Matt Rutherford // 'Prepare to be Boarded!'

Zach Dallaire is a lifelong golfer and newfound sailor and has combined two of my own personal passions in a way I can't believe I hadn't thought about before! Zach reached out to me on Instagram a few weeks back about this "Sailing Links" project of his, whereby he sails around the Canadian Maritimes in search of coastal golf courses to play, making short films about his experiences. I HAD to have him on the podcast to talk about all of this, so after Boat Show we connected online and had a great chat about his origins as a sailor and golfer, how he thought to connect the two, what he does in "real life," his business partnership with Bryson DeChambeau and ideas on how we might join forces in the future! -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales. -- Follow Sailing Links on Instagram for more sailing adventures to coastal golf courses.

Peter Gibbons-Neff returns to the podcast to talk about his second attempt at the Mini Trans-At race, but this time in a foiling prototype. The Mini Trans-At is wild - it's a solo race across the Atlantic in tiny, 22-foot, very high performance boats, and is often the entry point for Vendee Globe hopefuls. Peter completed the race in a "series" mini a few years ago, and is making another attempt, this time in a new-build foiling "prototype" mini. The boats are insane, able to make speeds in excess of 30 knots on their foils. Peter and I met in Annapolis during Boat Show and he filled me in on the latest. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales.

Matt Rutherford is back in Annapolis and back on the show. After a whirlwind Boat Show, Matt joined me in the cabin of my dad's Grand Banks trawler KODIAK to recap his return voyage to Annapolis after a bad ice year forced the Russians to close the Northern Sea Route. Matt tells me about being boarded - not once, but twice - by the Russians and how that feels at the ends of the earth. We talked about playing video games at 81º North, the misery of a long delivery sail after failing at his Arctic circumnavigation and what comes next after a disappointing summer. // Andy -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!

Atlantic hurricane season has been flipped upside down. While the Atlantic sits at just 10% of its normal cyclone energy, the Eastern and Central Pacific are seeing record-breaking storms. Meteorologist and weather-routing specialist Jeremy Davis explains the atmospheric domino effect behind this unusual split, and what it means for sailors. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is back on the pod 10 years later! August & I made the pilgrimage to England to interview the OG himself at Clipper Race headquarters in Gosport, this time armed with more confidence and more mutual friends. Robin was relaxed and talkative and we covered everything from his letters with Moitessier to his thoughts about what makes a good skipper to what it's like in the British Merchant Navy. The best part? After the 90-minute recording session, he took us down to SUHAILI, where we spent another hour or so sitting in the cabin of that iconic boat and hearing Golden Globe race stories off the mics! This is an all-timer, enjoy! -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!

Cole Brauer & I could have talked for another hour after the last time she was on the show, so this time we did just that! I chatted to Cole during her book tour for the release of her memoir FIRST LIGHT (out now!). She'd been on a whirlwind travel schedule, and I'm pretty sure was talking to me from a hotel in New York. We discussed ""extroverting"" and the energy that takes from both of us, the process of getting her book to the world, her story of recording the audiobook version in a studio in London and much, much more. Make sure to get your copy of Cole's book FIRST LIGHT, it's great! Audio excerpted courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio from First Light by Cole Brauer, read by Cole Brauer. © 2026 Cole Brauer, ℗ 2026 Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!

Guess what? It's Matt Rutherford on the show again! Matt & I recorded this episode while he was at-sea on the Valiant 42, far north of Russia and a few days away from entering the first ""pinch point"" on his Northern Sea Route above Siberia. Meanwhile I was recording from the cabin on SPICA outside Stockholm. Matt & I talked through how the first 4,000+ miles of his passage has gone so far, how he was featured in Playboy magazine, what he thinks his chances of success are and how much he enjoys being alone at sea. Make sure to donate to Matt's Ocean Research Project so they can continue doing the environmental and climate research in the far north, or better yet, come to our Crew Party in Annapolis this October where all proceeds will go to ORP! -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Weems & Plath and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!

Cole Brauer returns to the podcast to talk with Andy this time. She shares her journey from local sailing ambitions to global recognition, exploring the challenges of gender equity, the realities of professional racing, and the importance of community and mental health in the sailing world. We talk about mental health challenges, the importance of disconnecting to reconnect, and how sailing and living simply have transformed her perspective on happiness and success. Cole's book 'First Light: Sailing Solo but Not Alone' launches officially September 15! -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!

Back in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, August and Øyvind Nilssen were both out sailing on two very different boats. He was sailing in Lofoten, and August was passing through on a brand-new Bavaria he was delivering along the Norwegian coast. They rafted up together in a beautiful little cove, and had a hell of a party that night. The next morning, they found some peace and quiet to record this podcast. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!

Will Sofrin returns to the podcast to talk about his new book on the USCG EAGLE tall ship. Will, a former "yachtie" turned tallship sailor, first came on the show back in 2023 to talk about delivering the ship used in the film Master & Commander, which became the subject of his first book, "All Hands on Deck," which I LOVE and which has a place in FALKEN's onboard library. This time we talked about his budding career as a writer since the success of that first book, the incredible Nazi history of the EAGLE and about leadership in the wider context. -- Support the podcast & become a member of The Quarterdeck, where Andy, August & Mia dive deep on the art of seam'nship. Nerd out with us on our members-only forum and talk boats, gear, safety-at-sea, meet like-minded sailors, find crew, and more. Check it out on quarterdeck.59-north.com. See you there! -- This season of ON THE WIND is supported by our friends at Schooner Woodwind and BVI Yacht Sales. Support the show by supporting our sponsors!