American Sailing video
Skip Novak on 50 Years of Sailing: In-Depth with Peter Isler
21 February 2025 · 42 min · 2K views
What this video covers
Skip Novak, a five-time Whitbread Race circumnavigator and founder of Pelagic Expeditions, discusses his 50-year sailing career in a conversation with Peter Isler tied to the publication of his book *Skip Novak on Sailing: Words of Wisdom from 50 Years Afloat*, a collection of his columns from over a decade writing for *Yachting World*.15:13 Novak describes running two Pelagic 77 schooners on charter expeditions to South Georgia and Antarctica, where his team counted albatross populations at restricted coastal sites and found numbers stable or recovering, largely due to improved long-line fishing practices.8:09 He notes that Southern Ocean weather has grown more volatile over his decades there, with short chaotic seas replacing the long swells he knew during the Whitbread era.12:52 His 54-foot Pelagic completed a three-month personal cruise from Cape Farval to 78° north on Greenland's west coast and back via the Baffin coast to Newfoundland.2:51 Novak covers safety briefing structure for expedition charters — a 40-minute two-part sequence covering interior systems then deck gear, life jackets, survival suits, EPIRBs, and man-overboard procedures — and argues that Starlink has changed offshore communication while degrading onboard social atmosphere.29:42 On learning to sail, he recommends starting on a capsizable dinghy such as a Laser or Open BIC rather than an Optimist, which he believes has discouraged more sailors than it has created.36:30
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