Out The Gate Sailing

Mark Synnott is a professional rock climber and author. He's climb many first ascents, written a multitude of National Geographic articles and simply put had a ton of bad ass adventures. He took up sailing about 20 years ago, and recently sailed his boat, Polar Sun, through the Northwest Passage on a quest to unlock the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the Franklin Expedition. Mark has a new book about the adventure called Into The Ice. National Geographic also produced a special about his journey called Lost in the Arctic that you can watch on Disney+.

I met 23-year-old Kevin Boyle when he sailed into La Cruz Mexico aboard his Ericson 32 and I took his lines at the dock. Kevin stuck out in the sailing community of La Cruz because of his young age. He reminded me of myself when I went cruising in my 20s and I really wanted to talk to him about his experience cruising a young person and seeing how he made that happen. He's currently crossing the Pacific from Mexico to the Marquesas and I'm hoping we can reconnect in French Polynesia.

Tim Garden is not new to adventure, having ridden his motorcycle solo all over the world. But, he is relatively new to sailing and he's planning an audacious journey in his trailerable 27-foot trimaran. He's planning to drive his Corsair F-27 south from his home in Albuquerque, NM, to launch it in the Sea of Cortez. From there, he'll sail solo down the Sea of Cortez, out across the Pacific to French Polynesia, north to Hawaii and then back to California. He'll do all this without fossil fuels, having converted the boat to electric propulsion and electric cooking. You can follow Tim's journey on Instagram at Manta_On_The_Sea.

Heather Richard is a skilled sailor, an exceptional teacher, a great storyteller, and a kick-ass mother! As a high school graduation present for her son, they double-handed in the Pacific Cup Race to Hawaii, aboard the boat on which she raised him! Heather and I talk about prepping for this race, the crossing, and the long sail back. We discuss why she's decided to sell her boat and what she's looking for next. After hearing her story, you can sail with Heather at Fine Day for Sailing.

Raffi Patatian is one of the most conscientious, careful, and knowledgeable sailors I know. He set off for Mexico aboard his Hallberg Rassy 43, Wind River, in the fall of 2023. Since then, he has sailed many miles down the West Coast and across the Pacific Ocean, mostly singlehanded. He's an entrepreneur who ran his own IT business in the Bay Area before heading off cruising. Raffi and I caught up at his Sausalito home when he briefly returned from Fiji to pick up some boat parts.

Jamie and Behan Gifford have been sailing their Stevens 47, Totem, around the world for more than a decade. They raised three children aboard but are now empty nesters, planning the next chapter of their cruising life. Lauren and I joined them aboard Totem to discuss life afloat, upgrades to their beloved boat, their successful coaching business, and their upcoming sailing plans. (Photo by Jill Hearne)

Jon Bilger is the director and founder of PredictWind. Jon founded the company after working on forecasting for the Alinghi Americas Cup team. The technology has revolutionized accessibility of weather forecasting and routing for both racers and cruisers. I talk to Jon about his own sailing background, how he developed Predict Wind, some new exciting tools - like 100 meter accuracy tidal current modeling for San Francisco Bay - and more.

John Taussig is the founder and executive director of Backcountry Medical Guides and the subsidiary Maritime Medical Guides. He's a career paramedic who's worked on helicopters, in ambulances, on ski patrol, as a ranger, and as a captain on boats. He's a surfer, climber, kayaker, mountain biker, snow boarder, sailer, and and all around adventurer based in Bellingham Washington. John and I talked about responding to bear attacks in Yellowstone, commuting to work from Santa Cruz to Monterey via sailboat, flying on choppers through the Sierra as part of a air medic team, his trip paddling and sailing a kayak from Washington up the inside passage to AK, and more.

Michael Rohde is rebuilding - bow to stern, keel to masthead - a late 70s Cape George 36 named Akela. He welcomed me aboard the boat last August when it was on the hard at Napa Valley Marina. He's jumped into this major project with both feet and is making good progress. Inspired by other YouTubers, he's documenting the entire refit on his channel RohdeSoda.

Andre Lay is licensed Captain from the Bay Area who is in the process of circumnavigating North America in a compact trawler. He's currently in Barra de Navidad on the Mexican mainland and is soon headed for El Salvador. He is doing this trip simply to prove too himself he can, to meet people, and to see what's out there. He'd also like to raise awareness for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but as Andre says” I'm not trying to change the world by going around it. I'm just out there to experience it.”

Scott Racette and Ashley Gremel met sailing in San Francisco Bay in 2016. Five years later they sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge together aboard their Pearson 365, Azimuth, to begin a trip from the San Francisco Bay to the Chesapeake Bay. Along the way they adopted a cat, transited the Panama Canal, fixed leaking through-hulls, and learned a whole lot. I talk to them about the adventure.

Brendan Borrell is a corespondent for Outside Magazine. Along with photographer Tom Fowlks, he recently paddled from the Central Valley of California to the headwaters of the San Francisco Bay. Taking advantage of a very wet winter last year, which led to the reformation of Tulare Lake, they paddled over flooded farmland, up irrigation ditches and down rivers, braving putrid water, a sinking boat, being shot at, and nearly being arrested. An article about the adventure titled My Wild Wet and (Sometimes) Miserable Paddling Trip Through the Heart of California, with words by Brendan and photos by Tom, appears in the November/December issue of Outside Magazine.

As my wife, two daughters and I prepare to move aboard and sail south aboard Dovka, our 1981 Hallberg Rassy 352, the four of us sit down with my parents Sid and Rebecca shaw to talk about the boat--which they used to own--and our coming travels. Follow our trip at www.Dovka.com

Andy Schell, along with his wife Mia Karlsson, founded the ocean sailing business 59 North to share the wisdom of the high seas. Lauren and I sailed with them in July of 2019 and that's when I last had Andy on the show. Since then Andy and Mia have grown 59 North by leaps and bounds. In this episode, I catch up with Andy to hear about the changes and the difficulties and stresses they've faced in building the business and how he attempts to find balance while pushing boundaries.

Pam Wall has encouraged and inspired so many individuals and families to find joy from sailing and cruising. She has spent decades sharing her knowledge through lectures, boat show seminars, and of course podcasts like this. Pam first took off cruising with her husband Andy Wall aboard their 30-ft sloop Carronade. Later, with children, they cruised aboard the 39-ft sloop Kandarik. While I've never met Pam in persons, she's been friends with my parents for years and my father, Sid Shaw, met Andy Wall in Tahiti in the 60s.

Isabel Lardner has sailed many miles on tall ships, something I've always dreamed of doing. She share stories of her time at sea and describes what it's like sailing these special ships.

Mary SwiftSwan is the founder of Afterguard Sailing in Oakland. Afterguard is only one of the three sailing schools she's founded. She began teaching sailing in 1984, became the very first woman ASA instructor/evaluator, and has literally written the book on ASA instruction - helping write the ASA curriculum for the 101 and 103 courses.

Ryan May run's his charter business, May on the Bay, out of Sausalito aboard his Catalina 34. A U.S. Coast Guard Captain, Ryan has logged over 25,000 offshore nautical miles since learning to sail as a kid in Toronto - visiting nearly 40 countries by sail. Ryan and I met because our kids went to the same school in San Francisco and quickly bonded over our similar sailing experience. Book a sail with Ryan at www.MayOnTheBay.com.

Leigh Hunt is President and CEO of Modern Sailing school and club. Modern has been introducing people to sailing on SF Bay since 1983. In 2014, Leigh, decided to make his passion for sailing into a business - leaving a career in product management to purchase Modern from the previous owner. Recently Modern has expanded their operations, taking over the space in the Berkeley Marine Center that used to be OCSC.

Hank George, of Blue Heron Battery, is an engineer who has a background working in the nuclear industry. Designing his own components, he was cruising with lithium power over a decade ago, years before most people. And he's helped many other boaters do the same. In addition to his expertise, what has impressed me with Hank as I've gotten to know him over the past months is the clear way he's able to explain complex topics with generosity and patience.

Years ago, Jim Hancock conceived of a hands-on, interactive learning center that would inspire a passion for sailing and science by delighting people through play and discovery. Jim and I talked about the Sailing Science Center four years ago when he was on the podcast. Since then the center has come a long way. They're up and running with regular programing and an army of volunteers. In fact, this coming weekend on June 24, you can catch up with Jim and see and play with Sailing Science Center exhibits at the Oakland Yacht Club's Summer Solstice event.

The Race to Alaska is a wonderful race in which boats of all shapes and sizes head north from Port Townsend, Washington and end up in Ketchikan Alaska, 750 miles away. The only rules are no engines and no outside support. Satchel Douglas has done the race twice before - and joined me on Episode 9 of the show to talk about his effort as part of Team Shut Up and Drive. This time he joins me to talk about his latest attempt at the race aboard a wing foil! His story of how he qualified for the first leg of the race across the straits of Juan de Fuca is an adventure in itself. The first leg just started on Monday June 5.

When Jason Brown started asking around about the possibility of freediving in San Francisco Bay people told him it was impossible. But my friend Jason has never been one to let impossible stand in his way. Together with his buddy John Prins he's pioneered freediving just inside the Golden Gate in water that's cold, dark, and frequented by massively strong currents. Not only has he attracted the attention of the press - with a recent front page article in the San Francisco Chronicle - but he's attracted the attention of the world's preeminent free diver - Alexey Molchanov who recently joined Jason here in the Bay.

At 10-years-old, Malcolm Morgan fell into boat maintenance when his family bought at Hobie Cat dealership after having sailed exactly once. He quickly took to doing electrical work and over the past 50 years has built up an expertise that is nearly unparalleled. Malcom works as a yacht broker for Oceanic Yachts and runs a marine electrical business, Malcolm Morgan Marine In our conversation, he shares his thoughts on proper grounding, lightning protection, lithium batteries and more. 

This week on OTG I discuss the U.S. Sailing Safety at Sea Seminar Lauren and I just took as well as the lithium battery conversion I am in the process of completing.

Heinz Baumann learned to sail on lakes in Europe, but was introduced to a whole new world of sailing and racing when he moved to the Bay Area. He's sailed his boat Rageboge, a 38-foot Hallberg Rassy, down to Mexico with his family and across the Pacific in the 2022 Pac Cup. More recently, he's started a charter business called Swiss Adventures and he takes paying crew sailing in Alaska, all the way from Seward out to. Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands.

Markus Pukonen has been traveling the world for 7-and-a-half years. He's sailed, he's biked, he's canoed, he's kayaked, he's stand-up paddlebarded and he's pogo sticked his was around the globe. What he hasn't done is traveled anywhere by motorized vehicle. I was introduced to Markus by a mutual sailing friend and I was excited to catch up with him just after his return to North America to hear about his amazing adventures and what inspired him to take this epic journey. You can learn more about Markus and follow his travels at RoutesOfChange.org

Last time Ronnie Simpson was on the show, in 2020, we talked about being wounded by an RPG in Iraq and how sailing saved his life. This time, Ronnie and I talk about his preparation for the upcoming Global Solo Challenge, a new round-the-world sailing race. He's currently in North Carolina preparing his boat Sparrow, an Open 50, for the race. You can follow his effort at www.RonnieSimpsonRacing.com

Bernard Dunayevich owned one of the first windsurfers in Argentina and taught himself how to rig and sail it in piranha infested waters. But he says the main disincentive from falling in was the cold water and lack of a wetsuit. He's come a long way from that first heavy board, having raced all over the world and even making a bid for the Olympic Games. Today he sails regularly out of Berkeley.

Sally and Simon Currin met while planning an expedition to Mount Everest. Since then, they've traded in high altitude climbing for high latitude sailing, and in the process won awards from the Cruising Club of America and the Ocean Cruising Club for their navigation and exploration of Greenland's Scoresby Sound - the largest fjord system in the world. Simon is also the current Commodore of the Ocean Cruising Club.

In the 90's, Susan Cole, her husband John, her 7-year-old daughter Kate, and their dog Elmo all boarded their Mason 43 for a three-year adventure though the Caribbean with ups, downs, hurricanes, and more. I talk with Susan about her recently published memoir titled Holding Fast, that chronicles her family's cruising trip but is really a love story. From falling in love, to setting sail together, to battling the cancer that eventually took John's life, Susan shares in vivid detail moving and meaningful moment from her life together with John.

Ryan Ellison, who's American, and Sophie Darsey, who's French, met in Sweden. Together they learned to sail then purchased a 2007 Beneteau Oceanis 40 and set off sailing together in what they expected would be a one-year trip. Five years later they're still cruising, having sailed from the North Sea to France, then Spain, then the Mediterranean, and then across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and up to the Chesapeake Bay. I talk with Ryan about his life-changing encounter with a goose, his traumatic single-handed transatlantic trip, training a new fuzzy, four-legged crew member, and what more than five years living and sailing aboard with his partner has taught him about life and relationships. You can learn more about Ryan and Sophie and watch their excellently produced videos at RyanandSophie.com.

I catch up with Chris and Marissa Neely aboard their Choy Lee 41 Avocet. After years of living aboard and working on their boat in Ventura, CA, they've thrown off the dock lines and are going cruising. Their first stop? San Francisco Bay. Chris grew up sailing on the Bay and they are excited to be back in home waters. You can follow Chris and Marissa on their trip through their popular and beautifully produced videos at Sailing Avocet.

Federico Guerrero grew up 4 blocks from the beach in Argentina. Laura Smith Grew up next to me, in Falls Church Virginia. The two of them fell in love with sailing independently and then met at sea aboard a ship - and soon after nurtured a plan to build their own boat and sail it to Antarctica. Today they run a charter business called Quixote Expeditions out of Ushuaia, Argentina - regularly taking guests on expeditions to Antarctica aboard one of the two vessels in their fleet. I talk to them about running the business, sailing at the bottom of the world, and how they connected with yet another childhood friend of mine to start taking photography trips in conjunction with Visionary Wild.

Andy Cross grew up daysailing and cruising with his family in Michigan. He made his first offshore passage at 19 and he's been working in the sailing industry pretty much ever since. In 2012, Andy and his wife Jill bough a Grand Soleil 39, named her Yahtzee, and threw off the lines to live aboard full time - raising two boys aboard the boat. They've sailed the Salish Sea, the Inside Passage, Alaska, San Francisco, Mexico, through the Panama Canal, Down to Columbia and beyond. Read Andy's blog at sailingyahtzee.com

Cal Currier had never been ocean sailing, but at sixteen-years-old the Palo Alto high school student set himself a goal to sail solo across the Atlantic Ocean. A few short months later, with support from his father and New England sailmaker Sandy Van Zandt, he had learned to sail, found the right boat, and set off on his crossing. His 28 day 3,400 nautical miles trip from Massachusetts to Portugal may qualify him as the youngest to ever make the west-to-east passage. We talk about his preparation for the trip as well as the highs and lows of the crossing itself.

He made it! Cyril Derreumaux recently became the second person in the world to kayak from California to Hawaii. We spoke before he left (episode 73) and now 91 days and 2,400 miles later we discuss the trials and triumphs of his successful solo crossing. It was not his first attempt, but he took what he learned from the aborted trip a year previously to make sure he was prepared physically and mentally for the adventure. 

Justin Jenkins is a sailor, musician, and carpenter who has sailed all over the pacific. He and I have been corresponding about sailing for a few years and I recently met up with him at the KKMI where he works and lives aboard his Luders 36. We had a good conversation about the ups and down, the stress and anxiety of preparing for an ocean voyage.

Ryann Finn departed New York in January of 2022. Just over three months later he arrived here in San Francisco, having sailed his 36-foot proa sailboat 14,000 nautical miles - down the Atlantic, around Cape Horn, and back up the Pacific to San Francisco. He faced multiple challenges, including broken gear that required stops in Brazil and Patagonia, plenty of storms, and frustrating calms in the Pacific as he neared his destination. He talks about his adventurous passage and adjusting to life back on land. You can follow Ryan on Facebook at 2Oceans1Rock.

James Frederick was recently awarded the 2021 Qualifiers Mug from the Ocean Cruising Club for sailing 2,300 miles across the Pacific Ocean, 1,000 of those without a rudder. We met up in Annapolis the night before he received his award to talk about his rudder failure, steering by drogue, and how he went from being an artist, and taxi driver to an ocean cruiser aboard his 1965 Alberg 30 Triteia. He's currently cruising in French Polynesia and you can follow his adventure at www.svtriteia.com.

Captain Heather Richard, a good friend of mine, was one of the key inspirations for this podcast. She was my very first guest and I'm thrilled to have her back on the program for episode 101. She lives and runs a charter business in Sausalito called Fine Day for Sailing aboard her 43-foot sailboat Carodon. A U.S. Coastguard licensed captain, Heather's been sailing since the age of 4 and more recently she's picked up wing foiling. We talk about winging, her recent sailing trips down to Baja, homeschooling three kids along the way, and her sailing plans for the future.

The Rosie G is an innovative, new, scow bowed, junk rigged, boat that came from the mind of Barry and Samatha Spanier. She was designed by Jim Antrim and built by Cree Partridge and his yard at the Berkeley Marine Center. All of these folks are friends of the show, which is why it was such a treat to sit in the dog house on Rosie G in the Emeryville Marina and talk with Barry and Samatha about the boat's conception, construction, and coming sea trials. 

McKala Bower is a trans woman who only started sailing a short while ago, but she's got big ambitions to be the first trans and first openly gay person to circumnavigate solo. She's always loved adventure and the outdoors and we talk about how at 25, a near-death experience in the mountains actually led her to coming out as trans. Now she's tackling an adventure on the sea aboard her sailboat S/V Swirl, a San Juan 30, built in 1977. Learn more about McKayla at whoismckaylabower.com

In this second interview with Brady Trautman and Alex Blue of S/V Delos fame, we talk about their new Passport 42, Lintika - the largest boat in their Cruisers Academy fleet. The sail training school they're running in Tahoe and Sausalito is going strong and we had a great time talking about their plans for Lintika, surviving a tsunami warning in San Francisco, and nearly striking it rich on whale poop. 

Mark Hensley, knows sailing - he's sailed his entire life. But he's spent most of his time on the water at sea as captain of an oil tanker during a 20-year career with Arco Marine. He's got plenty of stories from his time on the water and subsequent years teaching at the Maritime Academy in Vallejo, CA.

Jim Antrim, often called the Wizard of El Sobrante, is a naval architect who apprenticed under Dick Carter, Britton Chance and Gary Mull. He's designed record breaking multihull and monohull sailboats as well as popular production boats. He's an expert in composite material engineering and has developed several computer programs used in performance analysis and prediction. I met him in his office to talk about many of his designs and how he got into naval architecture in the first place. 

Matt Rutherford made a name for himself when he completed a solo, 309-day, non-stop, record-breaking trip around the Americas in a 27-foot Albin Vega. Today he's focused on putting the finishing touches on a 72-foot, Brucer Roberts designed steel schooner that will be the flagship of his non-profit: Ocean Research Project. Matt and I talked about the 60-day research expedition he and Nikki Trenholm undertook from San Francisco to Japan in a 30-foot daysailer they built in about a month.

Cameron Albin is a marine and an Iraq war veteran who suffered a traumatic brain injury while on deployment. After being discharged from the military he found himself struggling, until he rediscovered sailing. Now, he's started American Odysseus Sailing Foundation to help other veterans and first responders living with PTSD by taking them to sea. The organization is organizing an entry into the 2023 Ocean Globe Race with an all-veteran crew aboard a Swan 59.

Billy and Sierra Swezey are better known to their online fans as the couple behind Tula's Endless Summer. The two met at a surf shop in Florida when Billy sailed in on his small boat. Not too long afterwards both of them were living on the boat, with their dog Jetty, cruising the waters of Florida and beyond. Since then they've had a series of fixer up boats - and a camper - that they've gotten on the cheap and turned into seaworthy homes allowing them to explore further and further. Currently they're fixing up a DeFever motor yacht in Napa while waiting for their new Seawind catamaran to be constructed and delivered. They film their boat work and travels, sharing it on YouTube with over 150,000 subscribers. Their able to support themselves and their travel with the revenue that creates.

Tyler Walkey and Julie Sinusia fell in love with a ketch rigged Ingrid 38 in Monterey. Trouble was they needed to get it down to Los Angles within days of purchasing her because they had flights home to Japan they had to make. That's where I came in. They posted online looking for experienced crew and I happened to have the time to join them for the few days it would take to sail down the coast. I recorded this interview with Tyler and Julia while we were at sea, underway between Monterey and LA. 

When Lauren Sloss met Alex Kleeman in San Francisco, she was planning on moving to New York to study journalism. He was planning on sailing the world. They managed to do both of those things and stay together as a couple - eventually getting married and sailing far and wide together. As well as being a sailor, Lauren is a Journalist who recently wrote a wonderful article in the New York Times about a trip up to the Delta in which she explored the history and geography of the land and water.