Offshore Sailing and Cruising with Paul Trammell

Tim Skillman is a long-time sailor and author of "Looped: from the Staits of Mackinac to the Bitter End," a book about his mid-life-crisis journey from the Great Lakes down the Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee and Tombigbee  rivers to the Gulf of Mexico and on to the Virgin Islands on a Cheoy Lee 53.
We talk about growing up racing small boats in Michigan, buying an Erickson 46, the secret to not getting burned out on maintaining a boat, lunch with Richard Branson, meeting his future wife on the beach, the journey down from the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, walking away from his career and family, dealing with the locks and river traffic, why he avoided the Missisippi River, entering the Gulf of Mexico, Key West, crossing the bank between Key West and Nassua, sailing to a foreign country for the first time, a shark encounter while spearfishing in The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, guns on the boat, the Virgin Islands, an awakening, the San Blas Islands, the Guna people, aliens, and more.
Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page
Support the show through Patreon
Shop for or sell sailboats at SailboatsForSale.com
Sail in New England / Canada with Sailing Resolution
Get marine electrical help from Meridian Marine Electrial
Shop LED navigation lights at Signal Mate

Captain Ryan Rayfield runs Sail Libra, an offshore sailing charter operation aboard a 60' ketch built in 1969 by Abeking & Rasmussen and designed by William H. Tripp Jr. Based in Newport, RI. They sail around New England, to Bermuda, to the Caribbean, and will sail to the Azores and Portugal in 2027. Ryan is a USCG-licensed STCW A-2 Internationally endorsed captain.
We talk about sailing from Newport around Long Island Sound and New York City, the East River closure when the UN is in session, anchoring in NYC, a failure of the exhaust anti-siphoning valve and fixing the resulting problem with water in the engine, champagne sailing, flying a spinnaker, racing vs cruising, sail changes, roller furling, dealing with the general public and taking them aboard, sailing upwind (or not), maintaining a 60' offshore sailboat, licensing required for an offshore charter operation, STCW certification, whether or not you need a USCG license to operate a charter operation in a foreign country, other certifications, chartering laws, endorsements, insurance, openings for Bermuda to St. Thomas, orcas, and more. 
Photos and links are on the podcast website
Sail in New England with Sailing Resolution
List or browse sailboats on sailboatsforsale.com
Shop tankless dive systems from BLU3
Shop sailing navigation lioghts from Signal Mate

Pure Yachts is a new German shipyard based in Kiel, northern Germany, building high-performance aluminum cruising yachts featuring hydraulic-lift keel systems, modern planing hull lines, and the use of lightweight composite materials for the interior components. Their boats use the highest quality aluminium and top-shelf components to make them long lasting, secure and fit for world-wide bluewater cruising and high-latitude expeditions.
We talk about sailing in the Baltic Sea, the details of the yachts they build, custom hatches, precision design and boat building, boat performance in various conditions, the advantages of fast high-performance boats, their design philosophy and market niche, the expected lifespan of a Pure Yacht, things owners need to know about aluminum boats, the portlights, bulkheads (or not), construction of the aluminum hull, the lifting keel, dual rudders, drying out, customization, and more.
Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page
Support the show through Patreon
Shop for or sell sailboats at SailboatsForSale.com
Sail in New England / Canada with Sailing Resolution
Get marine electrical help from Meridian Marine Electrial
Shop LED navigation lights at Signal Mate

Richard and Judith sail a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410. They were on the show in June of 2025 and have a YouTube Chanel "Sailing Helios" and a Vimeo chanel "Sailing Helios Naturally," where they may or may not be clothed. 
Richard and Judith were in Cartagen, Spain when I spoke with them, and we talk about Cartagena and the marina, learning foreign languages, the people and culture in Spain, whether to stay longer in the Med or go to the Caribbean, the pros and cons of visiting new places vs familiar places, the Balearics, Air B&B and how it's changed the tourism industry, storms in the Med, a windlass problem, dragging anchor in a storm, ditching the anchor to save the boat, an angle grinder, the friendliest people, dinghies, outboards both gasoline and electric, watermakers, induction stoves, Lookout mast cameras, Sailproof tablets, Smartboatia, their YouTube channel, their OnlyFans channel, and more.
Support the show through Patreon
Links and Photos are at https://www.paultrammell.com/offshoresailingandcruising
Shop dinghy lights at https://showmeyourdinghy.com/
Sail with Sailing Resolution
Shop or list sailboats at SailboatsforSale.com
Shop tankless dive systems at diveblu3.com

You might remember Olivia Wyatt from two previous episodes. She sails a Robert Perry Panda 34 solo and has been sailing around the world visiting remote places and documenting indigenous people in her instagram posts. 
We talk about Namibia and why she loves it, the magical landscape, the wildlife, Walvis Bay, language, clearing in to various countries, a roller-furling problem and how she dealt with it, foul weather in the Indian Ocean, locking the wheel while using the Hydrovane, a spirit that lives in her boat, guiding voices, freediving, nitrogen narcosis, the lemurs of madagascar, sailing solo and when a second person would be ideal, The Golden Globe Race and her alternate plan, the indigenous people of Namibia, a proposition from a chief, the friendliest people, the places she would live if she had to pick from places she has been, modifications and additions she has made to her boat, her Hydrovane, a UFO sighting, alien abductions, finding adventure every day, why she chose to back out of the GGR, seven years of bliss, cold water, and more.
Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page
Support th show through Patreon
Shop for or sell sailboats at SailboatsForSale.com
Sail in New England / Canada with Sailing Resolution
Sail California / Hawaii with Shearwater Sailing
Get marine electrical help from Meridian Marine Electrial