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Sailing Insights: Aksel Magdahl on Life as a Professional Sailor and Navigator
17 January 2026 · 38 min · 645 views
Aksel Magdahl speaks in cluttered office, sailboat model behind
What this video covers
Aksel Magdahl, a Norwegian professional offshore sailor and navigator from Nøtterøy, describes a career spanning Volvo Ocean Race campaigns, ORMA 60 trimarans, and freelance offshore racing.0:03 He started in Optimist dinghies, moved through IRC-class racing in the Oslofjord on 40–47-foot boats, then joined Knut Frosta's ORMA 60 trimaran project — his first full-time sailing job — before debuting in the Volvo Ocean Race with Ericsson Nordic.3:03 He completed two and a half Volvo/Ocean Race campaigns, including a celebrated comeback on Ericsson 3 after a dismasting near Taiwan, where a Taiwanese coast guard vessel sheltered the boat into port and a temporary boatyard rebuilt it dockside.15:12 He coached the all-women's SEA team from 2013 to 2015, served as shore navigator and weather strategist for Team AkzoNobel in 2017, and raced the Ocean Race in Europe with Sailing Poland.27:51 He discusses sail-selection strategy for downwind legs — specifically the trade-off between a Code Zero and a large overlapping genoa that allows dynamic pressure management in variable breeze.19:17 Meteorologist Chris Bedford is named as a key influence on his weather-reading development.8:33 He caps racing days at around 100 per year due to family commitments and notes he has not raced in Norway for 20 years.31:25
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