Sailing Stories | Worth A Listen

The team at 59° North have nailed it with this podcast. (sure, it has rough edges).

Podcasts have become an awesome escape for so many people over the years and I have to admit, even though I work in technology, it took me a while to understand the medium. So after discovering the wildly popular podcast "Serial" done by the same NPR folks that do "This American Life" I decided to search for a quality podcast about sailing.

I was extremely pleased to come across the "On The Wind" podcast hosted by Andy Schell. I'm completely hooked on Andy's content but I will cover the "On The Wind" podcast in a different article.

But by listening to "On The Wind" I discovered their other project "Sailing Stories" podcast and it is a great listen.

My favorite season so far is Season Two "Jean-du-Sud & the Magick Byrd". It is the book by Yves Gélinas and read by the author. It is slightly reminiscent of Moitessier's The Long Way.

SEASON ONE

Season 1 is titled "Brave or Stupid" and it is the audio book of a popular Swedish book. As stated on the Sailing Stories Podcast page:

"Season one features the audio rendition of 'Brave or Stupid,' a story about Janne Larsson & Kalle Andersson, two unassuming Swedes, who on a handshake agreement over a bottle of wine, decided to sail around the world together. Nevermind that neither had ever set foot on a sailboat before..."

This story truly hit home for me because much like the two main characters and their bubbling start to sail around the world with little to no experience, I also feel a bit bumbling due to my inexperience juxtaposed with my lofty goals of voyaging to far flung places.

The story is a fantastic blend of explaining their journey of learning to sail, as well as the funny relationship between the two, and the endearing people they met. The narrator takes you along and you can feel every absurdity, as well as wonderment of their fantastic journey.

SEASON TWO Season two is one of my favorites. So much so that I named my recent first boat Magick Byrd from this audio book Jean-du-Sud & the Magick Byrd written an narrated by Yves Gelinas.

Yves Gelinas is the inventor of the Cape Horn Windvane and this story of about his solo, non-stop circumnavigation via the Great Capes via his boat Jean-du-Sud, an Alberg 30.

As written, it is reminiscent of Moitessier, but uniquely Yves as well. It is a spiritual journey for Yves, a challenge of his wills, and an awakening of the self. This is the heart of the story. Understanding the core of one's self via the journey of the sea. I yearn to follow the same path.

SEASON THREE

Season three is the telling of the adventure of the crew of 59-north and SV Below and their adventure to the High Arctic. It is told like a log of the journey and clearly details the thoughts and feelings of the crew during this adventure.

This trip was also documented in film by the crew of Delos. https://80northseries.com/ This is particularly well done as are most of the vidoes by the Delos crew when the team of Brady Trautman and his partner Alex Blue are part of the production. They have an uncanny ability to convey the feeling of how cool it is to be there, the sense of wonder, and true enjoyment of living.

The podcast is OK, and worth listening to prior to the movie so that you understand what they were thinking about while on the adventure. The movie is the true inspiring medium detailing the trip.

SEASON FOUR

This season is the reading of the book, Into The Raging Sea, by Rachel Slade. So.. I will admit that I have not listened to season four yet but I am VERY excited to do so.. that is because I listened to an interview with the Rachel Slide on the On The Wind podcast conducted by Andy Schell. The interview was compelling and I have had this book on my to-read list ever since.

So that's it.. a podcast to put in your earhole that will certainly entertain, inspire, and broaden your sailing horizons just a little bit more. Find it where you listen to your podcasts.. I listen to mine on Apple Podcast.. or simply visit their site here: https://www.sailingstoriespodcast.com

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Mike D. is the founder of Sail Junky Magazine. Striving to find more purpose in life, Mike writes and shares about his journey to rediscover his passion for living a fulfilled life, especially through the medium of sailing. sailjunkymagazine@gmail.com