Out The Gate Sailing

After completing a nearly 3,000 nautical mile passage from Banderas Bay, Mexico to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, my crew and I sit down to debrief our voyage. Joining me on Dovka for the 23.5 day ocean crossing was my brother Jon Shaw and my college buddy Tim Field. A few days after arrival, the three of us sat down to discuss the highs and lows of the trip, from a magical manta ray visit to managing the monotony of late night watches. You can relive moments from the passage @SVDovka on Instagram.

I met 23-year-old Kevin Boyle when he sailed into La Cruz Mexico aboard his Ericson 32 and I took his lines at the dock. Kevin stuck out in the sailing community of La Cruz because of his young age. He reminded me of myself when I went cruising in my 20s and I really wanted to talk to him about his experience cruising a young person and seeing how he made that happen. He’s currently crossing the Pacific from Mexico to the Marquesas and I’m hoping we can reconnect in French Polynesia.

The Race to Alaska runs 750-miles, from Port Townsend, Washington to Ketchikan, AK and has only two rules: 1) No Engine 2) No Support Crew. The eight members of Team Shut Up And Drive will spend a week together on a sparse, 33-foot racing boat with a bucket for a toilet. I talk with Nathalie Criou and Satchel Douglas two members of the team.

In September of 2017, I spent a week living and cruising San Francisco Bay aboard a 10-foot, mahogany sailing dinghy. I learned a lot about local waters and met some interesting sailors along the way. An article about the adventure was published in the May, 2019 issue of Cruising World Magazine. In this episode, I share an annotated version of the article.

Quincey & Mitchell are a young, inspiring couple who are working to get a charter business, Q+M Travels, up and running. They have a great boat for it, a Kelly Peterson 46, that they found in Panama and sailed back to the Bay just about a year ago. Mitchell has been teaching sailing on all kinds of boats for years. Quincey is a professional nutritionist. Together they love hosting people aboard their boat both for weekends and longer adventures.