Show Notes
I started this series of Advanced Seamanship Notes (Episodes 115-117) to bring to light specific areas of sailing knowledge which are A. difficult to locate in sailing resources on-line or off, and B. provided by a Mariner who is recognizably a ’Master’ - in the true sense of the word.
Captain J H Illingworth was considered the ’father of offshore sailing & racing’ in postwar Britain. He started the Junior Offshore Group in the UK, acted as Commodore for the Royal Ocean Racing Club , but also was the instigator of the Sydney to Hobart Race in Australia, in 1945.
That alone could be pedigree enough for my purposes- but add to that the fact that he was also a decorated submarine Captain in WWII, and suddenly you may realize, as I did; that what Capt. Illingworth did not know about waves and the upper layers of the ocean and their effect on a sailing boat is little more than chafe on the wind.
Come take a knee, as I have, at the hand of a Master Mariner- and let’s learn some more about Waves & wave riding.
If you would like to listen to fantastic stories of sailors in small vessels taking on the ocean in the last 150 years, all selected & read by me an actual sailor, check out the ’Mariner’s Library’.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-mariners-library/id1710666955
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More from The Mariner
This is the second installment in my reading of Cruising Under Sail by Eric Hiscock, from the 1987 edition.
This is the first installment in my reading of Cruising Under Sail by Eric Hiscock, from the 1987 edition.
Join me 250 Nm west of Madeira as I negotiate my way through the Azores high on my qualifying passage on board the 80 ft yacht Osprey for the 2027 Global solo challenge round the world yacht race
It’s been a while since I last recorded an episode. A friend put it perfectly the other night — I’ve been “down below, sheltering.” There’s been a lot to deal with, but I’ve come through it. Right now I’m lying alongside in Cherbourg, France, aboard Osprey — our 85-foot maxi — with a brand-new mainsail, surrounded by some of the best sailors and sailing service providers in the world. Ahead of us is a single, clear task over the next month: to sail solo to the Caribbean and, in doing so, qualify for the Global Solo Challenge. This episode is about getting caught up — where I’ve been, what’s happened — and setting the stage for what comes next. Because the story that’s unfolding now is, without question, the most interesting sailing story I’ve ever told.
In this episode you join me on deck as we enter the Needles Channel, en route to Southampton, to pick up the crew for the Fastnet Expedition 2025.