Creating and sharing ocean sailing stories and adventures

Listen to the podcast

The Ocean Sailing Podcast is designed for people who love to cruise, race or explore the worlds oceans. Its also for those yet to experience the joy of sailing and those no longer able to cast off their dock lines and head for the open sea. Join now and listen free to the Ocean Sailing Podcast episodes.

Come ocean sailing with us

Step up and join David Hows onboard as crew of his Beneteau 45 foot yacht 'Ocean Gem' for the ocean sailing adventure of a lifetime. Whether its a 600nm ocean passage down Australia's East Coast, a 200 yacht regatta around the Whitsunday Islands, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, a Tasman Sea crossing or circumnavigating Tasmania, why not join us as a paying crew member in one of the limited spots available for each adventure. Find out more about offshore sailing onboard Ocean Gem. Check out our crew testimonials to see what others have to say about their adventures onboard Ocean Gem with us.

Episode 78: David Hanton - Osmosis, antifouling & hull maintenance war stories. Protect your investment: shortcuts, paint options & warning signs

I catch up with David Hanton from Bradford Marine and get deep and technical about protecting whats under your waterline. We dive into the typical issues with hull maintenance, osmosis in fibreglass and what causes it, how to know if it’s a big vs small problem, how to prevent and repair it and we talk about how significant the damage and repair bill can be.

David shares examples of shortsighted shortcuts boat owners and tradesmen take and the extra problems they cause. We talk about the product choices for owners when it comes to anti-foul paint and the differences between budget and premium and how the life expectancies differ, the paint thats better suited to warm and cold climates and racing versus cruising application options. We discuss some of the ugly things that can happen to poorly maintained hulls and the construction materials to avoid when buying a second hand yacht. We finish up on rudders and keels and the warning signs you should pay attention to.
Listen to podcast episodes now or with iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher

Upcoming sailing adventures

Whether your next step is an ocean race or offshore passage, we have a growing calendar of exciting events;

Southport to Middleton & Elizabeth Reefs to Lord Howe Island: 17-24 Nov 2019
Lord Howe Island to Balls Pyramid to Sydney: 23 - 28 Nov 2019
Tasmania Circumnavigation: 27 Jan - 10 Feb 2020
Hobart to Picton Tasman Sea Passage: 8 - 22 Mar 2020
Brisbane to Noumea Race: 27 May - 6 Jun 2020
New Caledonia Groupama Race: 11-20 Jun 2020
Sydney to Auckland Race: 26 Jan - 10 Feb 2021

Check the full sailing calendar for all adventures

Sailing Photo Gallery

Check out the photo gallery of our past adventures to get a taste of what ocean sailing is all about. From offshore coastal passages to ocean races, multi-day regattas and Tasman Sea crossings we have covered more than 30,000 nautical miles and competed in more than 400 races in the past 8 years.

View gallery

Join the crew for the 2020 Tasman Sea crossings

The offshore passage from Southport, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand is a challenging and exciting 1,400nm blue water crossing of the Tasman Sea. Here is a taste of what you can expect if you jon us for the Hobart to Picton passage in March 2020 or Picton to Southport passage in April 2020.

Ocean Gem’s Live Tracker

Follow Ocean Gem’s sailing adventures on the live Predict Wind GPS Tracker. With Predict Wind and Iridium Go its easy to put weather routing, departure planning and live location tracking into one technology package. I love it because I can use the Iridium Go App on my iPhone as for satellite phone calls, email and messaging and its all part of the same subscription package.

View Ocean Gem on the Live Tracker