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What sailing gear should you bring if you are going to crew on someone’s yacht? It can be a difficult decision because you want to have the ‘right’ stuff but you also don’t want to arrive with a huge suitcase of unnecessary sailing gear. although the yacht owner is primarily responsible for providing your safety more...
Episode 34 of The Sailing Podcast is an interview with Pat Utley of The Greenheart Project who are are creating a small, low cost – zero emission cargo vessel using sail and solar power. They want to get these into the hands of small coastal and island communities to help them reclaim their connection to the ocean.
Program Director Pat Utley identified the need for the Greenheart Ship after cruising for over 10 years in his own small yacht – a Columbia 24′. Using the design concept of ‘appropriate technologies’ and targeting low income communities, the design incorporates a combination mast/crane, bilge keels for beach landings, a stern that incorporates a ramp that can be lowered for ease of loading and unloading and the ability to carry the cargo equivalent of 1 shipping container.
In the interview we hear how:
Greenheart is a not-for-profit organization
How the project came together
The plans for a 2 year maiden voyage to test and promote the Greenheart ship
You can participate in the maiden voyage by purchasing shares
How to help Greenheart by sharing their story via social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter
With the project gathering momentum with the upcoming construction of their first ship, there are several ways to become involved with the project.
Support Greenheart by following them on social media
Attend one of their upcoming events (see blog information below)
Purchase shares to entitle you to time aboard the ship on it’s maiden voyage
Travel to Bangladesh and help with the fitting out of the ship
Provide input into the fit-out of the interior and galley
Here is an introductory video put together to promote Greenheart via Indiegogo and this gives an overview of the ship layout, features and plans to offer shares for passages and cargo on the maiden voyage – it is also a great chance to meet Pat Utley!
If you would like to check out the Greenheart Project website you can find all the design information here:
The news site for Greenheart is temporary based on a Tumblr site while their website redesign is underway. The Greenheart Project won a website rehaul by a company called ‘Ideas that Matter’ so in the meantime you can check out their latest news at:
There have been some recent events to promote the project in London, Fiji and Nantes and there are upcoming events in:
Washington – in early June 2013
Bristol – 12th – 14th June 2013
Rotterdam: 25th – 27th June 2013
Amsterdam: 28th – 30th June 2013
Copenhagen – TBA
Tokyo – TBA
Kyoto – TBA
Visit the Greenheart Blog for more dates and information on how to attend these events
If you would like to listen to the episode with Claude Desjandins who sailed from Canada to Australia aboard his 18′, Bruce Roberts design yacht, you can find the episode here – http://thesailingpodcast.com/claude
Pat Utley is looking for supports for the project be they volunteers to help with the build, ideas for the interior layout and fitout of the galley, importers/exporters looking to move cargo during the maiden voyage or you can join them on their maiden voyage by purchasing shares in the voyage.
Thank you for joining us on The Sailing Podcast:
We have an upcoming episode with Luca Schueli from EcoSwisse Expeditions so be sure to subscribe to the podcast with iTunes
Thank you for joining us on our journey
Share the Greenheart Project with your friends and help promote this great project
Episode 33 of The Sailing Podcast is an interview with Allan Sparkes who has a story to share that is confronting and compelling. Al had a 20 year career in the New South Wales Police Force and was awarded the Cross of Valour – Australia’s highest bravery decoration.
This event proved to be the tipping point for a downward slide into post traumatic stress disorder and depression. After hitting rock bottom Allan faced the challenges of dealing with mental illness and holding his family and his relationships together during the long journey to recovery.
In this interview we hear about:
Allan’s early days in the police force
The rescue of a small child from a flooded storm water drain
How his life events had pushed him to the limit of coping
Why he shares his story of recovery
How his sailing from England to Australia with his family helped in his rebuilding of his life
Here is my favorite quote from Allan in the interview:
“The sailing/cruising community is the perfect society to be involved in. Cruisers are the most caring, kind and compassionate people who have a most wonderful sense of adventure and to be involved with those people, those are memories I will treasure forever”
You can find Allan Sparkes at the following places:
If you would like to purchase the book in Australia, I think the best place is to go to your local bookstore and see if they can order it in for you. If you are looking to purchase it online you can try:
Ariel books – www.arielbooks.com.au
Berkelouw – www.berkelouw.com.au
Ibooks through Itunes
In 2006, 60 Minutes created a segment titled ‘Haunted Heroes’. It was the story of the 5 Australians who had been awarded the Cross of Valour. The following video, narrated by Ray Martin AM, is part of that 60 Minutes story. It is the story of the part Allan Sparkes took in the rescue of an 11 year old boy who had been swept 600 metres down a flooded storm water pipe. It is also the story of how Allan Sparkes life was to change forever.
I found a couple of videos from Allan’s sailing trip on his website and in the interview Allan mentioned that he thought that travelling through the Panama Canal was one of the greatest trips a cruising sailor could undertake so here is his YouTube video with commentary about the trip through the Panama Canal:
I have another couple of inteviews completed and ready to edit and add to the collection of sailing podcasts:
one with Pay Utley from The Greenheart Project, and they are working to build a small, low cost solar/sailing vessel for use by developing nations and coastal communities – and Pat lets us know how it all came together:
Luca Shcueli of Ecoswiss Sailing Expeditions whose not for profit is supporting research and protection of the environment in the Mergui Archipelago in southern Burma or ‘Myanmar’.
So don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and if you haven’t done so already, I would love it if you took a minute to leave a quick rating and review on iTunes.
Episode 32 of The Sailing Podcast is a conversation with Behan and Jamie who are out sailing with their family on their Stevens 47′ named ‘Totem’.
The Gifford family began their adventure from their homeport of Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound, Washington in 2008. Five years down the track we caught up with them in Indonesia as they explore South East Asia and look towards continuing their circumnavigation.
At the start of the interview we heard that Jamie gave Behan a copy of the book ‘Dove‘ to read to understand him better. You can check out this book by following this link to it on Amazon -Dove, by Robin Lee Graham
You can find the SV-Totem website at www.sv-totem.com and you can subscribe the their blog by using the subscribe link located next to the image of Behan, on the right hand side of the page. You can also find the link their to the Totem page on Facebook which is also a great way to stay up to date with what they are up to.
Behan and Jamie write a monthly column for a site called 48 North and this is a free resource that you might like to check out as well. Here are the links for catching up with team Totem on the web:
Behan and Jamie were our second guests to let us know about sailing in Indonesia. In Episode 8 of The Sailing Podcast we heard from Ian and Michelle who were returning to their yacht Raku with the plan to sail back to their home base in Noosa, Queensland. I did catch up recently with Ian and they are back home and we might be able to get an update from them down the track.
I am planning to talk soon to Luca from Ecoswisse Expeditions who is operating a research sailing vessel in the Mergui Archipelago off the southern coast of Myanmar (formally known as Burma). This area is only just starting to open up to the cruising sailor so I hope that Luca can help us understand the options currently available for cruising Myanmar.
I have our next interview recorded with Allan Sparkes who who has a facinating story to share – Allan received the ‘Cross of Valour’ bravery award for his rescue of a drowning child in 1996, and Allan shares how this event actually led to a downward spiral into post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. His recovery was a rollercoaster of personal challenges and Allan eventually got back to being his adventurous self and sailed with his family from England back to his home in Coffs Harbour in NSW. So keep an eye out for this interview in the next episode as Allan is both an inspirational speaker as well as having just written a book called ‘The cost of bravery’
Here is the Nikon D40 Digital SLR Camera on Amazon:
Episode 34 of The Sailing Podcast is an interview with Pat Utley of The Greenheart Project who are are creating a small, low cost – zero emission cargo vessel using sail and solar power. They want to get these into the hands of small coastal and island communities to help them reclaim their connection to the ocean.
‘ to read to understand him better. You can check out this book by following this link to it on Amazon -
