passion has created a lifetime of opportunities for him.
Visit Ocean Sailing Podcast for offshore sailing opportunities and podcast extras and follow us on Facebook.