As our passion for sailing grew, and since buying our own boat still seemed out of the question for the foreseeable future, we continued to arm ourselves with knowledge. For me, this came in the form of some outstanding sailing podcasts, blogs, YouTube videos/channels and the books.
Podcasts
One of the first sailing podcasts I listened to, and still one of my favorite is called 59 North Podcast. Hosted by Andy Schell, this podcast is both an interview show (with Andy talking to some of the world's sailing elite), and discussions about Andy and his wife Mia starting their business, and his own sailing background. Andy and Mia are currently sailing Isbjorn (Polar Bear), a classic 1972 S&S Swan 48. I have learned so much about sailing from this podcast, I had to highlight them in this reflection. Another critical podcast for me has been the Shooting the Breeze Sailing Podcast, hosted by Jeffrey Wettig. Jeffrey sails a Paceship Yachts PY 26 (which will become a very important part of this fantastic voyage very soon). While Jeffrey has many fantastic episodes in his sailing podcast, including interviews with Kamau Iandiataiyero, who is building a boat in his Baltimore backyard, the discussion that had the biggest impact on me was the two episode interview with Marcus Asante, Commodore and founder of the Universal Sailing Club (USC). USC was formed in 2001 "as a way for African Americans to learn and share the sailing arts in an environment conducive to our culture and outlook." Jeffrey, Marcus, and the USC will all return in important ways as we continue down this Fantastic Voyage.
Blogs
There are numerous blogs that are helpful for the sailor; new, seasoned, or simply interested. Some of these blogs include:
- The Boat Galley: http://theboatgalley.com
- Have Wind Will Travel: http://havewindwilltravel.com
- Distant Shores: http://www.distantshores.ca/boatblog.php
YouTube Channels
Some of the blogs above also have YouTube Channels, but I will highlight some of they channels to which I subscribe below:
- American SailingAssociation
- BoatUS
- Drake Paragon
- Have Wind Will Travel
- IandI Boats
- Life is Like Sailing
- Maryland School of Sailing
- SailLife
- Three Sheets to the Wind
- Through the Portlight
Reading
Finally, there are a number of books that have been very helpful to me. I'll list just a few of them here below:
- This Old Boat
- The Self Sufficient Sailor
- The Capable Cruiser
- Sailing
- Sailing Fundamentals
- As Long as Its Fun
- Cruising the Chesapeake
- Salt of a Sailor
- Keys to the Kingdom
- The Annapolis Book of Seamanship
- Chapman Piloting & Seamanship
- Your First Sailboat
- Sailboat Maintenance
- Twenty Affordable Sailboats
- Blue Mind
- Living Aboard a Boat
- Sailing - A Metaphor for Life
- Inspecting the Aging Sailboat
- Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere