The Sailing Anarchy Podcast

Few stories in sailing have caught the public's attention like the rescue of these two Hawaiian sailors.  At first a feel good story for the US Navy, Jen Appel's inexperience and exaggeration turned the whole thing into a cautionary tale for people who might not have their story straight.  Phantom F11 storms, Giant marauding ‘pods' of Tiger Sharks, the Dragon's Triangle - none of it made sense, and Sailing Anarchy's Mr. Clean caught up them to try to figure out what really happened out there.  From a New York mobile podcast, where the sailors were out of money and stuck in a place they would never want to be. 

The 7 times Volvo Ocean Race competitor and first time America's Cup winner talks about the obstacles faced by Emirates Team New Zealand on the road to Bermuda, and spends more than an hour with host Alan Block going over the plans for the next America's Cup in Auckland, NZ. They talk boat choice, venue choice, and much, much more in this long-overdue chat between to bald guys with gravelly voices. Show Notes: 00:00-10:27 Intro 11:27 Who wrote the protocol and explanation of its genesis 13:17 Off-water battles in the Bermuda Cup buildup, and obstacles thrown up by Coutts & friends 14:47 Why should challengers trust you to be more fair as organizer than the America's Cup Event Authority were to ETNZ? 15:34 “The most ridiculous stacking of the deck in modern times came from Alinghi" 15:57 How much has Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron been involved in the protocol process? 16:57 About the Cup's national NZ road show coming up 18:07 Why is it OK to take the Cup to a boat show but not a car show? 18:57 How the RNZYS will help lessen the load for Dalton and the TNZ staff. 20:57 What information did you base your decision to go to a monohull? What's the real motivation? 25:57 The density of breeze in Auckland and the frailty of the Cup cats. Dalts: "16 knots here would pull an AC50 to pieces" 26:41 On NZ's huge tech advantage in Bermuda. “For the life of me I can't figure out how all the other teams were so far behind us" 26:57 How keeping the AC50 would almost definitely guarantee another TNZ win 28:07 How many concepts are being considered for the actual boat? Are ETNZ consulting with other potential challengers besides Luna Rossa? 30:03 Does the design rule schedule mean TNZ and Luna Rossa get an unreasonable head start over other challengers? 30:57 Why can't you say whether or not the boat will lift out of the water? 31:57 Would you lose Glenn and Burling and the other speed junkie tech heads if you go to a heavier, more conventional type of boat? 32:47 Ashby's huge beard and his two months on walkabout 34:07 Dalts' motorcycle crash in the Isle of Man TT 36:02 Bicycle grinders and the openness of the AC36 design rule. "We have no intention of banning bicycles" 38:52 Box rules vs open Rules, and the element in the next AC of "one-design supplied parts”. Don't want to stop innovation in areas that can help the average yacht racer, eventually. 41:30 Clean's disappointment with the residency requirement, and Dalts explanation of what he thinks people are misunderstanding about the new nationality/residency rule. 43:24 Finding the balance between a rule that would exclude many countries and one that will help reduce the mercenary culture in the sport, and how to get teams to look to their own countrymen first for crew. 48:07 Dalts: "They commit to a team and a country rather than a worldwide circus where they're guns for hire to an owner who doesn't realize he's getting ripped off" 48:57 Surrogate boats, regatta schedules, and high entry fees for the pre-regattas. "This will allow us to create a financial pool so we don't have to be beholden to a city for funds.” Dalton says ACWS events were driven by venue fees in bad places or at bad times for sailing. “Make it great for the yachties, and the rest is easy." 52:27 With the residency requirements and lack of venue certainty right now, how does ETNZ ensure teams spend enough time in Auckland to justify the money the venue will have to spend to prepare for the Cup? 53:42 Dalts' sample schedule for Challengers. 57:12 Is the Italian Option really just Dalts holding Auckland's feet to the fire? What's with the natural disaster thing? 59:05 Two boat testing for ETNZ and no one else? How about a defender challenge? 60:58 There are ways around two-boat bans, but it might not help anyone. Dalts: "SoftBank was Oracles B boat, but they couldn't get it up to speed fast enough" 61:42 Fan questions begin: Soft sails or hard sails? Hybrids? 62:51 Limiting electronics? More PlayStation type controls? Dalts analogy for ac35: "Oracle were still a mobile phone and we were a supercomputer" 64:27 Sailhandling, stored power and the team's philosophical problem with combustion engines on AC boats. 65:37 What happened with the AC34 and 35 Facebook pages and videos? Were they stolen? 67:06 IF you can get the media back, will you publish all the video from those Cups for free to the world? 67:57 who owns the Liveline graphics system and do you intend to have them back in the mix for the worldwide audience? 69:02 Free to air distribution for AC36! 74:37 Omega time, Swiss Timing, and how am entirely new graphics system might be going into the AC46 broadcast 76:27 Entry period closes before venue announced. How is that ok? (Answer, it might not be). 77:57 What are you looking to get from Auckland and the NZ government to make the event possible? 80:01 How much will a basic, unembarassing campaign cost? "People will still spend 160 million" to try to win 81:38 Biggest sponsorship mistake made by most campaigns 82:57 Happy to see Louis Vuitton go, or will you miss them? 84:07 Burlington vs Tuke, Mark Turner's shock departure from the Volvo Ocean Race, and Dalts' picks for the 2017 VOR 86:42 Uniting the major races, World Sailing, and where the sport is headed at the pinnacle. 87:42 Exactly what they're releasing in November and how Dalts will judge whether it was the kind of technological success he hopes for. 88:47 What's by far the most read site in New Zealand (guess?), AC Anarchist Stingray gets a shoutout, and out.

The talented pro rider and founder and president of the International Federation of Kitesports Organizations talks to Alan Block about the years long struggle between his organization and a group of companies, people, and organizations - including World Sailing - for the governance, ownership, and future of kiteboarding at all levels. Learn more at www.ifkitesports.org. 07:54 Why Spanish people can't understand Portuguese but Portuguese can understand Spanish 09:34 How Diego began his kiteboarding career, what he's done 12:29 How to raise a kiting rock star - or at least a kid who loves what you do 15:04 Is the current state of kiting - tech and the sport's maturity - a good time for a young rider to get into the sport? 16:29 Has the more modern gear and design made kiting safer? How did you deal with your kid's safety when learning? 19:29 What was it like in the early days of pro riding? What was competitive kiting like before the IKA was born? When was it born? 22:38 How did IKA convince kite organizations to join them and World Sailing? 23:42 Was it improper for IKA to declare itself the governing body of kiting? Why? 24:04 Who is the mystery character that has been pushing kite boarding towards sailing and the olympics? 25:06 What is an International Federation anyway? How does it validly and responsibly represent its sport? 27:39 Is kiteboarding sailing? What do riders think? 29:04 What happened to windsurfing under ISAF/World Sailing stewardship? 30:44 Is World Sailing somehow sabotaging windsurfing to get kites in the Olympics? 31:44 Why doesn't Diogo and IFKO work within World Sailing to accomplish the goals of the riding community? 33:24 Who are all the organizations now claiming to control kiting and how have they gone about pursuing those claims? 37:09 Who has jurisdiction over the IOC and its affiliated organizations? 38:39 Would kiting be better off under the IFKO or World Sailing? Why? 42:24 False documents, national sports ministers, and accreditation. How does it work (or not work)? 43:44 What laws does Diogo think have been broken in this case? 46:24 Why does sailing wants kiting in the Olympics so badly? 49:54 Why does Olympic sailing have such poor fan base 54:24 Speed skating, the EU commission for sport, and monopolies. What's up? 55:09 How does Diogo intend to move forward to regain control of kiting? 57:59 What is the Global Kitesports Association, and what do they do? 62:61 what are IKA/GKA doing to advance kiteboarding interests? 68:44 Are there any official inquiries into the whole IKA vs. IFKO saga or anyone officially questioning IKA's right to ‘exclusively govern' kiteboarding? 70:54 What organizations does the IFKO represent? 75:44 How did the IKA move into and gather the support of the national kiting bodies? 81:04 Javier Perez Dolset, Spanish jails, and the ownership of kiteboarding. 87:04 Virgin Kite World Tour and Sir Richard Branson's love affair with kiting. What kind of money is in kiting competitions? 88:34 Has Diogo or the IFKO reached out to Richard Branson? 89:54 Does Diogo (or Clean) really believe World Sailing is corrupt? 90:54 If Diogo could set the sport up in his own dream scenario, what would it look like in ten years? 96:09 How can riders or others support what you're trying to achieve for kiteboarding?

Mr. Clean hits a slew of wide-ranging subjects raised by the 2017 America's Cup competition with some of the leaders in the sport of sailing. INTRO SHOW NOTES: 00:00:19 Sailing Anarchy current podcast numbers – 200K downloads - thank you listeners! 00:01:04 Reach out on itunes, stitcher, if you have any show ideas. 00:05:55 The Ellison Era – the good, the bad, the ugly. 00:16:30 Cup media program, media coverage. 00:18:50 The in-person experience at AC Bermuda, 00:19:33 Broadcast/production problems with analysis. 00:26:222 Clean goes to Nacra 17/49erFX/49er European Championships – what to expect. First, a discussion of the event itself with two writers with 6 decades of AC coverage between them; Associated Press sailing correspondent Bernie Wilson and longtime Aussie scribe Rob Mundle. Show notes: 00:28:55 Intro to Bernie Wilson and Rob Mundle, plug for Mundle's soon-to-publish Spithill biography. 00:30:57 legendary parties and the Society of International Nautical Scribes (SINS). 00:34:00 Does the Associated Press see sailing as a major sport? How do they cover it and why? Who is following the SA in mainstream media? 00:46:22 ACEA/Coutts/Bermuda administration; did Russell take his eye off the prize? “If they want to be mainstream, they have to act like a mainstream   sport.” 00:54:22 “Good riddance to Larry Ellison and the Cup. The Louis Viutton effect vs. the Red Bull effect. 00:58:00 will the US get behind an American challenger? 1:01:08 The Cup as a hooker and Coutts as the pimp. Next, a tech talk with the man behind the on-screen broadcast graphics known as Liveline, multiple world-record-holding navigator Stan Honey.   Show notes: 01:03:07 Stan's interesting month in Bermuda, his role in the 2017 AC. 01:06:42 Stan's/Liveline's role in AC35, differences between SF and BDA systems. 01:08:52 Factchecking Spithill's claims that the software caused his multiple OCS. 01:11:20 On screen graphics/green screen/Hockey Puck swoosh from 1993/geeky broadcast stuff. 01:15:19 Bringing Liveline to lower budget classes/events. 01:18:18 Too much information for sailors? 01:21:08 Tech's ability to make the sport less intimidating for both fans and competitors. 01:22:55 Storytelling, digital streaming, customizable interactive viewing, the PGA tour, professional directing. “The key to everything is the story.” 01:27:43 Stans's experience at the AC, overall highlights. 01:28:45 Stan's Transpac record, what's next. 01:29:35 That's a wrap – custom feed and the importance of the storytelling team.The Interview Wrap-Up: The Custom Feed & the Right Storytellers 01:29:35 Finally, a chat with America's fastest foiler, double Moth world champion Bora Gulari, about the recent Mackinac Race, his picks for the Moth Worlds, and some foil design thoughts about the AC50, as well as a discussion on what Bora would like to see in the next America's Cup (hint, it ain't a multihull!).   Show Notes: 01:35:27 Mackinac carnage – what happened to Natalie J? 01:38:38 the MOD aboard Meridian X, thoughts. 01:41:48 Safety conscious sailing – more sensible these days or more reckless? 01:43:19 Battle of the Lakes superboats, damage to Earth Voyager. 01:45:15 America's Cup impressions, good vs. bad matches, and the problems with the grinding. “It just doesn't feel right to me.” 01:47:46 Foil shapes and changeable surfaces, new Gitana, flaps. 01:50:07 Wing trimming vs. sail trimming. 01:51:25 automatic foiling, the Holy Grail of perfectly stable/low drag foiling. 01:53:07 The rise of Burling – luck vs. skill vs. maturity. 01:54:05 Foil shape analysis of AC. “Aspect ratio is king”, daggerboard shredding. 01:59:19 Getting personal/emotions at missing the Cup after being part of Luna Rossa team. “They definitely got the short end of the stick.” 02:01:53 Underdogs and outsiders. 02:03:15 If Bora picked his perfect boat for the next AC, what would it be? Why don't we have widespread automated electronic foil control now? Other formats, “I think the Superfoiler has a lot of potential.” 02:10:30 Bora pulls out of Moth Worlds. 02:13:27 Moth Worlds form guide. 02:19:30 Outro/What's next for the Sailing Anarchy Podcast/Wishlist for future talks

Alan Block sits down in Bermuda with the legendary Aussie catamaran sailor for a half hour of fascinating subjects the day after his Kiwi team closed the Larry Ellison chapter of the America's Cup. Subjects:  How his time as a kid, watching the C-Class cats on the beach near Melbourne, led to his current job.  Wing development boss Steve Collie's work and their different design philosophy for wing handling.  “You can't fly a plane with a piece of rope”.  Why no one else copied their wing system, and how many secrets are they still guarding?   How their wing trim and foil loading gave them stability without penalty, and enabled their slick maneuvers. Once and for all, were they sandbagging in the earlier rounds?  “We kept our good fruit for the end” How did they balance the need to push and develop the boat with the fact that any breakage in Auckland might mean an end to their campaign? “27 hours before the first race of the America's cup was the first time we had all of our good componentry on the boat”. What was the actual speed difference between oracle and ETNZ?  To what does Glenn attribute Pete's 7-1 advantage over Jimmy in the starting box?  What maneuvers could they do that no one else could? In what conditions does the jib hurt boat speed, and why didn't they go bareheaded in their racing? Will wing sailed boats in the future need jibs? Why did Glenn and so many sailors take less money than other offers in order to stay on ETNZ? Just how close did ETNZ come to shutting their doors and walking away from competition? Will Glenn return with ETNZ for the next America's Cup? If Glenn was given a free hand to pick any boat for the next America's Cup, what would it look like? Did ACEA/Oracle's shenanigans provide additional motivation for ETNZ to fight their hearts out? Next for Lenny: Moths? A-Cat Worlds?  Vacation?

You've read or heard the rest of the world's thoughts on the subject, but now's the time for the best of them; It's the Sailing Anarchy Podcast 35th America's Cup Preview and Form Guide!  First, we get Clean's thoughts on the subjects, before he hooks up with former Luna Rossa helmsman, Olympic Nacra sailor, and double Moth World Champion Bora Gulari for his analysis and picks.  Who's quickest, who's sneakiest, whose foils look the best, and whether ETNZ needs to worry about being sunk by one of the ‘Framework Five.” Then we hook up with Match Race World Champ, US-One crew (WMRT, M32, GC32) and former BMW Oracle crew Hayden Goodrick for a more culture-based look at the teams; who is most likely to melt down, what are the unexpected obstacles they'll face, who has the best team culture for adapting and winning, and what secret weapons are we likely to see.   You only need one source to show the world you know everything about the 35th America's Cup: This podcast!

On the 21st episode of the Sailing Anarchy Podcast, we go straight to the source for an analysis of the new direction announced last week by the Volvo Ocean Race.  First, Clean updates us on the Podcast's status, tells us his story of hunting and killing a 300 pound alligator in Charleston, and gives us his view on the new Volvo plans.  Then VOR big boss Mark Turner explains the reasons for their decision to use foiling monohulls for the offshore legs and foiling multihulls for the inshore legs of the two or three races following the next one.  Listen for Turner's views on what other options they considered, what the new 60 footer will look like and how it is expected to perform, how the new lease model will effect the organization, and why teams have had such difficulty finding major sponsors.  The discussion moves to the timetable for full flying boats to take over the race and safety considerations between mono and multihulls, and finally what kind of events would make up the more permanent annual racing schedule for VOR teams. Next we spoke to Nick Bice, Director of Operations and founder of the Boatyard, about more technical matters: How, exactly, a new-rules VO60 can be converted to an IMOCA-legal Open 60, what kinds of differences does a Volvo require compared to a singlehanded boat, and a whole lot on foil control systems and logistics for a two-fleet race owned entirely by Volvo.  Clean and Bicey got deep into the subject of the continually shrinking crew component and the impact of this shrinking pool to ocean racing and the sport in general, and plenty more. Finally, we spoke to pro trimmer and former VO70 crew (ABN AMRO2, 2005) and medical officer George Peet on the anniversary of his crewmate Hans Horrovets' death about a race that remains very close to his heart.  GP and Clean got deeper into crewing issues with a general discussion of the state of professional offshore racing as well as the usual pull-no-punches analysis of the new classes with a guy who always tells the truth.  As a bonus, we got Bear - one of the nation's top Moth racers - to give us his America's Cup picks... Enjoy!

We speak to these three interesting cats about trends in ocean racing, the future of junior sailing, and what it takes to start something new in the yacht, foiler, and dinghy racing.

After his epic Vendée Globe finish under jury rig and a decade of some of the nastiest racing trips around the world, Conrad “The Krazy Kiwi” Colman may just be the toughest sailor in the world.   The first New Zealander to ever finish this toughest of all races spent an hour with Sailing Anarchy's Alan Block to get deep into his trials and tribulations on the open 60 Foresight Natural Energy. Show Notes: (1:30) How his obstacles allowed him to show just how hard the race is to his fans.  (2::15) How the poor coverage of the 2012 battle for the lead inspired him to do better in this race. (5:00) Conrad's maritime heroes (6:15) why does he always end up in the crazy stories? (11:00) “Joining the Club” off Vendée skippers who've finished under jury rig. (12:45) finding the intensely enjoyable moments in a tough race. (14:05) how to deal with an inbuilt hydraulic ram endcap unscrewing itself. (17:00) losing his entire ass as he lost 24 pounds, and the most effective diet in the world. (17:50) gory details of the dismasting and jury rig. (24:00) advice to young sailors about their future (29:00) Seeing the jury rig in daytime for the first time and sailmaking with scraps of mainsail. (32:05) that time Conrad t-boned a cargo ship.  (34:05) Highest speed under jury rig, best average. (35:30) risk taking, his dad's death falling from a rig. (37:00) guardian angels and a life touched by premature death. (38:30) how he gets through dark places in life. (40:05) falling off the boat and nearly dying…again. (45:00) that time Sam Goodchild fell off the boat and what Conrad learned from the rescue. (48:00) will he do the race again?  Financial situation, sponsorship possibilities. (50:00) media value and what Conrad's real competitive advantage lies (55:15) - why was Conrad the only one flying a drone? (56:00) the toughest sailor in the world (57:30) Why is the Vendée so hard?  What percentage tougher is it that the Barcelona? (1:01)Ted Talk?  Motivational speaking?  Your company needs Conrad. 

Sailing anarchy talks with foiling Americas cup winner Shannon Falcone about his adventurous few months with the sexy F4 one design racing foiler and shares his picks for the 2017 Americas Cup, and then we have an hour of wizardry from the king of Iceboat racing on racing in Siberia, raising kids on the ice, and more about the fastest sailing in the world.

A lifelong media professional spanning stints with ABC News, VH1, Mad Money Cramer, and countless more, Jonathan Blum a/k/a "The Digital Skeptic” talks to Mr. Clean about his upcoming book, how he got into writing newsletters for a yacht designer. the changing face of media, how it fits into the sailing industry, and plenty more in this much less sailing specific talk on location in Westchester, NY.  For more about Jonathan, check out www.thedigitalskeptic.com and see his work at www.stephenswaring.com

In this double header, SA Podcast host Alan “Mr. Clean” Block first talks to freshly minted Director of the US Olympic Sailing Team Malcolm Page.  The Australian double gold medalist and multiple world champion answers questions from Clean and the Anarchists, including a frank assessment of where the US team is, why he took the job, why the US team became also-rans for the past three cycles, and the route (and how long it'll take) to rekindling America's prowess in olympic sailing, as well as loads more questions.  More than an hour from Malcolm with thanks to Will Ricketson and Josh Adams for their help with this podcast, learn more about him at www.ussailing.org The second part of our podcast has quite a bit more laughs when we are rejoined by two repeat visitors, also both world champions.  Bora Gulari and Petey Crawford add their entertaining and knowledgeable voices to the SA Podcast, with the group discussing Bora's new job helmsman of the Quantum Racing TP52 and his testing of both the new UFO Foiler in Newport and the new Nacra 17 Foiler in Holland. As a past Melges 32 world champ, petey gets into  the new Melges 40 as the chat moves to the balkanization of big boat one-design classes.  As the drinks kept flowing, they turned to the world's biggest problems: Foil kiting and the Olympics, the future of live sailing on the web, how to fly commercial using fake ID, and finally some ribbing on Mr. Clean's performance at the summer's Sunfish Masters Nationals.  Bring your popcorn for this one. Our final November episode (sort of) comes to you courtesy of Musto performance sailing gear (www.musto.com ), Torqeedo electric motors (www.torqeedo.com ), Ocean Planet Energy Systems (www.bruceschwab.com ) , and Doyle Sails New Zealand (www.doylesails.co.nz ).

The President and Class Manager of the fastest and most exciting Olympic sailing classes - the Nacra 17 (now foiler) and the 49er and 49er FX - sit down with us to talk Olympics, the move to the foiler, and innovation in format and coverage of sailboat racing.  These guys have massive experience and a great track record, and if you are a dinghy sailor or have any interest in racing management or the future of racing of this kind, check it out.

In yachting, VPLP is synonymous with ‘ahead of their time'.  The French naval architecture's first-ever design was a foiling trimaran - and that was in the 1980s.  The world has finally caught up to VPLP, and that's why they've become the most dominant force in ultra-high performance monohull and multihull design, and we grabbed co-founder and principal Vincent Lauriot Prévost and NA Xavier Guilbaud for a chat on the edge of the Vendee Globe race village to learn more about what they do, their entries in the Vendee Globe, and the current state and future of racing and high-performance cruising yachts and multihulls. Subjects covered: GENERAL: Why the dominance lately?  Relationship with Verdier.  Division of labor cruising/racing/mono/multi.   VENDEE: Why did the IMOCA foilers break so spectacularly after launch/fault? Beyou's big gamble and old boat rules vs. new boat restictions.  What happens to old boats when they add foils?  IMOCA preformance vs. late 90s ORMA.  future dev: T-rudders, adjustable main foils.  Who's fastest of the new designs/Alex vs. other foilers?  Calculations on garbage-collecting ability of new foils vs. old daggers.  Alex vs. the world.  Confidentiality agreements and design restrictions and how they effect designs. How many former Hugo Boss boats are in this fleet? Why did SMA build foils but not use them? VOLVO:  What's the next VOR boat going to be?  What should it be?  Why won't a joint IMOCA/VOR class work?  What would the perfect VOR multihull look like? Is a VOR multi too dangerous? ULTIME: Macif/Banque Pop/IDEC/etc, VPLP rivalry with Verdier (Gitana), GUNBOAT: New vs. old, new owners' track record, design choices for GB68, race vs. cruise version FOILING CATS: 2WD vs 4WD (Flying Phantom/AC50 vs. Nacra 17/A-Cat), leeway talk.

Easily one of the most influential people in all of sailing over the past decade and a half, Mark Turner has done it all.  A naval officer turned Mini racer, Turner jumped into the management side of yacht racing with Ellen Macarthur, and he's never looked back.  The creator of modern "Stadium Sailing” and innovator of sailing events in dozens of countries, Mark moves into the top spot in the world's most widely followed ocean race at a tumultuous time, and he shared a full 1h40 with Mr. Clean at the Vendee Globe this past Friday. The boys got into some of the most important issues touching sailing, and Turner's characteristic bluntness is refreshing as hell.  Want to know the deadline for the decision on the next Volvo Ocean Race boat, and the possible boat choices? It's here.  Or maybe you're looking for info on the $1M refit of the existing VO65s or the new AIS rules and incentives to pull a flier?  Click “PLAY”. Want to know exactly what's wrong with ISAF and why Turner leaked an internal document a few weeks back?  Listen.  What about emerging nations, the loss of Abu Dhabi as a sponsor, and how the recent Omani and Chinese offshore tragedies have effected those new sailing countries?  Give us an hour and forty.  And like all conversations with Mark, if you want to understand more about the commercial end of event and sponsor management, this guy knows it ALL.  Enjoy.

Urged on by a desire to see the sport of sailing run in an honorable, transparent way, businessman Kim Andersen believes he and his slate of international VPs can help repair sailing's reputation after a damaging few years on the world stage.  Andersen is currently the chairman of the Olympic Equipment Committee at World Sailing, and he believes the biggest impact he can have on the organization is on the governance process itself. Get Kim's take on Olympic and Sailing World Cup controversies over the past few years and find out how he will ensure they don't happen again.  Find out how the Olympic equipment decisions get made and learn what's coming up in Tokyo 2020. To find out more about the election and how you can make your voice heard, head to http://www.sailing.org/meetings/generalassembly/election_of_officers.php

Spurred on by sailors around the world to help save sailing from itself, the former 10-year president of ISAF has thrown his hat back into the ring to become President of World Sailing during the November election in Barcelona.   Paul and Clean go deep; from Henderson's experience at the Munich Olympics to his quest to uncover what's really been going on at ISAF for the past few years, the man is a natural storyteller and he deftly makes his case for where sailing has gone wrong and where it needs to go for the future.   To find out more about the election and how you can make your voice heard, head to http://www.sailing.org/meetings/generalassembly/election_of_officers.php

The world's premier offshore race and the most spectated of all, The Volvo Ocean Race starts in just a year.  But already, the discussion is getting real about where the Volvo goes after the second edition with the Farr-designed Volvo One-Design 65.  We grabbed Mike Sanderson, winner of the 2005 VOR - the first edition with the then-terrifying VO70, and Nick Bice, the creator of the VOR Boatyard and the director of the VOR boats and maintenance program, to get their opinion on the state of the race and the options for the future.  And these characters don't disappoint - strong opinions and wacky ideas are here, as is good analysis of the situation. We also catch up with Mike and his now majority ownership and CEO position of Doyle New Zealand, hear about the record mini-maxi fleet in Sardinia, and hear his real opinion of North Sails.

Clean and Petey get deep into the United States Sailing Team's attempt to regain its former glory in Rio De Janeiro with the help of 8th place Nacra 17 skipper Bora Gulari.  Gulari just returned from Brazil, and we get into every aspect of the 5-ring circus.  The pollution and media storm, the Olympic village, and tons about the performance of the team and Bora and his crew.  Find out about his new Exocet Moth, foiling coming to the Olympics, and what other important titles he'll be gunning for, and where Bora and the boys think the US program is headed for Tokyo 2020.

 Mr. Clean takes on the Great Lakes in Episode 8!  First an hour with Bayview-Mackinac record-setting navigator Ron White from the ORMA 60 ARETE talks about their Mack races, their plans for the fastest boat in the lakes, the likelhood of an ORMA/MOD trimaran freshwater series next year, and whether we'll soon see fleets of day-racing cats battling for the overall honors in the Chi-Mac. After that we've got two hours of hilarity on the shores of Harbor Springs, MI with Melges 32 World Champion and longtime Anarchy videographer Petey Crawford and Detroit racer Blay Schoenherr on a multitude of subjects; Gary Jobson navigating a 12-metre mowing down boats (including Petey) at the NYYC Round the Island race and then denying responsibility, the suicide of the nastiest bar owner in any sailing venue anywhere, the olympics, race reports from both sides aboard a sled, and much, much more.

Mr. Clean gets into this innovative and interesting race through one of the world's most dramatic waterways!  Clean talking to himself, and then a great long chat with the snarky, anarchic race founder and director Jake Beattie, then with odds-on favorite Randy Miller from Mad Dog Racing, and finally with Ryan Breymaier from Tritium Racing.

Mr. Clean goes to New York to race aboard the Open 60 HUGO BOSS in the in-port race before the start of the NY to Vendee Race.  He used it as an opportunity to bring you up to date on the state of IMOCA racing and the future of the biggest single event in all of sailing: The Vendee Globe (which starts this fall in France).  Clean riffs and raffs between interesting interviews with young Morgan Watson from Canadian Ocean Racing, Team SMA Media guy (and former Vestas OBR) Brian Carlin, Skipper Enda O'Coineen of Team Ireland and Alex Mills, Commercial Director for the IMOCA Ocean Masters series.

Hakan Svensson and Sam Usher are two leading lights in the sport of sailing. Usher is the founder of Redhanded TV, a UK-based media production company that's been pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the sport of sail racing. Svensson is the owner of Aston Harald, the umbrella organization responsible for building and selling the M32 Catamaran and the owner of the World Match Racing Tour sailed in said multihull. We chatted for a couple hours one spring evening in a commentary container on the shores of Svena Mura Bay in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Nearly two decades ago, Minnesota-born videographer Petey Crawford went from Hollywood to the harbor, bringing his videography and editing experience and a life of sailmaking and racing to bear in his work as a media pro. Over the past decade and a half, Petey has paved the way for sailing's introduction to the modern media experience in virtually every class of ice, land, water, and flying boat. Whether producing, editing, commentating, shooting, starring, or just coming up with some of the crazy, hilarious, and often viral ideas that help form the modern narrative for yacht and dinghy racing, Petey is always on and his stories never end.

As Event Director of the largest sailing regatta in the Western Hemisphere, Charleston Race Week's Randy Draftz has become one of the 'go-to' people in sailing if you're looking for information on any aspect of running a sailboat event. Learn the crazy chain of events that led Randy to this current role, including the rise and fall of Sailnet (in the 90s, ancient history!), the pros and cons of yacht clubs, and loads of stories about the 'good ol' days' of yacht racing from this likeable and hardworking icon of modern race administration.

Known as one of the fastest helmsman of his generation, professional skipper, navigator, and all-around racer Bora Gulari bested some of the world's top America's Cup and Olympic talent to take his two World Championships in the innovated and prestigious International Moth dinghy class. He's been part of the Luna Rossa America's Cup team and has more silver than a werewolf hunter, and this summer he takes on his biggest challenge ever - Rio De Janeiro and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Just recently named as the US rep for the Nacra 17 Class, Bora was understandably a little timid, but we did the best we could to talk about the bleeding edge of high speed sailing and what he expects from Brazil.

New York Times Sailing Correspondent Chris Museler has spent his life on the water, and he taps into his passion for the sea and for sailing every day of his life. A champion match racer, college sailor, and now foiling mothie, Museler's articles in 'The Grey Lady", seen by millions around the world, do more to bridge the gap between the niche sport and the mainstream than almost anything else in the US sailing landscape. Chris and Clean talk about everything sailing: Current events (racing and tourism in Cuba, America's Cup craziness, moth and cat racing, the Vendee Globe); origin stories, mentoring the next generation of sailing, and much, much more.