The definitive podcast about sailing. Professional sailors Andy Schell, Mia Karlsson and August Sandberg interview sailors from around the world to discover what motivates, scares & inspires them. For over twelve years and through 490+ episodes, our hosts have interviewed sailors like Dee Caffari, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Liz Clark, John Kretschmer, Kirsten Neuschafer, Nigel Calder, Pip Hare & many, many more. We talk to boat builders, yacht designers, YouTube stars, performance racers, and family cruisers. HOLD FAST!
Cole Brauer returns to the podcast to talk with Andy this time. She shares her journey from local sailing ambitions to global recognition, exploring the challenges of gender equity, the realities of professional racing, and the importance of community and mental health in the sailing world. We talk about mental health challenges, the importance of disconnecting to reconnect, and how sailing and living simply have transformed her perspective on happiness and success. Cole's book 'First Light: Sailing Solo but Not Alone' launches officially September 15! -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Back in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, August and Øyvind Nilssen were both out sailing on two very different boats. He was sailing in Lofoten, and August was passing through on a brand-new Bavaria he was delivering along the Norwegian coast. They rafted up together in a beautiful little cove, and had a hell of a party that night. The next morning, they found some peace and quiet to record this podcast. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Will Sofrin returns to the podcast to talk about his new book on the USCG EAGLE tall ship. Will, a former "yachtie" turned tallship sailor, first came on the show back in 2023 to talk about delivering the ship used in the film Master & Commander, which became the subject of his first book, "All Hands on Deck," which I LOVE and which has a place in FALKEN's onboard library. This time we talked about his budding career as a writer since the success of that first book, the incredible Nazi history of the EAGLE and about leadership in the wider context. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
The one and only Jimmy Cornell joins the podcast for the first time to talk about his legendary career as the godfather of offshore cruising. Jimmy, now 86, has led an extraordinary life - he escaped communist Romania to go on to become one of the icons of cruising under sail. He's circumnavigated three times, sailed to the far north and the far south, and recently published the 10th edition of his cruising bible "World Cruising Routes." Jimmy and I discuss his remarkable career on this wide-ranging and wild podcast conversation. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Gunnar Christensen is a career yacht captain and racing sailor who is in the midst of pivoting to sail solo, nonstop around the world in the upcoming Golden Globe Race. Gunnar and I talked about his origins as a sailor in New England, his varied career on yachts and racing boats and about the prep on his Bob Perry-designed boat for the round-the-world voyage. Gunnar is the first guest we've had on the show who came to record in-person at the new Mission Control in Sweden! Follow his progress in the GGR at gunnarsails.com. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Conrad Humphries is a career sailor and his adventures have truly run the gamut. He's done everything from Whitbread round-the-world racing to re-enacting the famous voyage of Captain Bligh for a BBC television series. I was connected to him through a mutual friend while Conrad was skippering the racing yacht HOUND, one of my all-time favorite boats (look it up!). Despite his love for sailing fast, Conrad actually bought the replica BOUNTY launch after the filming and sails it on the southwest coast of the UK. Check out his latest adventures on http://bountyandhope.com/ -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Ben Doerr, friend of the pod, of Sail Bainbridge out in Seattle, returns to the show to talk about a near-miss he and his friends had recently in Alaska. On what should have been Day 1 of their latest Sail 2 Ski adventure, a mile or so outside the harbor the boat caught fire in the engine room. Thanks to some quick-thinking and a lot of good luck, they managed to save the boat, did no harm to the crew, and even managed to get in some skiing later in the week. This is the story. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Most sailors obsess over boat gear and weather routing — but Andy Schell argues the single most important factor in a successful offshore passage is something almost nobody talks about: your mental state. Drawing on marathon training philosophy, solo circumnavigation stories, and his own mid-Atlantic spiritual awakening, this seminar reframes ocean sailing as an emotional journey with predictable stages — and teaches you how to navigate each one. This episode was originally recorded as a live seminar back in 2014, before 59º North was even a thing. You can read the full transcript and learn about Andy's insights, what has changed in the 12 years since first published this, and more as a Quarterdeck member! -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
When Matt first went around the America's in his Albin Vega in 2011 (becoming the first and only person, still to this day, to do it solo and nonstop), he didn't have a radar despite all the icebergs. "I'd also rather have a Valiant 42"! he'd joke when people asked about it. Well, now he does! Matt is about to set forth on another epic adventure, aiming to circumnavigate the Arctic, above the Northwest & NorthEAST passages, on a Valiant 42 on loan from a friend (and 59º North crew I should add). I talked to Matt, with our mutual friend Ryan Finstad in attendance, in Annapolis two weeks ago to get an update. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Mia and Andy sit down in the new Mission Control to review the year that was 2025! And we're only 3 months late in doing it! Each year Mia & Andy like to record a podcast in which we reflect on the past year and share some stories. So much happens over the course a year with us and 59º North that it's tough to keep track of it all in the moment! You'll be shocked at some of the stats we come up with in this episode. So grab a coffee or a beer depending on what timezone you're listening to this in, and join Mia & Andy on reflecting on last year! -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Offshore Passage Opportunities and Rutgerson Marin . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Ben Soofer joined 59 North back in 2018, working with media and on the backend of this very podcast. He then started sailing as a mate, including joining August on his first offshore passage on Isbjørn. He's then gone on to start his own business, and working with many others. August caught up with him to reminisce about the past, share some old sea stories, and talk about how Ben's made a unique career out of his passion. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Offshore Passage Opportunities and Rutgerson Marin . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Francesca Clapcich is an Olympian, a world champion, and in 2023 became the first Italian to win The Ocean Race. She most recently skippered UpWind by MerConcept, an all-female Ocean Fifty trimaran campaign — and now, she's set her sights on the 2028 Vendée Globe with her title sponsor, 11th Hour Racing. We caught up back in July, while she was enjoying a few final weeks at home in Utah with her wife and daughter where she lives, before heading off to co-skipper four of the five legs of The Ocean Race Europe with Team Malizia. We spoke about starting new chapters, redefining success, and her mission to do more than just sail. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Offshore Passage Opportunities and Rutgerson Marin . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Friend of 59º North Nikki Henderson returns to the podcast to talk with me about a wide-ranging list of subjects on sailing, life and philosophy. This conversation was initially inspired by my own curiosity about Nikki's writing process. We talked about how each of us think about writing about sailing, how we go from idea to words-on-the-paper, how our experiences shape our writing and more. Then we delve into racing, recovery time after a long passage and lots more. If you want to read more of Nikki's writing, subscribe to 'SALTED', her weekly newsletter on Substack! -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Offshore Passage Opportunities and Rutgerson Marin . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Troy Sears is the owner and captain of the San Diego-based Schooner AMERICA, a 144-ft replica of the racing ship that came to be the namesake of the famous Cup. Troy is a huge America's Cup nerd & history buff, delving into the history of the Cup and starting the podcast off with a question about the origins of the word 'yacht.' Troy lives aboard AMERICA with his dog and captain's the boat on daily whalewatching trips 330 days per year. We talked about how he came to buy the boat, his career sailing AMERICA all over the oceans, running the chase boat for actual America's Cup campaigns and much much more in an exciting, unexpected, and wide-ranging interview. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Offshore Passage Opportunities and Rutgerson Marin . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
John Kretschmer is back on the podcast to talk more philosophy and more sailing. If you're new to the show, or new to John's work, he's inspired me more than any other sailor. His books are legendary, and you should read all of them. But start with 'Sailing a Serious Ocean,' if you want one book that best distills his storytelling and philosophy into one volume. John and I talk about everything in this winding episode - which also features a rare appearance from Mia! He was in Paris, we were in Sweden, and we start by debunking the rumor that John was retiring from passagemaking that I accidentally started on this here show! Grab a coffee or a beer and enjoy this one. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Offshore Passage Opportunities and Rutgerson Marin . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Chris Kobusch & Sophie O'Neill are longtime friends of 59º North. Chris was in fact one of our full-time skippers for two years on ICEBEAR & FALKEN, and Mia & I recently attended their wedding in England last September. Both professional sailors, they met on the Clipper Race, where Sophie was a last-minute sub-in as First Mate and sailed across the Pacific with Chris. Since then they've led an adventurous life together, working for Skip Novak in Antarctica and buying & refitting their own steel boat OCEAN WANDERER. Like Mia & I, they're now balancing family life with their son Xander, and professional sailing, and recently announced a new project where they'll be building a Wharram 62 catamaran and sailing to the South Pacific. I spoke to them about all of this from their home base on the Isle of Wight just before Christmas. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Offshore Passage Opportunities and Rutgerson Marin . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Andy Schell and Jahn Tihansky sit down in Annapolis to discuss Jahn's long and exciting sailing career. He's been racing and beating some of the biggest names in the sport, built successful sailmaking and sailing businesses, and served as head sailing coach at the U.S. Naval Academy for many years. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Offshore Passage Opportunities and Rutgerson Marin . Support the show by supporting our sponsors! -- Read more about Jahn and get in touch at chesapeakesailingsolutions.com!
Ari Huusela is an aircraft mechanic and commercial airline pilot from Helsinki, Finland. He did not start sailing until the age of 24, but went on to become the first person from the Nordic countries to have finished the brutal Vendee globe round the world race. During the race he became known as the Super happy sailor thanks to his positive energy and optimism. He joins August remotely from the Norwegian Arctic, where he is skiing out of his Campervan. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Offshore Passage Opportunities and Rutgerson Marin . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
Matt Rutherford is back again, this time to talk about perhaps his most audacious plans yet - to sail solo and nonstop around the Arctic. That's back-to-back through the Northwest Passage and NorthEAST passage (above Russia). I caught up with Matt in person to talk about his plans (and lots more, like we always do), back in October in Annapolis. Matt continues to inspire and push me as a sailor. He makes his adventures look easy, does them on a shoestring and is always very humble about the whole thing. Enjoy our chat and follow/support Matt through oceanresearchproject.org. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Offshore Passage Opportunities and Rutgerson Marin . Support the show by supporting our sponsors!
James Evenson, aka Sailing Zingaro on YouTube, has sailed tens of thousands of miles on a variety of boats and had countless adventures. Several of those adventures have ended either in disaster or heroics, depending on your perspective, and it got me wondering - what is true seam'nship? James and I sat down face to face in Annapolis and had a ranging and thoughtful conversation on his life before sailing, what he learned in the Navy, how to make a living on YouTube and how to define the line between bravery and stupidity. -- Check out James' new book at www.bethecaptain.com! -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck , where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com . See you there! -- This episode is sponsored by Orca. Visit getorca.com to modernize your onboard navigation with the Orca Display and Orca Core. We've got them on SPICA & ISBJØRN and so far are LOVING the experience of proper tablet navigation, waterproof wireless charging, logged passages and slick charts and instruments.
#108
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Apple Podcasts rankings supplied by Mato Topic Intelligence Platform.
Observed July 30, 2026.
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