LIFE ON THE WATERvideo
WARWICK TOMPKINS - A LIFETIME AT SEA
20 July 2026 · 1h 2m · 36K views
What this video covers
Warwick Tompkins, born in 1932 in Boston, came aboard the family schooner Wanderbird within weeks of birth and sailed 13 Atlantic crossings before rounding Cape Horn at age four.2:01 That upbringing — learning to walk, crawl, and work aboard a large schooner under his dominant, skilled father — shaped every sailing decision that followed. He raced in the Sydney Hobart four times, including a campaign with Ted Turner's chartered boat where a spinnaker broach broke a spreader at sea.27:11 He won the Melbourne Osaka Race double-handed with Carlo Ogimi, finishing roughly a day ahead of second place.24:59 He built the cold-molded kauri boat Odd and Probable in New Zealand for the SORC circuit after discussing the concept with a then-teenage Ron Holland.31:54 A dual heart bypass prompted him to commission a new cruising boat through builder Tom Wiley — designed explicitly for comfort and ocean passages post-surgery, with a queen berth, removable cabinetry for access to all systems, 26 tracked maintenance systems, and large sinks.42:02 The boat carried him to Fiji, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Tonga, the Cook Islands, and French Polynesia.55:50 He married Nancy at the boat's launching.54:04 A life spent racing and offshore cruising confirms that early immersion in seamanship, not formal instruction, produces the deepest competence.
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