Episode #175: Josh Kali on the McIntyre Mini Globe Race

In this episode we chat with Josh Kali about boat-building and race prep ahead of the McIntyre Mini Globe Race 2025. Josh is a mountain climber, sailor, and professional marine technician who built his 19-foot one-design Skookum over the past 2.5 years.

Listen in as Josh chats with Good Jibes host John Arndt about the parallels between mountain climbing and sailing, how to teach yourself to sail, the pros and cons of building your own boat, Josh’s race strategy for the McIntyre Mini Globe Race 2025, and the most fascinating rules, rest stops, and restarts for the race.

Here’s a sample of what you’ll hear in this episode: 

• The story behind the boat name Skookum
• Are their parallels between mountain time and sailing time?
• How prepared is Josh for his journey to Antigua?
• What does he plan to eat?
• What communication devices will he use?
• How many competitors are doing the McIntyre Mini Globe Race?

Sponsor Josh at JoshKaliOceanRacing.com and learn more here: https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/mcintyre-mini-globe-race-qualifying-leg-underway/

Check out the episode and show notes below for much more detail.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast spots – follow and leave a 5-star review if you’re feeling the Good Jibes!

Show Notes

• Josh Kali on the McIntyre Mini Globe Race
  • [0:21] Welcome to Good Jibes with Latitude 38
  • [1:05] Introducing Josh Kali
  • [4:30] What did Josh buy for his first boat?
  • [5:53] Did he take any classes?
  • [6:35] Did Josh know John Guzzwell before getting involved in the McIntyre Mini Globe Race?
  • [9:07] Does Josh have a read on other small boaters?
  • [9:36] What was building a boat like and did you have any experience in that?
  • [11:57] The story behind the name Skookum
  • [12:22] How many other competitors will be in the event?
  • [13:30] How many others built their own boat?
  • [14:15] What is necessary to qualify as a boat design?
  • [15:38] Is there a standard package or is everybody outfitting the rest of the boat?
  • [17:31] Is Josh sailing without an engine?
  • Are you thinking of sailing to Mexico or across the Pacific? Latitude 38 has a resource page called “Heading South” & the “First Timer’s Guide” to help you prepare
  • McIntyre Mini Globe Race
  • [23:53] What sails does Josh have aboard?
  • [26:30] Is Josh able to communicate during the trip and what is he bringing for communications?
  • [28:29] What does Josh plan to eat?
  • [31:30] Are their parallels between mountain time and sailing time?
  • [35:50] How are the interior accommodations?
  • To find a copy of latitude 38 near you, go to Latitude38.com
  • Race Prep
  • [37:49] How prepared is Josh for his journey to Antigua?
  • [39:57] Have you read Adrift by Steven Callahan?
  • [42:40] Sponsor Josh at JoshKaliOceanRacing.com and learn more here: https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/mcintyre-mini-globe-race-qualifying-leg-underway/
  • [43:40] Josh’s other sailing plans
  • Make sure to follow Good Jibes with Latitude 38 on your favorite podcast spot and leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts
  • Theme Song: “Pineapple Dream” by Solxis

Episode Transcript:

Please note: transcript not 100% accurate.

00:02

But if you break it down into those smaller parts and you just say, I’m just gonna make it to that next rock, I’m just gonna make it to that tree, I’m just gonna make it to that snow patch, and then pretty soon you know you’re like, there’s the top.

00:21

Hi everyone, great to have everyone back aboard another adventure and Good Jibes podcast. We’re going to be listening to a new guest and his adventures as a West Coast sailor and it’s all going to be brought to you by Latitude 38, the sailing magazine for West Coast sailors since 1977. And we’re now on our third year of podcasts and we’ve got over 160 episodes for you on our website, Latitude38.com. And of course, the magazine.

00:51

is up and down the West Coast. You can subscribe or pick it up at a Marine store near you. But we’re great to have everybody aboard here and in for another episode of Latitude 38’s Good Jibes.

01:05

So with us today, we have a Pacific Northwest sailor, and it’s Josh Kali. He’s a mountain climber, a sailor, and also a professional marine technician. Over the last couple of years, he’s been building a one design, 19 foot, ocean-going, plywood boat to enter in the McIntyre Mini Globe Challenge. And with the boat’s completion, he’s driven it across country, and he’s now in North Carolina from where he intends to set sail soon.

01:33

to the start of the 400 day race, which will start from Antigua and head to Panama for its first stop. So welcome aboard, Josh. Great to have you here. Hi, thank you. To kick off here, I mean, you’ve transitioned, I guess, from a mountain climber to a sailor, but somewhere in your early days, this idea of going on big adventures captivated you. I was just curious, what got you just starting doing mountain climbing and this kind of, you know, I guess, severe hardship

02:03

and challenging yourself this way. I started out climbing in the Cascades, just hiking with friends and stuff. And it’s just also accessible there. That was just, it was what we did. So we started out skiing and then we got comfortable with, you know, steep slopes and stuff like that. And then we started climbing a little more technical mountains and we would, you know, look over there and say, well, what about that mountain over there? Well, you got to know how to rock climb. Or look at that mountain over there. You got to know how to ice climb. So I was like, well, I’m going to learn how to do those things. So.

02:33

I just kind of progressed through it and I was always just really passionate and inspired by the people that kind of did the things at the extreme ends of the sport. And I just, I’ve always just tried to do, you know, emulate the people that I admire, do what they do and see how far I could get. And so yeah, it progressed every year. We did a little bit more and more difficult things. And, and eventually we got to the point where we were taking big expeditions to

03:03

Denali, we were trying, not guided or anything, just two guys doing some of the most difficult routes on the mountain. I went to Patagonia and I climbed one of the 10 hardest mountains in the world, which is down there. I went to the French Alps and I climbed all over. My girlfriend and I, we lived in our van and we went climbing 14 Western states and two Canadian provinces and all kinds of stuff.

03:30

I kind of felt like it had run its course, you know, I was getting to the point where everything kind of started to feel the same, you know, almost just going through the motions and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to get out there. I wanted to enjoy it. So I knew I had always wanted to get into sailing. And one day I was riding my vintage motorcycle that I restored down the coast of California and I popped out of the rocks and I got this breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean and I thought, okay.

04:00

I have to go out there. So I bought a sailboat and I taught myself to sail it. I had been boating for my whole life on the Great Lakes growing up. And then I worked as a tuna fisherman out of Hawaii for a number of years when I was younger. As I had offshore experience, you know, 50 miles to anywhere to 400 miles offshore, we would be out for weeks at a time. So I didn’t have much sailing experience though. I had plenty of boating experience, but I had not actually ever set foot on a sailboat until the one that I bought.

04:30

It was the first time. Well, what did you buy for our first boat? My first boat was a 76 CNC 24. And I bought that because CNC’s were boats that were made on the, I believe Lake Ontario or in Canada in the seventies and eighties. And they had a reputation for being a well-built boat. And so I kind of sought one out. The 24 is like a kind of a little big boat. So you get a feel for something that feels a little bit bigger but it’s still manageable.

04:58

And I taught myself to sail it. I had never been sailing the first time I went, and I was solo. And so I went out and I just hoisted up the main and banged around until I felt comfortable with that. And then hoisted up the jib and took it real slow, worked my way up through stronger and stronger wind until I was comfortable with it and kind of had the hang of it. And then I’ve sailed thousands of miles in circles around the Puget Sound ever since then. You still have the boat? No, I sold it. I sold it in order to get this one. I bought it for…

05:27

2,500 bucks and I sold it for $1,000. I figured it didn’t owe me anything. I mean, that’s what you did all this sailing into. You went all around the Northwest with it and that was it. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Puget Sound, San Juan Islands, all that. It also crossed the Pacific from Honolulu to Victoria on a boat as a crew member. Oh, great. I knew that I wanted to go sail on the ocean. Yeah, yeah.

05:53

Wow. So you got some navigation experience and all of that doing that as well. Or did you take any classes to do anything with it better? This is how I haven’t taken any classes. I’m a pretty confident auto didact. I’m happy teaching myself. Yeah. So I can just buy the textbook and and and go through the motions. Basically, I can learn learn easily. Yeah. So, you know, looking at your boat in this race course, now you started out on a CNC 24 and most people like to move up.

06:21

you know, when they buy boats, but you’ve gone down to a 19-footer and a home-built boat. But did you know of John Guzwell before getting involved in all this and as a Pacific Northwest sailor who kind of was one of the pioneers of a, I mean, really a small boat circumnavigator? Yeah, definitely. He was one of my big inspirations early on just because I’m kind of more of a passionate guy about small boats. I like small boats and small boat sailing and the type of things that people can do with them if they’re willing to endure.

06:50

kind of like the par days did early on. And yeah, I had read Trek Around the World and when I heard, basically what happened was when I heard about the Mini Globe Race, I was like, oh, this is perfect. I knew I’d always wanted to build a boat or I had kind of this idea kicking around in the back of my head that someday I would build a boat. I didn’t necessarily know that it was gonna be right now. But yeah, I actually was fortunate enough when I was working up in Victoria on an offload

07:20

boat was coming off of a ship and I had to use the restroom and I said hey where’s the washroom and the guy said oh it’s in here and he took me into this building which is just off of Ogden Point there and he said and after I used the restroom I came out and I noticed the bowsprit of a boat that I recognized and it was Telecom which is a dugout canoe that these guys turned into a sailing boat in like 1923 and attempted to circumnavigate. It’s another epic small boat adventure. Oh really I don’t know.

07:48

Yeah, yeah, the boat Tilikum. They took an old native dugout canoe and they closed in the top. They attempted to sail circumnavigate. They didn’t make it. I think they made it as far as England or something like that. But it’s still, it’s a wild story. And I recognized that boat. I was like, oh, there’s the Tilikum. And I knew that at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia, that they had displayed the Tilikum and Trekkah together typically. And so I was like, I wonder if it’s back there. And as soon as I went around the corner, there it was. And so I felt really

08:16

I guess honored to be able to see it because it’s not on public display and everybody always wondered whatever happened to it or they always are curious about where it is. So I just kind of lucked out into seeing it. So it was really inspiring. It kind of tied the whole thing together as far as like, you know, doing the small boat adventure and being a big fan of John’s and then getting to see the boat. And so it was really cool.

08:39

Yeah, no, that’s great. I mean, when you know when I was younger and reading it, I think those that story, John Guaswell and then Robin Lee Graham and dove and Robert Manry and Tinkerbell. You know, when you’re young, those small boat adventures seem achievable, you know, because, you know, if you don’t have money and you’re a kid, you think, okay, a 20 foot boat, I can go around the world or wherever. It really seems inspiring. And of course, people in mega yachts, you just being untouchable. So

09:07

I mean, did you sense that or have you read any of these other small boat guys as well? Oh, yeah. I’m definitely a fan. I can’t remember the man’s name now, but the Japanese guy who sold his little boat, Dolphin, or Dolphin 2, he sailed it. Oh, yeah. Kenichi Horii. Exactly. In San Francisco. And then he did it again when he was 85. Just a couple years ago. And yeah, so definitely. And even though his boat wasn’t small like Josh Slocum, you know, and any of those guys that solo circumnavigated kind of before it was the thing to do.

09:36

are really inspiring to me too. Yeah, yeah, no, that’s great. Lizzie, so you signed up for this race and then you, of course you sign up or get excited by it, then you have to build your own boat. What was building a boat like and did you have any experience in that? It was definitely pretty wild. I was just riding the bus to work one day and I heard, I was listening to the Sail Magazine podcast back when it was hosted by Adam Court and.

10:01

And he was interviewing Don McIntyre, and Don McIntyre was talking about the Golden Globe Race and the Ocean Globe Race, and obviously these well-known events. And then he went on to talk about the Mini Globe Race, which was this new one that was coming out. And I thought, I think I can do that. I’ve always wanted to build a boat, and you get the kit, and you get the plans, or you get the plans, and you build it yourself, or you can buy a kit. I chose to go the kit route, just to save time. But no, I had never…

10:27

built a boat, I had built plenty of things and I had been working as a marine technician for several years, although my specialty was electrics and lithium batteries and that sort of thing. I had plenty of experience in fiberglass and paint. There was definitely a learning curve. I definitely had to learn new things and kind of teach myself and make some progress and back up a little bit and feel it out. But for the most part, I had a pretty good sense of what it was going to take.

10:57

The fiberglassing was definitely difficult. And then as far as the, obviously the last 10% is the hardest part when it comes to finishing it. Yeah. So yeah, it took about two and a half years. I built it in evenings and weekends. I was fortunate that the place where I worked allowed me to use the facilities. I coat all the wood, every piece of wood that went into this boat is coated with epoxy before it was installed. And so I would work on doing that in the evenings. Then I would take all the parts down to my shop in the

11:26

on the weekends and put everything together until about June of last year. I quit my job and went full time just to get it done. Yeah. Great. Yeah. It was quite the, it was about 2,500 hours altogether. Wow. That sounds great. Well, I’ve seen pictures and we’ll include pictures when we post this on the site. She looks beautiful and, uh, and named Skookum. Uh, what can you tell us about that name? Oh, sure. Skookum is a, uh, Salish peoples from the, the Chinook.

11:57

slang basically it was a native slang word that means strong monstrous bold Brave or ultimate it’s kind of like the the native word for for badass So yeah exactly so I hope to instill a little bit of the native spirit Into it with a little bit of the heritage there. Yeah, great

12:22

What, and just building the boat, these are one design boat, so they’re all same shape and everything else, but how much variation might there be? Or do you know how many, well, actually, how many other competitors are gonna be in the event? So far, I believe it’s 18. Right now, they’re doing the Transatlantic Race, which is technically a qualifier. It’s not a mandatory qualifier, but if you do the Transatlantic Race, you are automatically qualified. And so there’s…

12:50

I believe 11 boats coming across in the transat. And then there’s four of us that are going, that are not doing the transat, that are gonna qualify externally. And then we’re all meeting in Antigua. I believe it was 18, it might be down to 16 now. There are nine different countries. I believe there’s six Australians. There’s a British gal. There’s a guy flying under the Irish flag. There’s a Spanish lady. There’s a German guy. There’s an Italian guy. So yeah, it’s kind of the full international cast of characters. Yeah, yeah. And you’re the only American? That is true.

13:19

I am the only American entrant. Yeah, fantastic. So these are mostly, well, I guess Australians, but then a lot of Europeans. Do you have much contact with them in building the boat, where you guys share sharing knowledge or, well, I guess how many others have built their own boat or bought a completed boat? I believe only, well, quite a few. So the Jasmine Harrison from England, she bought one that competed in the first Transat and then another gentleman bought one that competed in the second Transat. So I think…

13:49

probably five boats were already existing and were purchased or handed off. And then the rest of them were all built by their skippers. Oh, great. So mostly kit boats. Yeah. And is there any kind of, I mean, one design, really technical one design Olympic sailing, there’s kind of a measure in, are there weight limits or things you’ve had to do to make sure the boat actually qualifies as one design or how much variation might there be in these various boats?

14:17

Yeah, well, to touch on what you said earlier, like we definitely collaborated a lot. It’s one of the things that really drew me in this class was the fact that it’s got a real kind of family. If you’re crazy enough to build this and do this, then you have a common bond with these folks, you know, and so we’ve really come together and yeah, we share ideas and like I will help, you know, we’ll help each other. Oh, don’t miss this step and try it, you know, this worked for me, that didn’t work for me. And so it’s kind of, you know, brotherhood in the spirit of competition almost. We’re all

14:46

It’s more of a friendly competition than actually being directly against each other. And so in that vein, you are allowed a little bit of personal freedom with the design. There’s certain parameters that you have to meet. You have to have a watertight bulkhead in between the cabin and the forepeak. You have to have a watertight bulkhead at the entryway. All hatches and everything have to be watertight. You have certain bilge pump configurations that you’re required to do.

15:11

Bonks have to have watertight risers, but there’s some, you know, you have to build a galley the way they design it and the little nav station or whatever you want to call it, but you can change some things, and as far as the deck layout goes, that’s completely up to you. You could run, you know, I have all nice deck organizers and clutches and stuff, but you could just run barber haulers and cleats if you wanted to. There’s no regulation there, but you’re not allowed to use any…

15:38

exotic materials so no carbon can go into the construction or anything like that. The only place you’re allowed to use stuff like that would be like Dyneema running rigging. Yeah okay and what about just other equipment like the rig, the sails autopilots, is there a standard package or is everybody outfitting the rest of the boat? There’s some controversy there. Everybody is required to carry an electric autopilot, the smallest in the range, so I have a Raymarine. Everybody has the same suit of sails.

16:06

So we all ordered our sales from Quantum in Minneapolis. And the rig, you can build your own rig, but you have to have an approved section. I ordered mine pre-made from Selden. Okay. You can also get a pre-made one from Sparcraft. But yeah, everybody pretty much has the same rig. I have a wind vane from a company called South Atlantic, which makes a kit for the Globe 580. And it was kind of the first company to embrace this design and to start making a wind vane for it.

16:32

And now people have fitted, they’ve changed the rules and people have fitted hydrovane on the center line and removed the main rudder. And so they’ve kind of changed it a little bit, but I’m just going to stick with what I have. Yep. Great. So it looks, wow. Well, that’s, I mean, yeah, I mean, half the race, of course, seems to be getting to the starting line. When you’re building your own boat, that’s quite an achievement in itself is to get the boat built and all this assembled. And I mean, now your boat’s together and you’ve driven it across country to North Carolina.

17:02

How are you feeling about the boat? Actually, how much have you sailed it already? So honestly, I haven’t actually got to sail a boat yet. I’m probably gonna go tomorrow. When I had the boat in the water in Olympia, and I launched it in Seattle, and I had the boat up there for a month. And once it was ready and I headed out onto the sound, I had a week to cruise, there was no wind. Every day it was beautiful, sunny, but glass smooth and dead calm. Oh no.

17:31

I didn’t actually, I could bob around in circles for a little bit, but I can’t say that I sailed it yet. This week I’ll be breaking it in, but I have put quite a few nautical miles on it already just cruising it around, but only under power. Yeah, so do you have any auxiliary power? Are you sailing without an engine? How does that work? Yeah, for the race we’re required to have an electric outboard of at least three horsepower.

17:58

So I’ve got a Torquito. Some people are running the e-propulsion. Some people are running a couple different ones. But yeah, we’re all required to carry an electric motor and it’s mostly just for getting in and out of the harbor. But you are actually allowed to use it at any time during the race. As long as you’re within 10 miles of a leg restart. So, you know, a major leg finish because there’s four legs where everybody comes back together and we all restart again. So as long as you’re not within 10 miles of the finish line for any of the given legs, you are allowed to use your motor. Wow.

18:27

Wow, that’s good. Well, I mean, how much range, yeah, you get with a three horsepower Torquito, that’s- Not much. Yeah. I would think that, you know, wouldn’t want to count on it for more than 15 or 20 miles probably. Yeah. And certainly not against a current. So, you know, you definitely have to strategize with it. You wouldn’t want to burn it up. So if you have the e-propulsion, it can flip over and charge itself, but that’s if you can afford the drag. Latitude 338 here.

18:56

Are you thinking of sailing to Mexico or all the way across the Pacific or maybe even further? We just heard from Joanna and Cliff saying, my husband and I subscribe to Latitude 38 and enjoy the Good Jibes podcast regularly. They went on to say they’re headed to Mexico in the fall and will continue across the Pacific to Australia. However, they’re looking to simplify all the choices they need to make to prepare. Of course, there’s tons of resources out there, but Latitude 38 does have a page in our website called Heading South.

19:26

And we also have Lata238’s First Timers Guide to Mexico available to read online on the Heading South page or a printed copy that is available to purchase in our online store. There’s a lot to know, but Lata238.com is a good place to start.

19:44

So yeah, wow. I mean, this is just, I mean, amazing. So 15 boats or somewhere around there, going around the world, and it, I guess, is projected to take about 400 days. But tell us about the race, because it’s not a nonstop anyway. You’d have a hard time carrying food aboard a 19-foot boat for 400 days. What is the course starting in Antigua? It is anticipated to take 400 days. And yes, you’re right. With the little boat,

20:13

You can’t. It’s I wouldn’t. It’s more the water than the yeah, the the food that you’re worried about. But it’s got seven. Stops, OK. I believe four and they added a fifth restart, and then there’s pit stops along the way. So the first step is from Antigua to Panama. And that’s kind of like what, you know, we’ll shake everything down and see how it goes. Then we’re going to haul the boats and pan all the boats out in Panama and truck them across.

20:43

peninsula. We’re not going to go through the canal because we’re not going to deal with having to raft up and figure that out. They have it arranged for us to be able to truck across. Then from there you go to the next one will be Tahiti, but there’s a mandatory pit stop. So there’s leg restarts.

21:07

which are the major leg restarts. And that’s where everybody comes back together. And once 25% of the fleet arrives at a leg restart, you have two weeks to get there before you’re disqualified in an effort to try to keep everybody together. Yeah. And so in between the major leg restarts, there are pit stops where you, it’s…

21:27

kind of up to you to decide where you want to go. You know, for example, coming out of Panama, some people are gonna choose to try to shoot for the Galapagos. Me personally, I’m gonna try to go straight to the Marquesas because I think the Galapagos are a little further north than I wanna try to, it seems almost out of the way, I don’t know. But that is your option, you know? And then the way that you bank your time, you have to make a stop and it has to be for seven days, but you can…

21:55

Say stop four days in Galapagos, three days in the Marquesas, and that counts as your seven days, your pit stop. But you have to, you have to make these pit stops to take on water and do stuff like that. And you’re also allowed to stop anywhere you want, as long as you, you know, stay within the timeframe of the race, but the clock stays running while you’re stopped. So if you have to make a stop for emergency stop or anything, you’re not penalized for anything more than the time that you’re sitting there. Right. So, and one of the incentives for arriving first in Tahiti is you get two weeks there while you wait for your friends to arrive.

22:25

That’s right. That sounds pretty good. Yeah, and so then from Tahiti, we’ll go to Tonga, and there’ll be a restart there. And then from Tonga, we’ll go to Cocos Keeling. I believe it was supposed to be in Durban, but they might have moved it to Darwin, Australia, because it’s notoriously hard to get into. There’s a tidal gate there, and it takes some doing. So then we’ll go from Cocos Keeling to Mauritius, from Mauritius to Cape Town, and then Cape Town to St. Helena, St. Helena to Recife.

22:54

and back to Antigua. And I believe the restarts are Panama. There’s one in Tahiti, Cape Town, and Recife. So that’s where we’ll all like try to get. No, that’s incredible. So yeah, and most around the world races that I think follow, go from France, go down around the Capes, but this is really the opposite direction, west about and primarily in sort of the cruising trade wind belt in the Southern Hemisphere.

23:23

Right. Yeah, that’s right. The only time we dip down will be to go around Cape of Good Hope. We will go in the Southern Ocean around Cape Town. But they have given you, I believe once you get to Durban, you have like two weeks or something like that to make it to Cape Town. So you’re able to hop to Port Elizabeth. You can do short hops with the weather windows, whatever you end up getting. Yeah. That’s the furthest south we’ll go, we’ll be down there. Yeah. And then you gotta get up and around, yeah.

23:53

and keep a good hope and start getting north to warmer climes again. Yeah, yeah. So what do you have aboard for sales? I have sticks. So there’s the main, obviously, there’s the jib, there’s a storm jib, and then I have two asymmetrical spinnakers. So I guess I have five. You’re allowed seven. And they came out with the new A7 asymmetrical a couple of months ago, but I couldn’t afford it. So I don’t have.

24:23

But so I’ve got an A3 and an A5 and the storm jib and the jib and the main. And they fly off the bowsprit, the asymmetricals. Yeah, great. Wow, yeah. And so, well, I guess the other thing, I mean, you’ve done a lot of learning to sail just in four years. Obviously you’ve been a marine technician, so you got a lot of boat experience at this point and building your own boat, you know it well. What about racing? I mean, have you done any racing? Cause that’s the other, this is a race and getting there fast is- It is a race.

24:53

No, not a whole lot. Just a few, you know, buoy racing on the Puget Sound and stuff like that. I’ve never done anything offshore. But I think that for this particular event, having spent a lifetime in the mountains, I really have a deep understanding of the weather. And so I think that that will play into it. But mostly this is a war of attrition, almost who can stay sane and keep the boat sailing for 400 days.

25:23

rather than weather routing strategy, because we’re not allowed weather routing. Oh, you’re not. We’re not allowed to use any routing or any routing software. We can’t use PredictWind. Okay. We can only do grid files. I’m going to do sail mail and get weather maps. But yes, I think you’re not necessarily going to have that cutting edge forecasting. It’s going to be a more look out the window and see what you get.

25:53

Put a finger to the wind. I think that it’s a little different from a traditional race where you’re really riding the systems and everything. I think it’s more just about just staying going. Well, more closer to. You can sail fast and do it as fast as you can every day. You should do pretty well. Yeah, yeah. Well, as you say, it’ll be, you’re saying everybody see who can stay sane. And I think a lot of people would think everybody’s starting not sane, but.

26:22

Yeah, that’s pretty true. I mean, really, this is, it really is, it’s amazing to take off on such a journey. But so what do you have, yeah, for electronics and weather, or are you able to communicate during the trip and what are you bringing for communications? They have a pretty extensive list of what they want you to have. So I’ve got, you have to have two yellow brick trackers. So yellow brick tracker is going to be the primary tracker. Okay. That’s where you’d be able to find.

26:51

find our track will be on the yellow brick app, the YB3. But we’re also obviously required to have EPIRB. I have to have passive radar reflector on the mast. And I also have an active 12 volt radar reflector on the stern that electronically transmits my radar signature. Makes me look like a thousand foot yacht. I’ve obviously got AIS, VHF, chart plotter, depth sounder. We’re not allowed a speed log. Oh really? No, and we’re not allowed electronic wind instruments.

27:21

Oh, interesting. Yeah. So you pretty much have to just feel it on your face. Yeah. Wow, interesting. And a speed log, I mean, you’ll have GPS though, so you’ll be able to… Right. Yeah. And I’ve got two 100 amp hour lithium batteries, and I’ve got a really sophisticated battery system. Yeah. I mean, obviously there’s so much more you could have in a way, but that sounds like a pretty robust system. But you’re also sort of going in the spirit of John Guzwell in the sense that…

27:50

You don’t necessarily have, I mean, you don’t have to kind of, as you say, whether it’s tracking expedition software, routing software, or, or outside assistance. Yeah. I mean, I think it’s kind of the idea that less is more. Don McIntyre’s vision, I believe with creating the class was to kind of make an entry level or something that’s a little bit more affordable to the average person. And so they try to keep the costs down by like limiting how much of that stuff you can incorporate. Yeah.

28:19

Yeah, I think obviously all this equipment costs more and then you’ll be closer to sailing and feeling the boat as it goes as opposed to watching the screens all the time. Right. So that’s, what about fishing and cooking and eating? You’re gonna be, what are you bringing to cook with and what do you plan to eat? So I’ve got an Arrego 1500 alcohol, gimbaled alcohol stove in here. And so I can, you know, there’s a guy.

28:47

A Swiss guy who’s in the Transat right now and he’s out there breaking bread on his in the middle of the Atlantic. And so I’ll be able to prepare meals that way. And I’ve also got a Jetboil too on a gimbal for quick meals. I’m not planning on doing a lot of dehydrated, you know, maybe a hundred days worth. That stuff I find isn’t very palatable after a while. I’ve eaten so much of it in my life. So I’ll bring some for convenience and obviously for emergencies, probably about a hundred days worth. But I’m going to try to do pasta and…

29:16

oatmeal and beans and rice and real food actually and bring a bunch of the salmon packets, tuna packets, smoked salmon, beef jerky, stuff like that. Granola with powdered milk for breakfast and simple but real food is kind of what is important to me. And one thing that I learned after so many years on expedition and being on a glacier for three weeks, dropped off by an airplane with everything that you have in your back pocket.

29:45

I found that it’s important to just bring what you actually want to eat. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you will eat it. You bring things that you think are going to be nutritious or good for you or they’re marketed as this high energy adventure food and you get out there and it tastes like a cardboard bag or cardboard box. It’s just more important to bring foods that you have, even if it’s junk food, if you will eat it, it will give you the energy when you need it instead of just, I don’t want to eat that. I don’t like it. You put it off and then you get weaker and it’s just snowball. So

30:12

It’s a funny thing, you know, talking to Kenichi Hori and about his voyaging across the Pacific. And, you know, he’s Japanese and you thought he would be very much into rice house but he had like rich crackers and some very basic stuff. And he said he had one beer for each day. And, yeah, he had a very interesting collection of goods aboard for eating which was not what you might expect from a solo. And especially.

30:41

I don’t know, my impression of Japanese diet. Right. Smoked salmon sounds like that’s from your home country though. That’s right. Yeah. I got the Pacific Northwest in there for sure. Yeah, yeah. What about fishing gear? You’re gonna bring any fishing gear and try and catch anything? Yeah, for sure. Grew up fishing offshore in Hawaii. And so we did, we fish for yellowfin by at night using a special kind of fishing called Ike-shibi. But we also did a lot of trolling too for mahi-mahi and stuff like that. So.

31:10

I’ll just bring trolling gear, something that I can fix a line. I won’t bring a rod or anything. I’ll just fix a line and see what I can pull up. Yeah, I think I can catch some fish. My problem is I’m not really a killer. I can catch them, but I don’t like to kill them. I would almost prefer not to. Yeah, understand. How about just parallels between your mountain time and sailing time? Obviously, this is sort of the beginning of the big kind of mountain climbing adventure on the ocean for you now. So you don’t necessarily have

31:39

as much to compare, but what do you think about just the outdoor similarities or differences between ocean voyaging and mountaineering? I think that’s one of the things that appeals to me about it the most is the Venn diagram between expedition mountaineering and offshore sailing and racing is very much overlapped. There would just be little slivers at the edges where they are different, but it comes down to self-reliance. It comes down to knowing your equipment and being confident in it.

32:08

and it comes down to just your ability to endure, you know, but a lot of the things are very similar. They’re very rope oriented, lots of rope work, and just the mental aspect of how you prepare yourself for such a large undertaking is very similar in the way that even building the boat, it was like climbing a mountain, where if you look at the entire thing from bottom to top, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But if you break it down into those smaller parts and you just say, I’m just gonna make it to that next rock,

32:37

I’m just going to make it to that tree. I’m just going to make it to that snow patch. And then pretty soon, you know, you’re like, there’s the top. So that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing the whole way. And that’s where I’m at now is my next rock is the start line. You plan the voltage down the line, but, but breaking it up into the small pieces in the same way you would do a big mountain expedition makes it a little bit more manageable is very similar in that way. Yeah.

32:58

Plus it’s you versus the elements, you know, and your understanding and comfort with nature and everything, it all plays into it. It’s very, very much similar. Yeah. Yeah, no, I mean, that’s one of the things I love about sailing is just your connection to nature and not working against nature, but with nature, because you’ve got to sort of understand the elements. And it seems to me, I haven’t done a lot of mountaineering, but if I were to compare how sailing brings your connection to nature, that that’s really probably the closest thing. I mean, there’s so many other

33:28

sports and activities, but so few that really are so integrated with trying to understand how Mother Nature works. Exactly. Yeah. Just talking to your fellow competitors who have been sailing their boats, is there any kind of updates or reviews or things people have learned on how the boats are working? I guess when was the first one boat built and how many are out there? I mean, how many miles do they have on this boat and any revisions or things that they’ve learned about the boat?

33:57

So the first one was built, I believe, at the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021. That was hull number one and its name is Treka 2. Oh, cool. And in 2021, they did. So they’ve sold over 200 sets of plans. I think they’re up to number 250 or something like that. My boat is number 157. I believe there’s some somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 of them sailing around the world at this point. Wow.

34:24

The reviews are pretty good. I mean, there’s nothing. Yeah, yeah. In 2021, they did a Transat, five boats crossed. So five boats have crossed the Atlantic successfully in 2021. And then in 2023, they did another one. I believe there was either five or six boats in that race. And they all crossed successfully. So now 10 or so boats have crossed the Atlantic without issue.

34:45

They all seem to be really stout. Another American builder who competed and won the Transat in 2023 is from Los Angeles. His name is Jack Johnson. He sails out of the Alameda Bay Yacht Club. He had left his boat in Antigua after he won the Transat and is just now working on getting it back to Los Angeles. And he’s working with me to help me get a hold of a life raft and a medical kit that I need. And he recently sailed his boat.

35:13

a week ago, 10 days ago, from St. Thomas to Fort Pierce, Florida. And he said when he left, it was fine. Then all of a sudden he had fluky waves. And then for the last three days, it was 30 knots right on the nose. Wow. And he said the boat takes some practice to sail it upwind in 30 knots. He said it was laying over on its side, 30 degrees a heel. And he would just let the wind vane do the steering and control the trim and the heel with the main sheet. Kind of sail it like a dinghy.

35:43

He said, as long as you can take it, it can take it. And so I think it’s gotten some pretty glowing reviews as far as its seawardiness so far. Yeah. Well, and how are the interior accommodations? I mean, obviously in that kind of condition on a small boat, it’s going to be bouncy, but say compared to living in a tent. Oh, much better. That was another reason that I transitioned into sailing was because in the mountains, when you’re on a big mountain base and the weather moves in…

36:11

you really don’t have many options. If you’re lucky, you can find a ledge for your tent if you brought a tent. Otherwise, you’re pretty much exposed. You’re very exposed and you feel it. But with the boat, you know, you know, heave two and go below. You can’t heave two and go below on the side of a mountain. And so I think that it’s a little bit more comfortable in that way. But this little boat, it’s got a seven foot beam. It’s got two full length bunks on either side. I spent the last two and a half years living in my van, which is the Ford

36:40

cargo van in order to save money on rent to complete the project. And so this is actually an upgrade for me. Perfect. Yeah. No, I mean, again, I know our listeners can’t see it, but the pictures, you know, we’ll post, we did a short story on you and electronic latitude to let people know you’re heading on your way. But definitely the boat looks beautiful from the finishing work. And we’ll post some pictures when we post the podcast.

37:08

It really looks like a pretty cozy little spot. You may be asking, how can I find my own copy of Latitude 38 magazine? Well, it can be as simple as walking into your marina, a marine store, yacht club, or any California waterfront business. You’ll likely connect with sailors when you walk in the door, and you’ll also find many more sailors as you read through the pages of Latitude 38. Bringing home a copy of Latitude 38 is also a great way to redecorate your coffee table

37:37

and reading one will help you unwind from the distractions of the day. It’s almost as good as a day of sailing itself. To find a copy of Latitude 38 near you, go to Latitude38.com and click on Find the Magazine at the top of the page. Then go out and meet some sailors. So what’s your plan now? I mean, what’s the state of your preparation to get to Antigua and what do you have to do from here? Well, I’m just…

38:05

after trucking it over, obviously I put the rig up and put the sails on and I just got to put a few cleats on here and there and pretty much just buy a bunch of food and pack it all in here. Yeah. I had to treat it like I’m leaving from the start line now so that I can try to have everything that I need before I depart the mainland. But it’s pretty much just little things wrapping up. I got to go out and do some sea trialing and then just pack and go. I’m trying to…

38:32

be out of North Carolina by the end of the month, no later than the 30th. I’m anticipating 16 to 20 days to get to Antigua from here. And so I wanna be there by the second week of February. Yeah, and when do your competitors arrive? Or your competitors are in Cape Verde Islands right now, or is that where they are? Thereabouts, they just left the Canaries, Lanzarote and the Canaries on Saturday for the Transat race. And so they’re actually racing.

39:01

each other to Antigua currently. And they should be there. They left on the 11th of January and the fastest it’s been done so far, I think is 23 days. And last week, I think it was, or last time in 27 days. And so, yeah, anywhere from 20 to 40 days, they should all arrive in. Yeah. It would have took that long, it would be extreme. But. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you’ll be there about the same time. About, I’m trying to time it to, I should get there around the same time, second week of February. Yeah, yeah.

39:31

Where are you all congregating in Antigua? Do you know, is there a harbor? Are you going to English Harbor or do you know? Yes, English Harbor at the National Sailing Academy. Oh, fantastic. Yeah, they’re putting us up. Oh, great. Beautiful spot. That’ll be a terrific, and yeah, you may just wanna go cruising in the Caribbean, but. Yeah. Yeah, have you read Stephen Callahan’s book, Adrift? I can’t say that I have. Oh, I’d bring it with you. Okay.

40:00

It’s a great book. It’s a really great read. It’s also, he was sailed a small boat. I forget that he built himself across the Atlantic, but he got, he hit something and sank. And he ended up in a life raft for 76. I have heard this story. Yeah, it’s a really great story. We had him on a podcast, I don’t know, six months ago or something like that. And this happened many years ago in the eighties, I think. Right.

40:27

Wasn’t he 45 days or something in the life raft? 76 days. Oh my goodness. Yeah. I mean, really, but you talk a lot about the mental preparation for mountain climbing or doing what you’re doing, but it’s a miraculous story because his mental perseverance and fortitude to survive that, he had to catch his own food. I mean, he didn’t have any that much food aboard their life raft, et cetera.

40:53

It’s quite an interesting thing and philosophical. And so I think it would be an interesting fun read and perhaps a lot of lessons within it for your trip. Excellent. Yeah. I would, I would, I would think that’d be a fun read while you’re, when you’re in calm weather and slipping along nicely. Right. Yeah. So I think that’s, that sounds like great trip. Like you’re on, on schedule. You got your boat there in North Carolina. Um, you’re looking for a weather window to head South in the next couple of weeks.

41:20

Yeah, exactly. I’m just waiting for a westerly wind, something to blow me across the Gulf Stream. And then I’ll head out to, you know, I-65 or whatever it turns out. But yeah, the winds here are typically north, northwest and against the current this time of year. So you got to be patient. But they do clock around to the west. And once you get a west wind for a couple of days, it should be good to go. Get across the Gulf Stream without too much bumping around. Exactly. Too much water over the bow and all that. Yeah. Yeah.

41:48

and then get east and then get south. Great. Exactly. Yeah. Josh, this is great. I don’t know if I’d love to ask if there’s any other questions you’d wished I’d asked you or things you want to comment on about your trip. I mean, it really sounds like an amazing adventure and really cool to see a home-built boat. And I think this tribute event for John Guzwell too. I mean, I think those adventures are people we’ve all admired through the years.

42:15

Yeah, he did it in 55 and this is 2025. So that’s the 70th anniversary of the voyage. Yeah, so it is pretty special. Obviously, I’m looking for sponsors. So if anybody wants to see their name on the side of the hall, there’s plenty of real estate. Great to hear. Well, tell us that. How do people get in touch with you? Website or email or what’s the best way to… Yeah, I’ve got a website. It’s josh

42:44

And you can find all the information there as far as how to support the project. There’s a good blog where I wrote, I’m not caught all the way up to present time now, but where I’m writing steps of the build, a little bit more detail about how it was built. If you’re interested in seeing, you know, photos of the structure being assembled and how it all went together, it’s pretty comprehensive. So you can check that out there. There’s a really good interview from YouTuber Kayleen Turner. She came down from BC and…

43:13

and interviewed me. There’s a pretty cool video on there. So you can check that out too. Great, great. And just so everybody can, is listening here, Josh Kali at OceanRacing.com. It’s J-O-S-H-K-A-L-I, OceanRacing.com, right? That’s correct. Yeah, great. Yeah, any other thoughts as far as sailing plans, racing plans for this event or in places? Ideally, you know, hopefully I can…

43:42

gain a little notoriety and maybe get a ride on a bigger boat. Yeah. Open a big role 40 or something would be cool. You know, make the, make the leap. There’s a, there was a guy, uh, Mike Michelle Krista. He was from the Czech Republic who competed in the first edition of the transat and he made the leap. He went from the globe five baby that he built to a figure of 40. And now he’s looking at Vondeglobe 2028. So who knows? Oh, is he really? Okay. That’s right. Yeah. So the ocean racing thing, you’ve got the bug. I do. I love it. Yeah. Great.

44:10

All right, well, Josh, this is really great to catch up with you and get this time with you and learn more about the event itself too, which really just came on my radar screen a couple of months ago and was happy to find that there was a West Coast sailor, an American in the event, and also to see your website and the boat you’ve built, which looks beautiful. So we’ll be looking forward to following you as you head around the world. Well, and from North Carolina to Antigua to start.

44:39

Will you be on the yellow brick when you make that trip as well? I most likely won’t because we’re purchasing our minutes as a block from the race coordinators, but I will have, so one of my sponsors is Wayward Travel. Okay. And Wayward Travel has an app called the Wayward app. And if you were to download that, it will be tracking my progress as I go. And it’s pretty cool because I can take photos.

45:04

and I can post them and they will show up. I’ve tracked myself across the country from Seattle with the van, so you can check that journey out as well. And I’ve got an Iridium executive, and so I will be able to post to social media and stuff like that, photos and updates. So, yeah, you should be able to follow me along from here to Antigua as well. Yeah, great, great, great. All right, well, Josh, thanks again so much and great to…

45:32

Yeah, hear your story and we’re going to wish you the best of luck on this adventure and obviously look forward to following you on your way around the world and hope it’s a great tour of the South Pacific as well as a great race. I really appreciate that and I will do my best to do the West Coast and the Pacific Northwest proud. Yeah, fantastic. Well, and yeah, the Skookum. Yeah, go get them. The strong, monstrous, badass boat from the Pacific Northwest!