The weekend 6 pack
A gathering of thoughts from the Fo'c'sle
Listen: Voice Of The Oceans with Wilhelm Shurmann podcast - which you can find on the podcast page here.
In the latest episode of the podcast, I talk with Wilhelm Schurmann aboard the sailing vessel Kat. Kat is a unique, custom designed 80’ ketch that belongs to the Schurmann family of Brazil. The Schurmann family - Vilfredo, Heloisa and their children: Pierre, David & Wilhelm set sail in 1984 and became the first Brazilian family to circumnavigate the world. The design and build of Kat is the culmination of that initial voyage and many others on different boats the family previously owned.
Our talk begins with a tour of the boat and Wilhelm highlighting many of the unique design features. Kat is the flagship vessel of Voice Of The Oceans. Voice Of The Oceans part of the Schurmann Family Initiative in partnership with the UN. The goal is to document and highlight the problem with plastics in the oceans – particularly single-use plastics – and work to find alternative solutions at the source. They host scientists and researchers aboard for segments of their voyages.
Kat was designed and built to have the least amount of impact on the environment as she travels. As we learn through our tour of the boat, Wilhelm points out their onboard trash compactor, glass crusher, and a marine sanitation system that rivals and outperforms some municipal systems.
After the tour, Wilhelm and I sat down at the man salon table and talked about the history of the family’s sailing adventures on previous boats, the build of Kat, environmental stewardship, the mission of Voice Of The Oceans and where they’re headed next.
We also hear a bit of Wilhelm’s background. When I first met him aboard at the Newport International Boat Show, I assumed he had an engineering background as he explained all the systems. Turns out he’s not an engineer by trade, but a professional athlete – a 5-time Brazilian Overall Champion in windsurfing! But one thing is for certain, he knows every aspect of all the systems aboard Kat.
While they were in Newport, they also participated in a beach clean-up with Clean Ocean Access. They’ve since left Newport and you can learn more about Kat, the crew, their mission and follow along at: voiceoftheoceans.com
Read: My Shenandoah: The Story of Captain Robert S. Douglas and His Schooner
If you've spent any time in or around coastal New England, you've probably seen the rather ubiquitous Black Dog logo on various hats, shirts, bags etc... There's much more to that image and brand, and it all began with one man and his schooner Shenandoah. If you heard my recent interview with Ian Ridgeway of the FUEL program, you'll recall we touched on a bit of this history.
The book, written by Douglas Cabral, offers a beautiful history of both Captain Robert Douglas, the boat and his journey. Ian had mentioned the book when I interviewed him, and I then purchased a copy from the The Black Dog store on Martha's Vineyard in October. I didn't see it on The Black Dog web site, but it is available on Amazon.
Read: In October of 2020 I interviewed Charlie Doane for the podcast and he had mentioned a project he was working on for a new book about Thomas Tangvald. The book is called The Boy Who Fell to Shore and it recounts the life of Thomas Tangvald, son of Peter Tangvald, the once renowned bluewater cruiser who inspired Lin and Larry Pardey. I see now by following his blog that the book has been published and is available now.
You can read Charlie’s blog post about the book here:
The blog post is rich with related links you can follow to learn more, as well as how to order the book.
Follow: If you’re on Instagram and enjoy fishing, @archangelcharters has decent content. You’ll see everything from all the catches to detailed pictures of their boat projects.
Watch: The Goose Goes South
There’s certainly no shortage of sailing and boating channels on YouTube, with many having a large and devoted following. World renowned photographer Onne van der Wal recently completed a two-year refit of his Grand Banks trawler. Just over a month ago, Onne and his wife departed Newport, RI and headed south with an ultimate destination of the Bahamas. Onne is documenting his trip in a series of short videos. As you’d expect from a professional photographer, the images are stunning and the videos have a nice flow. You can follow along here: https://www.youtube.com/@Onnevanderwal
Next Episode: I’m working on putting together a podcast episode with my mates Capt. Eric and Ted. My goal is to get this out before Christmas. It will essentially be the three of us cracking open a beer and re-capping our collective summer highlights and observations. If it works well, we may make it an annual event.