Conversations with Sailors
On The Wind is, quite simply, long-form conversations with sailors from around the world. On the Wind (formerly '59 Degrees North') features guests from throughout the world of sailing – tall ship captains, Cape Horners, sailing authors, Volvo Ocean Race skippers, yacht designers, family cruisers, Arctic adventurers and more. Hosted by Andy Schell and guest-hosted by August Sandberg, Nikki Henderson and Emma Garschagen, our aim is to define what creates success in the sailing world and figure out how to accomplish big dreams on the high seas. Listen and subscribe for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts!
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“Captivating conversations with an at-ease flavor whether with US Senators, tall ship captains, old salts, technical experts or simply us regular folks who love sailing.”
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The best of the Archive
#331. John Kretschmer returns to the podcast! This time, in person, with the whole host team together. Andy, Emma & August sit down with John Kretschmer in Bermuda to discuss seamanship, philosophy, fatherhood and a wide-ranging list of other topics about offshore sailing.
#302. Don McIntyre is a lifelong adventurer and sailor, and founder of the Golden Globe Race and Ocean Globe Race, which we will be participating in on ICEBEAR in 2023! Andy & Don talked all things adventure. This is an all-timer, so don’t miss it!
#281 (#251 Re-Issue). Rachel Slade is the acclaimed author of INTO THE RAGING SEA, the riveting and heartbreaking account of the loss of the American merchant ship EL FARO, with all hands, in hurricane Joaquin in 2015. We’re re-issuing this episode today ahead of the audio release of INTO THE RAGING SEA on Season 4 of Sailing Stories! Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and HOLD FAST!
#279. Dee Caffari is perhaps the most accomplished sailor I've ever had on the show, and she's easily the most inspiring. Dee has sailed around the world a full 6 times, 3 of them solo and nonstop, and most recently as skipper of the Turn the Tide on Plastic Volvo campaign. There isn't much she hasn't done in racing, whether solo or crewed, as skipper or in another role, but I took away much deeper insights from our conversation on things like leadership, psychology and inspiration. Mia & I met Dee in England to hear her story.
#231. Tom Cunliffe is one of the great sailor/writers of the past 30 years. His old-school style in both the boats he chooses to sail and the way he tells his story is fascinating. Tom grew up in the UK and went to sea at a very young age on an actual merchant sailing vessel trading along the coast. His adventurous spirit goes beyond the high seas too - he and his wife motorcycled across the US, and he keeps a 1949 Bentley in his garage that he affectionately calls Reggie. After sailing classic, wooden gaff pilot cutters for most of his career, Tom now sails a (relatively) modern Mason 44. Mia & I met Tom at his house in the New Forest in England in February to talk sailing, and even got to sit in the Bentley! This one’s an all-timer, so listen closely!
210: Skip Novak is a leader in the expedition sailing world, and his Pelagic expeditions based in Patagonia are world-class, and a huge inspiration to our business at 59 North with Isbjorn. Skip & Andy spoke about his career in the Whitbread Race, growing up in Chicago, building an expedition business, sailing with Magnus Olsson and much more.
It’s been a long-time coming, but Mia Karlsson is FINALLY on the podcast! Mia is my wife, of course, and while we don’t share a last name, we share just about everything else! Mia tongue-in-cheek promised to be the 200th episode on the show, long before she ever thought I’d make it this far, so I called her bluff! We recorded a long & rambling chat just before setting out across the Atlantic while Isbjorn was anchored in St. Croix. As I record this intro, we’ve made it to Sweden and Mia has completed her 4th Atlantic crossing, one more than me, which she’s quick to point out. We talked about Mia’s history as a competitive swimmer, growing up in the Swedish countryside, traveling, and of course how she’s come to love the sailing lifestyle.
#196. Dennis Schell is affectionately & jokingly known to all my sailing friends as simply ‘Andy’s Dad’. I have him to thank for my sailing career, and for inspiring me to start my own business. Dad raised me as a sailor & taught me everything I know. We recorded this chat aboard Isbjorn in Trellis Bay, BVI, shortly before we both sailed - he on Sojourner, us on Isbjorn - north to Bermuda. We covered the gamut of my dad’s sailing career, from his days sailing sunfish on Blue Marsh Lake, to his working at a Ft. Lauderdale boatyard, building and marketing his own sailboat, the ‘Salt 19,’ his first ocean passage in a 50-knot gale off Cape Hatteras and tons more!
"I got a job in Durban, as captain of a ship, running up & down the east coast. And that’s when Chichester went past on his voyage around the world and I began to think about it. I got home, and I saw him come in, saw him come up the Thames, and I thought, ‘There’s one thing left to do - go around without stopping.’" -Sir Robin
Today I can finally announce one of them. The episode that follows is the audio version of this week’s ‘On the Wind,’ which in its original form is actually a film, directed by Thierry Humeau and shot in Pam Wall’s backyard in Ft. Lauderdale back in April. This is the first of what will become a sort of special addition to the podcast when Thierry and I have time to film & produce it.
Episode 130 is John Kretschmer, one of my all-time heroes and a mentor of mine. John’s motto is ‘never lost, just hard to find,’ and it’s a pretty good summation of how it was tracking him down for the podcast. I finally got in touch with him over Skype, me in Annapolis and he at home in Ft Lauderdale getting ready for another passage on his boat Quetzal. John and I talked a bit about how he’s inspired me to follow this career, how he got into it in the first place, about rounding Cape Horn in a 32’ boat going to wrong way, his career as a delivery skipper, Hurricane Lenny and much, much more. Find John, online at least, at yayablues.com.
Lin & Larry Pardey are on the podcast! Two of my sailing heroes, whose voyages, articles, books and advice has spanned at least two generations of sailors. I spoke to them from Sweden - they were half a world away in New Zealand...
