This Sailing life....a wonderful variety of podcasts from the world of sailing
By Ceri Hurford-Jones
This Sailing life....a wonderful variety of podcasts from the world of sailing Mar 29, 2024
Lets go D of E.....2 young adults share their experiences of starting their bronze award
Thea and Lucy have begun their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award, in this podcast they share some of their insights along with some highs and lows of their experiences to date.
Meet Captain Jon Kidd, Cowes new Harbourmaster
Capt. Jon Kidd has over 25 years of experience in the marine industry, from stewarding on small passenger vessels to Captain of Red Funnel ferries. He has also been a Cowes Pilot for the last 7 years. Jon was previously a Deputy Harbour Master in Cowes and rejoins from Trinity House, where he was the Inspector of Seamarks.
On this podcast, after just 6 weeks in the role, he talks to Ceri about his hopes and aspirations in this most challenging of roles.
The PredictWind Podcast - meet the founder and get a free trial of this amazing weather app!
Hello and welcome to The PredictWind podcast with me Ceri Hurford-Jones
This show is all about how this amazing weather portal came about, through its early days of gestation to the huge amounts of financial investment now invested in collecting the data to make it what has become.
We also get to find out more about the people behind it including Jon Bilger the founder and CEO along with an early adopter Dave Kitson.
To celebrate this first episode of the Predict wind podcast we are delighted to offer a free trial for you our lovely listeners……
https://www.predictwind.com/features/weather-routing
Sailing with friends and family isn’t always easy, but get it right and they might want to come again, says Rachael Sprot
The podcast version of a recentYachting Monthly article where Marine podcaster Ceri talks to Rachael Sprot about the story behind the story!
They say that relationships formed at sea can founder on shore, but sit back with a glass of wine in a busy marina and you’ll find evidence of the reverse in action too.
There’s no shortage of couples taking their relationships afloat with varying degrees of success. It’s not long before you hear the familiar phrases: ‘I thought you put a fender there’, ‘Why didn’t you get off?’ and the well-deserved, ‘Just do it yourself then.’
Berthing Bingo is a cruel spectator sport, which I would never condone, but it helps to take note occasionally, if only to remind yourself of the pitfalls we’re all susceptible to. I’m ashamed to admit that until recently I’d never taken my university friends sailing. However, after buying my boat, a Luders 36, Nimrod, last summer, I thought it was time to remedy this.
When sailing as an instructor there’s an invisible student-teacher dynamic, which makes the relationship on board much easier. Your seniority as a sailor and a professional demeanour forms the bedrock of the crew’s trust. How I interact with my family and friends is totally different, however, and taking them to sea was a far more daunting prospect.
These are the people who tried to save me from my terrible fashion sense, terrible cooking and terrible romantic partners. They then stuck around to pick up the pieces when their efforts inevitably failed. Friendship and shared history? Yes. Professionalism and seniority? Somewhat less in evidence.
So how would I cope without my instructor’s hat on? Where would I score on the Berthing Bingo scale? There was only one way to find out.
https://www.yachtingmonthly.com/sailing-skills/taking-your-friends-and-family-sailing-91875
Tom Cunliffe talks to Ceri about handing over the editorship of the Shell Channel Pilot Book to Rachael Sprot after 30 years at the helm.
For this episode, marine podcaster Ceri Hurford-Jones meets two heavyweights of the yachting world to talk about perhaps the best known pilot book of them all, The Shell Channel Pilot.
The sailing legend that is Tom Cunliffe is handing over editorship of this long-lived and authoritative tome to its first woman compiler, Rachael Sprot, herself a rising star in the world of sailing writing and from a family of well-respected sailors and authors.
To many, Tom needs little introduction. A celebrated career as a broadcaster, writer and Yachtmaster Examiner began when he was sent off to the Norfolk Broads as a teenager with his best mate and a book entitled ‘How to Sail’. At university he sailed when he should have been studying, and his first boat, Leihane, a 22ft centreboard sloop, led to him buying a bigger boat, Sarri, on which he and his wife Ros lived, berthed in the mud on the Hamble River in the 1970s. A chance meeting with a man in a pub who said he would give them a job if they sailed to Brazil led to them stocking up and setting off with just £50 in their pockets. He ended up working at the National Sailing Centre at Cowes, where he became skipper of the race boat Griffin, narrowly missing out on the infamous ‘79 Fastnet Race. Since getting his bus pass (his words!) Ros and Tom bought Constance, a 44ft Bermudan cutter that really allows them to stretch their sea legs.
Rachael Sprot is a sailing instructor and a Yachtmaster Examiner who’s been sailing since she was a child, when she was told in no uncertain terms that she’d be grateful for it one day! A prolific writer for sailing magazines including Yachting Monthly and Yachting World, she owned various boats when involved with Rubicon Three, a sailing adventure company, but has just bought her first ever personal boat, a pretty, long keel, 1970s-built Cheoy Lee 36 that she says is now taking an awful lot of her weekends to get up to scratch.
Although Rachael has just embarked on her own journey with the Channel Pilot, she has an impressive number of sea miles logged, and as the book changes authorship so too will its voice, as it has since it was conceived by K. Adlard Coles in the 1930s. It has long encouraged even the most novice sailor to explore the waters of the English Channel, and the wealth of knowledge it shares includes not just data but a guiding hand, a rich narrative and a sense of exploration that will be relished by all!
To get your copy of The Shell Channel Pilot visit https://www.imray.com/product/The-Shell-Channel-Pilot/IB0202-2/
Make sure you visit Lochboisdale in the Outer Hebrides....what a magical experience!!
For this edition I got to to meet up with some of the people who make Lochboisdale and its marina in the Outer Hebrides so special. If you have never visited the area then hopefully this episode will give you some encouragement to do so..... Lochboisdale is an excellent arrival point to explore the 120 miles of this Island chain
In this episode you'll hear from the Marina Manager Donald Curry telling me about the experience boat owners will enjoy. Also joining me is the Chairman of Lochboisdale Development Ltd, Callum McMillan who provides an excellent overview of the whole community set up in this fascinating part of the world.
I'll also introduce you to Lauren, Adam and their Jack Russel Freddie, who together with my wife Carol and I actually visited Lochboisdale in the summer of 2022.
For more information just visit https://www.lochboisdaleharbour.com/
Boatclick - is this the new one stop shop for all the parts for your boat?
What's the biggest challenge in purchasing spare parts. The biggest challenge is knowing exactly which part is required and where to source them at the best terms?
Boatclick say they have the solution....Ori Gail talks to Ceri about his plans to revolutionise the boat spares market
https://www.boat-click.com/
Is Viziberth the answer to getting an overnight berth for your boat in the Solent? Find out here!
Today I’m meeting up with David Moore the man behind VIZI Berth, an on-line booking system and app that was born out of the fact that many south coast marinas are now appear to be full, with potential visitors becoming more and more frustrated by the log jam that’s ensued.
Vizi berth are now collecting email addresses for people who would like to be notified when the app goes live – to do so just visit www.viziberth.com and enter your details.
Is SailTies the new Strava app for Sailing? Listen to find out more!
Today I’m meeting up with Thomas Guy and Chris Jacobs
These are the guys behind SailTies, an app that’s becoming known as the Strava for sailing. Basically they’ve created a modern alternative to the paper log book, essentially it's the first place where you can capture everything about a sailing voyage together.
For more information and to try the app for free just goto https://sailties.net/
Join me for more top flight guests soon!
Rod and Lu Heikell share their love for all things Greek
Welcome to another edition in our series Explore More with Imray as Ceri Hurford-Jones talks to more of the contributors that work with Imray. Today’s guests are Rod and Lu Heikell, editors of the Greek Waters Pilot and Ionian
Growing up in the west country Lu gained a love of cruising and dinghy sailing from her father, Peter. Then met up with her husband Rod in 1999 when she joined him as crew on a trip from the Azores to Gibraltar…..
Born in New Zealand, Rod Heikell, abandoned academic life in the UK, and sailed a 1950s, 20 foot plywood yacht down to the Mediterranean where he worked in the charter market. Until in ignorance of the scale of the task, he decided to write a yachtsman’s guide to Greece. Over the past five decades, together with Lu, they have produced a whole host of pilot books covering everywhere from the Med to the Indian ocean, along with many other books and novels.
Now, living on the Isle Of Wight, when they're not on their beloved yacht Skylax, they work on their books and enjoy cooking great food.
Ceri talks to the editor of an amazing Imray pilot book called 'Discovering The South China Sea'.
In this Imray podcast together with The Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation, Jo Winter talks with Marine Podcaster Ceri Hurford-Jones about her favourite area, together with some words of advice for both the new and returning cruiser.
The South China Sea pilot books cover Singapore to Hong Kong via the Gulf of Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan.
Jo first visited Southeast Asia in 1976 as an impoverished backpacker just two years after the end of the Vietnam War, She found then, as now, the people friendly, helpful but undemanding, often reserved or shy, but always responding to smiles.
Her love and fascination for southeast Asia, its culture and its people have remained with her ever since. Once Jo and her husband returned to the South China Sea in 2007 their planned (repeat) circumnavigation has been put on hold as they have spent longer and longer exploring the fabulous cruising grounds of South East Asia, and enjoying the company of the resourceful, friendly people who live here.
Jo hopes that her Cruising Guide will encourage many more people to head east on their boats and experience, as she has, one of the most diverse, beautiful, unspoiled and undiscovered sailing areas in the world.
Meet a very special 19 year old, Peter Russell - talking about his circumnavigation around the UK by boat.
Podcaster Ceri Hurford-Jones talks to 19 year old Peter Russell, who despite being reasonably experienced and knowledgeable for his age, found that people wouldn’t take his sailing dreams seriously. He was hell bent on proving them wrong, initially setting about doing dinghy cruising, he rapidly found that planning and completing his own cruises required a lot more forethought and knowledge than he realised. Luckily he got the chance to turn his experiences around, as he was introduced to an extraordinarily generous man, Jon Stokes, who lent him his yacht, Muffin. She was for all intents and purposes a dinghy with a lid. She had only two beds, an anchor light, a depth sounder, a radio, an outboard and a suit of sails. Most would say she wasn’t much, but she was enough for Peter, enough to start gaining his own experiences as a skipper, learning from his own mistakes, and having his own adventures with great support from Imray.......circumnavigating Britain via the Caledonian Canal!
Read Peter's full log here;
Rod and Lu Heikell go sailing - a great opportunity to hear from this amazing couple who write so many nautical guide books
Today’s special guests not only know about all the places to visit, but they will probably help influence your culinary choices on the way! On this podcast they talk about some of their experiences sailing to some of the most amazing and uplifting coastlines around.
Born in New Zealand, Rod Heikell, abandoned academic life in the UK, and sailed a 1950s, 20 foot plywood yacht down to the Mediterranean where he worked in the charter market. Until in ignorance of the scale of the task, he decided to write a yachtsman’s guide to Greece. Over the past five decades, together with his wife Lu, they've produced a whole host of pilot books covering everywhere from the Med to the Indian ocean, along with many other books and novels.
Lu Heikell, met her husband when she joined him as crew on a trip between the Azores to Gibraltar, many sea miles and a circumnavigation later, they have lived loved and worked together for nearly 20 years. Now, living on the Isle Of Wight, when they're not on their beloved yacht Skylax, they work on books and cooking great food.
260 thousand miles and counting....Ricky Chalmers talks about his sailing career to date
Ricky discovered the thrill of sailing relatively late in his life after booking a sailing holiday on a whim for his family. He then signed up for a Round-The-World yacht race, billed as the "Worlds Toughest Yacht Race" - the Global Challenge 2004-5. That experience decided Ricky's future and he gave up his high powered career in IT.
Wind forward fifteen years and Ricky has now clocked up 260,000 sea miles, completed another Round-The-World-Race, this time as skipper in 2007-8, six trans Atlantic ARC races, six Fastnet Races, and sixteen Atlantic crossings as well as sailing as far North as the Lofoton Islands in the Arctic Circle and as far South as 62 degrees South, 120 miles further South of Cape Horn. He is the Principle of his own RYA Sailing School, instructs and examines for a number of sailing schools.
Meet the RYA examiner part 1 - Nigel Rennie shares his insights into the RYA Yachtmaster scheme with some hints and tips to passing!
Nigel Rennie started sailing in 1984 whilst serving in the Army (REME). He qualified as a Yachtmaster Instructor in 1990 becoming an RYA Examiner a few years later. He’s skippered large sail training yachts worldwide, crossing most of the oceans and venturing south as far as the Falkland Islands.
Presently Rear Commodore Sailing for Warsash Sailing Club, Nigel splits his sailing time between instructing and examining Yachtmasters, teaching Celestial Navigation, offshore racing safety and boat handling skills. Recreational sailing includes supporting club sailing and family chartering
Here he shares with Ceri Hurford-Jones some of hints and tips that could help you become a qualified RYA Yachtmaster.
Meet the Managing Director of nautical publishers Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd.
Managing Director Lucy Wilson talks to podcaster Ceri Hurford-Jones about Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd nautical publications, who produce over 250 charts, 100 pilot books and cruising guides, along with a series of apps for the digital era.
It’s a time of change, not only for Imray but also within the wider marine industry as sailing habits are changing and technology open up huge opportunities.
It’s an exciting challenge and one that Lucy couldn’t take on without the rest of the wider family at Imray!
Listen to this podcast to hear more about what the future holds for this amazing 300 year old company @imraynautical
Q & A with Ceri and Carol on board Wakonda
An Adventures Onboard podcast.....Ceri and Carol are on a circumnavigation of the UK in 2022 and 2023 on this podcast they provide some honest answers to your wonderful questions.
Carol talks about her Crafts Onboard business
Carol is interviewed on Wiltshire Sound about our lifestyle and her business on board the good ship Wakonda ...enjoy!
A nautical bedtime short story written and read by podcaster Ceri
One skippers confession when out sailing with his family.........a great listen for sailors or non sailors!
Jane and Carol talk about taking their day skipper qualifications......in Force 8 gales!
Jane and Carol share their experiences about becoming qualified RYA Day Skippers. After a gruelling week on board a yacht in the Solent they faced not only the challenge of force 8 gales all week but also the constant pressure to get the best out of themselves and the boat.