Sailing around New York City, Maintenance, Licensing and Operating an Offshore Charter Business, Capt. Ryan Rayfield, Sail Libra

Captain Ryan Rayfield runs Sail Libra, an offshore sailing charter operation aboard a 60' ketch built in 1969 by Abeking & Rasmussen and designed by William H. Tripp Jr. Based in Newport, RI. They sail around New England, to Bermuda, to the Caribbean, and will sail to the Azores and Portugal in 2027. Ryan is a USCG-licensed STCW A-2 Internationally endorsed captain.

We talk about sailing from Newport around Long Island Sound and New York City, the East River closure when the UN is in session, anchoring in NYC, a failure of the exhaust anti-siphoning valve and fixing the resulting problem with water in the engine, champagne sailing, flying a spinnaker, racing vs cruising, sail changes, roller furling, dealing with the general public and taking them aboard, sailing upwind (or not), maintaining a 60' offshore sailboat, licensing required for an offshore charter operation, STCW certification, whether or not you need a USCG license to operate a charter operation in a foreign country, other certifications, chartering laws, endorsements, insurance, openings for Bermuda to St. Thomas, orcas, and more. 

Photos and links are on the podcast website

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