Paul Trammell
Author, Sailor, Podcaster
Paul Trammell interviews offshore sailors and those in the industry sharing exciting stories and useful information so we can better enjoy and better prepare for our own adventures.
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RECENT EPISODES
Ep. 308, Antigua to Nassau on Galiana with the crew: Jillian Feberwee, Nick Tait, William Edelman, and Michael Youngling
if you are interested in sailing on Galiana in one of her upcoming passages, email paulwtrammell@hotmail.com and put sailing in the subject line
Jillian Feberwee, Nick Tait, William Edelman, and Michael Youngling sailed with Tapio Lehtinen aboard Galiana, his 1972 Swan 55 yawl from Antigua to Nassau, The Bahamas.
We talk about what everyone hoped to get out of the passage, Galiana and other sailboats, sailing with and learning from Tapio, highlights of the passage, fishing, hand steering, seasickness and getting over it, sailing downwind at 9 knots, preparing for the trip in Antigua, cooking in the galley, difficult situations, comparing Galiana to other boats, sails, the Swan's companionway, sail trim, swimming in deep water, reefing, working with and getting along with a crew, a Spanish ghost, not having cell service, goals, singlehanding, dream boat, wildlife, and more.
Owen's phone:
+1-561-827-5457
Ep, 307, Ertan Beskardes, GGR and MGR Competitor
Ertan Beskardes is a lifelong sailor entered in the 2026 Golden Gobe Race. He recently completed the Mini Globe Race, in which he circumnavigated in a 19' Class Globe 5.80 sailboat. He started both the 2018 and 2022 Golden Globe Races, but retired in each. His GGR boat is a Rustler 36, formerly Matmut, Jean Luc Van Den Heede's winning boat form the 2018 GGR. He also sails a Jenneau Sun Odyssey 33.
We talk about the difficulty of being suddenly disconnected from all communication with family in the Golden Globe Race, learing through experience, an electrical fire, the Mini Globe Race, Starlink, beautiful moments, getting into harbors with inadequate motors, the new one-way broadcast-only Starlink in the coming GGR, cameraderie in the MGR, buying Matmut, propellers, windvanes, single-line reefing, his qualifying passage, a transmission coupling problem, sailing by compass vs chartplotter, heavy weather, running with a storm under bare poles, comparing the MGR and the GGR, what makes the suffering worthwhile, his love for boats unsuitable for the job, and more.
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To sail with Tapio Lehtinen on Galiana, email paulwtrammell@hotmail.com and put "sailing" in the subject line
Regarding transmissions and whether or not they should be left in gear or in neutral while sailing, it is dependent on the type of transmission you have, so you should ask the manufacturer.
Ertan's MGR boat
Lazy Otter, Ertan's 2022 GGR boat, a Rustler 36
Ep. 306, A Sea Vagabond's World
Owen's phone:
+1-561-827-5457
In this episode, I talk about Tapio Lehtinen's recent Bahamas trip and lessons we can take from it, using Google Maps to find coordinates of anchorages or dive spots and transfering them to Navionics, I read select passages from Bernard Moitessier's "A Sea Vagabond's World" and discuss them, including why it is advantageous to learn to sail in a dinghy, learning to sail offshore, anchoring, chain vs rope, snubbers, secondary anchors, things to do before heading out to sea, getting to know your boat, making landfall, sailing without a schedule, weighing anchor, using clouds to forecast weather, hurricanes and signs they are coming, maneuvering out of a hurricane and avoiding the eye, heaving-to, a GGR announcement, and how I broke my foot.
to Sail with Tapio Lehtinen on Galiana, email me at paulwtrammell@hotmail.com and put "sailing" in the subject line
Ep. 305, Will Sofrin, USCGC Eagle: The Legacy of America’s Tall Ship
Will Sofrin is a lifelong sailor and the author of the book "USCGC Eagle: The Legacy of America’s Tall Ship." The book tells the story of a German naval training ship seized at the end of World War II and transformed into the U.S. Coast Guard’s flagship, training generations of officers. Rather than a conventional history, it is told through firsthand accounts from those who sailed her, with each chapter capturing a different decade of the ship’s life, from her dramatic 1946 delivery to America, to Cold War voyages behind the Iron Curtain, to surviving a near-loss in a hurricane.
He is also the author of the book "All Hands on Deck," a memoir about sailing the tall ship Rose 5,000 miles from Rhode Island to California so she could become HMS Surprise in the feature film Master and Commander.
We talk about sailing a J-70, his book all hands on deck, sailing a tall ship, what all the crew did, maneuvering a tall ship, sails on a tall ship, climbing the mast of a tall ship, tall-ship sailors of old, the book "Two Years Before the Mast," sailing the tall ship Rose from Rhode Island to California for the movie Master and Commander, chain of command on a tall ship, a force 12 storm, going aloft in the storm, freeclimbing rigs, crew dynamics on Rose, sailing upwind in a tall ship, the motion of the boat, ballast on a tall ship, the ship's carpenter, the daily routine, tools, varnishing exterior teak on a sailboat - tips and best practice, his new book "USCG Eagle: The Legacy of America’s Tall Ship," Will's dream boat, and more.
Ep. 304, Matt Steverson, The Duracell Project, Converting an Offshore Racer to a Fast Family Cruiser
Owen's phone:
+1-561-827-5457
Matt Steverson has been rebuilding an offshore racing sailboat and converting her into a fast family cruising liveaboard, and doing a fantastic job of it, which he and his wife Janneke document on their YouTube Channel . Duracell, the boat, was built and sailed by legendary American sailor, Mike Plant, who beat the American record for solo circumnavigation in the first Vendee Globe in 1989.
We talk about wiring, organization, Matt's electrical-system philosophy, batteries, the generator, the electric motor, appliances, having a child and adding him to the sailing plans, making a YouTube channel, the buffer battery, keeping up with advancements in electrical-system gear, inverters, grounding, induction stoves, preparing holes for through-bolts, water tanks and coatings for the inside, bladders, varnishing, building the new keel, and more.
Matt's Sponsors:
Ep. 303, Sail Trim with Carl Damm
Carl Damm is the owner or Damsel Marine, a yacht management, maitenance, and consulting company. He is also a sailing instructor with ASA and Nautic Ed.
We talk about how to properly install and bed deck hardware, filling the bolt holes with epoxy, backing plates, sail trim, setting halyard tension, how to use a cunningham, setting proper leech tension, reading tell tales, moving jib cars, adjustable jib cars vs pin-stop vs twings with low-friction rings, why a sailor should carry a knife, mast bend, using the traveler, vang, and mainsheet, barber hauls, the proper way to set a whisker pole, the foreguy, afterguy, and pole lift, the staysail and when to use it, spinnakers, the boom topping lift, sail twist, when to reef, heeling, how to know when to reef a catamaran, whether or not you should learn to use a sextant, paper charts, essential electronics to have, radar, AIS, Damsel Marine, sailing instruction, keeping it simple, minimizing integration, and more.
Ep. 302, Sharks! Cristina Zenato, Professional Shark Diver
Cristina Zenato is a shark ecologist and behaviorist who grew up between the savannah and the rainforest of the Congo, where she developed a passion for the outdoors and an understanding and appreciation for the wilderness and our relationship to the environments around us. Today, she lives in The Bahamas and offers scuba-diving courses and shark dives. She is a PADI Course Director, NSS-CDS Advanced Cave diving instructor, TDI Technical Instructor, Rebreather instructor, educator, speaker, writer, and photographer.Cristina is a proud member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame, The Explorers Club, the Ocean Artists Society and a Platinum Pro5000 recipient. The belief that fuels her work is that “knowledge is power and through knowledge we can conquer and defeat unfounded fear to better connect to our oceans and our environment and strive to live in a mutual benefit." Cristina is an active supporter of OWUSS scholars, the WDHOF scholarships and training grants and an active volunteer and diver for the Bahamas National Trust.
We talk about growing up in Africa, getting into scuba diving, cave diving, similarities between cave diving - sailing - and mountaineering, shark behavior, spearfishing, a bull shark story, an oceanic whitetip encounter, different species of sharks, what sailors need to know about sharks, the positive role sharks play in ecology, catch-and-release fishing, shark identification, nurse sharks, Bahamas liveaboard shark-dive catamaran trips, the power of one, and more.
Owen's phone:
+1-561-827-5457
Ep. 301, Colm Walker, Preparing for the Golden Globe Race
Colm Walker is entered in the 2026 Golden Globe Race. He was in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico when we talked, on the way from San Diego to France via the Panama Canal. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Ireland, an Airborne Ranger and combat veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, and a lifelong waterman.
His boat, Mo Chuisle (“My Pulse” in Irish), is a Tayana 37 cutter. He sails in support of veteran mental health, raising awareness for those still fighting unseen battles long after the guns have gone quiet.
For Colm, the Golden Globe Race is not an escape from life, but a commitment to it. It is a test of self-reliance, resilience, and surrender. A chance to show that stillness can be strength, and that sometimes, the way forward is to go alone.
We talk about Mexico, clearing in to Mexico, the benefits of traveling internationally, the passage from San Diego to Puerto Vallarta, boatyard woes, racing on a Swan, the feel of sailing his boat - a Tayana 37, the Hydrovane and the Raymarine qutopilots, a spinnaker-pole failure, how military experience is beneficial in sailing, PTSD, rites of passage, Taoism, why the Golden Globe Race is Important, moving from digital back to analog sailing, safety, physical and mental preparations for the race, the Wisdom Dojo, and more.
Ep. 300!!!
Kevin Wasbauer, Shearwater Sailing
Kevin Wasbauer runs Shearwater Sailing out of Monterey Bay, California. He sails a Farr 53, sometimes with clients, sometimes solo. He is currently offereing berths on a sail from Monterey Bay to Hawaii, and from Hawaii back to Monterey Bay.
We talk about sailing in Monterey Bay, whales, marine protected zones, gaining experience before buying a boat, his boat Atalanta - a Farr 53, adjusting the backstay tension and how this affects performance, buying a boat through a charter sale, rebuilding the rudder, the autopilot and other electronics, weather-helm vs asymetry in the rudder, Starlink, Hydrovanes vs hand-steering, his watermaker, power generation, batteries, racing, starting an offshore charter business, sail trim habits learned while racing, using the babystay, the ASA 106 class, books, solo sailing vs with crew, sailing small boats vs larger, the value of staying calm in a difficult situation, open berths on a sail to Hawaii and antoher sail back, and more.
Owen's phone:
+1-561-827-5457
Atalanta, a Farr 53
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Stingray, my other boat
SV Windflower in Panama
You can also support the show by buying one of my books. Find them all here.
And check out my book recommendations, and books mentioned on the podcast, here
my latest novel
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