Saltwater Journal

Kayleen VanderRee is a commercial diver by trade and has spent most of her adult life pursuing her love of sailing. Hailing from British Columbia, we talk about her diving work, what she’s learnt from being captain of her own sailboat, and her personal experiences dealing with frustrations, overwhelm and anxiety in sailing. Get set for some great adventure stories too. Kayleen sailed her 42’ sailboat to Mexico and back via the Clipper Route, which took 44 days. Most recently she attempted the Race to Alaska with a friend in her Santana 20’ yacht, and shares what it’s really like trying to navigate a treacherous 750nm race from Washington to Alaska, in a non-motorized boat. To cap off her adventures, we hear about her experience with her partner, taking out second place in The Amazing Race Canada. In amongst this, Kayleen shares the encouragement she received from her Dad – her greatest sailing mentor, and some of his best life advice. Join us and be inspired in your own adventures. Connect via Instagram: @fromsnowtosail YouTube: All About Spray Connect with Saltwater Journal:⁠ ⁠@saltwater_journal⁠⁠ Website:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Saltwater Journal⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE NOTES | Kayleen 01:20 Commercial diving 05:40 Mentors 07:11 Sailing with Dad 08:45 Approaching boat jobs 09:22 Owning and maintaining her own boat 11:19 Figuring it out when things go wrong 13:40 Solo-sailing 14:42 Offshore with Dad 15:30 Sailing from childhood 17:19 Rock climbing 17:56 Current boat 18:50 The Race to Alaska 22:48 Challenges on the race 26:06 The Amazing Race Canada 29:55 Slow is smooth, smooth is fast 33:48 A break from racing 35:19 Giving it a go 37:18 Where to start with mechanics and electrics 38:47 Crossing the continental shelf 40:00 Raw vlogs on YouTube 41:04 Anxiety with sailing 44:22 Strategies for anxiety 46:22 Great advice from Dad

Lisa Blair is an Australian solo-sailor, world multi-record holder, climate activist and lover of the Southern Ocean. In this episode Lisa talks with us about her new feature documentary Ice Maiden – the story of her epic 2017 voyage to set a record-breaking circumnavigation of Antarctica. She shares her insights into the terror and beauty of surviving multiple near-death experiences; how she faces fear, her resilience and mental preparation, and the impact of documenting her adventure in her new feature documentary. Lisa was a joy to talk with – with so much enthusiasm given she was recovering from setting a new solo-sailing record from Australia to New Zealand! I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did – and look forward to seeing the film. Ice Maiden premiers at the Doc Edge Film Festival in Otāutahi Christchurch 19 June 2024. Get tickets to the DocEdge Film Festival Follow Lisa’s journey at upcoming solo-sailing record attempts at Lisa Blair Sails the World Episode Notes | Lisa Blair 01:30 Ice Maiden the film 3:38 Facing fear 6:00 Leaving Cape Town for winter conditions in Antarctica 7:14 Trauma in the southern ocean 8:50 Resilience and reframing thoughts when shit hits the fan 10:35 Visualising worst case scenarios 12:11 A love of the southern ocean 14:14 What solo sailing is really about 15:18 Breaking down assumptions 16:00 The approach of solo-sailing for a record 18:54 Self-steering and self-preservation 19:58 Electrical issues and bailing for life 20:44 Is there any comfort onboard Read more on Lisa Blair at Saltwater Journal Share this episode via Saltwater Journal

Listen in to wholesome convos with inspiring people getting out on the water for great adventures and loving it. Whether it's sailing, freediving, paddleboarding or floating on a pink flamingo - if it brings you adventure, travel and freedom on the water - we'll talk about it. Follow along and dip your toes in!