136 | Cruising Under Sail | Eric Hiscock | Part 1

This is the second installment in my reading of Cruising Under Sail by Eric Hiscock, from the 1987 edition. This book has been enormously important in my own sailing development. I first started using it to build my knowledge in 1996, when I was 18 years old, in Hong Kong, working on my first tall ship. Nearly thirty years later, I still find myself coming back to it. As you'll hear in the video, many of the ideas in this book became part of the foundation on which I built my seamanship. COME SAILING — TRANSATLANTIC, OCTOBER 2026 We’ll be departing Massachusetts on October 21, sailing across the Atlantic to the Canary Islands, and we still have a couple of places available. If you’d like to join the crew for the passage, get in touch through CSM The Mariner: [email protected]  If you’d like to sponsor or otherwise support my campaign for the 2027 Global Solo Challenge, please get in touch as well. I’d love to hear from you. SUPPORT THE MARINER Patreon — support the videos, podcasts, sailing projects and the wider work: https://patreon.com/themariner⁠ THE MARINER’S LIBRARY More maritime books, history, stories and seamanship: https://themarinerslibrary.podbean.com⁠ THE MARINER PODCAST If you prefer watching rather than listening, this episode will also appear on The Mariner Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/BXgkbW5L6dQ

This is the first installment in my reading of Cruising Under Sail by Eric Hiscock, from the 1987 edition. This book has been enormously important in my own sailing development. I first started using it to build my knowledge in 1996, when I was 18 years old, in Hong Kong, working on my first tall ship. Nearly thirty years later, I still find myself coming back to it. As you'll hear in the video, many of the ideas in this book became part of the foundation on which I built my seamanship. COME SAILING — TRANSATLANTIC, OCTOBER 2026 We’ll be departing Massachusetts on October 21, sailing across the Atlantic to the Canary Islands, and we still have a couple of places available. If you’d like to join the crew for the passage, get in touch through CSM The Mariner: [email protected]  If you’d like to sponsor or otherwise support my campaign for the 2027 Global Solo Challenge, please get in touch as well. I’d love to hear from you. SUPPORT THE MARINER Patreon — support the videos, podcasts, sailing projects and the wider work: https://patreon.com/themariner⁠ THE MARINER’S LIBRARY More maritime books, history, stories and seamanship: https://themarinerslibrary.podbean.com⁠ THE MARINER PODCAST For longer conversations on offshore sailing, seamanship, safety, heavy weather, experience and life at sea: https://www.themarinerpodcast.com⁠ If you prefer watching rather than listening, this episode will also appear on The Mariner Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/BXgkbW5L6dQ

Join me 250 Nm west of Madeira as I negotiate my way through the Azores high on my qualifying passage on board the 80 ft yacht Osprey for the 2027 Global solo challenge round the world yacht race   If you would like to join me for many more deep dives on topic's like: MOB recovery, heavy weather tactics and offshore seamanship, check out:   Patreon & Youtube Membership    To support the production of this material please consider heading over to Patreon where for $5 a month you can get access to all the extra content, including the narrated version of this video (concentrating on the seamanship, safety aspects & stories surrounding what is going on in this video), livestream Q&A's, free consultancy PLUS merch, and exclusive sponsor sailing trips with CSM.   Find it all at: https://www.patreon.com/themariner You can also join this channel on Youtube to get access to the same perks as on Patreon: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq6ye2Qd2WVPoun_Iks0qVg/joinA   #ocean #sailing #yacht #themariner

It’s been a while since I last recorded an episode. A friend put it perfectly the other night — I’ve been “down below, sheltering.” There’s been a lot to deal with, but I’ve come through it. Right now I’m lying alongside in Cherbourg, France, aboard Osprey — our 85-foot maxi — with a brand-new mainsail, surrounded by some of the best sailors and sailing service providers in the world. Ahead of us is a single, clear task over the next month: to sail solo to the Caribbean and, in doing so, qualify for the Global Solo Challenge. This episode is about getting caught up — where I’ve been, what’s happened — and setting the stage for what comes next. Because the story that’s unfolding now is, without question, the most interesting sailing story I’ve ever told.

In this episode you join me on deck as we enter the Needles Channel, en route to Southampton, to pick up the crew for the Fastnet Expedition 2025.  This comes at the end of a 3500Nm solo  transatlantic voyage, on the 80 foot maxi, Osprey. 94 days before, in Nova Scotia, sick and stuck on the mooring, I set myself the challenge to get Osprey into the Centenary edition of the world's most famous offshore race - in this episode you join me as that Dream starts to take on a shade of reality. You can own a piece of the mainsail that wouldn’t die as your own talisman of Tenacity, a reminder to you in the straits of your passion, that perseverance, persistence and sheer bloody-mindedness are the currency of personal growth and will bring your goals within your grasp. For a pledge of $100, you’ll get one of the hand-cut and signed sections from this legendary, 100,000Nm mainsail, with all the funds going directly to the new sail wardrobe and the Osprey Westabout campaign. If you believe in what I'm doing — the story, the struggle, the adventure —then this is your chance to own a piece of the mainsail of the mainsail that would not die and allow it to fuel all that comes after it's work is done. https://www.patreon.com/posts/own-piece-of-not-134326761?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link If you like joining me for these deep dives on topic's like: MOB recovery, heavy weather tactics & offshore seamanship please consider supporting the production of this material over on Patreon where for $5 a month you can get access to extra content, including: livestream Q&A's, free project consultancy and exclusive sailing trips on Osprey.   Get a better deal on your next boat insurance policy connect with our partner Edward William Insurance, to make marine insurance simple and straight forward; whatever your style of sailing.   FOR A 10% DISCOUNT ON YOUR NEXT POLICY Quote the code MARINER10  to receive 10% off at checkout, or better still follow this link: https://www.edwardwilliam.com/boat-insurance/proposal-form?pid=ORT   To hear my personal research regarding this insurance broker who I also have a policy with, and the Q & A I had with their COO before making the decision to creating to partner with them; check out   The Mariner Podcast #118: https://themariner.podbean.com/e/120-marine-insurance-who-i-use-why #navy #shipping #ships #ocean #sailing #yacht #themariner  

This episode tells the full story of the sail that’s been with me through it all — my old Open 60 mainsail, which, although it has impossibly high mileage (100,000nm!), has proven indefatigable, indestructable and faithful right through to the end. But, it’s about more than gear. It’s about the kind of grit and grace it takes to keep going when the world says you shouldn’t, whatever your passion may be. The first half of the episode dives into how this sail came to me, how I bent it on in the middle of the Atlantic alone over 20 hours, how it carried me through the Newport Bermuda Race in 2024 (when it was already over 20 years old!) and how it feels now to look up at it as it drives me one last time solo across the Atlantic to meet up with its successor . This episode is about our connection to supposedly inanimate objects — to the people for whom I make these podcasts, to the sea, and to the idea that life doesn't need to be easy to be good. Here is the Youtube playlist of my solo transatlantic voyage on the Open 60 'Falcon': https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEtiOvex8NBvt_ai1Megepf2zcPSPSHY&si=jFDPmyFtOvqiqx1R In the second half of the show, I walk through the details of the new mainsail — five reefs, batten choices, batten closures, reinforced reefing pointa, luff handles, hybrid Maxi/ Open 60 design — everything I’ve learned from decades of sailing distilled into one sail. This isn’t a luxury project. It’s a mission. It’s the very machinery I need to sail west, non-stop around the world and tell the real story of solo sailing — not “rich boy goes yachting,” but something raw, real, and meaningful, that everyone can benefit from. You can own a piece of the mainsail that wouldn’t die as your own talisman of Tenacity, a reminder to you in the straits of your passion, that perseverance, persistence and sheer bloody-mindedness are the currency of personal growth and will bring your goals within your grasp. For a pledge of $100, you’ll get one of the hand-cut and signed sections from this legendary, 100,000Nm mainsail, with all the funds going directly to the new sail wardrobe and the Osprey Westabout campaign. If you believe in what I'm doing — the story, the struggle, the adventure —then this is your chance to own a piece of the mainsail of the mainsail that would not die and allow it to fuel all that comes after it's work is done.   https://www.patreon.com/posts/own-piece-of-not-134326761?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Thank you to everyone who’s already signed up to receive a piece of Osprey’s mainsail—the same sail that’s carrying me toward the UK right now. Your $100 pledges at the 'solo' tier on Patreon, are going straight to my beautiful tnew 197 sqm /2150 sqft mainsail that was just finished, that we will be using for the Centenary Fastnet. https://www.patreon.com/themariner/shop/own-piece-of-mainsail-that-would-not-die-1996232 But the sail we’re saying goodbye to is no ordinary sail. It was originally built for Dominique Wavre’s IMOCA 60 'Temenos' in 2000, and it’s done more than 100,000 ocean miles—including two Vendee Globes wth Dominique, two solo transatlantic voyages with me, and the 2024 Newport–Bermuda race. Now, it’s taking on its final challenge: driving Osprey home across the Atlantic, one last time. Out of respect for its legacy, I’m not asking more of it than it can give. I’m reefed down through this last weather system, running a reaching headsail to keep the pace without flogging the main. I want it to finish this journey with dignity. If you’d like to be part of this story—and own a piece of it—you can. I’m cutting the sail into hand-sized 8-by-12-inch pieces to share with supporters once I make land fall. For a $100 pledge on Patreon, you’ll get one of those sections. A real piece of sailing history, a talisman of Tenacity, something tangible you can hold in your hands, or contemplate on the wall, as you chase your own dreams, whatever they might be. This isn’t just a fundraiser—it’s a continuation of a legacy. This old sail, through you, helps pay for the new sail, completed yesterday by the sailmakers in Italy, that will power Osprey, solo, non-stop, West around the world. Your support would be very much appreciated, whatever you can spare, Cheers, Chris Support the Mariner's solo, non-stop, West Around the World voyage on the 85ft Maxi 'Osprey' at: https//:www.patreon.com/themariner

Join me today on deck, onboard Osprey, my 85ft Maxi, as I complete my 33rd Transat, headed to England, to join the Centenary Fastnet Race and everything that lies beyond. You are not going to want to miss this one. The Mariner is BACK! Follow the story with DAILY videos over on the Mariner YouTube Channel Tenacity in Pursuit What if a piece of torn sailcloth could remind you what commitment looks like? This mainsail is on its final run across the Atlantic, flying torn and tired but still holding Osprey steady at 15 knots. It’s not a perfect fit—it’s 15 feet too short for the rig. But like me, it keeps going anyway. It’s done over 100,000 miles. It carried Dominique Wavre to a 5th and then a 4th place in the Vendée Globe. It saved my solo crossing in 2018 when my “new” mainsail exploded off Land’s End. You can watch that whole mess unfold on YouTube. In 2024, it stepped in again after Osprey’s big sail blew out just before Newport–Bermuda. Now, once it finishes this delivery and we hit the Fastnet start, I’ll retire it. I’ll cut it into signed 8-by-10 pieces, scars and all, and stick on a label with the story of every mile it gave. A daily reminder that things don’t have to be perfect to be powerful—they just have to keep going.   If you want one, join the $100 tier on Patreon for a single month & I’ll send it anywhere in the world. Let this scrap of sailcloth remind you what perseverance feels like.   Contact me through the website at https//:www.csmthemariner.com If you want to sail on Osprey    The open events for sponsors to join are: The Middle Sea Race in October 2025, then the Caribbean 600 in February 2026, and the Newport Bermuda Race in June 2026. Sponsorship to join an event : $3000USD

In this episode we look at an MOB incident in the 2024 Round the Island Race in which a crew of five were inundated by a following sea off St. Catherine's Point, UK resulting in one tethered MOB, one MOB clear of the vessel with only a short distance to a lee shore... Oh and the skipper broke his leg in the knock down. Both MOB's were recovered without injury, but there is a lot to look at as I take this hot take on the actions taken by the crew and how things turned out. I'll be sharing insights as a professional sailor, examining what went right, what went wrong, and the crucial lessons we can carry forward.    If you like joining me for these deep dives on topic's like: MOB recovery, heavy weather tactics & offshore seamanship please consider supporting the production of this material over on Patreon where for $5 a month you can get access to extra content, including: livestream Q&A's, free project consultancy and exclusive sailing trips on my boat Osprey   Get a better deal on your next boat insurance policy connect with our partner Edward William Insurance, to make marine insurance simple and straight forward; whatever your style of sailing. FOR A 10% DISCOUNT ON YOUR NEXT POLICY Quote the code MARINER10  to receive 10% off at checkout, or better still follow this link: https://www.edwardwilliam.com/boat-insurance/proposal-form?pid=ORT To hear my personal research regarding this insurance broker who I also have a policy with, and the Q & A I had with their COO before making the decision to creating to partner with them; check out The Mariner Podcast #118: https://themariner.podbean.com/e/120-marine-insurance-who-i-use-why/   #navy #shipping #ships #ocean #sailing #yacht #themariner

Today, we're diving into the Marine Accident Investigation Bureau's (MAIB) report on the 2006 Roaring Meg of Cowes incident, where two crew were seriously injured in two crash gybes that happened within minutes of each other. I'll be sharing insights as a professional sailor, examining what went wrong and the crucial lessons we can learn.  If you would like to join me for more deep dives on topic's like: MOB recovery, heavy weather tactics & offshore seamanship, check out: https://youtu.be/fb5t4PZ2Cqw Follow up the back story in this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEtiOvex8NAVIih6tfWVd9wjVrPthROL   CSM: Iceland-Canada Footage Commentary Live-streamed narration of video from this voyage, with live chat responses from Patrons on all the seamanship details. Sign up at: https://www.patreon.com/themariner   Audio: Mariner's Library Podcast: #254 | 'The Southseaman' | Weston Martyr | Part 3 After reading so many sailing books from the past 120 years I am starting to recognize certain authors who I had never heard of before starting the Mariner's Library who were giants within the sailing community a life time ago. One of the most commonly referenced authors from the first half of the 20th century has to be Weston Martyr, and the book everyone compliments is 'The Southseaman'.  Available anywhere you stream podcasts: https://Themarinerslibrary.podbean.com/e/255-the-southseaman-weston-martyr-part-3/   Get a better deal on your next boat insurance policy.   Connect with our partner Edward William Insurance to make insurance simple and straight forward, whatever your style of sailing.   FOR A 10% DISCOUNT ON YOUR NEXT POLICY Quote the code MARINER10  to receive 10% off at checkout, or better still follow this link: https://www.edwardwilliam.com/boat-insurance/proposal-form?pid=ORT If you chose to accept a policy with Edward William you will be supporting the Mariner with 10% of your policy payment. Please give me feedback on your interaction.   To hear my personal research regarding this insurance broker who I also have a policy with, and the Q & A I had with their COO before making the decision to creating to partner with them; check out The Mariner Podcast #118: https://themariner.podbean.com/e/120-marine-insurance-who-i-use-why/   #navy #shipping #ships #ocean #sailing #yacht #themariner