Hey friends, Andy here. Welcome back to the podcast. Some sad news today. This episode includes

Pam Wall. Pam Wall recently passed away, our dear friend and sailing mentor to us and many

other people. It's a sad coincidence that this episode happens to come out today when Laura and I

recorded the pre-in intro you're about to hear,

we knew Pam was not doing great, but we didn't expect it was going to go this quick.

On the way to Amsterdam, motoring out the river, I actually wrote sort of a eulogy to Pam

that was published on Sale magazine.

So I'm just going to read that now to honor the life of Pam Wall.

Eight bells for Pam Wall.

There's a scene in the movie Moana when Tala, the grandmother figure of Motanui,

a fictional South Pacific Island, is lying on her deathbed,

speaking her last words of wisdom to the titular character, who must go to sea to save her village

and the world.

But Moana is afraid of leaving her grandmother behind.

There's nowhere that you can go that I won't be with you, Grandmother Tala whispers to Moana,

who by those words musters the

courage to sail out beyond the reef and off to her destiny. Grandmother Tala always reminded me of

Pam. In fact, many people referred to Pam as Grandma Ocean, especially later in her life.

Pam died on August 2nd, 2024 at 80 years old. She was a legendary sailor from a generation of legendary sailors, the OG strong woman at sea figure that so inspired Mia, my wife, and many others. From Chicago, originally, Pam grew up sailing on her father's racing boat on Lake Michigan. Later, while living in Florida, she was swept off her feet

by a strapping Australian solo sailor named Andy Wall, who had big cruising plans. It was love

at first sight and Pam signed on immediately. Her first of many Atlantic crossings was on the tiny

28-foot carronade, a boat that Andy had quietly sailed around Cape Horn, becoming the first private

...