Slow Boat Sailing Podcast

Ep. 11: Anchoring with Mantus Anchors founder Greg Kutsen, M.D., hosted by Linus Wilson

I recorded this talk on anchoring techniques at the 2016 Southwestern International Boat Show in Houston.  Greg Kutsen M.D. is the founder of Mantus Anchors, which is a sponsor of Slow Boat Sailing.  Download the presentation for that talk to refer to the numbers for your boat.

 

Mantus Anchors Anchoring Presentation

 

Support the Slow Boat Sailing Podcast on Patreon!  There are great gifts such as How to Sail Around the World Part-Time (MP3 version) and bonus content for Patreon subscribers.

 

The focus of Dr. Kutsen's talk in Episode 11 was to properly size and select all your gear from snubber, chain, rode, swivel, anchor, and chain hook to minimize the chance of gear failure. I was so impressed by this talk  that I bought one of the Mantus' heavy-duty swivels.  Check out Mantus Anchor's store and knowledge base.

 

I was so persuaded by this talk that I bought and installed a swivel on the Slow Boat pictured above.  The Mantus swivel is set up with a shackle so that it is not susceptible to side-loading failure that frequently destroys other popular makes of anchor swivels. We have a 45-pound Mantus Anchor on our primary bow roller as a "storm anchor."  The Mantus anchor has a large surface area for better holding and weight at the tip for better setting.  Setting is when the anchor first digs in.  While Danforth-style anchors have great holding for their weight, they have poor setting when they have grassy or hard bottoms or experience a wind-shift.  The Slow Boat dragged dangerously with a Danforth-style anchor when a squall led to a wind-shift on the way to the Bahamas.  The other great feature of Mantus Anchors is that they can be taken apart easily and stowed if you want to have a spare anchor.  

 

I also liked the Mantus Chain Hook for the snubber line and purchased one after the talk.  It seemed much less likely to become unhooked than the chain hooks available at places like West Marine.  Use the West Marine link and the promo code WMAFF to get $15 off your next purchase of $200 online.  (The promo code won't work without using the link.

 

Tell your friends about the podcast.  Thanks for joining the voyage!  Check out my book How to Sail Around the World Part-Time, which is now available as an MP3 album on iTunes or Amazon. Links to my books are at my website. Buy How to Sail Around the World Part-Time or Slow Boat to the Bahamas at Amazon. Both books have been #1 bestsellers in the Amazon sailing eBook categories. (If you are a non-US Amazon customer, e-mail me at linuswilson outlook [dot] com, and I’ll send you the link addresses for your country’s site.)  Like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter and tell your friends to do the same. Subscribe to my free newsletter at http://www.slowboatsailing.com for free books and boat repair and upgrade tips.

 

Ep. 10: SV Delos, Brian, Brady, and Karin Interviewed by Linus Wilson

We caught up with the crew of SV Delos in South Africa as they plan to round the Cape of Good Hope for the second time in the other direction and cruise Reunion, Mauritius, and eastern Madagascar in their Southern Ocean cruise.

Contribute to the Slow Boat Sailing Podcast on Patreon so we can hit our $20 goal and give away the eBook of the #1 sailing bestseller Slow Boat to the Bahamas to every sailor in the world!  Give the dream of cruising to foreign islands to your fellow sailors by being a patron of the podcast.  There are many great incentives including a free MP3 audio version of my book How to Sail Around the World Part-Time and bonus content from Brady and Karin of SV Delos for Patreon subscribers.

The SV Delos crew were currently screening videos of contestants to join the boat this season.  We talked to Brian about his early sailing and moving up boats until he bought Delos.  We discovered the secret behind the Buddha symbol of the boat and the origins of the boat's name.  We also learned how the Delos crew refocused their efforts on video production in 2013 and the rest is youTube history.  Support Delos by subscribing to their YouTube channel, checking out their website, and "Buying them a Beer" by contributing to their Patreon site.

Finally, I also talk about my preparations for my Panama trip via Cuba.  In episode 11 next week, we learn about anchoring from Greg Kutsen of Mantus Anchors.

Check out my book How to Sail Around the World Part-Time, which is now available as an MP3 album on iTunes or Amazon. Links to my books are at my website. Buy How to Sail Around the World Part-Time or Slow Boat to the Bahamas. Both books have been #1 bestsellers in the Amazon sailing eBook categories and were over 60 percent off when the podcast was released. (If you are a non-US Amazon customer, e-mail me at linuswilson outlook [dot] com, and I’ll send you the link addresses for your country’s site.)  Subscribe to my free newsletter a thttp://www.slowboatsailing.com for free books and boat repair and upgrade tips.

Ep. 9: Dee Caffari, world record holder, Vendee Globe racer, Volvo Ocean Racer;

This is just a sampling of Dee Caffari's achievements under sail from her website:

"In 2006 Dee became the first woman to sail solo, non-stop, around the world against the prevailing winds and currents and was awarded an MBE in recognition of her achievement.

Dee successfully completed the solo, non-stop Vendée Globe Race in 2009, crossing the finish line in 6th place out of an original fleet of 30 competitors. April 2011 saw Dee complete her third non-stop circumnavigation in the double-handed Barcelona World Race. In 2014, as part of Team SCA taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014/15, Dee secured the Round Britain and Ireland Speed Record for an all-female crewed monohull of 4 days 21 hrs 39 secs."

We talk about the Hell On High Water TV charity drive, Team SCA, how average sailors can become a better racers, and sleeping strategies while solo sailing in ocean races.  Check out her great book, Against the Flow, available on audible about how she went from being a school teacher who had never sailed before to being the first woman in history to sail solo-nonstop around the world against the prevailing winds and currents.  It's an inspiring story about following your dreams and an entertaining listen or read.

 

Become contributor on Patreon for the Slow Boat Sailing Podcast so we can bring great guests such as Dee Caffari and the crew of SV Delos (episode 10) every week.  A $1 pledge entitles you to a free audio version of How to Sail Around the World Part-Time a $9.99 value on iTunes.  There are many other great rewards for slightly higher pledges.

If we get $20 per episode of pledges, I will make Slow Boat to the Bahamas free on Amazon's worldwide sites for 1 day.  The list price for the eBook is $9.99.  Thus, by giving $20 you, can give something worth $10,000 to 1,001 sailors.  We have never given away the #1 Amazon sailing eBook bestseller Slow Boat to the Bahamas on Amazon. It is a funny look at going on the big trip with a four year old and a four pound dog.

 

Ep. 8: Jessie Z. of KatieandJessieonaboat.com talks about her travels in the Bahamas and the Great Loop interviewed by Linus Wilson

Jessie Zevalkink talks abouther travels in the Great Loop of the U.S. and Canada during 2013-2014. She and her friend Katie Smith traveled in a 27-foot sailboat fromMichigan to the Bahamas and back with Katie's dog.  Check out their blogin http://katieandjessieonaboat.com/. Theearly twenty-somethings were like "aliens" in the cruiser communityand were embraced up and down the ICW and featured on the front pages of CruisingOutpost. We talk about their working their way around the waterwaysof the U.S.A. and their travels in the nature coast of Florida and the Bahamas.

 

We areoffering a $200 discount to podcast listeners who travel with Blue MoonAdventures. The goal at Blue Moon Adventures is to share their love of the sea,the islands, and the islands’ cultures. They prepare custom adventureitineraries on sailing yachts to tropical destinations worldwide. Check outtheir upcoming trips at www.bluemoonadv.com. Contact them today to plan the journey of alifetime.  They have organized cruises of as little as a week inluxurious sailing catamarans in exotic cruising grounds such as the SocietyIslands, Tahiti, Bora Bora, the Whitsunday Islands in Australia or St. Martinin the eastern Caribbean. No sailing experience or certifications arenecessary, but these trips are sure to be a once in a lifetime experienceregardless of whether you have zero of 100,000 miles under yourkeel.  Listeners of the Slow Boat Sailing podcast can get a discountof $200 per person by mentioning they heard about Blue Moon Adventures on thepodcast.  Contact:

Captain Trey Benefield

 

BLUE MOON ADVENTURES

 

www.bluemoonadv.com

 

trey@bluemoonadv.com

 

865-310-8562

 

Check out my book Howto Sail Around the World Part-Time, which is now available as an MP3 albumon iTunes or Amazon. Links to my booksare at my website.Buy How to SailAround the World Part-Time or Slow Boat to theBahamas. Both books have been #1 bestsellers in the Amazon sailingeBook categories. (If you are a non-US Amazon customer, e-mail me atlinuswilson outlook [dot] com, and I’ll send you the link addressesfor your country’s site.)  Subscribe tomy free newsletter at www.slowboatsailing.com for free books and boat repairand upgrade tips. Make a donation.  

Ep. 7: Polynesian Navigation on Hokule’a with Kawika Crivello interviewed by Linus Wilson

In episode 7, I spoke to Kawika Crivello a crew member on the traditional sailing vessel Hokule’a.  Hokule’a is a two-masted double hulled canoe that is meant to be similar to traditional Polynesian voyaging canoes.  It is over 60′ long and has a crew of about a dozen at any one time.  Kawika has crewed on many parts of its current round the world voyage.  Hokule’a is 41 years old and is maintained by the Polynesian Voyaging Society.  Kawika was at anchor in the British Virgin Islands where the met with many locals including billionaire Richard Branson.  They may also visit with an American president in Cuba in a few days who hails from their home state of Hawaii.

We talk about traditional Polynesian navigation techniques and how to develop the correct mental attitude to going on a long ocean voyage.

Check out my book How to Sail Around the World Part-Time, which is now available as an MP3 album on iTunes or Amazon.

Links to my books are at my website. Buy How to Sail Around the World Part-Time or Slow Boat to the Bahamas. Both books have been #1 bestsellers in the Amazon sailing eBook categories. (If you are a non-US Amazon customer, e-mail me at linuswilson outlook [dot] com, and I’ll send you the link addresses for your country’s site.)  Subscribe to my newsletter. Make a donation.

Ep. 6: South Pacific Weather with Met Bob, Bob McDavitt, interviewed by Linus Wilson

 

Bob McDavitt has been forecasting weather in the South Pacific for forty years including providing weather advice for the New Zealand challengers in the America's Cup and 16-year-old, round-the-world sailor Jessica Watson. He advised about 300 boats last season doing ocean passages in the South Pacific as well as runs a free weather newsletter/blog for over 20 years at http://weathergram.blogspot.com/.  His website is http://www.metbob.com/. He talks to the Slow Boat Sailing podcast about South Pacific weather patterns, the 1994 Pacific Storm, and Cyclone Watson.  He talks about how he helps sailors avoid the squally ITCZ.  In addition, he explains the El Nino warming of the South Pacific and argues that it will not be a factor in the 2016 South Pacific cruising season of April to November.  El Nino should disappear by April 2016. 

Ep. 5: Cuba Bound with Wally Moran Interviewed by Linus Wilson

Wally Moran, the coauthor of the new cruising guide to Cuba’s north coastCuba Bound, talked to me in episode 5. He talks about his sailing career inSV Gypsy Wind and the Sail to the Sun ICW rally that he organizes. Wally did not have an internet signal and was talking outside over a cell phone so the audio of the interview is not as good as for prior episodes and was not as good as it will be for future episodes. I also talk about the perils of taking a dog to the Cayman Islands. Many more great episodes are in the works keep listening and keep sailing!

Links to my books are at my website. Buy How to Sail Around the World Part-Time or Slow Boat to the Bahamas. Both books have been #1 bestsellers in the Amazon sailing eBook categories. Write a review for How to Sail Around the World Part-Time or Slow Boat to the Bahamas on Amazon or Goodreads. (If you are a non-US Amazon customer, e-mail me at linuswilson outlook [dot] com, and I’ll send you the link addresses for your country’s site.)  Subscribe to my newsletter. Make a donation.

 

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Ep. 4: (new) Sailing the Galapagos and Marquesas with Pacific Crossing Notes Author Nadine Slavinski

This “new” episode 4 replaces the old episode 4. The old episode 4 had poor sound quality due to banging halyards in a 30-knot near-gale. Nadine Slavinski crossed the South Pacific in 2013 and 2014 and wrote about it in her book Pacific Crossing Notes. We talk in depth about the Slow Boat’s planned cruising grounds for 2017 of the Galapagos and the Marquesas. Nadine also wrote Lesson Plans Ahoy! and Cruising the Caribbean with Kids. We also talk about her cool downwind sailing setup on their 35′ sailboat.

I also talk about Annie Dike’s new video How to Get Your Wife to Go Cruising. She says her fans ask here that question all the time.

 

There are many ways to support the podcast in addition to being a patron. We are donating the August and September Patreon revenues to the American Red Cross’s Louisiana Flood relief.

 

Thanks for joining the voyage!  Check out my book How to Sail Around the World Part-Time, which is now available as an album on iTunes or Amazon. Links to my books are at my website. Buy How to Sail Around the World Part-Time or Slow Boat to the Bahamas at Amazon. Both books have been #1 bestsellers in the Amazon sailing eBook categories. (If you are a non-US Amazon customer, e-mail me at linuswilson outlook [dot] com, and I’ll send you the link addresses for your country’s site.)  Like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter and tell your friends to do the same. I’m putting up more videos of the Slow Boat crew on YouTube. Also check out my new study guide entitled Navigation Rules: International and Inland (Abridged), Study Guide for Uscg Captains’ and Merchant Mariner Exams.  Episode 6’s South Pacific Weather with Met Bob has became anAlbum on iTunes. Subscribe to my free newsletter at http://www.slowboatsailing.com for free books and boat repair and upgrade tips.  There you can also find a orange banner link at the bottom of the page and promo code to save $15 off your next purchase of $200+ at West Marine. Write a review on iTunes for the podcast or on Amazon for my books. Finally, have some fun on the water!

Ep. 3: Pt. 2 Sundowner Sails Again with Tate McDaniel (Provedencia, San Blas, Panama, El Nino, and RVing) interviewed by Linus Wilson

This is the second half of the interview with Tate McDaniel of Sundowner Sails Again blog and YouTube channel.  He talks about sailing his boat from Isla Mujeres, Mexico to the remote island of Providencia, Columbia and then to the San Blas Islands in Panama.  He discusses why El Nino and cheap gas convinced him 2016 was the year to pause his around the world quest and RV across America before rejoining his 32' Westsail sailboat in Panama to sail the South Pacific in 2017.

Take advantage of the $.99 sale on my audiobook which ends 2/29/16.

Links to my books are at my website.  Buy How to Sail Around the World Part-Time or Slow Boat to the Bahamas.  Both books have been #1 bestsellers in the Amazon sailing eBook categories.  Write a review for How to Sail Around the World Part-Time or Slow Boat to the Bahamas on Amazon or Goodreads.  (If you are a non-US Amazon customer, e-mail me at linuswilson outlook [dot] com, and I’ll send you the link addresses for your country’s site.)  Subscribe to my newsletter.  Make a donation.

Ep. 2: Cuba and Pt. 1 Sundowner Sails Again with Tate McDaniel (New Orleans, Key West, Cuba, and Isla Mujeres) interviewed by Linus Wilson

Tate McDaniel of the Sundowner Sails Again's blog and uTube channel talked to me over the weekend.  This episode looks at getting his boat, a Westsail 32' named Sundowner, ready for a round the world trip.  This covers the first half of his trip in 2015, crossing the Gulf of Mexico from New Orleans to Key West.  He discusses his travels in Cuba and his trip to and time in Isla Mujeres with his wife Dani.  In the next episode he discusses his trip to Provedencia, the San Blas Islands in Panama, and why gas prices and El Nino make 2016 a good year to go RVing.

I also talk about the current changing state of Cuba regulations and my experience with the application process.  It is conceivable that sailing to Cuba could get a lot easier in a few days.

USCG Cuba regs 12-11-15

Be part of the adventure.  Links to my books are at my website.  Buy a book.  Write a review on iTunes, Amazon, or Goodreads.  Subscribe to my newsletter.  Make a donation.