Creating and sharing ocean sailing stories and adventures

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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 65: R2AK - Grahams Shaw's 750nm race from Washington to Alaska

It’s in the spirit of tradition, exploration, and the lawless self-reliance of the gold rush that the Race to Alaska was born. R2AK is the first of its kind and North America’s longest human and wind powered race, and currently the largest cash prize for a race of its kind. It’s like the Iditarod, on a boat, with a chance of drowning, being run down by a freighter, or eaten by a grizzly bear. There are squalls, killer whales, tidal currents that run upwards of 20 miles an hour, and some of the most beautiful scenery on earth.

You, a boat, a starting gun. $10,000 if you finish first, a set of steak knives if you’re second. Cathartic elation if you can simply complete the course. R2AK is a self-supported race with no supply drops and no safety net. Any boat without an engine can enter. Last year 37 teams were accepted and 21 finished. Graham Shaw was 1 of the 21 and he shares his story.

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Upcoming sailing adventures

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

Southport to Auckland - Tasman Sea Passage: 8-22 Mar 2019
Auckland to Norfolk Island to Southport - Tasman Sea Passage: 1-15 Apr 2019
Brisbane to Hamilton Island Race: 2-8 Aug 2019
Hamilton Island Race Week: 16-25 Aug 2019
Hamilton Island to Southport: 25-30 Aug 2019
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
Rolex Sydney Hobart Race: 25 Dec 2019 - 2 Jan 2020
Tasmania Circumnavigation: 27 Jan - 10 Feb 2020
Hobart to Picton Tasman Sea Passage: 8 - 22 Mar 2020

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 25,000 nautical miles and competed in more than 400 races in the past 7 years.

View gallery

Join the crew for the 2019 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 Southport to Auckland passage in March or Auckland to Norfolk Island to Southport in April 2019.

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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