Offshore solo sailing has long been dominated by the French, with 65% of the skippers on the starting line of the Vendée Globe flying the tricolors. And in a sport that has been traditionally sailed by men, making inroads as an American woman can be extremely challenging. But these barriers are not going to stop Erica Lush. With countless miles at sea with legends like Tracy Edwards and Liz Wardly, the local Rhode Islander is over in France training for the Solitaire du Figaro, a multi-stage solo race that is seen as a feeder race for the Vendée Globe. In this episode, we are joined with Erica in-between training races to talk about her experiences that have gotten her to France and what is next in her pursuit to sail around the world.

For more info on Erica and to follow her offshore, jump over to www.lushsailing.com

As the Battle of the Atlantic raged on, the German U-boat fleet wreaked havoc on the Allies. Boasting superior technology and extended underwater range, the submarines were crippling the Allies’ ability to resupply the front lines throughout Eurpoe. For this reason, the US Navy made it a priority to capture a U-boat so they could get a closer look at these advancements and off the coast of Africa in June of 1944, they got their opportunity. In this episode we are joined by John Llewellyn, a Senior Exhibit Strategist at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry to talk about the capture of U-505 and the museums unique exhibit displaying the captured submarine.

Ep. 91: The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

Shipwrecks like the Edmund Fitzgerald have long captured our attention. Immortalized by Gordon Lightfoot’s 1976 hit, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, has secured a place alongside other famous wrecks like the Titanic and Lusitania. But she represents only one of the estimated 6,000 sunken vessels in the five Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is dedicated to telling the history of the brave sailors and countless tons of cargo lost to the depths on the world’s largest freshwater lakes. In this episode, we sit down with the museum’s Executive Director Bruce Lynn to talk about some of the more famous wrecks and what makes the Great Lakes so dangerous.