Jonathan Paarman is a legendary, fearless wave-rider from Cape Town, South Africa who was ranked #15 in the world in 1976. Paarman was born in 1954 and was raised in Cape Town. He is one of five brothers and the son of a commercial fisherman. His extensive knowledge of the ocean in both surfing and sailing has led to him working in the boat building industry. Today, he and his brothers Mark and Roger build custom catamarans for Balance Catamarans at Nexus Yachts based in Cape St. Francis, South Africa.
Category:
Heroes
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Our profile of a pro this week is on Ian Walker, who is no stranger to ocean racing. He is the only British skipper to have won The Ocean Race in 2014/2015 with ‘Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’. Today Ian is the Director of Racing at the Royal Yachting Association. In this interview with Niall from Offwatch, he talks about his fascinating career in The Olympics, The America’s Cup, and of course his famous victory in the 2014-15 Ocean Race with ‘Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’. Ian also discusses how to get into The Ocean Race as a sailor, as well as his opinion on one-design sailing.
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This week OFFWATCH chats to Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. Their CV is impressive: Olympic gold medal winners in the 49er, America’s Cup winners in 2017 with Emirates Team New Zealand, and of course they both sailed in the last edition of The Ocean Race – Peter on Team Brunel, and Blair aboard MAPFRE.
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Tracy Edwards was the skipper of the all-female entry Maiden in the 1989/1990 edition of the Whitbread Round the World Race. She was just 24 years old! Tracy and her crew broke barriers, and proved so many people wrong in the male-dominated sport. They weren’t even expected to finish the first leg, but they did just that, and went on to win both southern ocean legs too.
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Jeff Ayliffe caught up with the formidable Tina Plattner prior to the start of the Odzala Discovery Camps 52 SUPER SERIES event in Cape Town. There’s so much more to Tina than meets the eye, with her passion for sailing, horses, people, life and learning.
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South African born Mike Horn is a world renowned adventure and explorer. As a child he always had a fascination for the unknown. His hobby is preserving the planet. He climbs the highest mountains and crosses the widest seas as he pursues it. But what makes an adventurer like him tick?
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Have you ever wondered what it must be like to be an onboard reporter (OBR) in The Ocean Race? Offwatch chats to James Blake about his experience as a floating OBR for the teams, and what it takes to have the responsibility of documenting an ocean race that circumvents the world. James explains the challenges of building relationships with the sailors especially when moving between teams, maintaining objectivity in every situation – good or bad – and how to do the best storytelling in extreme conditions.
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How would you deal with a sudden crash in the middle of the ocean in the pitch black of night? And how does it feel to have a camera pushed in your face in the middle of such a crisis? Niall Myant-Best from The Ocean Race’s Offwatch series puts all these questions, and more to Chris Nicholson.
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Lindani Mchunu, highly respected in local sailing and yachting circles, reflects on his journey that started in Kwazulu Natal and has landed him in Cape Town as a newly appointed Associate of well-known brokerage, and sole distributor of Princess Yachts on the African continent, Abromowitz, Sharp and Associates (Pty). Ltd. This is his story.
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What would you do if you only had 6 months to live? Nikki and Jason from Gone with the Wynns met Mark Paarman in Fiji and became involved in his brave fight to survive without the help of the high-priced meds that he can’t afford, and without his wife by his side who is stranded in South Africa. The Wynns decided to raise awareness of his plight, and this is the story of what happened next.