NanoCruising : the small boat cruising podcast (dinghy cruising & trailer sailing)

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The Race to Alaska is one of the most unusual and demanding events in modern sailing: roughly 700 miles from Washington State to Alaska with no engines allowed.
In this episode I’m joined by Jeff Williams, who along with teammate Mike VanHoy will be competing in the next Race to Alaska as Team Snowflakes aboard a 20-foot Tornado catamaran.
Their boat is fast, light, and uncompromising — no cabin, no heater, and nothing separating the crew from the elements except skill, preparation, and determination.
We talk about:
Why they decided to take on the Race to Alaska
Preparing a high-performance catamaran for a 700-mile endurance event
Human propulsion and creative problem solving
What breaks offshore — and how you fix it mid-race
The realities of cold water sailing and fatigue
The Race to Alaska attracts some of the most creative and determined small-boat sailors anywhere. This conversation is a great look at the mindset required to take on a challenge where finishing alone is an achievement.
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Seas Your Own Adventure 🌊⛵

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In this episode, I sit down with Luc Mehl, author of The Packraft Handbook, to explore a small craft many sailors may not know much about: the packraft.
At first glance, it’s a lightweight inflatable boat that fits into a backpack. But beneath that simplicity lies something very familiar — self-reliance, route planning, weather awareness, risk management, and the quiet satisfaction of reaching places under your own power.
We talk about:
What packrafting actually is
The kinds of environments it opens up
Why it attracts a certain kind of adventurer
How small, portable boats change the way you think about distance
And what sailors can learn from a paddle-powered approach
This isn’t a sailing episode in the traditional sense. But it’s very much about small craft, thoughtful progression, and expanding the definition of what “cruising” can mean.
If you’re curious about adventure beyond the mast — or simply interested in how different small-boat cultures approach risk and exploration — this conversation might surprise you.
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More at: www.nanocruising.com

Seas Your Own Adventure 🌊⛵

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In Part 2 of our conversation with the organizers behind three Great Lakes RAIDs, we move beyond introductions and into the deeper questions: how do you design adventure that is challenging — but not reckless? How do sailors grow into events like these?
We talk about designing safety into expedition-style sailing, and how participants can gradually build the skills and confidence needed for bigger water. A recurring theme emerges: small boats are not a limitation — they are often the best training ground.
The discussion ranges from:
Learning to sail in small craft
The role of racing as an education
Why getting on the water early matters more than perfection
First boats — and whether to build or buy
And how the internet quietly helped revive and connect the small-boat world
At its heart, this episode is about progression. Not heroics. Not extremes. But steady growth, thoughtful preparation, and the idea that sailing can still be accessible — if we let it be.
If Part 1 asked why these events exist, Part 2 asks how sailors grow into them — and what that means for the future of small boats.
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More at: www.nanocruising.com

Seas Your Own Adventure 🌊⛵

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In this episode, I’m joined by the organizers behind three major Great Lakes small-craft adventure events to explore what makes each one unique — and what unites them.
- Eric Miller for the Erie Expedition Challenge and Raid Erie (Facebook ) 
- Jeff McPheeters for the GLEC and RB950 (RB950 Instagram, GLEC Instagram)
- Kelly Trafford with CanAm on facebook
We start with introductions to each event and their raison d’être: why they exist, how they came to be, and what kind of adventure they’re trying to create. From there, we dig into the differences — format, scale, boats, and mindset — and the kinds of people these events tend to attract.
We also spend time on the Great Lakes themselves. The “easy inland sailing” myth comes up quickly, as we talk about cold water, fast-changing weather, big fetch, and why the lakes demand just as much respect as any ocean passage.
This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation, focused on origins, philosophy, and context. Part 2 will go deeper into lessons learned, preparation, and what it’s really like out there when things stop going to plan.
If you’re curious about expedition sailing, small-boat adventure racing, or pushing your comfort zone closer to home — this one’s for you.
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More at: www.nanocruising.com

Seas Your Own Adventure 🌊⛵

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In Part 2 of my conversation with John Harris of Chesapeake Light Craft, we wander off the beaten path — and that’s very much the point.
We talk about some of CLC’s more fringe and less-discussed designs, including Autumn Leaves, and why certain boats exist more as ideas, experiments, or personal projects than as polished kits. John shares the designers who shaped his thinking — Philip Bolger among them — and how those influences still echo through his work today.
We also dive into the fascinating outrigger sailing canoe built for Tula’s Endless, what it means to design something truly one-off, and why not every great boat should have plans. Listener questions lead us into a broader discussion about the current small-boat landscape, why we may be living in a golden age of boat designs and accessible plans, and what the future looks like for people who want to build and sail small.
It’s a thoughtful, wide-ranging conversation about curiosity, restraint, and why small boats continue to invite big ideas.
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Join the conversation: Facebook group Mailing list Patreon

More at: www.nanocruising.com

Seas Your Own Adventure 🌊⛵