Remarkable Stories

We are taking a short break while John works the Annapolis Sailboat Show and then heads for the Leeward Islands aboard Ave del Mar. Over in Mallorca, Mike has a couple of walls to knock down. Rest assured, we have plenty of fascinating guests and escapades lined up for Season 3. It is going to be the best season yet. If you need to get in touch, you can contact us via: [email protected] [email protected]

David Gluckman grew up in South Africa when the country was still in the grip of apartheid. He arrived in London at the start of the sixties and spent a great deal of time chasing women, drinking booze and smoking cigarettes. He was an ad man and, albeit very briefly, he was a copywriter but it was as an inventor of drinks brands that he really found success. There's Baileys, of course, but David also invented Le Piat d'Or, Aqua Libra, Purdeys, The Singleton, Ciroc Vodka, Coole Swan, Smirnoff Black, Sheridans, Tanqueray Ten and many more. Trust us, if you're partial to the occasional alcoholic drink, David's probably got you smashed some time. These days, David writes books and advises start ups. He spoke to Mike McDowall from his home in London. 

This week, the dynamic duo talk about in-mast furling, stick shift versus auto cars and impressionist paintings. Because why not.

This is the strange tale of a British family who decided to establish their own nation. On Christmas Eve 1966, Paddy Bates and his son, Michael, took possession of an abandoned anti-aircraft gun emplacement seven and a half miles off the coast of southeast England. The following year, they declared independence. Fifty-two years later they are still independent despite the occasional hiccup such as an armed invasion by German merceneries. Mike McDowall spoke to Michael Bates, now Prince Michael of Sealand.

John met Johannes Volbehr in Jamaica a few years ago. At the time, the happy-go-lucky world traveller was making his way from Germany to South America by working his passage aboard private sailing vessels. Shortly after their encounter, Johannes and an acquaintance called Ine were taken on as crew by the skipper of Our Joy, a sailboat bound for Panama. The journey did not go as planned. Johannes tells his tale to Remarkable Stories' John Herlig. Our efforts to locate Rockney Ragsdale have been unsuccessful.

Arlene Limas didn't know who she was going to fight, and she never expected that her toughest opponent would be the governing body of her own sport, Taekwondo. And why did they fight Arlene?  Because she was simply too good. Still, there was drama surrounding women's Taekwondo in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Does anybody really know what really happened at the medal ceremony?

In Part One of "WILL THIS KILL ME," Garry Eveleigh joined Remarkable Stories' Mike McDowall as the pair traipsed about the island of Mallorca in search of edible wild food. They found plenty of delicious things to eat—but no mushrooms. And since we all know that mushrooms are pretty much fabulous, they decided to go find some up in the hills. They are joined in this episode by Mike’s friend Corinna Perry. If you are interested in learning how to find food out in nature, Garry's book is called Wildcook and includes recipes from British celebrity chef James Golding. And yes, all three of our adventurers are reportedly still alive and kicking, even now.

Garry Eveleigh finds food everywhere—in the front yard, in the hillsides, at the side of the road. He knows which plants are delicious and which may kill you. You see, Garry is a professional forager. He has been employed by some very high-end British restaurants to devise fresh, sustainable menus, and last year, on a sunny autumn day, Garry took Remarkable Stories' Mike McDowall on a food finding mission that began, conveniently enough, in Mike's own front yard. We are happy to report that Garry and Mike are both still quite alive.

In a very different edition of Remarkable Stories, John gets together with his friend Dano to tear into some YouTube sailing channels and to recommend alternatives to the usual top five. There's not enough room to list the channels we offend, but a few that we liked included Sailing with the Litzenbergers, Acorn to Arabella, Wind Hippie Sailing, and Christian Williams. Check 'em out. Let us know what you think of Remarkably Unhinged, and drop us a line if there is a sailing-related subject you'd like John and Dano to tackle.

Oscar Siches has more than earned his citizenship of the oceans. After a short but illustrious career racing sailboats and many years as the skipper of charter yachts, he settled in Palma de Mallorca, where he designed, built and managed the kind of luxury marinas that attract the most prestigious of vessels. These days he is in demand as the creator of exclusive waterside developments under the Yacht Club de Monaco brand name. But Oscar's certainly no snob or social climber. He enjoys the simple pleasures: a boat, a beer and a good conversation. Mike McDowall joined him for breakfast at his home.