I’ve decided to start working on a podcast version of the blog to get more exposure and provide more accessibility to the content for those who don’t have the time to read it.

What is the Salt Water Coffee Podcast?

The Salt Water Coffee podcast is an audio version of selected Fair Winds and Following Seas blog posts. (Currently, I’m in the process of selecting certain blog posts that are appropriate for this format.)

A few things to bear in mind:

  1. This written blog will retain precedence over the podcast.
  2. Only certain blog posts will receive a podcast episode. This is due to the fact that some blog posts are simply better suited for a reading format owing to the use of illustrations, photos, etc.
  3. Blog posts that do receive a podcast episode will always remain available in their original format (i.e. as a written blog post). Specific podcast episodes will be directly accessible through a link at the top of the selected blog posts, as well as through other podcast platforms.
  4. Depending on how much quiet time I have to record, some of the podcast episodes will be in the tone-deaf robot voice. However, I may replace those with recordings of my own voice later on.

Other podcast material

In addition to selected blog posts, I plan to do other podcast episodes where I discuss different material that is not strictly related to the topics of this blog. Although some material will still be related. For example, I may do some episodes on random naval/maritime trivia or lore. Resources permitting, I may also bring on guests to the podcast. In general, I envision the podcast to be much more informal (less research-oriented) and more off-the-cuff in nature. These could be random musings, life events, and other unrelated topics.

In summation, the Salt Water Coffee podcast will feature certain posts I’ve written for this blog, as well as more informal and unrelated material.

Where to Listen

As of 4 March 2021, the podcast is available on the following platforms:

Anchor

Breaker

Google Podcasts

Pocket Casts

RadioPublic

Spotify

Why Call it Salt Water Coffee?

I didn’t want to call the podcast Fair Winds and Following Seas because I didn’t want it to be strictly tied to the blog. I also knew that I wanted to branch out and discuss other topics on the podcast. I debated for a while about what to it, and eventually I settled on the simple title of Salt Water Coffee. (Seawater Coffee was also a strong contender.) Despite the name, I have no intention of turning it into a coffee, beverage, or food podcast.

So why Salt Water Coffee?

Well, the answer is steeped in the ancient annals of naval history. There’s an often told story (possibly apocryphal) of a new sailor aboard a ship (we’ll call them Seaman Schmuckatelli – a common sailor moniker for John Doe) who is assigned their usual 90 days of mess cranking duty. For those who don’t know, mess cranking is the dreaded duty of all junior enlisted sailors. It involves helping out in the galley. Since these junior sailors aren’t trained cooks, they’re not expected to do any real cooking, rather, they wash the dishes, stock food, clean the tables, etc. It’s long hours of boring and arduous work that takes time away from other important training.

Anyway, the story goes that our brave and stalwart Seaman Schmuckatelli is doing their mess crank duties, one of which involves the relatively simple task of making sure the coffee keeps flowing. Sailors run on coffee, and you can replace the blood in their veins with it if you had to. Somehow Schmuckatelli ends up putting seawater into the coffee maker instead of freshwater; effectively brewing coffee with saltwater. Needless to say, the recipients of this concoction were not pleased, and Schmuckatelli no doubt got an earful from whoever was running the galley at the time.

I’ve heard a few different versions of that story, but that’s the origin of the podcast name. I just thought the three simple words of Salt Water Coffee were more apropos than “Schmuckatelli’s Seawater Coffee.” Additionally, the title is a bit more generic and less military/sea service oriented. So that’s where the name came from.

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