The Ancient Mariners Sailing Podcast

Jetty plans at Flushing

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 22:55:19 GMT

Joining Brad and Andrew this week is Dave Owens, part of the team at Flushing Sailing Club working hard to provide an all tides pontoon for water users from the Flushing Quay. Dave is Chair of the Falmouth Harbour Users Group charity, a flood planning consultant by trade. He was Commodore of Queen Mary Sailing Club among many other notable achievements and has been a life long sailor.

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Live from St Mawes Sailing Club

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:49:51 GMT

For the first time Brad and Andrew took the show on the road to record in front of an audience at St Mawes Sailing Club. The evening was organised by Social Secretary John Howard and featured special guests, Simon Rowell, who is a meteorologist for the current Olympic team. Our second guest was John Andrew, the president of St Mawes SC and well know face on the Working Boat scene in Falmouth.

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The Spirit of Falmouth

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 22:03:28 GMT

This week Brad and Andrew are joined by Paul Miller, Chief Sailing Instructor at the veterans' sailing charity, Turn to Starboard. Paul is getting ready to set out on a circumnavigation of the UK aboard the classic Pilot Cutter, Spirit of Falmouth this summer, with veterans and other small ships in convoy, to take the charity's story to ports and people along the coasts of the four nations.

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Harbour harmony, from cruise ships to launching slips

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 22:24:36 GMT

This week Brad and Andrew talk to the CEO of Falmouth Harbour, Miles Carden. Topical topics covered include the recent devastating fire of a classic boat in the harbour and dealing with storm Goretti. Miles gives an insight into the commercial operations of the harbour and shares his own sailing journey as the owner of a classice St Mawes One Design which he bought when he was just 16 years old. Plus the pleaure of his own son's success in the RS Aero class.

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Cornish Shrimper racing and cruising

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 13:24:41 GMT

Cornish Shrimpers owner and racer Steve Przybylski, talks about the local and wider Shrimper fleet, yacht racing at Mylor and the excitement and dramas of delivering an unreliable motor boat to Cornwall from the Mediterranean.

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Tackling pollution of our coastal waters

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 09:39:35 GMT

This week it's just Brad with special guest Deborah Maw joining him by phone. Deborah leads a bohemian life, living on the road in her campervan. An activist, mystic, explorer, environmentalist and traveller, her sailing life started early. In 2017 Deborah joined the crew of a vessel which sailed round the British Isles sampling seawater for plastics and other contamination. Sailing from Plymouth, they visited Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh, London as well as the Isle of Arran in the Clyde. The project was led by Professor of Marine Biology at Plymouth University, Richard Thompson and aimed to gather data, and draw attention to man made marine pollution.

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The peace of the long distance sailor

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 08:00:00 GMT

This week Brad and Andrew speak to Lydia Paleschi about her Allantic crossings, her trip through the Panama Canal and the ups and downs of boat ownership. Lydia is a travel writer, the author of a book about wild swimming and a YouTuber whose content has been viewed more than 20 million times. She shares stories about bad weather, dodgy skippers and how she finds peace on a long voyage.

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Facing the storm, and changes to COGS racing

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 10:44:53 GMT

This week Brad and Andrew interview the chair of the Cornwall Offshore Group Series Tim Rowley. A technical problem means we lost part 1 of the interview, but luckily we had a second session with Tim and here is that interview, where we talk about changes to COGS racing for 2026, and the impact of Storm Goretti which had just passed over Cornwall as we went on air. So with apologies to Tim for the lost audio, I hope you enjoy this slighly shorter pod this week. We will have Tim back another time to try again!

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Longships Lighthouse live during storm Goretti

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 12:01:42 GMT

We interrupt normal programming this week with a live interview with the team stationed on one of the UK's most western lighthouses, off the coast of Lands End in Cornwall. Tom Sewell is part of a maintenance team on the lighhouse for the next week. And during the peak of Storm Goretti, Tom shared the experience of what it is like to be 35m up a tower, surrounded by crashing waves and 100mph winds!

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Making the water accessible for everyone

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 21:46:02 GMT

This week Brad and Andrew are joined by founder of disability sailing and powerboating charity, Mylor Sailability, Tracey Boyne. Tracey is a life long sailor of dinghies and keel boats. Her passion for outdoor pursuits and teaching led to her becoming the owner of Mylor Sailing School, which led to her founding this excellent charity. Tracey shares her inspiring story on a rain soaked night in Falmouth just before Christmas.

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Sail making and shouts

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 21:46:54 GMT

Brad and Andrew are joined this week by local Falmouth sailmaker Nick Head from SKB. Nick is also a deputy cox on Falmouth lifeboat as well as a busy family man. He was apprenticed into the trade from school and has seen new technology transform the ancient craft.

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Sailing through life as friends

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 22:13:36 GMT

Local sailors Gilly Fox and Bob Warren join Brad and Andrew this week to share their journey from sailing groms racing dinghies at Restronguet, to offshore double handed in the Around UK and Ireland race and onward on their J39 in the 2,400 mile race to the Azores and Back.

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How we catch the wind

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 14:30:32 GMT

This week Brad and Andrew are joined by the owner of one of Falmouth's leading sail-makers, Gavin Watson. Penrose has been sail-making for almost 200 years. Gavin has been a successful dinghy sailor, had national championhips wins in J24s, and been part of a Sigma 33 crew in the boom years of the class. After starting at the firm when just 17, Gavin found his calling, and grew with the business until he finally purchased the company three years ago. We hear about the business of making sails, his competitive career and why it doesn't pay to end up downwind of a Swan 64.

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That sinking feeling

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 21:29:03 GMT

This week just Brad and Andrew, with an all things sailing ramble in which Brad shares the gripping tale of how his father was shipwrecked in the Firth of Forth. Chat turns to winter weather and boat maintenance, including the benefits of lithium batteries. Finally Brad shares some excerpts from a great article by local writer Nigel Sharp comparing the America's Cup to the Falmouth Working Boats.

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Life at the Sharp end

Sat, 15 Nov 2025 16:17:18 GMT

Writer and author of five books, classic yacht enthusiast and former St Mawes Commodore Nigel Sharp joins Brad and Andrew this week. Nigel shares stories from a long career in many aspects of the world of vintage vessels. He has written about and project managed work on some of the most famous sailing yachts, and turning a life long passion into a way to pay the bills through his writing. Along the way he has enjoyed sailing dinghies and his current boat a modern classic Contessa 32.

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Boats ashore, it's time to fix stuff!

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:36:34 GMT

With boats ashore for the winter it's time to get down to boat work for Brad and Andrew this week as the sailors compare notes on the jobs they plan to tackle. Chat turns to favourite sailing YouTube channels, and Andrew remembers waves across the deck during a lively passage to Belfast.

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Both my sailors were parents!

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 20:59:08 GMT

This week Brad and Andrew welcome Jessica Harris to the Kimberley Park studio. After a lifetime of mainly living and working at sea Jess co-founded and is now the owner of Blue River Table, a classic wooden restaurant motor boat that operates in the Carrick Roads. she and her partner live aboard a Holman 38’ bespoke design wooden yacht in Penryn. Jess tells us about being born on a boat, and trip to Australia on a fixer upper boat her and her partner bought in America.

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Regatta chatter and why oh YTC?

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 22:24:59 GMT

Brad and Andrew welcome Gaye Slater, one of the team behind the success of the town's annual regatta, former Flushing Sailing Club president Gaye, helped spearhead the new club house during COVID and is also chair of PoFSA. Andrew gets controversial arguing for a change to COGS handicap fleets, and Brad doesn’t get to talk about cruising very much!

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Scilly place to sail in a blow

Sun, 19 Oct 2025 21:33:43 GMT

This week Brad and Andrew discuss their favourite sailing books plus favourite food afloat. Brad remembers trips to the Scilly Isles and recommends some great places to anchor in these enchanted islands. Plus we catch up on the last Working Boat race and the final round the cans series in Falmouth as the sailing season draws to a close.

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Cruising in Spain and Ireland and an idiot's guide to fronts

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 20:42:00 GMT

This week Brad and Andrew share recollections of recent cruising trips, Andrew takes listeners to Galicia to explore the Rias Altas and Baixas, meanwhile Brad remembers leg two of his round Ireland trip and the challenging return trip home. Brad brings us up to date with his recent working boat racing exploits and finally Andrew does his best to explain what to look for during the passage of a frontal system and why reading the clouds can help to make the gloomy days more bareable.

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Veterans at sea and what lies beneath

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 11:25:04 GMT

This week we welcome our first guest, Dan Fielding, COO of veterans' sailing charity Turn to Starboard, talking about the charity's work, and his own racing adventures in the Sydney to Hobart and Fastnet. Brad tells us about the historic Falmouth Working boats, and Andrew has the lastest news as another yacht is sunk by orcas, he also wraps up the Famouth racing scene so far.

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The Ancients of Moo Moo

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 14:25:44 GMT

Welcome to the first of what we plan to be weekly podcasts about sailing, both cruising and racing, in and around Cornwall. We are Brad Osman and Andrew Laming, from Falmouth, Cornwall, UK, Brad is more into cruising, although he races on a Falmouth Working Boat. Andrew is more into racing, but has also enjoyed some extended cruising trips. We hope to have guests over the weeks and showcase local sailing and try to encourage new sailors to take up the sport. https://buymeacoffee.com/ancientmariners

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