Out The Gate Sailing

Amanda Swan Neal // Racing aboard Maiden - Ep.14

Amanda Swan Neal was the rigger aboard Maiden, the first ever yacht sailed by an all-female crew in the round-the-world Whitbread race in 1989. I talk with Amanda about the new documentary, by director Alex Holmes, called Maiden, which tells the story of skipper Tracy Edwards and the race. We also talk about sailing from NZ to SF in the 1980s and the offshore sail-training expeditions that Amanda and her husband John Neal offer aboard their Hallberg-Rassy 46, Mahina Tiare III.

Q+M Travels // From Panama to San Francisco - Ep.13

Quincey & Mitchell are a young, inspiring couple who are working to get a charter business, Q+M Travels, up and running. They have a great boat for it, a Kelly Peterson 46, that they found in Panama and sailed back to the Bay just about a year ago. Mitchell has been teaching sailing on all kinds of boats for years. Quincey is a professional nutritionist. Together they love hosting people aboard their boat both for weekends and longer adventures.

Randall Reeves // Landfall in Halifax - Ep.12

In September of 2018, Randall Reeves set out from San Francisco on the Figure 8 Voyage 2.0. Since then he has spent 227 days at sea alone, rounding Cape Horn twice, in an attempt to circumnavigate both Antarctica and the Americas in one season. He recently made landfall in Halifax, Nova Scotia after a N. Atlantic storm damaged his Monitor wind vane and ripped his sail. I caught up with Randall in person at the Armdale Yacht Club.

Sid Shaw // First Ever Solar Panel on a Cruising Boat - Ep.11

In 1965, my dad sailed across the Pacific Ocean on a 35-ft Piver designed trimaran. Onboard was the very first solar panel ever on a cruising boat. The boat's owner, Venkataraman Radhakrishnan, had friends at Bell Labs who were building the first communication satellites (Telstar I and Telstar II) and had access to the reject cells. There wasn't much on the bare-bones boat to power, but the panel put out enough juice to run the 3-inch, Phillips reel-to-reel tape player on board.

Katie Burgess // Sun Powered Yachts - Ep.10

Katie and Lyall Burgess met while sailing in the Caribbean. After purchasing their own yacht, they realized there was little info available to help boat owners go solar. This prompted them to found Sun Powered Yachts in 2018. Katie and Lyall live off the grid on the Big Island of Hawaii with their two girls. They have been spending more time at sea, preparing to spend a full year aboard with the girls in 2022.

Team Shut Up And Drive // R2AK: 750-miles from WA to AK - Ep.09

The Race to Alaska runs 750-miles, from Port Townsend, Washington to Ketchikan, AK and has only two rules: 1) No Engine 2) No Support Crew. The eight members of Team Shut Up And Drive will spend a week together on a sparse, 33-foot racing boat with a bucket for a toilet. I talk with Nathalie Criou and Satchel Douglas two members of the team.

Small Wonder // Cruising SF Bay in a 10-ft Dinghy - Ep.08

In September of 2017, I spent a week living and cruising San Francisco Bay aboard a 10-foot, mahogany sailing dinghy. I learned a lot about local waters and met some interesting sailors along the way. An article about the adventure was published in the May, 2019 issue of Cruising World Magazine. In this episode, I share an annotated version of the article.

Luc Maheu // Traditions, Tattoos & Tiger - Ep.07

For Luc Maheu, working on the water is all about heritage. Sailing is in his blood and he's keeping the tradition alive in style. He's a master mariner, a merchant marine, a charter captain and in his spare time runs a business building traditional rigging tools. We chatted aboard his 60-foot schooner, docked at the Pt. San Pablo Yacht Club in Richmond, CA. 

Travis Lund // Treasure Island Sailing Center - Ep.06

Many Bay Area kids and adults have learned to sail on Clipper Cove, the largest, most well-protected cove on the San Francisco city shoreline. Travis Lund is the Executive Director of the Treasure Island Sailing Center, a sailing school on the cove.

Pete Lyons // Land Sailing at 65 MPH - Ep.05

Pete Lyons likes sailing at highway speeds. Land sailing that is. Pete was driving along a lakebed when he saw sails in the distance. He went to investigate and discovered the boats were on wheels. He fell in love with the sport and has been running his own land sailing business for over 20 years now.