Greetings. Welcome to how I think about sailing. I'm your host, Andy Schell. To get things started off,

we've got a long and meandering conversation between me and Cameron Dale. Cam, of course,

composed the intro music for my On the Win podcast and was a guest on the show a few years back when

he lived in New York City and was only dreaming of ocean sailing. Now, Cam and his

family are in California, living aboard their classic Benito first and preparing to cross the

Pacific. As of February 1st, Cam's departure is imminent and they're planning to take the boat back

to his native Australia. Cam wanted to pick my brain on some things he's been pondering, and I agreed so long as we could

record it, as I'd had this idea in mind for a while now to make a new podcast about my own

thoughts.

I created this show precisely to help people like Cam.

I'm usually the one asking the questions on On the Wind, so this will be a

chance for me to describe in detail about how I think about offshore sailing. Importantly, it's how I

think and not necessarily how you should think. And as I continue to learn, my thoughts on this stuff

is going to change and evolve. So I'm not married to my ideas,

and neither should you be. Cam and I discuss a range of topics from boat preparation to rudder

bearing, to fuel and water tankage, to managing fear and stress. Think of this first episode as a

kind of microcosm of the show as a whole. Down the line, I'll touch on all these topics and more in much greater detail.

If you want to pick my brain with your own questions, we're offering donation incentives to do just that.

Go to 59-north.com slash think sailing to find out how.

I'm deliberately not seeking a sponsor for this show, so I will need your help to keep it going.

The best way to do that is to come sailing with Mia and I on East Bjorn and learn about all

this stuff on the boat and in the ocean proper with a real hands-on offshore sailing passage

...