The Resourceful Sailor’s Odyssey Aboard ‘Sampaguita’
From resourceful sailor to public speaker? Turns out our favorite sailing MacGyver is both! Joshua (Josh) Wheeler, aka The Resourceful Sailor, has been honing his storytelling skills and delivering them to audiences in the PNW. His first talk, hosted by the Bluewater Cruising Association, Vancouver, B.C., took place earlier this month at Vancouver’s Scottish Cultural Centre. Next month, on March 12, Joshua will present “Sailing With Josh & The Resourceful Sailor: A Flicka 20’s Pacific Odyssey” in Port Townsend.
Josh looked to Encyclopedia Britannica for the meaning of “odyssey.” This is what he found:
1. literary: a long journey full of adventures.
2. a series of experiences that give knowledge or understanding to someone.
Joshua Wheeler’s most recent odyssey began in August 2023, aboard his 1985 Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20 Sampaguita. The solo sailor embarked on an epic Pacific Ocean voyage beginning and ending in Port Townsend, WA. Josh journeyed down the North American West Coast to Baja, Mexico, followed the trade winds to the Marquesas, and returned via Hawaii (sort of). His tale will include stories of places visited, wildlife encountered, psychological “research,” and equipment he used during his singlehanded voyage in “a tiny boat across a big ocean.”
Josh holds a USCG Master license, and has lived and sailed on small craft for over 15 years, covering 25,000 miles including a 2019 transit of the Northwest Passage, two solo circumnavigations of Vancouver Island in 2018 and 2023, the Inside Passage to Alaska in 2022, and a Pacific tour in 2023–24. His other claim to fame is his series of regular stories shared in ‘Lectronic Latitude, authored by The Resourceful Sailor. You’ll find some of his stories here.
Details of the event are as follows:
“Sailing With Josh & The Resourceful Sailor: A Flicka 20’s Pacific Odyssey”
When: Wednesday, March 12. The talk is from 6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m. Come early and stay afterward for a fun social evening including drinks, snacks and mingling with fellow sailors and other guests. Beverages provided by Admiral Ship Supply.
Where: The Port Townsend Sailing Association Clubhouse — Nomura Building, 385 Benedict St. (facing the Boat Haven parking lot).
Entry is FREE TO ALL
We hope you can make it!