Nikki Henderson is no stranger to the 59N family. She’s a skipper, a podcaster, master of the Quarterdeck and a dear friend in the community. But when she signs off from these watches, she doesn’t quit. You likely know that she’s been on heaps of other seafaring adventures, including skippering the famed Whitbread machine, Maiden; the Clipper Round the World Race; and her first attempt at the Race To Alaska with Team Sail Like a Girl. I sat down to talk with Nikki about her second, most recent attempt at the R2AK, its challenges, and what made this one such a successful campaign in what I think is one of the greatest adventure races on earth. Guest-Hosted by Ben Doerr.
Navigating the challenges of parenthood whilst also maintaining an atypical lifestyle — be that of a sailor, adventurer, or anything that doesn’t involve a 9-5 desk job — has been a consistent theme of this podcast. Now the tables have turned. Andy, Mia and August are raising their two boys whilst running a business and working as professional sailors themselves. Hoping to be a parent myself one day, I took the opportunity to put them on the spot to discuss what has surprised them about parenthood, what they wish they had known before taking the plunge, and what advice they have for anyone else dreaming of a similar future.
Pam Wall returns to the podcast, live from her living room in Ft. Lauderdale. Andy sat down to talk to Pam about the treasure trove of memories in her house, how she stays happy and inspirational despite the tragedy of losing her husband and daughter too soon, the relationship she has with her son, how she stays fit at nearly 80, and lots lots more.
Celeste Pomerantz wasn't a sailor until she signed up for a sail & ski trip out of Tromsø, Norway, that was headed north in search of un-skied peaks in Svalbard. The boat was called SOFIE, and was owned and skippered by friend of 59º North, Mats Grimsaeth. I discovered Celeste in the ski film Wavy 2 about the adventure and immediately reached out to her. We talked about sailing in the Arctic, her upbringing in the mountains of western British Columbia, similarities between big mountain skiing and offshore sailing, managing fear, 'imposter syndrome' and her studies in renewable energy.
Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first to reach the South Pole and the North Pole, but his greatest achievement may have been leading the first successful crossing of the Northwest Passage in 1906. Terje Andre Pedersen grew up inspired by Amundsen's great stories of exploration. He has followed his own dreams, and is soon to set sail towards the Northwest Passage in Amundsen's wake with a ship made of wood and a crew made of iron.
Elliott Smith was competing as the youngest sailor in the 2022 Golden Globe Race when his bowsprit broke off the coast of Cape Town. He made a repair that got him across the Southern Ocean to Australia where he ended up retiring from the race. Elliott is a Sailor, Surfer, Artist, Deep thinker and Big dreamer.
Tania Aebi sailed around the world alone on her Contessa 26, Varuna. She cast off from New York in May 1985 when she was 18 years old, and returned in November 1987, having visited 23 countries along the way. After returning from her circumnavigation, Tania wrote her bestselling book, Maiden Voyage.
Emma visited Tania at her home in Vermont, where Tania spends her time writing, caring for the house, and being near family. Tania also runs sailing charters and works as a hired skipper. Keep up with Tania’s projects at http://www.taniaaebi.com/
FALKEN, our newly refit Farr 65, is finally sailing. August Sandberg hosts a 59 North 'Admiralty' roundtable, recapping the first sea trial on the new boat, which we did last week here in the English Channel. With gusts up to 55 knots, hail squalls, sunshine, big waves, fast reaching and breaking the things that 'needed' to break, the sea trial was a massive success and a hell of a lot of fun sailing with 9 of our friends and 59 North sailing staff! Andy, Nikki & Mia were all onboard and relive the sea trial on today's episode, the first of 2023!
Young Cruisers' Association exists to connect like-minded folks through sailing and cruising. They define themselves as "a collection of young, salty vagabonds forming a community of the sea". Logan and Caroline Rowell brought the Young Cruisers Association to life back in 2012, while they were out cruising on their boat. Brian Currier joined soon after, and recently, Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu of La Vagabonde came aboard too. The original YCA started in the 1970's among liveaboard sailors, and its legacy is now being carried by new generations.
#382. Matty Duncan is bound solo around Cape Horn on ICE WARRIOR, his 1987 Moody 346. He left from the UK this summer to head for Chile, the 'Wrong Way Round'. He is now undergoing repairs in Brazil, after a rigging failure offshore. His project aims to raise awareness about mental health issues by Matty telling his life story.
#381: Lyall & Katie Burgess have a shore base 2000' up the volcano in Hawaii, but have spent the past year living aboard and cruising their Dufour 38 BLAKE with their two young daughters. They bought the boat new as part of a charter fleet, then after taking ownership in September, sailed across the Atlantic with the ARC rally, where Lyall & Katie actually met working on the staff years ago. I caught up with them in Mexico to hear about their adventures.
Motts Mueller is the longtime director, and now owner of Broadreach, whose unforgettable summer adventures for teens specialize in scuba diving, sailing, marine biology, veterinary medicine or wildlife biology. Motts has been a part of the company since 1993, when he was a student on the first-ever trip, sea-kayaking in the BVI. Recently he bought the business from founder (and former podcast guest) Carlton Goldthwaite. Motts and I talked about business and life in this wide-ranging episode.
Hannah Goldberg is a sailor, freelance social media manager, and content creator. She quit her 9-5 desk job in 2021 and left life on land to pursue a dream to sail around the world. In the last year and a half, Hannah has sailed over 10,000 nautical miles, on 5 different boats, in 11 countries. She has crossed the Atlantic Ocean and transited through the Panama Canal. Hannah has connected with over a million people through her videos on TikTok, where she shares the ups and downs of her sailing journey.
#378. Sam Merrett is the founder, leader, and captain of the Schooner Apollonia, the only operating sail freight vessel in the United States. The Apollonia sails up and down the Hudson River, collecting and delivering cargo as she makes her way with the power of the wind. Sam has a background working in alternative fuels and spent years converting truck engines from diesel to vegetable oil. He gained sailing and boating experience on the Hudson River, and then bought the Apollonia in 2015. The vessel had not been sailed in over 30 years, and was missing an important component: the rig. After a 4 year yard period, Sam and his crew started sailing the Apollonia in 2019. For the past three summer seasons, the Apollonia and her crew have been shipping goods up and down the river. Sam and Emma sat down in Hudson, NY, to talk about this carbon neutral shipping project, and everything that comes with it.
#377. Mr. Brady & Alex Blue return to the podcast to talk about their transition from full-time cruising onboard SV DELOS to their shore-based lifestyle in Lake Tahoe. We discuss the ins and outs of starting a new business and their experience with Cruiser's Academy, what their long-term offshore sailing plans on, living with a 'purpose', work-life balance and lots more.
#376. Onne van der Wal is one of the world's foremost yachting photographers, but he started his career as a vagabond sailor. Growing up in South Africa, Onne rarely went to school and instead hitched rides on whatever racing boats he could, amassing a storied career and finding a home on the high seas. His racing career peaked with his involvement in the second FLYER campaign, where he also first made a name for himself in photography. Andy talked to Onne aboard his Grand Banks motorboat in Annapolis in October to hear his story and philosophy. We were joined by Onne's wife Tenley, Ship's Photographer James Austrums, and Schooner WOODWIND owner & captain, Jen Kaye.
#375. Writer & sailor Charlie Doane returns to the show (ep. #269) to talk about his new book 'The Boy Who Fell To Shore.' Charlie tells the story of how Thomas Thor Tangvald went from a seagoing vagabond during an oceanic childhood to disappearing at sea in 2014. During a long chat in Annapolis after boat show last week, Charlie recounted to Andy how he discovered the story, his process for researching & writing it, and what he thinks really happened to Thomas after his disappearance.
#373. World-record setting sailor Lisa Blair returns to the podcast to discuss her latest voyage: sailing around Antartica, alone and without stopping. Lisa broke the speed record on this circumnavigation. She also collected data for scientific research while underway. She is an activist and advocate for climate action, hence the name of her boat, Climate Action Now.
Emma and Lisa discuss the challenges and successes of this latest world record, including some harrowing scenarios from the Southern Ocean. They also talked about what life has been like since Lisa returned from her latest epic circumnavigation. Lisa reveals future plans for sailing records and climate change research.
We met Maya and Aladino in Marstrand this summer, where they were cruising the Swedish coastline on their Vindo 32, Magic Carpet. Maya is a Canadian musician, filmmaker, and sailor. Aladino is a Swiss and Italian boatbuilder and sailor. They recently bought a Cape George 36, Magic Carpet II, that they are refitting in Canada with the goal to sail around the world. Maya and Aladino create beautiful films of their journeys and have a successful YouTube channel with new videos released every Friday.
In this episode, Nikki, Emma, and Mia sit down together in the UK to debrief 59° North's inaugural all-women's sailing passage. It was an epic heavy weather trip. We sailed over a thousand miles from Marstrand, Sweden to Portsmouth, England, with six female crewmembers. This all-women passage is one of many steps towards a more inclusive and equitable sailing community. In the episode, we discuss the details of this passage, including weather routing decisions and medical situations onboard. We also talk about the big-picture goals behind this passage, and what the three of us learned along the way.
#370: Don McIntyre returns to the podcast to talk about the second edition of the Golden Globe Race – a retro, solo, non-stop around-the-world race. Departing on their start from France on Sept 4, 2022, the fleet is now approaching the Canary Islands. I caught up with Don while he was in Lanzarote awaiting the first media drop from the fleet. We talked about the differences between the GGR this year and the last time around in 2018, who his favorite skippers are, what some of our favorite boats are and what he expects of the second edition of these sailors going round the world.
#369: What happens when you put three of the saltiest, Norwegian, high latitude sailors on the same boat? They record a podcast, of course! August and Emma were joined by Oyvind Nilssen and Jon Amtrup on ISBJØRN in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Oyvind runs Duen Experience, running charters in Arctic Norway. Jon is an author and sailor, and has literally written the books on sailing in Norway and the high latitudes. Jon has also been skippering ISBJØRN this past summer.
The four of us discuss what's unique about sailing in the high latitudes and the Arctic, from ice to polar bears to weather forecasting. We filmed this episode (thanks James Austrums!) and you can find that video on The QUARTERDECK.
August & Emma explored the High Arctic lands of Svalbard on ISBJØRN this summer with four crew and our ship's photographer James Austrums. James has been sailing with 59 North since 2017 as friend and photographer, and this was his second time to Svalbard aboard ISBJØRN. During our time in Svalbard, we sailed as high as 80 degrees North and saw incredible ice and wildlife. Freshly inspired after three weeks in the Arctic, we sat down in the main saloon to talk about our experiences.
Meg Reilly of Ocean Racers (previously interviewed in episode #267) returns to the podcast to talk about her new role with The Magenta Project with Andy & Nikki. After catching up with Meg about the last few years of her career with partner Morgen Watson, the conversation turns towards women in sailing and how to evolve the sport in a direction towards inclusivity. Applications for mentees and mentors are open at The Magenta Project through mid-September, so head over there if you're a woman aspiring to a career in professional sailing and apply!
