What happens to boats when they reach the end of their life?

As thousands of vessels across Europe (and indeed, the world) face retirement each year, the marine industry is confronting an important question: how do we rethink waste, materials and the future of boat building?

In this episode, we’re joined by Igor Kluin, Co-founder and Designer, and Nienke van t' Klooster, Co-founder of VAAN Yachts, a Dutch boat-builder taking a different approach to yacht design through circular thinking, recycled materials and a commitment to reducing environmental impact.

We talk about the challenge of end-of-life boats, the opportunities that come with designing differently, and what it means to build sailing catamarans with sustainability at their core. From recycled aluminium to changing perceptions around luxury and performance, this conversation explores how innovation and environmental responsibility can work hand in hand.

There’s a quiet contradiction at the heart of modern sailing.

We head out onto the water because we love the ocean - its freedom, its beauty, its power. And yet, in the most routine moments, whether washing down a deck or cleaning a hull, we may be contributing to the very damage we care about.

Not through negligence, but through habit and through products labelled “marine safe” or “eco-friendly” without really questioning what that means.

Because the reality is this: many everyday cleaning practices in leisure boating could already be non-compliant and most of us sailors have no idea.

This all comes back to International Maritime Organisation and MARPOL, the global convention designed to prevent pollution from ships - not just major spills, but the small, cumulative impacts of daily life on the water.

And that raises an uncomfortable question: are we cleaning our boats…or polluting our oceans?

Tune in to hear host Holly Manvell speak with Sarah Wallbank, CEO of August Race, a MARPOL-aligned marine cleaning brand.

We are obsessed with the weather. This obsession has served us very well over thousands of years - ultimately for the purposes of survival - food - crops, grazing, water, safety etc.

The weather shapes our days, our moods, our plans - often without us noticing.

At sea and on the water, it’s a different story. Weather is our focal point. Every decision, whether cruising or racing, flows from the wind, cloud patterns, pressure, the waves and swell - however localised.

The weather is something you read, you feel, you live in and optimise for.

The weather can be predictability and uncertainty, and in many ways, us sailors and seafarers have front row seats to the magnitude and at times, the extremes, of the weathers that governs our planet.

In this episode we’re speaking with sailor and meteorologist Tom Harrison, to explore what the weather can teach us if we know what to look for and how to read it.