Ep.88: Team Wickedly Wildcat Tames the R2AK

[00:00:26] Welcome back to Around the Buoy, broadcasting from the East Passage Boatwright Studios.

[00:00:30] I'm Carter Richardson and I'm here with Tyler Fields of Tyler Fields Photography.

[00:00:35] Tyler, how is it going?

[00:00:37] Tyler Fields It's hot.

[00:00:39] Tyler Fields It's hot.

[00:00:41] It's hot in the hot tub.

[00:00:43] Tyler Fields It's really hot and my AC just died today,

[00:00:46] so it adds a whole new level of it's hot.

[00:00:49] Tyler Fields It could be worse, Tyler.

[00:00:52] Tyler Fields Well, I think what makes it worse is we spent

[00:00:55] the last weekend in Maine and it was like mid 70s, a nice cool breeze.

[00:01:01] It was wonderful.

[00:01:01] And then to come back down to Providence where it's 90 degrees and a concrete jungle,

[00:01:07] it's a little bit of a shock.

[00:01:09] Tyler Fields Yeah, it's true.

[00:01:10] It's been a funny summer.

[00:01:11] It's been either swelterly hot.

[00:01:14] I woke up on Wednesday or Friday, I think it was, and it was like fallout.

[00:01:18] Tyler Fields So it's just been, at least it's not been raining,

[00:01:22] but that's good news.

[00:01:23] Tyler Fields Well, you say that now, but look at the

[00:01:24] weather and the show's rain for the next four days.

[00:01:26] Tyler Fields It's supposed to rain all the rest of

[00:01:27] this week.

[00:01:28] Tyler Fields I know.

[00:01:29] Tyler Fields Actually, yeah, we were just down in the

[00:01:31] Wooded Boat Show.

[00:01:31] Tyler Fields That would have been about a month ago.

[00:01:33] And there was a couple of days there that I truly thought that I was going to melt.

[00:01:37] Tyler Fields It was hot, but then at the very end,

[00:01:40] so they close the show a couple hours early, the cannon goes off and it was only a matter of

[00:01:47] maybe five minutes and a torrential thunderstorm rolled through and we were packing up boats

[00:01:52] and just swimming through the parking lot.

[00:01:54] Tyler Fields It was bad.

[00:01:55] It was bad.

[00:01:57] How was your boat show though?

[00:01:59] Tyler Fields It was great.

[00:02:00] Tyler Fields It was great.

[00:02:00] It's a lot of fun.

[00:02:01] It's good to go and catch up with people.

[00:02:03] It's a good excuse to meet up every year and see friends that you don't get to see very often

[00:02:10] and find out what projects they've got going on, what they've finished and what's next.

[00:02:15] Tyler Fields It always good to chat.

[00:02:17] Tyler Fields It was very good.

[00:02:20] Yeah, we had both one and two, and I've got to thank you for helping me bring down hulls number one and two of the East Passage 24 from Newport to Mystic.

[00:02:29] That trip down was so nice.

[00:02:33] The run from Newport to Mystic was a 10 of a 10 for a boat trip.

[00:02:38] It was gorgeous.

[00:02:39] Yeah, it was early in the morning.

[00:02:40] We left Newport like around six in the morning and had a little bit of a following wind as we came around Point Judith,

[00:02:49] which is kind of the southernmost tip of Rhode Island where it starts going east-west.

[00:02:55] It was a little choppy, a wind out of the north, but a nice cool wind out of the north.

[00:03:00] But then all of a sudden, it just died, and it went absolute glass, and it was just been fantastic.

[00:03:08] Cruising by Taylor Swift's house, it could not have been a better day.

[00:03:12] Well, Taylor was there.

[00:03:13] If we saw Taylor, then I could have got a picture for my daughter, then that would have been better.

[00:03:19] Stop it.

[00:03:20] The trip home, though, that was a little rougher.

[00:03:23] That one, I'm going to go ahead and say the weatherman kind of missed it on that trip home.

[00:03:29] Yeah, because we were going to, the original plan was to come home on that Sunday,

[00:03:33] but as Tyler just pointed out, it just rained like absolute hell.

[00:03:37] So that was out.

[00:03:38] And then while I looked at the forecast, and it did look like there's going to be a little breeze in the morning,

[00:03:44] but by 10 o'clock, it was going to go glass calm again.

[00:03:47] And that did not happen at all.

[00:03:51] So instead of it going glass calm when we hit Point Judith, it jumped up into the, I don't know, mid-20s?

[00:03:58] I was going to say, I was hot.

[00:04:00] Against the tide all the way up into Narragansett.

[00:04:03] That was a rough hour.

[00:04:05] Into the breeze.

[00:04:06] Into the tide.

[00:04:07] It was awful.

[00:04:08] Yeah, it was awful.

[00:04:09] The 24 handled great.

[00:04:11] No doubt about it.

[00:04:12] But the whole trip was just, it was awful and really wet.

[00:04:16] The boat was excellent, but my picture-taking ability falls off dramatically when I'm levitating.

[00:04:22] Yeah, very true.

[00:04:24] Very true.

[00:04:25] But all in all, the boat show was a great success.

[00:04:27] We had number one and number two there.

[00:04:29] It's kind of showcase what, obviously, what the shop can do.

[00:04:32] But number two with her green haul is just so stunning.

[00:04:37] So to have the original and then also number two there really was, it was great.

[00:04:42] It was good to show it off to people.

[00:04:44] Glad people got to see it.

[00:04:46] But also, I'm with you, Tyler.

[00:04:47] There was a ton of really cool projects finishing up this year.

[00:04:51] And it was awesome to go through and just walk around.

[00:04:53] And just, as you said, see people in the industry again and see what they've been up to.

[00:04:58] Because the winters get very dark and lonely.

[00:05:01] And no one really talks.

[00:05:04] And so it's nice to get out and see everyone.

[00:05:06] Well, it's always amazing to me the depth and variety that the wooden boat world kind of brings together.

[00:05:14] Something from like a small, like hand-built canoe to that beautiful restoration.

[00:05:21] I think his name's Avocet.

[00:05:24] Black hulled.

[00:05:25] Beautiful varnish.

[00:05:26] And then all of the technology, you know, the Seakeeper system and everything wrapped up into it.

[00:05:32] So it really is something for everybody.

[00:05:36] Yeah, the old Admiral's Barge was there.

[00:05:40] It used to be here at the Naval War College.

[00:05:43] It would be used to take out dignitaries.

[00:05:46] It's had President Kennedy on board.

[00:05:48] It had like the King of Greece, King Constantine on board.

[00:05:52] Watched a bunch of America's Cup races from it.

[00:05:54] We ended up doing a lot of work at East Passage on the boat.

[00:05:57] And then the Navy realized they just didn't have the money to keep it up.

[00:06:01] And so they auctioned it off.

[00:06:03] And I thought I'd never see this boat again.

[00:06:05] And I went to this dude and then went to this guy in New Jersey who has been taking great care of it, keeping it alive.

[00:06:11] And she was there.

[00:06:12] It was great to let us on board to go walk through again.

[00:06:15] And they're doing a really good job keeping her up and keeping her looking as good as she should.

[00:06:22] Yeah, that was an impressive project.

[00:06:24] And then to talk to him about what he's done to it and then for him to be able to connect the dots of, oh, you're the one that did this.

[00:06:31] Oh, you're the one that did that.

[00:06:32] I thought it was kind of cool.

[00:06:33] That's cool.

[00:06:34] Yeah, very cool.

[00:06:35] So always, always awesome to be at the boat show and always good to get back to see all those people.

[00:06:42] But Tyler, we've got a couple of news topics to cover in today's episode.

[00:06:46] The first one is former guest, former across the Atlantic rower, Liz Wardley.

[00:06:53] She is unstoppable.

[00:06:55] We're going to get into her.

[00:06:56] And then also...

[00:06:58] Would she be any cooler?

[00:07:00] God.

[00:07:01] I don't think so.

[00:07:02] I don't think she could be.

[00:07:03] I don't think she'd be more of a badass at all.

[00:07:07] But we'll get into that.

[00:07:08] But then also Vineyard Wind, which is a set of...

[00:07:13] It's soon to be a set of 60 wind turbines off the coast of Nantucket, took a little bit of a hit over last week.

[00:07:22] And we're going to talk about that and the impact that that has had in the local region, which is interesting.

[00:07:30] But before we get to those, we're going to talk about, again, a former guest, Mr. Adam Cove.

[00:07:36] He was on a bunch of years ago when he was running Edson Marine.

[00:07:41] He has since left Edson and went out on his own.

[00:07:45] He's got his own consulting business, which is great, doing helping businesses navigate through business and become better businesses, better marine businesses.

[00:07:54] But also, he decided to take on one of our favorite adventures, Tyler.

[00:07:58] The race to Alaska.

[00:08:00] Race to Alaska.

[00:08:01] This crazy SOB.

[00:08:04] We cannot get enough of this race.

[00:08:06] I can't.

[00:08:08] I love everything about it.

[00:08:09] It's such an awesome race.

[00:08:11] And we've obviously talked to the organizers of it, but they will say, we're never going to do it.

[00:08:16] But this is the first time we've actually sat down and talked to someone who has competed in it.

[00:08:22] And it's going to be awesome to recap what his experience was.

[00:08:27] Adam is one of the best people around.

[00:08:29] And his enthusiasm for this race before he left was incredible.

[00:08:34] And I cannot wait to hear how excited he is now that he's done it and the stories that he has to tell us.

[00:08:41] It's looking forward to it.

[00:08:43] Yeah.

[00:08:43] All right.

[00:08:43] We'll be right back with Adam after our break.

[00:09:03] Our listeners do not need another introduction into race to Alaska.

[00:09:08] Tyler and I talk about it all the time.

[00:09:10] This is a 750-mile race from Port Townsend, Washington, all the way up to Ketchikan, Alaska.

[00:09:17] It's human-powered.

[00:09:18] It's absolutely crazy.

[00:09:20] Some unpredictable weather.

[00:09:22] Some unpredictable conditions.

[00:09:25] And everything about it is stuff that Tyler and I love.

[00:09:28] And so the opportunity to sit down and talk with someone who's actually competed in the race is really, really awesome.

[00:09:34] Our friend Adam Kove is here to talk about his experience lining up on that race course and then obviously finishing and ringing that bell on the dock.

[00:09:42] Adam, welcome to Around the Buoy and thanks for coming on.

[00:09:46] Yeah.

[00:09:46] Thanks so much, Carter.

[00:09:47] Good to be here.

[00:09:48] It has been a long time since we've talked last outside of what's been happening in your month of June.

[00:09:54] What have you been up to?

[00:09:56] Well, I disappeared for a little while.

[00:09:58] It was I feel like it was spring, winter, and I all of a sudden came back and it was summer again.

[00:10:04] But I disappeared off to Alaska.

[00:10:07] For a good reason.

[00:10:09] Exactly.

[00:10:10] Yeah.

[00:10:10] I did the race to Alaska, which is from Port Townsend, Washington, quick stop over in Victoria.

[00:10:17] And then all the way up to Ketchikan, 750 miles.

[00:10:20] We've talked to a handful of people about the race over the years.

[00:10:25] We've talked to race boss Daniel.

[00:10:28] It is one of our favorite topics.

[00:10:31] It's one of our favorite interviews to do.

[00:10:34] And as we've talked to different people that have been involved with the race over the years,

[00:10:39] it seems like sailors come to the race to Alaska for a thousand different reasons.

[00:10:45] But what was it about the 750 miles of pain and suffering that really caught your attention?

[00:10:51] Yeah, that's a good way to put it.

[00:10:53] I mean, the race boss now, the newer one, Jesse, you know, says the same thing.

[00:10:57] He's like, why do you guys even think of doing this?

[00:10:59] He's never even done the race himself.

[00:11:00] And for good reason.

[00:11:02] You know, we've seen everyone suffer through the years.

[00:11:03] Maybe that's a sign, Adam, that when the race boss leads that, why the hell are you guys here?

[00:11:09] That maybe it was a bad idea.

[00:11:10] Yeah, exactly.

[00:11:11] But by that point, like you're committed.

[00:11:13] You've already told your friends doing it.

[00:11:14] And you're like full on speed, you know, into doing the race.

[00:11:17] But I think I was just looking for the next adventure.

[00:11:20] I needed something fun to do.

[00:11:23] I'd been following it pretty much since the inception of the race.

[00:11:26] And I think what was intriguing to me, it seemed much more like a grassroots style race,

[00:11:32] kind of back to what sailing might have been 20, 30, 40 years ago.

[00:11:38] And it's just, it seemed like a very honest, open and super challenging course.

[00:11:43] And that's what I was after.

[00:11:44] And it did not disappoint.

[00:11:46] Definitely the hardest race course I've ever been through.

[00:11:48] It does have that.

[00:11:51] It's not about the sponsors.

[00:11:54] It's not about the trophies.

[00:11:55] It's not about anything other than that experience of the race.

[00:12:01] What you do between Fort Townsend and Ketchikan, that's what it's about.

[00:12:06] Nothing more, nothing less.

[00:12:07] The first place obviously wins a little bit of cash.

[00:12:10] Second place gets a steak knife.

[00:12:12] Everyone else is just there for the adventure.

[00:12:15] Exactly.

[00:12:16] And I think each of us went into that race with a different set of goals.

[00:12:20] And that's really all that mattered to anyone at the end of the day.

[00:12:24] And I think one big surprise I left with, and I probably should have seen coming,

[00:12:28] was just the camaraderie amongst racers.

[00:12:30] It was a fantastic group of people.

[00:12:33] Like just from all walks of life, all around the country, all around the world,

[00:12:37] and just not just sailors, but adventurers.

[00:12:40] And we're all still keeping in touch.

[00:12:42] I mean, I was just texting with the whole group, and we have a massive text chain going

[00:12:45] and WhatsApp, and we were just texting 15 minutes ago and kind of on a daily basis.

[00:12:51] So it's fun staying in touch with everyone too.

[00:12:53] We've seen a little bit of that with the long-distance ocean rowers,

[00:12:58] and that when they finish, they don't just pack up and go home.

[00:13:02] If the finish is in Antigua, they stay in Antigua, and they wait and welcome the next teams

[00:13:08] that finish in days or weeks down the road because they've all had that shared experience of hardship.

[00:13:16] And like you said, I've seen that a lot with the Race to Alaska crew,

[00:13:19] and I have to imagine that makes it so much more fulfilling.

[00:13:24] Oh, it was so much fun cheering in the other teams as we were hanging out.

[00:13:27] So it's basically a, I don't know, two-week, three-week-long party up in Ketchikan,

[00:13:32] you know, where everyone's going out every night, hanging out.

[00:13:35] New racers are coming in.

[00:13:36] Some people are leaving, bringing their boats back.

[00:13:38] But, you know, whatever time it is, whether it's 2 in the morning, 5 a.m., or, you know, noon,

[00:13:44] everyone wanders back down to the dock, cheers that next boat in, you know, brings them food,

[00:13:48] big hugs, you know, kind of smiles, helps them get their boat to the dock,

[00:13:52] and then says, all right, you're probably ready for a nap now.

[00:13:54] Yeah.

[00:13:58] So the different types of boat in R2AK range from the absolute ridiculous of a Hobie Cat

[00:14:05] over to like the side of Insane, which is a stand-up paddleboard.

[00:14:09] Each boat really brings different advantages and disadvantages.

[00:14:12] What was your boat of choice, and what was the reason for your decision?

[00:14:18] Sure.

[00:14:19] So I decided to go with a Marshall 18, also known as a Sanderling.

[00:14:24] And they're built right down the street from where I live, like half a mile away.

[00:14:29] And actually, it was my wife's suggestion at first.

[00:14:32] I was kind of – I was committed to the race at that point.

[00:14:34] You know, she already nudged me and said, all right, you know, you should do this race.

[00:14:38] That's not what she was talking about.

[00:14:43] When I was over for Christmas, that was not the way that she portrayed the story.

[00:14:48] We should get her on the podcast.

[00:14:50] Get the real story?

[00:14:52] We're going to have to have part two here.

[00:14:54] We're going to have to have a chat.

[00:14:56] And so, yeah, she had nudged me a little bit in that direction.

[00:14:59] And I – who knows at what level of seriousness.

[00:15:02] But it like kind of all came together because my brother runs the yard there for Jeff.

[00:15:07] And the boat just seemed to make a whole lot of sense.

[00:15:09] There's a lot of logs in the water there.

[00:15:11] And that boat has a really solid hull.

[00:15:13] So that kind of took that worry out of the equation.

[00:15:15] It had a cabin, which meant I could get out of the weather when I needed to.

[00:15:19] And I guess we can get into some of that later, how it really helped out during the race.

[00:15:24] But it's also – it was neat to take a little bit of New England and bring it all the way to the other coast in the race and sail a beautiful boat.

[00:15:32] But there's something to be said about having a pretty boat in a race.

[00:15:35] So all the pieces came together very nicely on it in terms of being able to fit in the garage and tow it across the country and just kind of made more and more sense as the race went on.

[00:15:43] And by the time I finished, I couldn't have been happier with choosing that boat.

[00:15:46] When it comes to something as simple as a cabin, it does seem like that is just a basic need.

[00:15:55] But it is surprising on how many of the teams have no sort of weather protection at all.

[00:16:02] Team Bunny Whaler had absolutely zero deck structure.

[00:16:07] The high-speed foiling cats, no cabins whatsoever.

[00:16:13] It just – it was really surprising that that's almost not a consideration for so many people.

[00:16:22] And hats off to those guys.

[00:16:24] I am so impressed with just finishing this race as an accomplishment and especially with a boat like that.

[00:16:31] And honestly, I think a lot of it is you don't know what you don't know.

[00:16:35] So until you get into the race and you're like day seven and it's been raining for seven of those days, you're just not fully appreciating what you're about to go through.

[00:16:44] And I know I certainly didn't.

[00:16:45] You have all your expectations.

[00:16:47] You've got adrenaline.

[00:16:48] And there isn't a single person at that start line who doesn't think they're going to finish.

[00:16:52] Yet boats drop out every single year.

[00:16:55] I think we had seven drop out after the start.

[00:16:58] And then we had another six, maybe seven that didn't even qualify who intended to race.

[00:17:04] And things happen too.

[00:17:05] I mean those boats don't have cabins.

[00:17:06] I have one friend from the race where his tent poles all snapped and he was securing his tent to trees and everything was soaking wet.

[00:17:14] And it was just miserable for a few days.

[00:17:16] And the problem with that weather is it just doesn't necessarily leave.

[00:17:19] So you can't even dry stuff out in the sun.

[00:17:21] You're just waiting for that sunny day.

[00:17:23] And with small boats, there's no deck space to spread anything out on to dry.

[00:17:27] So I had a few yard sale days where I had gear everywhere all around the deck.

[00:17:31] And I was just appreciative I could do that.

[00:17:33] Yeah.

[00:17:34] I grew up in the Pacific Northwest.

[00:17:36] I know it's gray for nine to 12 months of the year, but I did that on dry land.

[00:17:41] So I guess that's a little bit easier.

[00:17:43] Yeah, I'd say a little bit.

[00:17:46] How did you outfit the boat?

[00:17:48] Because this is a human-powered sail or human-powered.

[00:17:50] How did you outfit the boat to then incorporate the human aspect of this?

[00:17:55] Yeah, that's such a fun challenge.

[00:17:57] An interesting part of the race is that you're allowed to do that.

[00:18:01] So if you were doing a normal race race in Bermuda or even around the buoys, the wind dies.

[00:18:06] You can't do anything.

[00:18:07] This race, you have the power to do something about it.

[00:18:09] So they allow you to bring in wind or human power.

[00:18:14] So a lot of boats went with pedal drive systems.

[00:18:17] I looked at those and said, yeah, that's definitely more efficient.

[00:18:21] But a lot of them break during the course of the race.

[00:18:23] And that proved true.

[00:18:25] This race, probably over half of them broke at one point or another.

[00:18:28] Maybe even more than that.

[00:18:29] So I opted to go with something perhaps a little bit less efficient but more reliable.

[00:18:34] And I did a sliding seat rowing station.

[00:18:37] Was that based off of like an erg or like the water rower?

[00:18:42] Yeah, it was kind of so I used some parts.

[00:18:47] So actually from the water rower, I used the footrests from one of those.

[00:18:51] I did stop at their place in Rhode Island and picked up some of those.

[00:18:56] Then I did buy a sliding seat, which was carbon fiber.

[00:19:00] So that was super fast.

[00:19:02] I think it was one real carbon fiber part on the whole boat.

[00:19:06] The only fast part of the boat was the sliding seat.

[00:19:10] Yeah, exactly.

[00:19:11] And then the geometry of it was kind of challenging.

[00:19:13] We made this whole cardboard mock-up.

[00:19:15] I worked with Bob Fuller at South Shore Boatworks.

[00:19:18] He's just an incredible craftsman.

[00:19:20] And he worked with me to build the whole rowing station.

[00:19:24] And then we also had to build a custom tiller so that it went up and above my feet.

[00:19:28] So we custom laminated that.

[00:19:30] And we spent probably a couple of months actually laying that out, making sure it would work.

[00:19:34] We had some mock-ups on the water with everything clamped together.

[00:19:38] And right towards the end, it all came together.

[00:19:41] And it was not only practical, but it was just gorgeous by the time we finished.

[00:19:45] That was kind of a fun part of it too.

[00:19:46] So is this going to be an option that Jeff's going to offer on any new sanderlings purchased through Marshall Marine?

[00:19:52] You know, we were talking about that at dinner tonight.

[00:19:54] And he said he's going to direct everyone to my way.

[00:19:58] I don't think he wants to be building these.

[00:20:00] But I bet Bob would be up for it.

[00:20:04] This isn't something a spur of the moment type of decision.

[00:20:08] Planning and prep are crucial with an adventure like this.

[00:20:12] And even more so with something like the race to Alaska, where you're outside of a safety net a majority of the time.

[00:20:21] What were some of those aspects that you focused on?

[00:20:24] And where did you put your energy into when prepping for this race?

[00:20:29] Yeah, so it's most of the race is pretty much pure wilderness.

[00:20:36] I mean, there is not much help.

[00:20:37] I mean, there's the Canadian Coast Guard is actually pretty on top of stuff in terms of that range.

[00:20:43] I mean, you're never more than six hours out of Coast Guard range, which I think is pretty impressive given the amount of space there.

[00:20:50] What could possibly go wrong in six hours?

[00:20:53] Yeah, exactly.

[00:20:55] But you know out there you can't rely on that.

[00:20:57] But it's just it's, I guess, not in my nature and anyone doing that race.

[00:21:02] Everyone wants to be as self-sufficient as possible.

[00:21:04] And that means, you know, helping out other boats first and not relying on an outside source like that.

[00:21:11] So I was focusing on the very basic stuff first.

[00:21:15] One, making sure the boat was floating solid hull.

[00:21:19] So making sure there was no compromises there, which these boats are so well built.

[00:21:22] There was no concerns at all in that area.

[00:21:25] And really no through hulls at all, which is a huge benefit.

[00:21:28] You know, I had one for depth and speed, but that was it.

[00:21:31] So making sure you can get water out of the boat.

[00:21:33] And then following that, it was making sure that I could maneuver the boat point in the right direction.

[00:21:37] So I was focusing on steering, which I brought.

[00:21:40] I rebuilt that whole system, pintills, gudgeons, you know, new straps on the rudder, new tiller, you know, brought a backup tiller and then had new pintills and gudgeons.

[00:21:51] I could have used one of my ores as a backup rudder, you know, if needed be.

[00:21:56] And then next was focusing on propulsion, making sure that, you know, I replaced a lot of the components in the rigging.

[00:22:03] Lanix jumped in all new running rigging.

[00:22:06] Barton jumped in with all new hardware.

[00:22:08] Jeff helped me out at Marshall with the new head stay.

[00:22:11] And then we redid a lot of stuff like goosenecks and such in there to just to make sure everything was super solid and I had spare parts on board.

[00:22:19] And then once you have that stuff down, you're starting to get into luxuries in terms of looking at hardware and other components, which are really nice to have.

[00:22:30] But certainly, you know, there's that look at hydration, food, making sure all that is coming together as well.

[00:22:36] And I certainly went well beyond that.

[00:22:38] I mean, as soon as you start putting more more varnish or sea towel on parts of the boat, you know, you've gone beyond the essentials.

[00:22:44] And I did have time for some of that.

[00:22:46] People are going to see you show up with like gleaming varnish and like what's up there, posh?

[00:22:51] I mean, come on.

[00:22:52] Yeah, I think a number of people commented that way.

[00:22:55] At least I won the prettiest boat award at the before things even started.

[00:23:00] So that was that was a good boost before the start.

[00:23:03] We've talked to a ton of competitive racers and each one of them talk about how the trek getting to the starting line is sometimes is equally or more stressful than the race itself.

[00:23:15] Tell us about Team Wildcat's trip across the country to get to Port Townsend.

[00:23:21] Yeah, that was no easy feat.

[00:23:22] I took five days to get out to Port Townsend and I did 600 mile days.

[00:23:29] And, you know, after my college sailing days, I pretty much told myself, like, I'm never doing long driving again.

[00:23:35] I mean, this is just too much.

[00:23:36] And then before you know it, you're doing the longest drive you've ever done.

[00:23:39] Yeah.

[00:23:39] You know, and you're like, all right, 3000 miles, I can handle this.

[00:23:42] But, you know, a couple hundred miles in towing a trailer, you're like, all right, this this is going to take a while.

[00:23:49] But once I got through Chicago, it really got a lot easier.

[00:23:53] It was a lot prettier, especially getting into the mountains.

[00:23:56] I broke it up with some hikes at that point.

[00:23:58] I had a bunch of people offer to let me stay and stop along the way.

[00:24:02] But with such a tight timeline, I was pretty much straight business and getting out there.

[00:24:06] My brother, who towed the boat back, took 12 days.

[00:24:09] He stopped in Yellowstone, got to do all sorts of awesome stuff.

[00:24:11] So I'm a little jealous of that.

[00:24:13] But it was still a fun drive to get out there and need to have actually driven across the country now.

[00:24:19] I love the idea of your brother driving into Yellowstone with this Marshall cat on the back on a trailer, like just booping, like, you know, traveling around all those roads.

[00:24:29] Well, he launched it at a lake just to launch it.

[00:24:33] They couldn't rig it.

[00:24:34] He just went for it.

[00:24:35] He took the family out for a row.

[00:24:37] I love it.

[00:24:38] Exactly.

[00:24:38] Yeah.

[00:24:39] We don't have the hinge mass.

[00:24:41] So, yeah, Ryan just launched it, went for a row.

[00:24:43] And they slept on it a couple nights there, too.

[00:24:45] That's really funny.

[00:24:46] Going into this, I think it would be impossible.

[00:24:49] To not have a certain set of expectations, even with a healthy knowledge of you don't know what you don't know.

[00:24:59] But from the start, what were your expectations?

[00:25:03] Did you have an overall, I'm going to do it in this amount of days?

[00:25:07] Yeah, that actually brings up another funny story with my wife.

[00:25:11] I had told her it was going to take me roughly 14 days to finish.

[00:25:16] And I kind of knew in the back of my mind it could be 15, it could be 16.

[00:25:21] So she had booked a flight and she was going to get there in, you know, 11 days and plenty of time to hang out and then come see me.

[00:25:27] Well, it turns out I beat her to the finish line.

[00:25:29] She was in the plane, still flying in, watching the finish and the Wi-Fi on the plane.

[00:25:34] So it was kind of fun to beat that expectation.

[00:25:37] I bet she wishes I'd slowed down just a little bit.

[00:25:41] But I had a ton of racers there.

[00:25:42] I mean, it was pretty crowded at the finish line with people on the dock.

[00:25:44] And that was pretty cool.

[00:25:46] But, yeah, I think that was one expectation I had set for timing.

[00:25:50] And so it was neat to absolutely crush that expectation.

[00:25:54] And then I knew I wasn't going to win the race.

[00:25:56] And there's, you know, unless all the high-speed trimarons had all hit logs and sunk.

[00:26:01] And that wouldn't have been a good situation for anyone.

[00:26:04] So I am glad that did not happen.

[00:26:05] But not out of the realm of possibility.

[00:26:07] Yeah, no, not at all.

[00:26:08] It's happened in the past.

[00:26:10] I think the boat that won this year, I believe, had strikes maybe two other years and had to drop out.

[00:26:18] So, you know, finally they got it.

[00:26:20] And, you know, awesome to see that for them.

[00:26:21] That was cool to see them finally conquer the race.

[00:26:26] But, you know, so I basically looked at it and said, you know, it was a challenge for myself.

[00:26:31] And one, to see how hard I could push myself during the race.

[00:26:34] And by the time I got to the finish, I wanted to know that I kind of left it all on the race course.

[00:26:38] And didn't compromise anywhere.

[00:26:41] But then I also looked at, you know, for similar boats.

[00:26:44] I wanted, you know, any boat that was somewhat near, you know, equivalent rating for the boat.

[00:26:49] I wanted to be able to beat them, you know, fully crewed or single-handed.

[00:26:54] And then I was hoping to be the first single-handed boat to finish as well.

[00:26:58] And so all of those goals were met.

[00:27:01] And it seemed pretty clear that they were met even a few days out.

[00:27:05] Because I was with boats that I had no business being with.

[00:27:08] And I think it was just a bunch of good strategic decisions throughout the race, knowing when to trade miles for sleep.

[00:27:15] And that's the hardest part of single-handing is at some point you've got to rest.

[00:27:19] And there were a lot of nights where I took sequential 20-minute naps.

[00:27:23] And so you're not getting any REM sleep.

[00:27:24] So you're like, your memory is complete junk.

[00:27:26] And so, you know, thank God I recorded a bunch of stuff so I could recall what was actually going on.

[00:27:31] It was funny.

[00:27:32] I look at some of the videos I post, and I was like, oh, yeah, that was me.

[00:27:34] All right.

[00:27:36] It's like, have you seen that movie, Memento, where he has a short-term memory loss and he's tattooing on his self like, you know, you are in Alaska right now?

[00:27:46] Yes, I have seen that.

[00:27:47] Actually, we watched that on a sailing trip, actually, believe it or not.

[00:27:50] So I tie that movie to sailing for some reason or another.

[00:27:55] But yeah, so I mean, there's that.

[00:27:56] And there were some nights where I did pull over or even days when the current switched and there was no wind.

[00:28:01] And I'd pull over for anywhere from hour and a half to four and a half hours, kind of 90-minute increments to get some REM cycles in.

[00:28:09] There was a point in the race where your phone died, and it kind of died on and off.

[00:28:15] And keeping track and talking to your wife, and we were following on the tracker, and she was trying to decide, okay, is he stopped for a rest?

[00:28:23] Or is he stopped for a problem?

[00:28:25] Trying to decipher what was going on from the tracker was pretty entertaining and very difficult.

[00:28:31] Oh, yeah.

[00:28:32] I mean, there was a point in the race, and it was interesting talking to the other racers.

[00:28:35] We were all ready to throw our iPhones overboard because the charging cables all stopped working.

[00:28:41] And I don't know if they changed the software.

[00:28:43] It got more sensitive.

[00:28:43] But basically, the phone would tell you, we detect water in the charging port, and it's not going to charge.

[00:28:50] And then if you swap charging cables, you could get that one to work for a little while.

[00:28:55] But I reached a point where my touchscreen went funky, the phone wouldn't charge, and I just waited for it to die.

[00:29:01] And I switched over to a Garmin inReach to kind of let Alice know everything was okay.

[00:29:06] But you go back to T9 texting with that if you don't have your phone working.

[00:29:10] So it was like very short, cryptic messages like, I'm alive, don't worry.

[00:29:15] You know, swearing at the phone.

[00:29:16] Yeah.

[00:29:18] But then I figured out a trick with the charging cables.

[00:29:20] I found if I, like, took off a little bit of nose grease, put that on the charger side of the cable, I could, like, plug it in and get it working.

[00:29:26] And it was just a comedy of trying to keep this thing going.

[00:29:31] That happens after three nights of non-REM sleep.

[00:29:35] He's like, I wonder if I take a little nose grease.

[00:29:38] Exactly.

[00:29:39] The weird thoughts you have out there.

[00:29:40] And it works.

[00:29:40] And you're, like, jumping up and down and happy.

[00:29:43] Because that was my connection with civilization, especially as, like, a single-handed sailor.

[00:29:48] It's just fun to talk with people a little bit.

[00:29:50] And I did have Starlink on board.

[00:29:52] But without my phone, I couldn't really use that.

[00:29:54] Yeah, it's pointless.

[00:29:56] Did you miss any of the Wordle days?

[00:29:59] Like, that's the killer part.

[00:30:01] I've never actually jumped into that.

[00:30:03] But I probably should have.

[00:30:03] That would have been good entertainment out there.

[00:30:06] Missed opportunity.

[00:30:08] New York Times would have picked you up.

[00:30:08] Yeah, missed opportunity.

[00:30:09] Yeah.

[00:30:09] Yeah, exactly.

[00:30:10] All right.

[00:30:11] So the first day of the race is called the Proving Grounds.

[00:30:14] And for good reason.

[00:30:15] You head out on an open water leg, taking you through one of the busiest waterways on the

[00:30:20] West Coast over to the Canadian side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

[00:30:24] What were your thoughts, like, going in your head as you're crossing the start line?

[00:30:29] I mean, first of all, everyone must be totally just friggin' jazzed.

[00:30:34] And at some point, adrenaline's got to wear off.

[00:30:38] Yeah, it was.

[00:30:40] Honestly, I didn't think it was real at first.

[00:30:42] You know, here we are.

[00:30:43] We're getting on our boats.

[00:30:43] It's like four or something in the morning.

[00:30:46] And there's this whole crowd on the dock cheering us on as we row out of the basin.

[00:30:51] And then I don't know if it's a speaker or a real band playing, but there's all this crazy music going.

[00:30:56] And like, poor Townsend just embraces it.

[00:30:58] And I absolutely love that about that town.

[00:31:00] That was so much fun.

[00:31:02] And we get out to the start line, and everyone was hanging way back, so I don't know what was going on.

[00:31:07] So I just cut right in there.

[00:31:08] And I think it was first across the line.

[00:31:11] It was the Hobie Cat and me that were, like, right next to each other as we started.

[00:31:14] And so that was a strong start, kept rowing, kind of stayed out there.

[00:31:19] A couple of the faster boats kept going.

[00:31:21] But eventually, after rowing for a while and the wind not picking up, you're like, ooh, this is not necessarily going to be a short stretch across the way because we just did not have much wind at first.

[00:31:32] But the weather gods had tortured us earlier because they were forecast the wind was going to pick up into the high 30s.

[00:31:38] And so the thought was either you get across quickly and you beat that coming through, or you were going to have to tuck in your Dungeness and wait it out.

[00:31:48] And a number of boats did that.

[00:31:50] Eventually, the wind picked up, and I decided just to send it and shot across.

[00:31:55] And I was in by 1 o'clock, something like that, way earlier than I thought I would be.

[00:31:59] So that was a good confidence boost for Wildcat and just knowing what she could do in those conditions.

[00:32:07] And that's always nice to have a test that not like a, oh, crap test.

[00:32:11] But yeah, you handled everything I gave you, and we got across safely and quickly.

[00:32:17] So that's good.

[00:32:18] Exactly.

[00:32:19] And then you get into Victoria, and I'd never been there before.

[00:32:22] That city has an in-water airport.

[00:32:24] So you have to tuck to the side of the channel going in, and you have seaplanes coming and going past you.

[00:32:30] It's the coolest thing to watch as you're rowing to the basin where we're keeping all the boats for a couple of days.

[00:32:36] The second start is the real deal.

[00:32:38] From there, it just gets worse.

[00:32:41] How did the race change the further north that you sailed?

[00:32:44] I think that the weather got a little more unpredictable.

[00:32:49] The forecast just didn't seem to line up as well.

[00:32:51] Like we all felt pretty confident about day one.

[00:32:55] And it's pretty well protected at the start.

[00:32:58] So I think that's the other factor too, is it's just you're in pretty tight areas of water once you kind of get around the corner from Victoria.

[00:33:05] And so it's kind of limited what can happen.

[00:33:08] Except I found one surprise.

[00:33:09] When the container ships go flying by, they send a tsunami.

[00:33:12] And that will rock your world.

[00:33:13] So that's not fun.

[00:33:15] Best to avoid that.

[00:33:16] But hard to get out of the way.

[00:33:19] And I think it was day two, the evening of day two, where you hit your first, where I hit my first kind of major obstacle in the course.

[00:33:28] It was one of the gates called Seymour Narrows.

[00:33:30] So it was interesting getting there.

[00:33:32] I mean, we had pouring rain, beautiful sunny days with no wind, a little bit of everything.

[00:33:39] But you approach Seymour Narrows.

[00:33:40] And this is the part of the course where they say, you know, the current can be up to 15 knots.

[00:33:44] So use some caution.

[00:33:46] And they say, you know, probably not best to go through at night.

[00:33:49] And they also don't recommend going through at anything but, you know, close to slack.

[00:33:55] Because there's whirlpools and all sorts of crazy stuff that can happen.

[00:33:58] Well, my timing had it such that I was approaching it.

[00:34:01] And it was three in the morning.

[00:34:03] So it was middle of the night.

[00:34:04] And it was full current with me.

[00:34:06] And I saw a bunch of other boats stopped.

[00:34:08] And I said, well, this seems stupid to stop.

[00:34:09] Let's get ahead.

[00:34:10] So I sent it and went through.

[00:34:13] So I ended up hitting on, you know, it was the lower of the two ebbs.

[00:34:16] So, you know, it was only flowing through at eight to nine knots.

[00:34:20] Maybe a little bit more in some spots there.

[00:34:22] That's so fast.

[00:34:23] So I hit 12.1, at least when I was looking down for boat speed, even though the wind was only blowing at like four knots.

[00:34:30] And the boat just kind of danced through Seymour Narrows.

[00:34:33] And by that, I mean, I did three complete 360s.

[00:34:36] You know, no choice in the matter.

[00:34:38] The boat was just spinning through whirlpools until I got shot out the other end of Seymour Narrows.

[00:34:42] And then just said, they kept pushing me up.

[00:34:45] Discovery pass there.

[00:34:47] Is this the kind of thing?

[00:34:49] Like, what's the width of the Narrows?

[00:34:52] Is it like a quarter mile?

[00:34:54] Is it like two miles?

[00:34:55] What's the?

[00:34:56] It next down to a quarter mile there.

[00:34:58] Really?

[00:34:59] And it's a lot of water flowing through there.

[00:35:01] And as you're approaching it, it sounds like a waterfall.

[00:35:05] So, you know, and it's sucking you through.

[00:35:06] So there's no going back at that point.

[00:35:08] So at first you're like, maybe I should second guess this.

[00:35:10] And, but there's, there's no turning back.

[00:35:13] I mean, you can try, but there's, you know, you're just going to get pulled right through.

[00:35:16] There's plenty of videos on YouTube of like full-size cruising trawlers getting stuck the wrong direction.

[00:35:24] So the fact that you made it through there and, you know, you did a couple of pirouettes, no big deal, but that's, that's impressive.

[00:35:31] That was pushing it.

[00:35:33] Yeah.

[00:35:33] Yeah, for sure.

[00:35:33] I think if I had the variable of any more significant wind than what I had, I probably would have put the brakes on.

[00:35:40] Because if you get that current against wind, it can get pretty nasty, but it was, it was pretty flat water.

[00:35:45] All things considered going through there at that point.

[00:35:47] And I would imagine.

[00:35:48] It just seemed fun.

[00:35:49] I would imagine you're not necessarily worried about the depth of the water.

[00:35:54] It's probably really deep until it probably gets really shallow very quickly on the, on the side.

[00:35:59] So as long as you're kind of in somewhat the middle, you're okay.

[00:36:03] Or is there like just a big rock out of nowhere and to add a little more difficulty to the whole thing?

[00:36:09] It's funny you mentioned that Carter.

[00:36:10] So there used to be a massive rock in the middle of this big spire and it used to sink ships all the time, but somewhere, maybe this was 30 years ago, maybe 40 years ago.

[00:36:20] They blew it up and they had to dig this underground tunnel into it.

[00:36:24] And there's something about it being one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever on this planet.

[00:36:30] So it, it must've been quite a show to see this thing go, but there were a lot of happy mariners afterwards.

[00:36:37] That's nuts.

[00:36:38] So I, I, I, I did not know that was not a, a planted question at all.

[00:36:42] That is crazy nuts.

[00:36:43] Yeah.

[00:36:45] So you already mentioned about the camaraderie of the fleet.

[00:36:48] So getting ready for the race, obviously in Port Townsend and then Victoria, people are talking, people are sharing ideas.

[00:36:55] What was it like on the race course?

[00:36:58] Did you see a lot of competitors?

[00:37:00] Was there a, I mean, outside of, obviously everyone's looking out for each other, but was there trading of information or was there kind of a lot of cloak and dagger stuff?

[00:37:10] Now it was pretty friendly from everything I saw.

[00:37:13] I mean, it was definitely, we were definitely racing each other.

[00:37:15] There was no doubt about that, but we were trading weather information.

[00:37:18] We had some laughs on the radio.

[00:37:20] I mean, we were trading tax at times.

[00:37:22] I mean, there were some boats I came within 30, 40 feet of going back and forth.

[00:37:26] I mean, we got to Bella Bella, uh, sail like a mother also was there.

[00:37:31] So we all had ice cream together before we hit the race course again.

[00:37:34] Uh, so it was, it was fun.

[00:37:36] It was, it was good hanging out with everyone and especially as a single hand and getting to socialize a little bit.

[00:37:40] Um, but especially when the weather turned nasty kind of in the last like two days of the race, uh, for me and some other boats, I, I was, because I had Starlink, I was passing on a bunch of weather info to the other boats.

[00:37:53] Yeah.

[00:37:53] Cause it just, there was no need for anyone to get in trouble out there.

[00:37:56] And there was some pretty, it was a pretty nasty sea state, um, outside of the protected water.

[00:38:01] So it was good to, to kind of advise people of what it is supposed to be or what it may be out there and let them make a decision on what they wanted to do.

[00:38:09] And, and again, being in like the main body of a fleet.

[00:38:12] So watching on the tracker, it's very deceptive or it's very deceiving because there is a huge mass of boats, but those boats are probably like three miles long in like, as you're looking at on the, on the screen, on your phone.

[00:38:26] So you were, were you kind of in sight of people the entire time or were there times where there was just zero, just, just nature out there?

[00:38:36] Yes. Yeah, definitely. There were, there were times when I was right next to other boats and then there was a couple of days straight at times where I didn't see a single other boat.

[00:38:45] Like most of my way through Johnstone straight, I didn't see any other boats, you know, it was just me out there and, uh, getting my, my head bashed with, with waves and spray and just nonstop 26 hours of short tacking upwind through square waves.

[00:39:03] So would that have been other than see more arrows, kind of one of those moments where you kind of sat back and said, okay, what am I doing here?

[00:39:13] What poor decision did I make in my life to put me in this position?

[00:39:18] I think the worst, like, so it's okay if you're bashing in waves, but you're still making forward progress, you know, in the, you know, the Marshall 18s, a strong boat.

[00:39:26] So I wasn't really worried about the boat. Everything was good there, but it's when that current starts to switch and like that fear of moving backwards in the course, like I almost refused to move backwards at any point.

[00:39:37] You know, I was always figuring out a way to at least pull over to the side. And there was, there was this one part in Johnstone. I had to pull over and in this ties into a kind of another story when, you know, after the race, we had this competition of.

[00:39:50] Who, who anchored in the spot that was least like an actual anchorage. And this was my submission along that they have these lit markers on the side of Johnstone and somewhere on these little rock outcroppings that are maybe another like 30, 40 feet from shore.

[00:40:06] And I tucked in between one of those and shore. So I had rocks on either side of me, dropped out enough scope where if the boat swung too far one way or another, I would slam into the rocks, but the current and the wind are always in line with the straight.

[00:40:18] So there was the very little chance that would happen. So I kind of tucked in there for a little while waiting for that, that current to subside and start to turn and come with me.

[00:40:28] And it finally did. And what was beautiful about the cat boat is there were some rocks I had to go over to get out of that with how I was being swept by the current.

[00:40:36] So I just pulled the center board out. I was gliding right over those rocks.

[00:40:40] Yeah. Like six inches of draft. Yeah, no problem.

[00:40:42] Yeah, exactly. And then shot back out. So it was basically as long as the currents with you and the wind isn't too strong, you know, life is good.

[00:40:52] Or if it's kind of mild current and the winds, you know, a little stronger, it all works out.

[00:40:57] But I think, you know, getting back to what you were talking about, Tyler, the worst part for me was actually coming out of Johnstone.

[00:41:03] So after 26 hours of going through like one to three foot waves tied against current, you're like, all right, I am I'm done with this.

[00:41:11] I'm taking my first highway exit. I'm getting out of here. And I did that. And I flew through this cut.

[00:41:18] And I got out of the lee of Malcolm Island. And all of a sudden, I found myself into six and seven foot breaking waves.

[00:41:25] And I said, Oh, my God, it can get worse. I was like, this sucks.

[00:41:30] So I was in Queen Charlotte straight at that point. And I was making very little progress to weather and I could basically just shoot across the way.

[00:41:37] And it was going to get dark in a couple hours. And I was like, this, this is not a good situation.

[00:41:41] I was getting sprayed, you know, probably taken on a gallon to the cockpit with each wave. And I said, I got to get out of here.

[00:41:47] So I tacked around and still getting soaked for like another half hour, 45 minutes and managed to tuck in behind Malcolm Island, where it's definitely not an anchorage again.

[00:41:58] So another submission for the contest. And, you know, in between, you know, a couple of boulders and tucked as close to shore as possible, I dropped the anchor and I slept for probably about four and a half hours at that point and waited for conditions to turn.

[00:42:14] And at that point, I realized everyone else had stopped too. I mean, it was just so nasty in there, just the wind and the waves and everything funnels in.

[00:42:20] And it's, it's just can be a nasty piece of water. And, uh, it was much better conditions the next morning. Thankfully.

[00:42:27] Is it, is it like a, a, like a fjord where the mountains or the islands just go straight up? So it's just, it's a literally, as you're saying, funneling wind down there, or is just the wind so strong? And that's why.

[00:42:40] Yeah, I think it's so strong. I mean, it's coming straight in the, from, from the Pacific.

[00:42:43] Oh yeah.

[00:42:44] I'd argue, you know, on the sides of Johnstone, the mountains were definitely higher. Um, but those mountains also definitely border Queen Charlotte as well on that side and, and to the North. So, uh, it has, it definitely has that effect.

[00:42:59] And it was, you know, you look at it on the chart and it's like, well, it's not too bad, but then it took me an entire day to tack up wind out of Queen Charlotte too. So it's, you know, it's another day of just beating your brains out.

[00:43:11] Yeah. Um, sailing upwind and trying to get around Cape caution. And, um, you know, I was chatting with the other boats and we're like, are we going to go for it? Are we all going to try to pass there? And, you know, of course everyone's confident they're going to get there, but you know, none of us.

[00:43:23] You know, made it, you know, that day we all passed it in the night and, you know, we were all pushing as hard as we could.

[00:43:29] I, I once had a Volkswagen bus and I was driving on the highway one time and I was tailgating behind this semi trailer or the semi truck. And I, I didn't literally had my foot off the gas and I was just being sucked in his wake.

[00:43:42] No problem. And so I tried to slingshot my way around it. And just like that, where you got over it and you're like doing right up next to the guy and you get right even with them. And then the, the wave hits you, the, uh, the, uh, the air pressure from the truck hits you and just shoots you back. It's like, ah, you're not going now. This is take a seat behind me for a little while longer.

[00:44:03] And that whole race course had a way of doing that. Like right when he thought it was, you were making progress, it was like, nah, I don't think so. Current's going to switch. And, uh, you know, that, that wasn't forecast and, uh, you know, the winds kind of drop off and, you know, it's when you, when you had to switch to human propulsion, I mean, it's, you're not going fast. I mean, I was going two knots at the most and you get pretty beat up doing it even with the best system on board.

[00:44:28] And, uh, it, it was tough, um, at times, you know, with that. And that, that was probably one of the hardest parts is kind of keeping your morale up when, when the conditions really dropped off.

[00:44:37] What was the longest time you were on the oars?

[00:44:42] That was day one.

[00:44:45] Well, at least it got better.

[00:44:47] Exactly. I was, I want to say day, I know between day one and day two, I was on the oars for 14 hours.

[00:44:54] Oh, and I want to say, let's say nine of those maybe were day one, like towards the evening, it dropped off.

[00:45:01] And the worst part was the current switched on me there too.

[00:45:04] There was supposed to be wind out in the sound.

[00:45:06] And I was like, all right, it's going to be great.

[00:45:07] I'm going to get around the other boats.

[00:45:08] And then the wind died forever when I crossed the course.

[00:45:11] And I ended up having to row a few more miles back towards shore just to get out of the current and try to hide for the night.

[00:45:17] Oh man.

[00:45:18] And, uh, yeah, I mean, there's, it, it was brutal, you know, especially, you know, you look at it day one, you're like,

[00:45:23] Oh man, is the rest of the race going to be look like this?

[00:45:26] Like if I have to row 50% of the time, like this is going to be a long way up.

[00:45:33] Um, so looking back at, so just about a month removed from the race at this point, looking back,

[00:45:39] is there one image in your head that sticks out of just, Oh my God.

[00:45:46] Like just the, the beauty and the grandeur that you were in at the time where you just,

[00:45:52] just had to stop and throw over anchor just to look and just to take it all in.

[00:45:58] So it's interesting.

[00:46:00] Like the first five, four days, four days, five days.

[00:46:03] I think it was like a complete awe at the beauty of the course.

[00:46:07] And then you just go numb to it after a little while.

[00:46:09] And then you get sprayed in the face with some water and you kind of look around and be like,

[00:46:12] Oh yeah, it's still beautiful.

[00:46:14] And I, I can't say there was a time where I, I stopped and I, I need to go back and go cruising

[00:46:21] there.

[00:46:21] Cause it is, it's, I passed by so many places I would have loved to explore, but there were

[00:46:26] definitely times where I had the autopilot on and I could just look around and appreciate

[00:46:30] it.

[00:46:31] And, you know, you just didn't want it to end.

[00:46:33] One of the things we talked about quite a bit, mostly joking, but maybe 10% out of fear

[00:46:42] was some of the wildlife encounters that were a possibility.

[00:46:46] And we, we joked about bears quite a bit.

[00:46:48] Did you get to see any wildlife along the way?

[00:46:52] Yeah.

[00:46:53] So I was hoping to see bears along the way.

[00:46:55] I didn't see a single one.

[00:46:56] Not until I got up to catch a can.

[00:46:58] Adam, it's really good talking with you.

[00:47:00] Thank you very much.

[00:47:02] Adam, Adam Cove people.

[00:47:03] I mean, come on, you didn't see a bear.

[00:47:05] I know.

[00:47:06] I thought I was at least going to have one swimming after me or something, but no, nothing,

[00:47:09] nothing.

[00:47:10] I mean, that would have been some motivation to sail faster.

[00:47:12] So my dad grew up on the Island of Kodiak in Alaska.

[00:47:17] And I had this idea in my head that it was this wilderness, just this beautiful open wilderness,

[00:47:23] wildlife everywhere.

[00:47:24] And we went up to visit when I was, I don't know, 12 or 13.

[00:47:29] And I was expecting to see bears on every street corner.

[00:47:33] Zero bears.

[00:47:34] The only place they had bears was at the town dump.

[00:47:37] That's where all the bears were.

[00:47:40] And that's, that's where we saw one bear actually up in Ketchikan.

[00:47:43] See?

[00:47:44] I think.

[00:47:46] But there were, there were a lot of whales.

[00:47:47] So a lot of orcas.

[00:47:49] So I didn't have any encounters that were dangerous.

[00:47:54] They were all just kind of swimming around the boat off the transom.

[00:47:56] But I know one boat that had one breach about 30 feet off the bow and then swim under the

[00:48:00] boat.

[00:48:01] So that, that was a little scary for them.

[00:48:02] But the orcas did not go after your rudder.

[00:48:06] Surprisingly.

[00:48:06] I don't think they speak Portuguese was the issue.

[00:48:09] So we were, we were safe on that front.

[00:48:11] They did.

[00:48:11] The orca clans have not started talking to each other.

[00:48:13] They've not talked across the, uh, the Atlantic into the Pacific.

[00:48:17] Yeah.

[00:48:17] There's, there's another thing for Jeff to, to use in his marketing.

[00:48:21] The Sanderling is orca proof.

[00:48:23] It's orca.

[00:48:24] They don't like the shallow draft cap ups.

[00:48:27] They just couldn't get at the rudder.

[00:48:29] And that will be a quote by Adam Cove.

[00:48:31] The orca it's orca proof.

[00:48:33] Yeah.

[00:48:36] All right.

[00:48:37] So at what point in the race, did you know that you were going to survive and finish?

[00:48:44] You know, I think through a race like this, there's a lot of emotional highs and lows

[00:48:49] and like majority of the time it's, you know, determination.

[00:48:53] I'm going to finish.

[00:48:54] This is going great.

[00:48:56] And then you have something that just sets you back like those six and seven foot breaking

[00:48:59] waves.

[00:49:01] Uh, there was another time.

[00:49:02] I mean, you know, right when you think everything's going right, I was probably 10 miles out from

[00:49:07] the finish and saying, all right, you know, you're doing the math and you're like, all

[00:49:11] right, I'm going to finish within a few hours.

[00:49:12] This is fantastic.

[00:49:13] Like I'm going to go have breakfast and catch a can.

[00:49:16] And then all of a sudden the current switch switches on you, you know, about half an hour early,

[00:49:20] which means you're not going to make it through that next narrow section, which means you're

[00:49:24] delayed another tide cycle.

[00:49:26] And you know, the frustration kind of builds and you're like, catch can may as well be a hundred

[00:49:29] miles away.

[00:49:30] It doesn't make a difference right now.

[00:49:32] There was a moment there where Alison, when you were stuck and it was dragging on a little bit

[00:49:40] that she was like, I'm, I might make this.

[00:49:42] My flight might get me there in time to do this.

[00:49:45] I gave her a little bit of hope, but yeah, I mean, it just that determination, adrenaline

[00:49:50] kicked in.

[00:49:51] Cause I was just like, no, I'm not waiting another tide cycle.

[00:49:54] I'm getting there.

[00:49:54] So I, I scooted over to the side of the channel as far over as I could get till I was like

[00:49:59] 15 feet away from shore.

[00:50:01] And I rode up against the shore and I caught some back current and I followed that all the

[00:50:06] way up until kind of that last channel up to catch a can.

[00:50:09] And then the current was still against me there, but it was only half a knot, maybe a knot against

[00:50:14] me, which wasn't nearly as bad as the two and a half I saw earlier.

[00:50:17] Yeah.

[00:50:17] And so I found a way to get in there and beat the tide cycle, which felt really good.

[00:50:21] I didn't realize I was closing in on another boat actually dead.

[00:50:23] No idea.

[00:50:24] Uh, but it was, it was just at that point, like you've been through, through so much and

[00:50:29] the races just keeps trying to, to push you down.

[00:50:32] And, and it's just such a brutal course that at some point, you know, you've got to put in

[00:50:36] just some pure determination and get through it and just, you know, push, push yourself

[00:50:40] to your limits at the end, just to get there.

[00:50:43] So let's talk about that finish knowing you and knowing a little bit of your, your sailing

[00:50:48] background.

[00:50:49] I know you've done a lot of open water passages and cruising.

[00:50:54] How did stepping on the dock and ringing that bell compared to all your other adventures

[00:51:01] on the water, cruising through the Caribbean, all your solo passages.

[00:51:04] How was that finished in comparison to the rest of it?

[00:51:08] I think what made such a huge difference on that one is it was a crowd.

[00:51:13] They're just like cheering you on entering, which is so much fun.

[00:51:16] Like so frequently, like you get somewhere and there's no one else there to celebrate.

[00:51:20] I met you in Antigua.

[00:51:21] That's true.

[00:51:22] We were in Antigua together.

[00:51:23] Yeah.

[00:51:23] That's true.

[00:51:23] I was waiting for you.

[00:51:25] Customs.

[00:51:26] Customs are on the dock waiting for you to celebrate.

[00:51:29] Yeah.

[00:51:29] Yeah.

[00:51:29] When you get to Antigua.

[00:51:30] Yeah.

[00:51:31] But I think what, what makes this race unique in this passage in itself was the 750 miles

[00:51:40] were coastal.

[00:51:41] So it was a very challenging 750, like 750 miles offshore is a lot easier.

[00:51:48] Uh, there's some marine traffic, sure.

[00:51:50] And, and some weathers and you might have Gulfstream or something like that, but generally

[00:51:54] you have a strategy that you're resetting every maybe six hours or something like that.

[00:51:59] Um, and you can leave the autopilot on it.

[00:52:00] Just keep going in this case.

[00:52:03] I mean, there were areas where you just really couldn't even run the autopilot.

[00:52:06] I mean, you were attacking every five minutes or, or more frequently, um, when the current

[00:52:11] was against you, if you were trying to hug the shore.

[00:52:13] So being able to get through all that strategically and just the mind power that went into it to,

[00:52:19] to get to the finish and to get there quickly felt amazing.

[00:52:23] It was, it was tough to, to really, really even describe that feeling of, of overcoming

[00:52:29] that course and a course that challenging.

[00:52:32] And I think you got to do the race yourselves to kind of feel that.

[00:52:36] And I, I would encourage anyone who's thinking about it.

[00:52:38] I mean, go out there and do it.

[00:52:39] I mean, it's, there's really no way to, to describe that feeling of, you know, you're

[00:52:43] visualizing ringing that bell for, you know, 10 days at that point I was, and it was neat

[00:52:48] to actually get there, ring it.

[00:52:50] And then, then you just get that, that weird feeling afterwards, even after, uh, you know,

[00:52:57] you're there, things start to calm down and you're at the dock and you're alone with the

[00:53:00] boat again.

[00:53:01] You're like, oh, the race is over.

[00:53:03] Like, what am I going to do right now?

[00:53:05] Yeah.

[00:53:05] It's exhausting.

[00:53:06] Yeah.

[00:53:07] But then you have a bunch of racers who come back and lift you back up again.

[00:53:10] And then you go out and have lunch and drinks and keep going.

[00:53:13] It's funny because every, every person that we've talked to that has done the race, they

[00:53:19] all say that, you know, it was incredibly rewarding.

[00:53:23] It was worth every single moment.

[00:53:26] But then you talk to race organizers and every single one of them without a doubt say, I wouldn't

[00:53:31] do this.

[00:53:32] There's no way.

[00:53:33] Oh, totally.

[00:53:34] Yeah.

[00:53:35] It's a really funny dynamic between that.

[00:53:38] It sure is.

[00:53:39] And it's a very, I think it's a different breed of sailors that are doing this race.

[00:53:45] It's in, and I think it's not just that they're sailors.

[00:53:49] I mean, pretty much everyone there also skied also, you know, backpacked, um, was very much,

[00:53:55] you know, a group of adventurers and not just sailors.

[00:53:59] And so it, it just made for, you know, a very competitive, very athletic group, um, much

[00:54:05] more so than I've, I've seen in any other race.

[00:54:08] Um, and, and that just added another element to that, that just kind of blew me away about

[00:54:13] the race.

[00:54:13] It was just such a cool group of people to be racing with.

[00:54:17] That's great.

[00:54:18] Uh, so congratulations are an order.

[00:54:21] Uh, you are now a record holder.

[00:54:23] Congratulations on.

[00:54:24] Yeah.

[00:54:25] Thank you, Carter.

[00:54:25] So talk to you about, talk to you about your results and how you finished what you thought

[00:54:29] you were going to do and how you actually finished.

[00:54:31] Let's, let's talk about them.

[00:54:33] Yeah, sure.

[00:54:34] Uh, so I think one thing I was pretty happy about, I was the first single handed boat to

[00:54:39] finish, uh, which was exciting.

[00:54:41] That was definitely a target and, and hit that, um, overall, I didn't want to say it was 16th,

[00:54:47] I think was the number.

[00:54:48] Out of how many boats?

[00:54:50] Uh, out of how many that finished 20, 25.

[00:54:56] Okay.

[00:54:57] Something like that.

[00:54:57] And then I want to say there were originally before the qualifier, there were 40 something

[00:55:02] boats in there.

[00:55:03] So quite a few got knocked down.

[00:55:06] Um, and then the, I, the, the record, I didn't even realize that until the, the next day.

[00:55:12] Um, cause you know, you're so focused on other stuff and it's just good being around people

[00:55:16] again when you've been alone for that long.

[00:55:18] So, you know, I was looking at the, the old results and I was like, oh, actually broke

[00:55:23] two records.

[00:55:23] And, and one was, I set the fastest, um, single handed mono hull record.

[00:55:29] And then also the fastest mono hull 20 feet and under that I've ever done the race.

[00:55:34] So it was cool to, to tick off those boxes.

[00:55:37] Did you get a set of forks for that achievement or was it just an attaboy?

[00:55:41] Just an attaboy.

[00:55:42] And that's the beauty of that race is you're like, not, it's not like everyone gets a cup

[00:55:46] and you know, like, you know, Wednesday night racing type of thing.

[00:55:48] It's, um, everyone just feels rewarded for what they accomplished, what goals they achieved

[00:55:54] that they had set out to do.

[00:55:55] And then we have a couple of side bet things for, for some small awards here and there,

[00:55:59] but I, I don't think anyone's really focused on that stuff.

[00:56:02] Well, I, I think that, and maybe this, this is something that we should, we should take

[00:56:08] on as a group, but I think wildcat needs to either go to mystic or to the, the sailing

[00:56:15] museum in Newport or.

[00:56:18] I mean, there, there's so many historic, uh, the new Bedford whaling museum, it should

[00:56:23] be in the little center vestibule area rigged in all of the splendor.

[00:56:27] I think that should, I think that should happen.

[00:56:30] Big time.

[00:56:31] I think I'm already getting pulls from, uh, some people in the cap out association to

[00:56:34] make sure we get that to the meeting.

[00:56:36] For sure.

[00:56:37] Yeah.

[00:56:38] And, and we have the, uh, the cap boat rendezvous this upcoming weekend in Peyton Arum.

[00:56:43] So she'll be there.

[00:56:45] Nice.

[00:56:45] There you go.

[00:56:46] Be there.

[00:56:47] Unfortunately, this will be up by then.

[00:56:49] So there are, our true fans will be able to go to the cap boat, uh, rendezvous and see

[00:56:53] it.

[00:56:54] Yeah.

[00:56:54] There you go.

[00:56:55] That's exciting.

[00:56:56] But she'll be around town all summer.

[00:56:57] We're going to keep her in the water.

[00:56:58] We'll do a bunch of cruising on her.

[00:56:59] Cool.

[00:57:00] Yeah.

[00:57:01] So, uh, wildcat looked a lot like the green monster at Fenway park with a large,

[00:57:07] large decals and sponsors everywhere.

[00:57:09] Um, and there actually was a very large prominent location for a Tyler Fields photography decal.

[00:57:17] Nice work, Tyler.

[00:57:18] Okay.

[00:57:19] Yeah.

[00:57:19] I got, I got a lot of, um, thousands of miles, both on shore and, and, uh, on the water of

[00:57:25] advertisement.

[00:57:26] Appreciate it.

[00:57:27] It was fun to be working with so many interesting companies and brands that I absolutely love

[00:57:34] across the board.

[00:57:36] And I think being in the industry helped me kickstart that.

[00:57:40] And I, in terms of preparing for the race, I mean, there's so many logistics to figure out.

[00:57:45] And one thing I started looking at very early on was getting sponsorship.

[00:57:49] So I realized this was going to be a fairly expensive endeavor and trying to get some of

[00:57:54] those costs covered were, we were going to be important for, you know, a successful and safe

[00:57:59] race to, to the level that I wanted to do it.

[00:58:02] And so I reached out to connections and then I also did a bunch of cold emails, cold calls,

[00:58:07] and I got rejected hundreds of times, um, which is, you know, that sales, right?

[00:58:12] And then you celebrate, I had a total of, uh, 20, 24 wins for sponsors, 24 sponsors and

[00:58:18] you celebrate those and you absolutely love when you get them.

[00:58:20] And it was just so much fun working with everyone in one capacity or another.

[00:58:24] Cause I just, I didn't have to fake it.

[00:58:26] It was all just awesome products to be using on the boat.

[00:58:29] And, uh, I would love to work with all of them again, you know, and, and I'm sure I

[00:58:34] will be.

[00:58:35] Give them a shout out who, uh, who helped you out to get to the finish line.

[00:58:38] Thinking gray Marine, Lennox yachting, Brownell boat stands, South shore boat works, SOK battery,

[00:58:47] Marshall Marine, extra tough bank five, Barton Marine, Mantis Marine, Tyler fields, photography

[00:58:55] shout out there, uh, the gray buzzards, more self expeditions, quantum sales, Bristol loft in

[00:59:02] particular, new England foundry, useful rec pack backpackers, pantry, Lux five base camp.

[00:59:11] And our nonprofit sponsor community boating in new Bedford.

[00:59:14] Very cool.

[00:59:15] All right.

[00:59:16] Well, I mean, I don't know what you're going to do that could top something like the race

[00:59:21] to Alaska, but what's next for Adam Cove.

[00:59:23] Do you have any other big adventures planned?

[00:59:25] I, we know some offshore rowers and I know you're, you're a pretty, uh, you're a pretty

[00:59:31] frequent rower.

[00:59:32] Maybe that's, that's going to be the next, the next thing.

[00:59:36] Yeah.

[00:59:36] The, the gray buzzards are excited to have me back here in new Bedford.

[00:59:39] So rowing with them again is nice.

[00:59:41] And I, you know, I've toyed with that idea that the last time I looked into it, they had

[00:59:45] like a four year waiting list.

[00:59:47] And I said, I can't wait that long.

[00:59:48] You know, I just didn't have the patience.

[00:59:49] So I jumped into some other stuff like sailing down the Caribbean and this, um, but you never

[00:59:53] know.

[00:59:54] I won't rule that out.

[00:59:55] Uh, I think the tough part coming off of anything like this is there's such an adrenaline high,

[01:00:02] such like an emotional high from the race that you're bound to come back down.

[01:00:06] So like the only way to recover from that is to kind of start playing that next adventure.

[01:00:10] So I'm, I'm working on figuring out what's next.

[01:00:14] I'm not sure yet, but it's definitely going to be fun.

[01:00:17] But the next thing I'm, I'm definitely going to be doing is enjoying some around here.

[01:00:21] I mean, we have one of the most beautiful cruising grounds in the world here in new England.

[01:00:26] Um, so we'll probably be taking our looters 33 up to Maine, doing some cruising on wildcat

[01:00:31] around here and, and just enjoying a beautiful summer.

[01:00:34] And even, you know, even the fall is amazing.

[01:00:37] Um, you know, we're usually sailing even to early December.

[01:00:40] So I think we'll be focusing on that and then play in the mountains a little bit and, uh,

[01:00:45] yeah, and work on what that next adventure is.

[01:00:47] Nice.

[01:00:49] Can't wait.

[01:00:50] I, oh my God, it's going to be, you're going to be like trekking.

[01:00:54] Uh, you'll be solo circumnavigating Antarctica in no time.

[01:01:00] Yeah.

[01:01:00] That sounds fun.

[01:01:01] You got some sail to ski stuff.

[01:01:02] I don't know.

[01:01:03] We'll see what, what comes out, but another podcast, you know,

[01:01:05] I'll keep you guys going for content.

[01:01:07] We'll get you on to, uh, sail Bainbridge out in Washington.

[01:01:11] They do a sail to ski program every year.

[01:01:14] That looks incredible.

[01:01:16] I, I would love to jump on that.

[01:01:18] Good.

[01:01:19] Well, Adam, thank you so much for coming on.

[01:01:21] What an adventure.

[01:01:23] Congratulations on, uh, on completing it.

[01:01:26] What, what an amazing feat.

[01:01:27] Congrats, man.

[01:01:29] Yeah.

[01:01:29] Thanks so much.

[01:01:30] And, you know, same to everyone else that completed that race.

[01:01:32] I mean, it is a tough race and there are a bunch of badass sailors in that group.

[01:01:35] So it's a cheers to all them too.

[01:02:00] Welcome back to around the buoy.

[01:02:02] Um, Tyler, are you actually, you've talked about wanting to sign up for this race.

[01:02:07] I talked about it, but what I would really like to do is I would like to charter our

[01:02:14] again, previous around the buoy guest, uh, the motor vessel, David B.

[01:02:19] Oh, follow the fleet and photograph the race.

[01:02:24] That's what I want to do.

[01:02:25] I don't have a huge urge to cram myself into a small boat and be uncomfortable for three

[01:02:31] weeks with the chance of drowning or being eaten by a polar bear.

[01:02:34] That doesn't, that doesn't sound great.

[01:02:36] I want freshly baked pastries, hot coffee, uh, the sound of that diesel just chugging me

[01:02:44] up the coast.

[01:02:45] That's what I want.

[01:02:46] That's it.

[01:02:48] So we're not going to get a firsthand account of the race from you.

[01:02:51] Unless I'd make some poor decisions in my life in the next couple of years, then probably

[01:02:57] not.

[01:02:57] You never know it, Tyler.

[01:02:59] You never know what's going to happen.

[01:03:01] That's true.

[01:03:02] That's true.

[01:03:02] Yeah.

[01:03:03] But Adam there, you, as you said it previous, uh, Tyler, he's one of the most positive people

[01:03:09] I've ever met.

[01:03:11] And having that kind of positive energy, getting into a race like that really is probably one

[01:03:17] of the keys to why he finished, finished the race.

[01:03:20] Having talked to him, if there was anybody that would convince me to do it, like, I think

[01:03:25] he could convince me to run into a wall.

[01:03:27] He's so excited about it, but I can't, I don't, I don't think I'm, I don't, I don't,

[01:03:32] I don't think it's on my list of things to do.

[01:03:35] But Adam, at least he can always hang that hat.

[01:03:38] He could probably hold up his oar that he rode that first 14 hours of day one and put

[01:03:44] it in his, like his living room in his man cave.

[01:03:46] It's like, that's the oar that saved my life.

[01:03:48] And it got better.

[01:03:50] It got better from this.

[01:03:51] It got better.

[01:03:52] It got better.

[01:03:53] Yeah.

[01:03:54] But yeah, it was really cool to talk to Adam.

[01:03:56] Congrats on the finish.

[01:03:57] And also I got to give him kudos on the Marshall Marine cat boat because really and truly,

[01:04:04] I think that was an incredibly smart decision.

[01:04:07] I think so too.

[01:04:08] And, you know, talking to, to knowledgeable people before he left, we kind of came down

[01:04:14] to the same conclusion that that boat is such a nice choice and it opens up so many places,

[01:04:20] pushing it when he could and reeling it back a little bit when he knew it was on the line.

[01:04:26] It was a great choice.

[01:04:27] Yeah.

[01:04:28] Really cool.

[01:04:28] Very good.

[01:04:29] Very good.

[01:04:29] Congratulations, Adam.

[01:04:31] Unbelievable.

[01:04:33] But Adam isn't the only unstoppable previous guests from around the buoy.

[01:04:38] Our, our friend Liz Wardley is unstoppable.

[01:04:42] Totally.

[01:04:43] She's, she is a maniac.

[01:04:45] So after finishing the world's toughest row across the Atlantic, she made the decision

[01:04:51] that, that one race wasn't enough.

[01:04:54] And she decided to take on the Pacific as well.

[01:04:57] Rowing from Monterey, California to Hawaii four days after finishing the Pacific row in 37

[01:05:03] days, she announced on Instagram that, that she was going to row from Hawaii to either her,

[01:05:09] her home on Papua New Guinea or the Eastern coast of Australia, depending on weather patterns

[01:05:14] and, and how she feels along the way.

[01:05:16] It was funny to hear in the interview when she's talking about, she's like, I really got

[01:05:20] to look at my fatigue level.

[01:05:21] I was like, dude, you just rode.

[01:05:23] Like, I don't know.

[01:05:25] I mean, the, the trip from California to Hawaii is long, but then she showed it on a chart and

[01:05:32] how much longer the trip from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea is.

[01:05:35] I mean, that's going to be months.

[01:05:38] I mean, that's going to be like incredible.

[01:05:40] She's going to be tired.

[01:05:42] She's stopping at Papua New Guinea, but you never know.

[01:05:44] I mean, she, as we discussed, she's a badass, but I mean, she's, she's already done the Atlantic.

[01:05:50] She's done a good chunk of the Pacific.

[01:05:52] So it's not something that she's, that's an unknown anymore.

[01:05:55] When we talked to her before she left across the Atlantic, she wasn't a rower.

[01:06:00] I know she totally had no, like literally no experience rowing.

[01:06:04] She didn't have any urge previously to ever row a boat.

[01:06:08] So the fact that she's not only done the Atlantic, the first part of the Pacific, and

[01:06:12] now has decided to just head home.

[01:06:15] It's incredible.

[01:06:17] Well, she had to have had this idea in her head when she left California, because you

[01:06:22] can't just show up in Hawaii and then outfit the boat for another two plus months and, you

[01:06:28] know, pack it full of food.

[01:06:29] She is doing it solo.

[01:06:30] The trip from California to Hawaii, she did have a partner and also coincidentally was a

[01:06:36] world record holder, youngest to cross to row across the Pacific.

[01:06:41] I think she's 17 years old, which is again, what did you do today, Tyler?

[01:06:46] Not that for sure.

[01:06:48] For sure.

[01:06:49] Not that.

[01:06:50] I was gonna say, but, um, be sure to follow her Instagram.

[01:06:55] She does a really good job.

[01:06:56] Uh, she did a phenomenal job on the Atlantic portion of the road, uh, world's toughest row.

[01:07:02] And same thing with, um, the, the Pacific, the first part, tons of updates, tons of videos.

[01:07:08] She had a, she had a one video of her leaving Hawaii and a kite surfer came over and like

[01:07:14] went over to her and, and sailed next to her and said, Hey, just making sure you didn't

[01:07:18] miss the entrance to the Harbor.

[01:07:19] And she's like, no, I'm going to New Guinea.

[01:07:22] And the guy's like, Oh, cool.

[01:07:24] And then sailed off.

[01:07:26] But her Instagram feed really and truly is, is spectacular.

[01:07:30] Yeah.

[01:07:31] She's a incredible inspiration.

[01:07:33] And one of my, my favorite moments in the recent past was, was watching her finish the

[01:07:42] Atlantic challenge in Antigua with my daughter and my daughter holding her own Barney.

[01:07:47] And we had talked about her, her adventure source on board and, um, Javier and Barney are both

[01:07:53] packed on the boat and packed on Tic Tac and, uh, and headed home as we speak.

[01:07:58] So man, good luck.

[01:08:02] Good luck real fast.

[01:08:03] That's awesome.

[01:08:04] That's crazy.

[01:08:05] That's absolutely crazy.

[01:08:06] Good luck.

[01:08:08] Speaking of, uh, the next, I'm not sure we can call this a surprise.

[01:08:13] I don't, we've, we've done a really good job.

[01:08:17] In this show of, um, staying far away from political topics and, um, controversial topics,

[01:08:28] but wind, wind turbines and, um, wind powered energy creation is something that we haven't

[01:08:37] done a show on.

[01:08:39] We haven't really discussed it very much on air.

[01:08:42] Um, but it's in the news currently.

[01:08:46] So we should probably touch on it.

[01:08:47] It is.

[01:08:48] Yeah, it is.

[01:08:49] Uh, so vineyard wind, uh, is the country's first large scale offshore wind farm.

[01:08:54] Uh, it's about 15 miles off South, off the coast of Nantucket.

[01:08:58] Um, there are currently five units built and there, the plan is by the end of this year,

[01:09:05] maybe it's the end of next year, there'll be a total of 62 built and they'll be producing,

[01:09:09] uh, just a crap ton of energy, something like 800 megawatts of energy to help, uh, power the

[01:09:15] islands.

[01:09:16] I know the, the, the turbines they put off a block Island, they almost exclusively power

[01:09:21] the whole entire Island of block Island.

[01:09:23] So they're doing a ton of really good things.

[01:09:26] But, um, one of the, on, I think it was last week, last Saturday, one of the, the blades,

[01:09:33] it was a football field size piece of turbine blade or place to piece of the blade broke

[01:09:39] off.

[01:09:39] And what's even crazier about that.

[01:09:40] It broke off like 65 feet away from the hub.

[01:09:43] So this thing is like 400 feet long.

[01:09:46] The top of this, when the, when the propellers up higher, the, the, the, the windmills up

[01:09:52] at heights, it's like a thousand feet tall.

[01:09:54] It's really incredible.

[01:09:55] One of the sources for information that I found on this, it's, it's calling these the

[01:10:00] largest operational turbines in the world.

[01:10:03] Well, I mean, again, they're huge.

[01:10:05] I've, I've seen, uh, been in and out of, um, new London a couple of times.

[01:10:10] And is that where they're staging or is that the staging for the block Island wind farm?

[01:10:15] Um, I don't know because I think new Bedford is the staging ground for it's new Bedford,

[01:10:21] but they're, the, what they're coming on and they're building wind turbines off block

[01:10:25] Island.

[01:10:26] They're building more.

[01:10:27] And this must be the new London must be the staging place for them.

[01:10:30] Um, and, and, and these things are frigging massive.

[01:10:33] These blades are massive.

[01:10:35] So this 300 foot chunk of blade buckled off of the, uh, the turbine and crashed down in

[01:10:41] the water and sending debris, foam fiberglass everywhere.

[01:10:46] Um, and most of it stayed together, but a ton of it, uh, came ashore, uh, on the beaches

[01:10:53] in Nantucket over, I think it was a lot mid last week, uh, closing a ton of the beaches,

[01:10:58] uh, temporarily closing a ton of the beaches.

[01:11:01] But, um, the, in total, I think they picked up something like 17 cubic yards to give you

[01:11:08] a reference at six truckloads of debris.

[01:11:12] Um, they cleaned it up off the, off the beaches.

[01:11:15] Um, and you know, uh, the, the representatives, uh, of this, of the wind turbine say this is

[01:11:22] an incredibly rare and, uh, really unusual event to happen, but it has happened.

[01:11:29] Well, again, my mind always goes back to that, that comedy skit of the, the tanker that the

[01:11:38] front fell off of, you know, chance in a million it's, you know, this has never happened before.

[01:11:43] Well, I mean, you're, you're putting this thing in a pretty harsh environment.

[01:11:49] Like it, it can't be that unusual that something would go wrong.

[01:11:56] Um, well, this was a relatively brand new brand.

[01:12:00] No, it was a brand, brand new blade.

[01:12:02] Yeah.

[01:12:02] Um, but you know, stuff's going to happen.

[01:12:06] Like, I think that this has been the, the fear or one of the fears for folks that are

[01:12:16] against doing wind farms offshore is when something goes wrong, it's going to be ugly.

[01:12:25] And at the, at one point, every beach on the Southern side of Nantucket was closed off.

[01:12:30] And, you know, they're, they're talking about if you're going to go swimming, you need to

[01:12:35] swim in shoes now because of the chances of a chunk of fiberglass being embedded in the

[01:12:39] sand or high.

[01:12:40] I mean, it's kind of a worst case scenario come to pass.

[01:12:45] Yeah.

[01:12:46] And it's, it's not something that the people against wind farm construction saw as highly

[01:12:54] unusual or, you know, never going to happen.

[01:12:58] This is part of what they've been concerned about.

[01:13:01] So it brings up obviously the larger topic of the use and the need of these wind farms

[01:13:07] and, um, go both ways.

[01:13:10] I see both ways.

[01:13:11] I see where everyone's coming from is that it's, we, it's so important for us to wean

[01:13:16] off of fossil fuels for the environment and for the health of our, our, uh, of the earth

[01:13:21] going forward.

[01:13:23] Is it the answer is going to wind farms?

[01:13:26] Uh, I, I, I mean, I'm in favor of them, uh, just to, to take a stand on it.

[01:13:32] Um, obviously nuclear power in the seventies and eighties had a rough go.

[01:13:38] Um, and it's still very dangerous, but are these acceptable risks to take to outweigh the,

[01:13:46] the bad of generating power and generating electricity from diesel and coal and everything else?

[01:13:52] Well, I don't think there's a side that you can take on this.

[01:13:55] That's going to be a winning side.

[01:13:57] No, it's not.

[01:13:57] Everything loses.

[01:13:58] Because like you said, I mean, what is the other option?

[01:14:02] We have to make tough decisions at this point.

[01:14:06] And maybe this is one of those tough decisions that we have to take.

[01:14:09] Um, being able to see both sides is, I think important.

[01:14:14] A lot of the noise that we hear, especially on social media is one side or the other, very vocally.

[01:14:22] Um, and there's really no safe spot for a middle ground.

[01:14:26] Um, which I think is where probably the majority of us rest.

[01:14:30] Um, so it's good.

[01:14:32] It's going to be, it's going to be interesting.

[01:14:33] They've, they've shut down all construction.

[01:14:38] Of any operation and operation until they investigate what had happened.

[01:14:43] And Nantucket is currently looking at legal options.

[01:14:48] Um, something tells me the pockets are deep on Nantucket too.

[01:14:52] They might have a couple extra lawyers out there is what you're saying.

[01:14:55] Um, I saw the meme quite a few times of the, the mayor of Amity saying, you know, we're not closing the beaches on the 4th of July.

[01:15:04] And it was, you know, we're not closing the beaches on Nantucket.

[01:15:08] This is like, this is like the 2024 version of jaws.

[01:15:12] Yeah.

[01:15:13] This is it.

[01:15:13] Yeah.

[01:15:16] That's great.

[01:15:17] That's great.

[01:15:17] Um, so obviously that will, um, that will continue to, uh, to percolate and to generate news.

[01:15:25] No doubt.

[01:15:26] Um, there is one other topic we haven't discussed on this is Charlotte, Tyler, Charlotte.

[01:15:33] She wasn't pregnant.

[01:15:34] She wasn't pregnant, Tyler.

[01:15:36] Well, okay.

[01:15:38] I, before I take my victory lap, I think it's important because, um, listener friend of yours and mine fast Freddie, who is very experienced in reptile world, snakes, spiders, many things.

[01:15:56] Um, he said that, that, that type of pregnancy is not that uncommon in things like lizards, uh, iguanas, things like that.

[01:16:09] It's not that uncommon.

[01:16:10] Um, but it is uncommon in stingrays and it's certainly no excuse to take the route that that particular organization.

[01:16:25] Organization took, um, the, the promotion, the immaculate conception, the, um, shark baby daddy theory, all of those.

[01:16:35] Like it's just, it was too much.

[01:16:37] If Jerry Springer was still alive, they would have hired Jerry Springer.

[01:16:41] No doubt.

[01:16:41] I, I, I still firmly believe that this was a quick marketing ploy that got a little bit out of hand and they had to do a little, a little, uh, cleanup, I think at the end.

[01:16:56] Clean up.

[01:16:57] Yeah.

[01:16:57] Clean it up on aisle.

[01:16:58] I'll, it's stingray.

[01:17:00] Um, so we're not going to talk too much to Tyler's chagrin.

[01:17:05] We are not going to topics that I don't want to talk about on this podcast anymore.

[01:17:09] One, the stingray.

[01:17:11] I don't want to hear about Charlotte ever again.

[01:17:13] And two cruises.

[01:17:14] We got to stop talking about cruise ships, not even naked cruises, not even the naked ones.

[01:17:19] Uh, boo.

[01:17:22] We have a very dedicated clothing optional, uh, listen followership.

[01:17:29] Do we?

[01:17:33] You don't have any clothes on right now, Tyler.

[01:17:35] So you tell me.

[01:17:36] Well, yeah, but that's more of a production thing.

[01:17:38] Uh, I think that's it.

[01:17:43] Well, man, it's been a, it's, it's been a wild, wild couple of weeks between tornadoes, wind turbines, immaculate conceptions.

[01:17:53] Let's let's it's, I think it's time, but I think I'm looking forward to a little easier.

[01:17:59] Next few, few weeks of summer.

[01:18:01] It's going to be summers here.

[01:18:03] Uh, we will, and I'm making Tyler promises on air.

[01:18:07] We will get another episode out this summer.

[01:18:09] We're not going to go dark.

[01:18:12] And when is the last day of summer?

[01:18:13] Is that sometime in September?

[01:18:14] It's September.

[01:18:15] Yeah.

[01:18:16] Is it?

[01:18:17] Uh, yeah.

[01:18:18] Yeah.

[01:18:19] We can make that 21st or something like that.

[01:18:21] We can do that.

[01:18:22] Yeah, we can do that.

[01:18:24] But as a season, new season, start this.

[01:18:28] This is the third thing I don't want to talk about.

[01:18:29] I don't want to talk about cruise ships.

[01:18:31] I don't want to talk about stingrays and whatever season you just miraculously call you.

[01:18:37] We all agree to this.

[01:18:39] Go back to the tape, Tyler.

[01:18:40] We all agree to this, that on the 21st of September on earth, wind and fire day, that's

[01:18:45] the new season.

[01:18:47] Go back to the tape.

[01:18:49] My friend.

[01:18:49] Do you remember clearly?

[01:18:52] I know you don't.

[01:18:53] I don't.

[01:18:55] I have the memory of a goldfish thing, Ray, geriatric goldfish.

[01:19:02] Geriatric goldfish.

[01:19:03] As always, thank you for the support of the show.

[01:19:05] Please subscribe to Around the Buoy on iTunes and Spotify because basically those are the

[01:19:11] two that are left.

[01:19:12] It's free and who doesn't love free stuff?

[01:19:15] Also, if you like what you hear, please rate the show and leave us a review for extra content

[01:19:19] on our episodes.

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[01:19:25] of those sites.

[01:19:25] And of course, do not forget to look up Tyler Fields Photography and East Passage Boatwrights

[01:19:30] on the Instawebs as well.

[01:19:31] They are both great follows.

[01:19:33] That's it for episode 88.

[01:19:35] For Tyler Fields, I'm Carter Richardson and this is Around the Buoy.