For many sailors, the dream of setting off on an offshore adventure means tropical islands, trade winds, and warm anchorages. But for Jimmy Cornell, high latitudes hold a special allure. Having sailed over 200,000 miles—including Antarctica and the Northwest Passage, both more than once —he knows firsthand what it takes to navigate these extreme and breathtaking waters.
From his early days circumnavigating with his family to founding the ARC rally and helping thousands of cruisers cross oceans, Jimmy’s journey has been about more than just adventure. For Jimmy, sailing was freedom in the truest sense—a way to break free from the restrictions of his early life in Romania and embrace a world of possibility.
In this episode of the Liveaboard Sailing Podcast, we explore:
- How Jimmy’s early experiences shaped his lifelong love for exploration and adventure
- The draw of high latitudes—what keeps pulling him back to the Arctic and Antarctica
- Lessons from decades at sea—how offshore sailing has evolved and what today’s cruisers should know
Now, Jimmy is launching his latest challenge: The High Latitude Challenge, a groundbreaking event connecting the two polar regions and encouraging sailors to embrace a new level of adventure.
If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to sail to the ends of the earth, this episode is packed with insights and inspiration.
Transcript
Annika: I always ask my guests about what got them into sailing and cruising the world in the first place. So what inspired you to set off on your first circumnavigation with your family in the 1970s?
Jimmy: Well, it goes back a very long time because, I don’t know why, for what reason, as a little boy I always wanted to be, to become a sailor, maybe because when I was four years old my mother bought me a sailor suit and I have some photographs, so maybe that impressed me for the rest of my life. But anyway, of course, I grew up in Romania, communist dictatorship, my father was in prison, he eventually died in prison as a political prisoner, and although Romania has a border, actually borders on the Black Sea, and you couldn’t go anywhere. You could swim maybe for a beach, but you couldn’t go sailing.
So, to cut the story short, in 1963, which is now just over 60 years ago, when Romania started opening the borders to visitors from the West. I met this beautiful young girl, she was a girl in those days, Gwenda. We fell in love, and eventually after I’ve been chucked out of university because I was not allowed as a Romania citizen to marry a foreigner. And then we had a child and eventually after waiting for five years, I got a passport and I left Romania and I came to England. And, we started at long last a normal life. Then our son was also born and I got a job at the BBC World Service in the Romanian service. Also, in my free time, I was going out sailing with the BBC Sailing Club and eventually with the BBC Yacht Club. So gradually, gradually, I started really getting very interested in sailing and, uh, I realized that by now I was 30 years old. My life was very settled.
But I thought that I hadn’t escaped from a communist regime and I was now a free man. I should do something with that freedom. So I had a choice between a career and a settled life or to get a boat and go sailing with my family. Gwenda, crazy like I am, she agreed to the idea, but the trouble is that we didn’t have any money. All we could manage was to buy a bare hull. It was just a fiberglass hull.
It was a 36 foot hull. And determined, as I always was, and still am, I managed to really, I managed to equip that boat in one year, build the furniture, install the engine, and all the rest. Launched the boat in 1974. We did a trip across the English Channel to test the boat. And then in 1975, I resigned from the BBC. And we left on a three year voyage, we thought. Eventually, it lasted six years. I didn’t have a British passport. We didn’t have much money, maybe about 50 pounds, on savings. But fortunately, my program at the BBC in Romanian language at the time was very popular in Romania. So the BBC said, well, why don’t you continue, sending us reports from your voyage? And at the same time, you can also send some, uh, reports to the English language services. So I did quite a bit of work for the BBC, and if you believe that you were original in having a podcast, I tell you what, I started the podcast in Romanian, on the Romanian service, in 1975, on that voyage.
And I carry that on a weekly podcast from my boat in Romania to listeners in Romania for the next six years. So this is how I got into sailing. It was just an idea. Always in my life, my life. If I want to do something, I do it. I never think of the consequences because if you start thinking what might go wrong, I always give the example of a marriage. You know, if you knew At the beginning, when you fell in love with somebody and you decided to marry, what would follow?
Maybe some people would never get married. And the same with sailing. If you really think about all the problems, you didn’t even have a boat and then all the problems that come with that. But eventually the boat was built, we set off, it took us six years to sail around the world. I managed to do a lot of freelance work, and we came back after six years. The BBC were very happy to see me because during our absence, I had contributed a lot to other African service or, BBC World Service in English, uh, interviews with various artists and, um, interesting people we met along the way. So when we came back, the BBC said, okay, we’ll give you your job back. Come and work again here and then you’ll move on to television and so on. So that is a very long story how I became really interested in, um, in sailing and how it became virtually my life because that was followed by another four boats. I also had this idea of organizing a transatlantic rally in 1986. It was the first ever transocean rally. was very successful then, went straight into the Guinness Book of Records. The ARC is still the biggest sailing event in the world. , so since then, since my voyage between 1975 and 1981, my life has been all bound up with sailing and I, virtually in this last 50 years, I spent Half my life on the boat.
Annika: Yes, what a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing that. That is quite enviable and indeed you were the original podcaster or travel influencer with your stories to the BBC. And I have to ask, what kind of updates would you share to people? And do you still have any of those recordings?
Jimmy: No, I don’t know. I mean, this was again an original idea. The BBC and all the other services started during the war. There was a lot of broadcasting, of course, to occupy the Europe and so on. And also there were political broadcasts. I mean, there was virtually propaganda. I mean, I saw it as propaganda, but by now it was late 1960s, early 1970s, the situation in Eastern Europe was changing, especially in Poland and so on. So I went to my boss and said, look, if you really want to do something and you want to sell an idea to someone, You have to entertain those people. The continuous broadcasting of news, most of it was also Vietnam War and all the bad news, people would switch off. We have to do something to entertain them. What do you mean? Well, I think the most thing is we should do something to tell young people in that part of the world what it means to be free. So all right, what do you want to call your program? I said, well, I want to call it an adventure in Romanian aventura. And they said, well, it’s amazing because within a few months, I knew from my family that I had a lot of listeners in the thousands and then in the millions, because everyone wanted to hear about adventures. Someone has, gone parachuting and the other one has crossed the Atlantic in a rowing boat and the other one has gone up Mount Everest.
And all this was intercepted with pop music and that was the, 72, 73. The Rolling Stones had just come on board. The Beatles, of course. So that was also the good music. And that was a half hour program, and it was really extremely popular. And, um, it’s very interesting because many, many years later, I was at the Düsseldorf Boat Show in Germany. maybe about three or four years ago, and the woman came to see me. I said, look, I’m very happy to meet you because I’m from Romania. I live now in Germany. But my father, was a keen listener. Oh, yes. I said, it’s very, very interesting. He was interested. He said he was, he wasn’t really interested. He said, well, what was he doing? He was a colonel in the security service, in the secret, secret service. And he was one of my listeners.
Annika: So it reached definitely a broad audience, let’s put it that way.
Jimmy: Course, yes. And of course, I must add to that because, again, as an idea, when we decided to leave in 1975 and everybody’s crossing the Atlantic West, I said, no, no, no, we go to the Mediterranean, I go into the Black Sea, I’m now free, I’m no longer Romanian, but I still am. So I want to be the first Romanian to sail around the world. So 1975, indeed, we sailed to Romania, to Constanța, the May Harbor, and six years later, when we came back to the Suez Canal, Mediterranean, Black Sea, back into Romania, and I’m the first Romanian to have sailed around the world. So that’s another nice little bit in my long life story.
Annika: That’s a nice little accolade to add to your already impressive resume. What an honor to be the first of your country and, uh, yeah, and what adventures you must have had there. You referenced the ARC Rally earlier, and I believe it’s coming up to 40 years
Jimmy: Yes, it’s exactly 40 years. Yes.
Annika: so that’s been around a long time, probably getting more and more popular as we go. But how did you originally get people interested in it? Was it easy to get people to sign up?
Jimmy: Very. Well, I didn’t know. I mean, again, it was an original idea. Uh, I was working at the BBC. Uh, Yachting World Magazine asked me occasionally to do an article for them, basically based on my previous voyage. And, uh, I had an idea with the editor and he said, well, why don’t you go to the Canary Islands to Las Palmas where all these boats are going? planning to cross the Atlantic and talk to some people, and then if you find enough people that are really interesting, maybe you fly to the Caribbean and try and meet them and see how the crossing went. And I went to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and I met several people. I spent several days there. I talked to them, and I realized that every day, and I could see that people were getting ready, and they’re leaving, and people were crying, and they was very moved by, they made new friends, and suddenly they disappeared across the horizon. And then, I thought, well, this is not, something is not right here. But anyway, then I crossed the Caribbean, I went to Caribbean, I met some of the same people, everything had gone very well, and they were very happy having completed the transatlantic crossing. So I said, well, wait a moment. Why do these people do it separately when somebody should actually help them to do it together?
I came back to London. I had a chat with the editor of Yachting World. I said, look, I have this idea we should really organize a sailing event for cruising boats. There had been already races, transatlantic races, but no one had thought of the majority 95% of sailors are cruising sailors are not racing sailors. So I said, fantastic. Well, let’s launch the idea. What shall we call it? Well, I, I said, well. The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers , ARC. Oh, that sounds very good. So we launched the idea in Yachting World magazine. In those days there was nothing Facebook, nothing online. Everything was just by printed matter and of course mail.
So these letters started coming in. More and more letters and people said fantastic, I want to take part. There was no entry fee, there was nothing. So we I said okay fine. So eventually by November arrived, And we had 209 boats and they went straight into the Guinness Book of Records. We still are the greatest ever trans ocean event in the history of sailing. And everything was very well. I was still working at the BBC. That was finished, and it was done. But then the letters start coming in. Well, what about us? We want to do it next year. And I said, well, no, I don’t want, it was just a one off. So, said, OK, next year. And there was only Gwenda and I. I mean, the 209 boats, 1, 000 participants, some people did help us.
So I said, well, this is a business. This is, you can’t just do it from your job at the BBC and so on. So I resigned from the BBC and then I started running what I eventually named the World Cruising Club for all participants in the ARC and so on. And then a few years later, I said, well, wait a moment. Why just across the Atlantic?
Why not around the world? So in 1991, we had the Around the World Rally, which was very successful. And that also was repeated every few years. So in the end, just to cut the story short, I have organized six around the world rallies, 38 transatlantic rallies, either east west or west east, and two transpacific rallies. So if that is not enough, I might as well go next, because I know what your next question is. Just over one month ago, just over one month ago, at the beginning of December, I launched this idea, inspired by the fact that Last year, so the largest number of sailing boats transit the Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific, 18 boats, which is quite a record. And among them was also, uh, three boats, uh, aluminum boats, Garcia Exploration 45, which is my concept. And I sailed through the Northwest Passage myself in 2015.
Also last year, in 2024, my ex boat, Aventura 4, the new owner had sailed to Antarctica. And suddenly I said, well, wait a moment. My boats have been up through the Northwest Passage, now Antarctica. Why doesn’t somebody think of uniting these two absolutely exciting destinations. There’s no other two destinations in the history of navigation more attractive than Antarctica and the Northwest Passage, and more challenging. So, a month ago I launched this idea of It’s not a rally, it’s just an event called the High Latitude Challenge, to start from Europe, from Cherbourg, because that’s where my boat was built, by Garcia Yachting sail south to Antarctica, visit Antarctica, and then sail north, reach the Northwest Passage during the summer there, in July and August, transit the Northwest Passage. and complete the loop. And you don’t only complete the loop going to both Antarctica and the Northwest Passage, but you also, in the process, have circumnavigated the Americas. So this event was launched six weeks ago now, and we have over 30 boats already signed up, signed up in principle. We don’t have actually paid up entries, but basically it’s happening.
So again, it’s one of Very good example that I don’t think what might happen because suddenly I’m getting emails all the time like today and all the time. Fortunately, my daughter Doina is helping me because otherwise I couldn’t cope.
But anyway, it promises to be a very Exciting and successful event and also I decided to make it easy for people to join By making it a rolling event meaning that you don’t have to come to the actual official start you can join anywhere and then do the loop, as it were, and leave where you feel. And that also means that as of next year, when we start in 2026 in September, but the following year,, sailors from the West Coast of the United States could join this event of 27 and do their own loop. And finish it in 28. So it’s a merry go round, a carousel.
Annika: Exactly. That’s another, uh, original concept by Jimmy Cornell then. That’s fantastic. And you hit a couple of big bucket list items there. You’re going to Antarctica and the Northwest Passage. I mean, that’s, uh, that sounds like it’s for sailors who’ve kind of seen it all and done it all. Is that accurate? Or who, who do you think will participate?
Jimmy: Absolutely. No, no, it’s very interesting that you mention this because a lot of the people who signed up are over 60 and the oldest is 88.
Annika: Wow.
Jimmy: And he sailed in one of my round the world rallies in the Millennium Odyssey in 2000, and he contacted me. And I said, well, Fabio, he’s Italian, Fabio, I’m very sorry, but I have to change the rules, because we have a minimum age of 18, and now, because of you, I have to set the maximum age. And he said, what will you make it? Not 80. No, I’m going to make it 100. Yeah.
Annika: Exactly. It’s for everybody. All right. Sounds like a very welcoming event for sure. And, uh, yeah, that is quite the thing. And I know you’ve obviously been to both the Northwest Passage and Antarctica as well, multiple times. And I’m curious, what drew you back to these areas that you decided to return to on your travels?
Jimmy: Well, I mean, true, I’ve been to the Northwest Passage twice and Antarctica twice and so on. And I believe certainly the Antarctic is for me the most interesting, or I could say attractive and of course challenging destination. Because even now when we have such changes in world climate and so on. You can still see a pristine, virgin, as it were, uh, environment there that hasn’t been too badly affected by, it is now being affected by climate change. But pollution is still at the control level, also something that would never happen nowadays. There’s a, international Treaty where the continent of Antarctica is respected. You can’t have any. There’s no development there or, or, or any settlements or anything. There is only scientific research stations and so on. There’s no hunting, no whaling, no fishing. So it’s still protected. And this is something that is one excellent example of what, Humanity and the way we can do when we think ahead to preserve that wonderful, uh, area, the, the nature and so on.
And we don’t do it anywhere else because not much is being done now about climate change and getting rid of fossil fuels. And this is what we’re going to try and do in the high latitude challenge. I want to really encourage the sailors to reduce the minimum their carbon footprint to have, to produce their energy. consumption, electricity consumption to minimum and produce enough energy to cover their domestic consumption by renewable means, solar panels, hydro generation and wind generation. And interestingly enough, another rally that I was involved with, which finished last year, the World Odyssey, more than half the boats in that rally produced all their domestic electricity for domestic use from renewable forces, 100%.
So they had engines to, to motor when necessary, but really their consumption of, uh, of fossil fuel was very low.
Annika: That’s really impressive and really encouraging to hear, actually. And as for Antarctica, I think the Antarctic Treaty is a really unique, arrangement, if you can call it that. And I think the goal was to dedicate the continent to, peace and science, which is largely still the case. In my day job, I deal a lot with Antarctica and the Antarctic Treaty.
Jimmy: you do. So you know what I’m talking about.
Annika: Yes, yes, I do a lot of permit applications for expedition cruise ships that visit there. So I’m well versed in the history of the Antarctic Treaty and what’s possible and what’s not. So, but it is really unique because it is very protected and very regulated on what you can do, where you can go and all that. But I had a practical question for you as for the route. Are you planning on including South Georgia or just going straight down from southern tip of Argentina?
Jimmy: Unfortunately, uh, South Georgia is in such a difficult location that on the one hand, if you sail down to South Georgia and then to Antarctic Peninsula, you’re really against the prevailing westerly winds, strong winds and so on. And on the way back, you can’t do it because you want to go through Southern Chile. And this is why, um, I looked at it because I have not, not been to. South Georgia and that would have been an opportunity for me to do it. But I tried to make it very easy and also very important to point out that, I want this event to be done in one year. So the time is limited because you have two windows, as it were, which you have to catch.
One is to is to sail to Antarctica at the best time there, which is January, and then you have to virtually six months or maybe five months to get to the Northwest Passage and to make the transit in the best time, which is there, which is July and August. So you have these two very rigid parameters. You have to be in Antarctica, and you should do your best to arrive in the Northwest Passage by the beginning of July, and it can be done. The moment you start making any detours, you lose that time and you can’t do it. But I would like to add something else, because I didn’t realize that you’re working in this field and getting permissions to visit Antarctica.
I’m also very much aware. We will have some very strict rules with our participants. I will make sure that people will respect the environment, so whoever goes with this event, I don’t want to call it a rally, will know exactly that the restrictions on visitors to Antarctica are very strict, and anyone who does not abide by them will be out. And that will be it. So I think that it’s much easier in a way to control a group of people, on the group of boats, than let them loose all individually to go and visit that amazing part of the world.
Annika: Yeah, that’s great to hear and actually the um, even though it’s slightly different but the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, IAATO, They have really good visitor guidelines that I believe are publicly available. So it’s all these, you know Don’t go hug the penguins, give five meter distance from wildlife and and all these that even though they’re meant for more commercial operators but I think they would be good for you know, a group of people going to explore as well and making sure that it’s done responsibly because the wildlife there and the nature, it’s just, it’s incredible.
And I wondered how long, in your mind, ideally, will you spend in Antarctica? Of course, it will depend on the weather and all that.
Jimmy: I think that maybe three weeks that, that’s quite a long time . I spent a little bit more than that, but I think that you get a very good feeling of, of being there by, in, in three weeks. Uh, so I think that the. Return voyage would be maybe one month, from leaving Ushuaia or Puerto Williams and coming back. Whereas for the Northwest Passage, you have to allow at least six weeks, so it will be more like a two month transit, yeah.
Annika: Exactly, yes. And then you start off from the Alaskan side and go on towards Greenland. Is that the direction?
Jimmy: Yes, yes, you go from Dutch Harbor, and through the Bering Strait, then from there you basically head east. It’s about 3, 000 miles, from Dutch Harbor, from this southern end of Bering straight, all the way to Nuuk, Greenland, just over 3000 miles. And we did it in my boat quite, I mean, in a reasonable time, but I think about 36 or 40 days. So it can be done, especially the days are very long and you have to motor because there the winds are very light. I mean, we did quite a bit of sailing, but, uh, you do short distances and so it is doable. It’s doable. I plan to allow about six to seven weeks. Yes.
Annika: there’s always the weather element or rather the ice element there as well, making sure that you can take the route that you’ve planned to take and all that. Now the wildlife in Antarctica and the Canadian high Arctic is very different. One is cute and one bites. So how did you prepare for your trips with the polar bears that are definitely present up the Arctic?
Jimmy: Of course, like everyone else, you have to have a gun, because I started first from East going West, and we had to get a gun. I was told that you must, once we were in Canada, but we knew already from leaving Greenland that we had to have a gun, and we did. We came across polar bears, not very close.
We came much closer when I was in Svalbard, in Spitsbergen. But, not any dangerous situation, but we had the gun, and I’m glad that we never had any problems, but yes, we were prepared. Well, as you know too well, in Antarctica. Well, leopard seals are about the greatest predator there, but besides that, there’s no real danger to human beings.
Annika: No, although I would, uh, put a word of warning about fur seals. They run fast. I think they can outrun a tourist. If they’re on
Jimmy: well, maybe I should bear that in mind, you know.
Annika: Yeah, they can. The young ones can be a little bit interesting. So, but again, it goes to the whole idea of keep distance from wildlife and, you know, observe from a safe distance, which is good. Now, you said you already have about 30 people who have expressed interest. How big is this event or can it be? Is there a maximum? Are you still accepting people to join?
Jimmy: Well, they haven’t joined.
Only two boats have actually signed up, officially. The others, first of all, they have to be, eligible. have to look at kind of both. They have the kind of experience they have, and they say, okay, you’re eligible to take part in this event. And then they have to pay a fee, and so on.
So at the moment we, they start confirming it. You only started two days ago. So, or they have two people who have paid a small deposit and they have secured a place. And I don’t know, I mean, it’s very difficult with the first event. I mean, I would never have Imagine in the first ARC that we have more than 50 boats and 200. So I think that an absolute maximum would be 30. I wouldn’t be happy with having as many as 30. I would be happier with having maybe 15 boats or maximum 20 boats. But it’s early days and I don’t know. The problem is, it is an attractive idea, I’m the first to admit that. I don’t want to deny that people will be very disappointed.
That’s why I tell people, well, make up your mind. We want to know exactly, because we don’t want to keep out somebody just because you put your name on the list, and then six months from now, you tell us that you are not prepared to do it. So, also, a very important point here to make, I had inquiries from people who, um, I believe that the boat might be okay for the voyage itself, but necessarily to go to Antarctica. So, I’ve turned down three boats, as it were, and said, I don’t think, uh, your boat should really be taken to Antarctica. Basically, I would prefer if both be aluminum or steel, but or very well beared fiberglass. Also the sailing conditions, as you know they’re quite rough , even in this Australian summer, uh, the, the winds can be very strong. And so that’s, that’s why prepared to be quite, not sound alarming, but to really be very cautious to tell people, look, I always go from the principle, would I sail to Antarctica in that boat? And I believe not, or then I tell you, I don’t think you should do it. So people were quite grateful for the advice, and they said, well, what am I going to do then?
I still want to do the Northwest Passage. I said, that’s a different matter, Northwest Passage. You know, it’s a bit easier to do than Antarctica. Well, why don’t you do what we did with the Millennium Odyssey? That was the very first around the world rally that I took to Antarctica. We had 40 participants.
The majority sailed through the Panama Canal, the tropical route, but seven boats sailed south to Antarctica. But, again, we had the same situation, three boats remained in southern Chile, they didn’t cross the Drake Passage, and four boats, including my own, went to Antarctica. And that was a similar situation to now, we will have probably boats that I would say, look, it’s better if you stay here, enjoy the southern part of Chile and Patagonia and so on, and really join us when we’re back from Antarctica with the rest of the boats.
Annika: Yeah, exactly. So there’s certainly some flexibility there as well on how to, uh, how to do it. And if somebody wants to skip Antarctica and just maybe focus on the rest of the adventure, uh, that’s acceptable as well. But that’s really interesting to hear that you do vet the boats because I can A test deconditioned in Antarctica can be quite, quite wild.
And I’m not sure I would go on a sailboat there with my experience. Definitely not. But, uh, having seen some of the winds and the waves, I don’t know, that’s a, it’s an adventure with a capital A
Jimmy: Yeah. Yeah.
Annika: in terms of other, preparations for people who would go to Antarctica. What would they do aside? You know, it takes more than just having the right kind of boat that can handle it.
What about the crew?
Jimmy: We have very strict, a list of equipment that they must have on board, including, survival suits and, and so on. So, so that is mandatory and everybody has to have that. And that’s the only thing that we have to inspect before the boat joins. And so you have to have all this and if not, you cannot go. As far as the crew is concerned, it’s very, very difficult because we can’t start getting certificates or proofs that they had sailed offshore and so on.
The advantage of an event like this is people who start from, let’s say, Cherbourg, the official start, and by the time we reach Argentina, and so we have a very good idea of how people are, I’m not going to go with the event, but we’ll have people who say, then we’ll recommend very strongly to people that Maybe you should not go with this boat, or maybe with your crew, you are not advised to sail to Antarctica. I think that it’s something that has to happen first. I mean, all our events have been very safe, and we’ve inspected the boats before, and we had very, very, very few really serious emergencies, and I don’t know how many thousand sailors have sailed in my events. So, I’m very, very prudent and cautious and I’m definitely looking at this matter very seriously.
This is why I changed the rules and I said we have to inspect, physically inspect, every single piece of safety equipment and we will. So I’m quite confident that we’ll be able to keep an eye on people and make sure for their own safety they get back home safely in one piece.
Annika: Well, that sounds like a good plan. And that last sort of a question related to this, high latitude challenge., what do people get just in a practical terms aside from so you’ve already told obviously the coordination and go in as a group. There is, uh, Sort of safety check on the equipment and the boat and obviously discussion with you and your team on how to best prepare for that Is there anything else that the participants get from this kind of experience of going not as rally, but as a challenge?
Jimmy: I think that, I think it’s a satisfaction of having visited and sailed through these really challenging and, really alluring destinations like Antarctica and the Northwest Passage. Besides that, It’s the experience of having done it, and also something that I only realized later after I’d drawn up the whole plan, is that they have circumnavigated the Americas. It’s two continents, not just one. So they have done a complete circumnavigation, uh, of the Americas, which is again something that is, whether you’ve done it around the world, like the Vendee Globe, which finished today, the very first one, and probably the second one as well, or you’ve sailed around the Americas.
It’s another major achievement. So, That’s what they get. Maybe a small medal. Yeah.
Annika: there’s definitely yet another bucket list item. But, good thing you mentioned about the Vendee Globe. I live in Les Sables d’Olonne, so I gotta go check
Jimmy: Oh, you are. Yes, of course. Well, I mean, basically Richon was supposed to be arrived very, a few hours ago. And Dallin arrived earlier today. Yes, I know. I mean, I follow them because also PredictWind will be providing the weather forecasts for the High Latitude Challenge. And I wanted to see how it all went and I’m very impressed with them because they also provided the forecast for the participants in my, the previous event I was involved with the World Odyssey. So I’ve been following the Vendee Globe every day and it’s absolutely amazing, I mean, the kind of boats and the speeds and it’s incredible. But I’ve learned a lot from, from that about The fact, strangely enough, I was watching, um, the, the report on the morning of New Year’s Day, on the 1st of January, and it was almost calm off Cape Horn. And they were, they couldn’t say they had no wind, virtually no wind. I said, this is, can you imagine there’s no wind at Cape Horn?
Annika: Wow. Yeah. Bet they weren’t prepared for that one.
Jimmy: No, they were not, no.
Annika: the weather is gonna throw at you, especially in those latitudes. Now, my last question for you, since you have literally decades of experience and you’ve given so much to the international sailing community, is that if you could give one piece of advice to aspiring cruisers who are just starting their journeys, not necessarily high latitude, just, you know, setting off on their boat, what would you give advice?
Jimmy: difficult question. I don’t know what I could give as advice, because there’s not only one advice, I’m working now on a new edition of World Voyage Planner, and that’s the kind of thing and I have to write a book to help people in that kind of situation. Look, I’m ashamed to do this, but I think that what I would honestly say, buy my book, Sail The World With Me, because you’ll learn a lot about my successes and a lot about my failures and the mistakes I made, not many failures, it’s a very comprehensive book. And it says everything that anyone who is planning a voyage, I’ve written it for people who really are those that would ask the questions that you have done. And I think, uh, I put a lot of effort into it, not just to describe my own voyages. I’m very much in the background in that book, but there’s a lot of practical information from voyage planning to safety issues, dealing with emergencies, what kind of crew you should have, sailing with children. Taking along pets. Everything is in that book. And I think that for anyone planning to do a voyage transatlantic or all the way around the world, that book would help with giving an insight into what I have been through about, as it were, the last 50 years. And I’m very happy to be able to pass on that, That kind of experience, and this is why I think that when I see the Vendée Globe, people should realize that yes, okay, there are races, there are professional people and so on, but sailing is tough, you have to be well prepared, you have to put up with a lot of inconveniences and so on, it’s not just a dream that you get a boat.
And this is not, going into a floating caravan. You are in a sailing boat against the ocean. You have to be very well prepared. You have to know a lot about the weather. You have to be very humble in front of nature, uh, not to be arrogant because that will be the end of you. So there’s a lot of things to learn before you go and to have to ask yourself, am I up to it? Am I up to it psychologically? Uh, am I up to it physically? And am I up to it as far as skills are concerned? Can I do a major repair if something goes wrong? And this is the kind of things that I cover in my book. I mean, at the end of the successful transit of the Northwest Passage, we shared with a friend of mine, just the two of us, and we left Nuuk and Greenland in a storm, but it was okay. And then the engine broke down. 2, 000 miles to sail, and he said, well, are we going back? I said, no, I mean, this is a sailing boat. So we sailed all the way into a marina in Falmouth. So I, these are the kind of things that I would like to bring to the attention of, but you have to be able to do that.
And this is why the Vendee Globe is a good example, because that is the extreme, but it’s not very far from what you’ll encounter yourself as a cruising sailor. So. I hope it’s a very long answer to a very short question, but I hope I’ve given you what you wanted to hear. I hope.
Annika: Absolutely, you did. And if you hadn’t mentioned your books, I would have because they are absolutely a fantastic resource and I will certainly put a link on the podcast notes so people can go have a look if they don’t already have a copy of your latest books so that they can fill their boat libraries.
Now, Jimmy, thank you very much for taking the time to chat with me today. This has been absolutely fantastic to hear about your adventures, but also about the High Latitude Challenge.
Jimmy: Yes, of course. I mean, I will inform you. Maybe you have another chat later on when it’s all happening.