#337. Andy & Mia sit down in the house Andy grew up in to discuss the fallout from dropping out of the Ocean Globe Race and the new boat they just purchased which will become the flagship of the 59º North fleet!

#336. Sam Holmes sums up his life in one simple sentence: "Crossing ocean on questionable sailing vessels." Andy talked to him at length about exactly what that means, onboard one of those questionable vessels in Kinsale, Ireland earlier this summer.

#334. We met Marcus Hutchinson in Kinsale, Ireland after ICEBEAR's trans-Atlantic, having been referred to him by one of our former crew who used to be his neighbor. Marcus has been deeply involved in the high-end racing scene for most of his career, first as a naval architect with Rob Humphries, later as editor of Seahorse Magazine, on America's Cup campaigns, and now as a coach and mentor for major solo ocean sailing campaigns including the Figaro and Vendee Globe. Andy talked to him at his house in Kinsale back in August.

#333. Lisa Blair is an Australian adventurer who holds multiple world records for her solo sailing adventures. She is a positive and strong voice for confronting climate change, and for pursuing one's dreams full force. Lisa is currently preparing to sail solo, nonstop, and unassisted around Antarctica, in pursuit of world records and groundbreaking ocean data collection. On her boat, Climate Action Now, Lisa will be facing the Southern Ocean again as she races the clock around the world.

#332. Andy kicks off the Fall 2021 podcast season talking cruising the Bahamas, with longtime friend and sponsors of the show, Forbes & Jamie Horton. Forbes and 59º North go WAY back, to our early days in Annapolis circa 2006, and he's one of the few brokers in the trade that has skin in the game when it comes to cruising - last year, at the height of COVID, he and his wife and business partner Jamie took their two young kids out of school and cruised the Bahamas on their 35-foot lobster boat. Forbes & Jamie tell the whole story on the podcast, what they like & dislike about motor boating versus sailing (they previously cruised an S&S Tartan 34 to the Eastern Caribbean), and why they're going back to the Bahamas in 2021!

#330. Megan Frye has spent the last 10 years at sea, sailing traditionally rigged vessels all over the world. She is pursuing her dream of connecting people from around the world through sailing with Ocean's Dream. Emma got to sit down with Megan for a short chat while they were both in Maine, where Megan is spending the summer running a charter sailboat. This is just part one of our conversations with Megan, who has learned many lessons from her travels, and is looking to spread the wisdom of the high seas with others.

#326. Pam Wall is a legendary ocean sailor with boundless energy. She cruised around the world with her beautiful family on the boat they built, KANDARIK. Pam has worked in the marine industry all her life and continues to advise cruisers on how to get out there and ‘just do it’. She consults sailors on everything from buying to outfitting to passagemaking. Andy and Mia have known Pam for years now and Emma was lucky enough to meet her this spring in Fort Lauderdale. Emma feels incredibly lucky to have gotten the chance to sit down with her at her home for an interview. Find her at https://www.pamwall.com/

#323. Jon Sanders is an 81-year-old Australian solo sailor whose been around the globe a full 11 times! He was the first person ever, in 1981/1982 to circumnavigate Antarctica, and indeed three of his roundings of the world happened back-to-back-to-back nonstop! Despite these crazy accomplishments, Jon remains incredible humble and sails simply for the love of it. Special thanks to Morgan Flower for setting up this interview and helping record & produce it with me!

#322. Dustin Reynolds is on a mission to become the first-ever double-amputee solo circumnavigator. After losing his left arm, left leg and nearly his life in a terrible motorcycle accident in 2008, Dustin regrouped, decided he wanted to live, and set out to fulfill a dream that started on a whim. I caught up with him earlier this spring when he was in Panama preparing for the final leg of his voyage home to Hawaii.

#321. Nikki Henderson is the youngest person ever to have skippered a yacht in the Clipper Round the World race, coming second in the 2017/18 edition of the race at 25 years old. Since the age of 18 Nikki has pursued a career in professional sailing, and has earned worldwide respect for her accomplishments. She has been a guest-skipper for MAIDEN, raced on an all-women's team in the Race 2 Alaska, been through the Suez Canal and many times across the Atlantic. Nikki recently sailed on ICEBEAR with Andy in Antigua, where they recorded this long and inspirational chat about Nikki's career and philosophy.

#320. James Frederick is a 40-something artist living in Los Angeles with his wife Camille and their dog, Mr. Steady Man. For the past several years James has been refitting an Alberg 30 while sailing out to Catalina island and exploring the California coast and documenting it all on YouTube. Very shortly, that's all about change, as James will set off single-handed first bound towards Hawaii and then onwards towards Alaska, where Camille and Mr. Steady Man plan to meet them for cruising. I talked to James just as he and Camille were getting ready to move back onto the boat after an intense refit period. James is also connected to 59 North in that he's sailed our former boat ARCTURUS in Sweden with her new owner Neil Fletcher!

#319. Markus Norlin is the son of famous Swedish yacht designer Peter Norlin, who's illustrious career indeed included our own boat SPICA, a 1977 Norlin 34 mk 2. Markus came out to the farm to 'Mission Control' where we discussed his late father's career as a yacht designer, growing up in a sailing family, and his 'rescue' of one of his dad's most famous boats, AGNES, a one-off 37-footer built in mahogany and successfully raced in the USA. Markus found the boat in Vancouver, bought it, and had it shipped back to Sweden where he now sails it with his family.

#318. Nat Benjamin is a sailor and yacht designer who owns and operates Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway, an iconic haven for wooden boats in Martha’s Vineyard. Nat and his partner Ross Gannon founded the boatyard in 1980, where they have built everything from 8 foot tenders to a 65 foot schooner, all made with traditional plank-on-frame construction. In the past 40 years, they have built more than 70 substantial vessels of Nat’s designs. In this episode, Emma and Nat talk about his adventurous path: from growing up on the Hudson River, to working as a young delivery captain, to becoming one of today’s most renowned wooden boat designers and builders. Nat and his wife Pam live year-round on Martha's Vineyard, where they have two daughters and five grandchildren. Find more links and photos about Nat and G&B by going to: https://59-north.com/onthewindpodcast/318-nat-benjamin

#317. Sea shanties have taken the internet by storm! As these familiar songs go viral, we decided to do some digging on their function and history, then recycle an interview with Storm Weather Shanty Choir's founder and lead man, Haakon Vatle. In 2018, August and Andy sat down in person with Haakon in Bergen, Norway. Haakon Vatle holds the world's ONLY master's degree in sea shanties. Fans of the show will know his band, Storm Weather Shanty Choir, as the group of Norwegian musicians who have mastered the art of the modern sea shanty. To start this episode off, we spoke with Biz Wallace, a captain and sail instructor who works aboard tallships, and Christian Letourneau, a former ship's cook and a writer. August also got to chat with Haakon now, in 2021, to catch up on how the sea shanty craze is affecting the band, their upcoming album (February 5th!) and how Norway's tallship, the Statsraad Lehmkul, is faring through COVID times. In this episode, you will also hear recordings of shanties sung by folks at Sea Education Association, a sail training and marine science program that Biz Wallace, Christian Letourneau, and Emma Garschagen have all worked with.