An eclectic bunch of stories from Christopher Nolan’s latest to RGYC’s level of commitment. From Vertues the world over, to knots that we trust. And plenty more.

As heritage stockpiles are depleted a properly managed and sized BBWB is vital for the continuation of the boat building, maintenance and repair industry that currently adds $20 million annually to our State’s economy. 

You kept your star charts, your local tides, your moon phases, your dawns and dusks in your mind. You tracked stuff half in your head, half in your hands, half in your heart, half in your ass, and half in pages of your notebook or in scribbled margins of reference books.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the intersection between comfort and satisfaction.  I suppose it’s been fuelled by spending time amongst the oversized, over-specced  and poorly considered boats that make up 90% of the Mediterranean cruising fleet. Extreme hardship is without doubt miserable, and extreme luxury is usually unrewarding but somewhere on this continuum, there is a sweet spot, a place where we balance our needs and our desires … a spot that’s probably different for everyone.

This episode comes to you from Sal in Rome and Mark in Orthoni. Yes we made it!
Links to stuff we discussed:
- ORTHONI AND CALYPSO'S CAVE
- MEDUSA
- PROTESTS IN VENICE
- SANTA MARIA DI LEUCA
- COURTESY FLAGS
- GARIBALDI- SQUASHED FLY BISCUIT
- 22 YEAR OLD POET - GOFFREDO MAMELI
- BRONZE STATUE AT VATICAN CITY

A great week of news with adventures a plenty, the death of the home kit king, technology overload and PETREL Part 17

The festival has to be one of Australia’s greatest community events. It’s run by a few talented professionals with the help of an army of volunteers. Every two years the Hobart waterfront comes alive for four days, with spontaneous and uncontrived joy. Nobody is hyping it up, nobody is making a packet, nobody has an axe to grind or a point to score and everyone, both sailors and non-sailors alike can revel in what is nowadays rare; a celebration of craft, community, and adventure. It’s proudly analogue, not digital, its about touch and smell and history and story telling. Nobody who understands this will ever be excluded.

We have just had proof, if it were ever needed, that SailGP is much more of a business, than it is a sporting event. Without any public explanation, the Coutts/Ellison circus has dropped Sydney as a venue for the 2027 season. 

Getting dressed seems to take ages when you are trying to get on deck quickly. Mid-layer salopettes, then boots, mid-layer jacket – yes, it's that cold – then foulie salopettes, tugging gently over the boots because pulling hard just jams them… Velcro-strap the ankle, and finally scarf, woollen gloves – eugh, still wet and cold, foul-weather jacket, harness, fur hat and then the gauntlets.

This episode comes to you from Roccella Ionica, Calabria.
Links to stuff we discussed:
- SYRACUSE, ARCHIMEDES AND THE SEIGE OF SYRACUSE
- UNOFFICIAL SPONSOR // LA ICONICA - Aussie Chicken empire - we applaud your place of birth!
- BOARDWALK - Owned by US Ambassador to Italy and significant Trump supporter - Tilman Fertitta - utterly offensive

Images from Sicily- “Throughout the history of the human race, no land and no people have suffered so terribly from slavery, from foreign conquests and oppression, and none have struggled so irrepressibly for emancipation as Sicily and the Sicilians.”-―Marx and Engels

Sinking Schooners, Register your boat, Ouzel sea trials, Woodie Auctions and a few more bits and pieces.

Since taking the post, Fertitta has repeatedly folded his personal empire into his official duties. He reportedly found the ambassador's historic Roman residence, Villa Taverna, uninhabitable and instead took up residence aboard the gin palace in Civitavecchia, commuting to the embassy by helicopter

This episode comes to you from west coast of Sicily, near Siracusa. Apologies in advance for the sound quality. This is what happens when you try and make a podcast, on deck, while you're sailing, with an engine going...We're chatting southern Sicily, Greek ruins, cloud inversion, Sam and Jim.

Following on from Part 2 of our article, Part 3 is entitled the Discovery Phase. With preparations made and confirmation from our various contacts in museums in Mariehamn, Åland Islands and Turku, Finland, that we would get off-season access to critical aspects of their facilities, we were prepared for the fact gathering we had pre-planned for each centre.

This week we have a chat with Jim Woods about his plans for a trip in 2027 from Hobart to the Louisiades in his beautiful Cray Boat, the MARGARET PEARL. Jim talks about preparing a Bass Strait boat for the tropics, how to manage the fuel supply issues, what keeps him awake at night and why he’s undertaking this great adventure.

This Part 2 of our article on our sailing ship pilgrimage to Scandinavia takes up the story as we commenced our Swedish/Finnish itinerary in southern Sweden. Sweden is a very maritime nation and everywhere we travelled - in Gothenburg, in Stockholm and in the Swedish speaking Baltic islands – there is the evidence of this background.

Episode Three- Crossing from Sardinia to Sicily, anchors, holding tanks and pistachio gelato.

This week, More GOLDEN RULES, ADVENTURESS, AMOC, about trawling, and much more.

Interestingly, Lloyd's of London made waves in 2002 when it officially dropped the "she" convention, switching to gender-neutral language in all shipping documents. The Royal Navy followed not long after. Most actual sailors ignored the memo and kept right on saying "she," because traditions at sea tend to outlast bureaucratic decision making.