Remarkable Stories

We are taking a short break while John works the Annapolis Sailboat Show and then heads for the Leeward Islands aboard Ave del Mar. Over in Mallorca, Mike has a couple of walls to knock down. Rest assured, we have plenty of fascinating guests and escapades lined up for Season 3. It is going to be the best season yet. If you need to get in touch, you can contact us via: john@boatradio.co mike@boatradio.co --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

David Gluckman grew up in South Africa when the country was still in the grip of apartheid. He arrived in London at the start of the sixties and spent a great deal of time chasing women, drinking booze and smoking cigarettes. He was an ad man and, albeit very briefly, he was a copywriter but it was as an inventor of drinks brands that he really found success. There's Baileys, of course, but David also invented Le Piat d'Or, Aqua Libra, Purdeys, The Singleton, Ciroc Vodka, Coole Swan, Smirnoff Black, Sheridans, Tanqueray Ten and many more. Trust us, if you're partial to the occasional alcoholic drink, David's probably got you smashed some time. These days, David writes books and advises start ups. He spoke to Mike McDowall from his home in London.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

This week, the dynamic duo talk about in-mast furling, stick shift versus auto cars and impressionist paintings. Because why not. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

This is the strange tale of a British family who decided to establish their own nation. On Christmas Eve 1966, Paddy Bates and his son, Michael, took possession of an abandoned anti-aircraft gun emplacement seven and a half miles off the coast of southeast England. The following year, they declared independence. Fifty-two years later they are still independent despite the occasional hiccup such as an armed invasion by German merceneries. Mike McDowall spoke to Michael Bates, now Prince Michael of Sealand. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

John met Johannes Volbehr in Jamaica a few years ago. At the time, the happy-go-lucky world traveller was making his way from Germany to South America by working his passage aboard private sailing vessels. Shortly after their encounter, Johannes and an acquaintance called Ine were taken on as crew by the skipper of Our Joy, a sailboat bound for Panama. The journey did not go as planned. Johannes tells his tale to Remarkable Stories' John Herlig. Our efforts to locate Rockney Ragsdale have been unsuccessful. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

Arlene Limas didn't know who she was going to fight, and she never expected that her toughest opponent would be the governing body of her own sport, Taekwondo. And why did they fight Arlene?  Because she was simply too good. Still, there was drama surrounding women's Taekwondo in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Does anybody really know what really happened at the medal ceremony? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

In Part One of "WILL THIS KILL ME," Garry Eveleigh joined Remarkable Stories' Mike McDowall as the pair traipsed about the island of Mallorca in search of edible wild food. They found plenty of delicious things to eat—but no mushrooms. And since we all know that mushrooms are pretty much fabulous, they decided to go find some up in the hills. They are joined in this episode by Mike’s friend Corinna Perry. If you are interested in learning how to find food out in nature, Garry's book is called Wildcook and includes recipes from British celebrity chef James Golding. And yes, all three of our adventurers are reportedly still alive and kicking, even now. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

Garry Eveleigh finds food everywhere—in the front yard, in the hillsides, at the side of the road. He knows which plants are delicious and which may kill you. You see, Garry is a professional forager. He has been employed by some very high-end British restaurants to devise fresh, sustainable menus, and last year, on a sunny autumn day, Garry took Remarkable Stories' Mike McDowall on a food finding mission that began, conveniently enough, in Mike's own front yard. We are happy to report that Garry and Mike are both still quite alive. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

In a very different edition of Remarkable Stories, John gets together with his friend Dano to tear into some YouTube sailing channels and to recommend alternatives to the usual top five. There's not enough room to list the channels we offend, but a few that we liked included Sailing with the Litzenbergers, Acorn to Arabella, Wind Hippie Sailing, and Christian Williams. Check 'em out. Let us know what you think of Remarkably Unhinged, and drop us a line if there is a sailing-related subject you'd like John and Dano to tackle. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

Oscar Siches has more than earned his citizenship of the oceans. After a short but illustrious career racing sailboats and many years as the skipper of charter yachts, he settled in Palma de Mallorca, where he designed, built and managed the kind of luxury marinas that attract the most prestigious of vessels. These days he is in demand as the creator of exclusive waterside developments under the Yacht Club de Monaco brand name. But Oscar's certainly no snob or social climber. He enjoys the simple pleasures: a boat, a beer and a good conversation. Mike McDowall joined him for breakfast at his home. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

Everything Spencer and Brenda Litzenberger touch ends up playing out like a madcap slapstick comedy. They are Bonnie & Clyde meets It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World minus the machine guns and bank robberies. From boats to yurts, Alaska to vomit bags, changing lightbulbs in cruise ships to buying a sail loft, their story will have you laughing till your sides hurt and wondering what in the world might come next. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

1m1's life story is at once tragic and uplifting. His childhood was fragmented by repeated abductions at the hands of his warring parents. But it was also filled with a rich variety of culture and language as he was moved from country to country. He spent his youth in Pakistan, India, Russia, Germany and South Korea. He mixed with the destitute and the wealthy, idiots and intellectuals, high-ranking diplomats and daring smugglers. He has a unique and infectiously optimistic outlook. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

While attending the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, Obed Calvaire met Wynton Marsalis, one of the biggest names in jazz. That connection led to an offer for Obed to drum for the trumpet-playing legend. Obed speaks with Remarkable Stories' John Herlig about his sense of destiny—about the fact that he was, in his own words, "put on this earth to play music." He discusses memorizing complex arrangements, how drumming is like an eagle in flight, and about how the give-&-take between musicians on stage is not dissimilar to sex. He also tells you what he does in his car at red lights, who his favorite rock drummer is, and what he thinks of the movie "Whiplash." If that's not enough, he could just be one of the happiest and most-likeable people you may ever encounter. We hope you enjoy listening to Obed as much as we enjoyed talking to him. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

We are taking this week off for the American July 4th holiday, but we've sent you a message. ♡   --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

"Posh Pete" — born Pieter Tritton — smuggled millions of dollars of cocaine out of South America, managing to stay one step ahead of law enforcement for years. But eventually his luck ran out, and he was apprehended in a hotel room in Ecuador with 8 kilos of cocaine in his possession. The result was a  12 year sentence in one of the world's deadliest prison systems. Pieter started young and learned the nuance of the smuggling world quickly. He watched, and he learned how things worked — both before and after he was caught by police. He joined Remarkable Stories' Mike McDowall to talk about his life, from getting his start in the rave scene of his youth to how he later managed to survive a notoriously-lethal prison system.  While he may have come out of prison alive, he didn't come out without scars from the horrors that he witnessed. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

Janine Georgette wanted to learn to sail. She was, in her words, "sea bit." But she lives in New York City—one of the most expensive cities in the US and certainly not an easy place for a divorced woman in her 60s to find a boat on a shoestring budget. But Janine is about as determined a woman as you might find. As an 11 year old, Janine wanted to learn to ski. She was frustrated by how easy and natural it was for the kids who had been skiing their whole lives, and she struggled to improve. So she joined the ski team at school, and it worked—she dove in the deep end, if you will. And later in life she tried the same approach to learn how to sail—immersion. Janine tells her story with all of its ups and downs, successes and failures. You can't help but to be inspired. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

Mansoor Adayfi was held at Guantanamo Bay for fourteen years. He was never charged with a crime. Mark Fallon was the NCIS agent in charge of criminal investigations at Guantanamo Bay. This is the second part of Mansoor's story. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

At the age of eighteen, Mansoor Adayfi was kidnapped by Afghani warlords and sold to the CIA. Despite the fact that he was a teenager from Yemen, his abductors convinced American intelligence agents that he was a middle-aged Egyptian recruitment officer for Al Qaeda. Mansoor was held first at a secret CIA black site, was then moved to Kandahar Prison, and finally was transferred to Guantánamo Bay, where he was tortured and humiliated for fourteen years. This is the first of a two-part edition of Remarkable Stories. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

Lou Landreth has been on this Earth for ninety-eight years and has spent much of that time sailing and fighting. She invited Mike McDowall over for tea, cookies, and an argument. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message

Don McIntyre has spent his entire life engaged in daring exploits. He has sailed the toughest seas, he has led expeditions to the most inhospitable places, he has been an endurance pilot, a rally driver, and an Antarctic explorer. He has won medals and accolades in numerous countries. He has written books and produced documentaries. He has built boats and aeroplanes. More recently, he revived the Golden Globe Race - a solo circumnavigation widely regarded as the toughest sailing event in the world. On October 31st 2021, at the age of 66, he's due to compete in the Globe 580 TransAt, a race across the Atlantic in self-built plywood yachts. Don McIntyre talked with Seabird's Mike McDowall about his extraordinary life. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/remarkablestories/message