it's also a helluva kick to be on a broad reach sailing a 50ft schooner down the face of 20 ft open ocean groundswells in the North Pacific.

just make sure you keep that tiller firm and don't put it on the lee.

Sounds exciting.

You have any proper scary moments ?

fuckkng heaps.
it was pretty much a nightmare trip.

I went overboard in a squall sailing in open ocean between the Marshalls and Carolines.
Luckily we'd left the vb cord fishing line out and I found it.
Otherwise, I would be down in Davey jones locker.

Fuck was this day or night? Terrifying

night time.

It was a 50ft gaff rigged schooner. No motor. No GPS, no electronics of any kind.
Wooden block and tackle and the captain navigated by sextant.
Fuck knows how he got us from a to b, but he did.

but no way of turning a 50ft sail boat bare poling in a squall around to pick someone up.

Jesus, the fear for that short amount of time must of been unbelievable.

So you just grabbed the rope and started yelling or pulled your way up? How far from any land? Been watching doccos about this stuff on YouTube lately. Scary stuff

If it’s gunna happen you at least want warm water

Bare poling has been dangerous since the ‘80s.

You should do a story on this Freeride. I’d be very interested. My missus is addicted to global sailing/ survival at sea stories. Christ knows how many times we’ve been out fishing/ on an inter island ferry / international flight and she’s held up some item or another and said “......we could use these to catch the dolphin fish dwelling under our life raft / this would be handy for signalling aircraft / we could use this to string together a raft .....if we wind up in the drink .”

Give it to us , Freeride.

Park up this arvo with a bottle of Morgan’s , a sailors cap at a jaunty angle and start live streaming - of - consciousness typing whilst we all comment in real time.

You can invent a new genre .

What time we kicking off ? I’ll make sure my bell bottoms are ironed and my bosun’s whistle is polished.

I’m not kidding. I want to hear your tales of high seas adventure.

Even the part about the forbidden love which can often arise between ship mates whilst adrift in the great expanse of the watery desert. Especially that part .

Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhhh ! More lubricant me hearty !

But seriously.....I’d love to hear more about it .

I didn't yell, didn't scream, didn't make a sound.

dunno why. It's a kind of shock. One minute your in a boat, the next you're swimming in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

pulled myself up, climbed back in.

the big adrenalin rushes and fear feelings came later.

Yeah wonder what Stu would think of punters submitting podcasts and talking story.
Couldn’t be much more shambolic than some of the stuff getting around out there.
I’ve actually got a recording of some of FR’s more interesting maritime moments floating around somewhere.

Thats heavy free ride.

BTW. dont know why but was just reminded of a book i found in the opp shop about, one of those lost at sea floating for a month in a life raft stories, and guess where the raft washed up?...

Sipora Mentawais in the south towards the lances left area where they were stuck for 6 weeks with the locals, it's a true story from 1942

https://www.amazon.com/Boat-Singapore-Escape-Cannibalism-Sea-ebook/dp/B…