Boat Radio

Mercy Ships is an organisation which funds state-of-the-art floating hospitals, staffed by maritime and medical volunteers. Over the years, tens of thousands of people have travelled the world aboard Mercy Ship’s vessels, spending up to a year at a time in developing countries and providing the highest quality medical care in places where health services are often only available to the very wealthy. James Finlayson spoke to Mercy Ships National Director in Spain, Ricardo Menzies. If you want to know more about Mercy Ships or if you'd like to make a donation or even volunteer, please visit their website at www.mercyships.org Also in today's programme, a very different type of seafaring altogether. Pindar Sailing Abu Dhabi owns a pair of pristine Volvo Ocean Race yachts - the high-performance rally cars of the sea - and you can charter these boats for a day of unparalleled thrills. Mike McDowall speaks to Pindar Sailing Chief Executive, Philippe Falle, about his life, his glittering sailing career, and hi

Rachel Fox washed up on these shores thirteen years ago and has established a wonderful home for herself and her two sons in the Sóller valley. Originally a water scientist and later a biology teacher, Rachel is now a respected local photographer and is soon to launch an unorthodox business venture: a launderette that's also an artistic space and meeting place. She chats to Shirley about her life, her loves and her plans. Quick-witted and with a ready smile, Rachel Fox is someone you're always pleased to bump into. This interview warms the heart and lifts the spirit. Mentioned during the interview is the daily photo journal website, blipfoto.com. You will find Rachel's work there under the name Sollergirl.

For more than a decade, Bruce and Tiffany Halabisky have been travelling the world. Aboard their 1952, John Atkin-designed sailboat, Vixen, they’ve crossed the Atlantic three times, circumnavigated the globe, visited more than thirty countries, invited people of countless nationalities on board and, quite remarkably, welcomed two children into their lives. Daughters Soli-Anna and Seffa-Jane were born in New Zealand and Brazil respectively. Their amazing life is even the subject of a short documentary film, 'Vixen’s Voyage', which you can find at the Boat Radio website - go to www.boatradio.net and click 'video' on the main menu. Now, however, the Halabiskys are back on dry land, living on Orcas Island in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, just a few miles shy of the Canadian border. Their plan was to let the girls get to know grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins... But it seems the earth beneath their feet doesn’t quite agree with them. After just a few months, they’re already planning anot

In this episode, host Brandon Huebner introduces two of the more well known merchants from Mesopotamia: Ea-nāşir who lived during the time of the first Babylonian king, Hammurabi, and Lu-Enlilla from the Third Dynasty of Ur. He also explains some of the economic factors at play in the world of the Mesopotamian merchants, and examines how some the earliest law codes to have been discovered had an effect on the trade of the shipping merchants. Brandon Huebner does it again with another fascinating and impeccably researched addition to this wonderful series.

From Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks, Captain Bob May presents a bit of boating mayhem mixed with practical tips and advice. This week: How lightning might affect your vessel; why it's important to minimise your wake; Paradise Pam on boat covers and upholstery; plus, Bob is joined by Rebecca Green of the Water Safety Council. Not to be missed.

Sarah O'Kelly, founder of Skipper's Review, gets to spend the day with leading shark documentary maker, Jim Abernethy, whose methods have frequently led to controversy. This is an intimate portrait of the man whose relationship with some sharks is so close, he's able to touch and pet them, and even remove hooks from their mouths. Do not miss this.

Poet Paul Archer chats to Shirley about the inspiration he draws from the landscape of the Tramuntanas.

A wonderful slice of life from Missouri's beautiful Lake of the Ozarks, presented by Captain Bob May. This week sees the show transplanted a couple of hundred kilometres south east, to the Grand Lake o'the Cherokees in northeast Oklahoma for some high-speed thrills and spills at the annual GLOC Performance Boat Challenge Shoot-out. Fasten your seatbelts!

In 1968, in South Africa, Erik Svensson began building a ferro-cement boat. Seven years later, he completed the vessel and immediately took part in the Capetown to Rio race. He continued sailing for a further eight years, crossing the Atlantic three times and spending a great deal of time in the Caribbean. Thirty years after he sold Cam-Rita, Erik and his film maker daughter Emilie went in search of her, visiting his former shipmates along the way. The result was 'Sailing on a Shoestring' - the remarkable story of Erik's unusual life, as told by the people who lived it with him. Did they find Cam-Rita? You'll have to watch the film to find out. Details of how to do so are included in this interview. Meanwhile, the trailer can be found on Page 2 of Boat Radio's video section: http://www.boatradio.net/video/page/2/ Also in today's edition of The Wheelhouse, British yachtswoman Susie Goodall gives us an update on her bid to win the 2018 Golden Globe Race. This week she has been sanding and filling the

In this brilliantly put together series, Carolyn Shearlock takes the listener step-by-step through the process of buying a boat. From online searches to finding a surveyor, The Boat Galley with Carolyn Shearlock is packed with all the information you need to get yourself out on the water, whatever your budget. In this episode, Carolyn goes through the transaction - a nerve-jangling experience for anyone.

We're following Susie's progress as she prepares to take on the toughest sporting challenge imaginable - the 2018 Golden Globe Race. Susie is the youngest and only female entrant in a race which will see her attempt a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe using no modern technology. That's right! No GPS! Susie will navigate using a sextant. Her boat is a 1995 Rustler 36. In this update, Susie describes the changes she's having to make to the boat. Sponsors are hard to find so this is a shoestring entry. Susie's doing all the work herself and she is appealing for a little help: Does anyone out there have any original sails for a Rustler 36? If so, please drop us a line: hello@boatradio.net

Missouri's magnificent Lake of the Ozarks is home to tens of thousands of recreational boats and the radio host the boaters listen to the most is Captain Bob May. This week: a new cruising boat hits the lake, electrical safety both on the dock and on board, and how to go about recycling old fibreglass.

Every week, Captain Bob May presents a fascinating slice of life on Missouri's magnificent Lake of the Ozarks. This 220 square kilometre lake is home to tens of thousands of recreational boats, which means there's always something going on and Captain Bob is usually at the heart of it. This week: boat safety, Marine Max and what to do if you get stranded.

Matt Rutherford and his crew gather scientific data for NASA and The Smithsonian. Every year, they spend several months in the Arctic Circle, braving all manner of strange currents, tempestuous weather and sub-zero temperatures. Added to this, they tackle the logistical problems associated with working in some of the most remote territory on Earth while also struggling to keep their heads above water financially. This week, they trawl for microplastic particles in the middle of Baffin Bay and narrowly avoid being crushed by an iceberg, which bears down on them while they're tied to a sea wall!

Although this episode will cover a greater span of time than the first two episodes covered, we'll still slow down and see how a Sumerian moon-god named Nanna-Suen and a Mesopotamian Royal Hymn called “Shulgi and Ninlil’s Boat” can help us better understand maritime history; how Sargon of Akkad forged one of the world's first large empires and used that power to influence trade; and eventually how transition and turmoil within Mesopotamia led to a decline of trade that began with Hammurabi and lasted for centuries. It's a good episode that covers a lot of history in a flash, so buckle your seat belts.

Kitiara Pascoe was a reluctant sailor, thinking the sea a cold and forbidding place. Nonetheless she is coming to the end of a two-year journey around the Atlantic, during which she has endured storms, hacked through jungles, watched men brutally thrown by bulls and drunk quite a lot of pisco with raw egg white and sugar. Life's not all a bed of roses aboard the Nicholson 32 she shares with longterm boyfriend Alex but adventure is around every corner.

After a few years living afloat, Dini and Pablo Martinez have returned to their home city of Sydney. Hear how they've managed to travel the world with a young family, run yoga retreats and welcome a new baby into their watery world. They're lovely people with plenty of great insights about life aboard a sailboat and good advice for those of you considering an escape plan.

Chris and Melody DiCroce met while working in the music business in Nashville. Melody's a proofreader and Chris is working on his new album, due out this summer. Tune in for a fascinating, warts-and-all insight into life on board a sailboat, and hear a bit of Chris' brilliant music too.

Captain Liz Gillooly, talks about life choices, big decisions, ditching college, crossing the Atlantic, learning Jiu Jitsu, blogging at Moxie and Epoxy, and her new interview series entitled: Women Making Waves. Oh, and sailing.

Krisztian Ersek, proprietor of the fabulous Kingfisher restaurant, tells Shirley about travelling the world, training as a chef, learning to be a sommelier, and how, after owning a cafe in Deia, he decided that the Port of Sóller was where he wanted to be.