American Schooner Association Podcasts

The association periodically hosts Zoom-based podcasts. They are scheduled as events and email notifications are sent to all members. In addition, the podcasts are publicized to the general public through social media. Pre-registration is required for all webinars.

Podcasts are recorded and available for viewing using the following links:

Sea Stories

	March 20, 2024 Woodwind, from Dream to Reality Ken and Jen Kaye The owners of Woodwind, Captain Ken and Ellen Kaye, were public school teachers who decided to retire while still young. They dreamed of someday owning a schooner to introduce people to sailing. After their daughter, Jennifer, returned from a semester at sea, the family pursued their dream in earnest. They had Woodwind custom designed and built based on their knowledge gained from more than 20 years of sailing. A regular participant in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Races, Woodwind consistently performs at the top of the fleet. This is the 31st season of the Schooner Woodwind.
	February 21, 2024 All Hands on Deck: A Modern Day High Seas Adventure to the Far Side of the World Will Sifrin Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander was scheduled to begin filming in Hollywood, CA. Rose, the replica 18th-century warship bought for the production, was in Newport, RI, two oceans and thousands of miles away. Will Sifrin recounts how he and a “ragtag crew of thirty oddballs” embarked on an epic adventure to deliver Rose, hopefully, in one piece.
	January 25, 2024 Deadly Gamble: The Wreck of Schooner Levin J Marvel Kathy Bergen Smith On August 12, 1955, the schooner Levin J Marvel capsized in the Chesapeake Bay near North Beach, MD. Twenty-seven souls were washed into the storm and the captain was charged with negligence and manslaughter. Part shipwreck story and part courtroom drama, author Kathy Bergen Smith weaves a tale of Chesapeake history drawn from eyewitness accounts.
	December 18, 2023 Adventure and Education Under Sail Nancy Richardson Inspired by Capt. Irving Johnson’s world voyage, Nancy has sailed 107 tall ships, from Antarctica to the Arctic and all seven seas. As a lifelong educator, she’s worked with Tall Ships America, Girl Scouts, National Marine Educators, LA Maritime Institute, USCG Reserve and Sail Training International and now advocates for ocean literacy.
	November 14, 2023 Recreating Capt. John Smith’s Voyage of Discovery Chris Cerino and John Mann Sailing and rowing an open shallop, the crew retraced 1,500 miles of Smith’s 1608 exploration of the Chesapeake bay and inaugurated the Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail Recreating Capt. John Smith’s Voyage.
	October 19, 2023 Greenland Bound Along the Viking Route Andy Schell Andy sailed 59 North’s Farr 65, Falken, on the Viking Route from the Chesapeake to Iceland, via the spectacular Prins Christian Sund fjord system in southern Greenland. Andy shared details about the voyage, including the preparation of both boat and crew, how it compared to his passage to Spitsbergen in 2018.
	September 21, 2023 Rebuilding of the Schooner Blackbird - Reprise Peter Thompson This is the story of Blackbird’s rebuild from lying fallow to charter boat in the Gulf of Maine. It is the story too, of how attention to detail, combined with an eye toward historical accuracy, can yield beautiful results. An open-ended discussion will follow the presentation.
	June 1, 2023 Mapping the Great Lakes after the War of 1812 Gordon Laco Gordon Laco has outfitted fine yachts and sailing ships for many years and served as an historic consultant on over 50 films including “Master and Commander”. In this expansive story, Laco takes us back to the uneasy peace following the defeat of Napoleon and the Royal Navy’s charting of the Upper Great Lakes.
	April 20, 2023 A Trip to Haiti and Cuba Nat Benjamin Nat Benjamin co-founded the highly-respected wooden boatyard, Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway. Nat and his artist wife, Pam, have made several passages to Haiti in their schooner, Charlotte, where Pam, has supported many local causes through her non-profit, SenseOfWonderCreations.org.
	March 15, 2023 Movie Night - Around Cape Horn narrated by Irving Johnson In 1929, a 24 year old country boy named Irving Johnson brought a camera aboard the 320′ Barque Peking and filmed his voyage around Cape Horn. Johnson added narration to his spectacular footage in 1980 and produced the iconic film.
	February 16, 2023 Pride of Baltimore Captain Jan Miles Captain Miles has been with Pride of Baltimore, Inc. since 1981. He was the first to sail the original Pride across the North Atlantic and has has served as master or mate aboard many other vessels, including Lady Maryland, Californian, Bill of Rights, New Way, Alexandria, Brilliant, Clearwater, Elissa, Oliver Hazard Perry and Tiare Toporo. He also helped develop model sailing programs for youth at risk.
	January 19, 2023 A Quest for Knowledge Under Sail Matt Rutherford Matt Rutherford completed a record-breaking, non-stop, single-handed voyage of 27,077 miles around North and South America. Since finishing the circumnavigation of the Americas, Matt has created Ocean Research Project, an organization dedicated to science, education and exploration. In 2013 Matt spent 70 days in the Atlantic ocean mapping out the unexplored eastern side of the Atlantic Garbage Patch.
	December 15, 2022 Rainbow, From Concept to Reality Reggie Townsend From scouring the forests of Asia for materials, though lead pours in Indonesia, revolution in Jakarta, a posting in Alaska, and a delivery from the Indian Ocean to St. Mary’s City, Maryland, Reggie Townsend pursued a dream to build an ocean going, two-masted boat that could take the rigors of the open ocean yet retain a traditional, easy to handle style.
	November 17, 2022 Unexpected Opportunities Captain Nicholas Alley For over 40 years, Nicholas Alley has followed a career path of unexpected opportunities that have led him to jobs on some of the best-known and best-loved boats and ships in America. Currently actively involved in deliveries, tall ships and tugs, Captain Alley walks us through his life on the water. Join us for a trip with this well-known and highly regarded captain.
	May 19, 2022 My Life with Mystic Whaler Captain John Eginton Mystic Whaler became a fixture along the New England coast and a model for successful non-profit schooners. Captain John’s 46-year schooner career has taken him throughout the entire east and west coasts of this country and throughout the Caribbean..
	Apr 14, 2022 A New Approach for Old Salts" A Free Webinar for Better Marine Photography Richard Sherman Internationally renowned photographer, Richard Sherman, walks us through his techniques for taking better marine photographs. Full of tips, this is an engaging and informative glimpse into how the “pros” do it.

Third Thursday Podcasts

	December 17, 2020 Third Times a Charm Bill Carton Bill's 2015 sailing Adventure aboard the John Alden Malabar VI design Schooner Adventurer en route to the Gloucester Schooner Festival. In 2013 Adventurer suffered an engine failure in Delaware Bay on its way to Festival. In 2014 Adventurer made it to Cape May, NJ only to have to anchor for a week, along with Schooner AJ Meerwald, to wait out a heavy north wind. The delay meant losing the window for a safe transit to the Festival. The third time’s a charm.
	September 17, 2020 Rebuilding and re-rigging Del Viento Mark Hall Mark's presentation about his experiences over the 18 months of rebuilding and re-rigging his Tom Colvin Tamarack steel schooner Del Viento.
	August 21, 2020 The Alden 309 and Blackbird’s Restoration Peter Thompson Peter's presentation about the restoration of his Alden design 309 schooner, Blackbird, including much information about the 309 design itself, the help Peter got during the restoration, naval architects and design, the yacht business during the depression and “Methods, Materials and Madness.”