One Mile Offshore With Christian Williams || Cruising World
What happens when one of Southern California's most fearless and well-dressed sailors, and Christian Williams, go daysailing?
By David Blake Fischer
April 2, 2024
Christian Williams tacks his Bruce King-designed Ericson 38 while the author “trims” the genoa, midway through a 10-mile daysail on California’s Santa Monica Bay. Ryan Steven Green
I was at home trying on outfits, preparing to meet author, yachtsman and YouTuber Christian Williams. My aim, I’d told my wife, was to look nautical, literary or, at the very least, not silly. “Do we own any turtlenecks?” I asked, searching through our closet.
Emily had left the room, and our 9-year-old son stood in her place. “A turtleneck?” Ezra asked, shaking his head. “Dad, who’s more famous? You or this guy you’re going sailing with?”
Christian Williams is a former newspaper editor and television producer. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was at The Washington Post. He worked on Bob Woodward’s legendary investigative team, and sailed with Ted Turner and won the 1979 Fastnet race. He completed three solo passages from Los Angeles to Hawaii (and back), most recently at age 78. He’s also the author of five books, and has written and produced multiple TV shows. “Oh, and he’s the creator of a YouTube sailing channel with 75,000 subscribers and over 10 million views,” I said.
