Kayleen VanderRee is a commercial diver by trade and has spent most of her adult life pursuing her love of sailing. Hailing from British Columbia, we talk about her diving work, what she’s learnt from being captain of her own sailboat, and her personal experiences dealing with frustrations, overwhelm and anxiety in sailing. Get set for some great adventure stories too. Kayleen sailed her 42’ sailboat to Mexico and back via the Clipper Route, which took 44 days. Most recently she attempted the Race to Alaska with a friend in her Santana 20’ yacht, and shares what it’s really like trying to navigate a treacherous 750nm race from Washington to Alaska, in a non-motorized boat. To cap off her adventures, we hear about her experience with her partner, taking out second place in The Amazing Race Canada. In amongst this, Kayleen shares the encouragement she received from her Dad – her greatest sailing mentor, and some of his best life advice. Join us and be inspired in your own adventures. Connect via Instagram: @fromsnowtosail YouTube: All About Spray Connect with Saltwater Journal:⁠ ⁠@saltwater_journal⁠⁠ Website:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Saltwater Journal⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE NOTES | Kayleen 01:20 Commercial diving 05:40 Mentors 07:11 Sailing with Dad  08:45 Approaching boat jobs 09:22 Owning and maintaining her own boat 11:19 Figuring it out when things go wrong 13:40 Solo-sailing 14:42 Offshore with Dad 15:30 Sailing from childhood 17:19 Rock climbing 17:56 Current boat 18:50 The Race to Alaska 22:48 Challenges on the race 26:06 The Amazing Race Canada 29:55 Slow is smooth, smooth is fast 33:48 A break from racing 35:19 Giving it a go 37:18 Where to start with mechanics and electrics 38:47 Crossing the continental shelf 40:00 Raw vlogs on YouTube 41:04 Anxiety with sailing 44:22 Strategies for anxiety 46:22 Great advice from Dad