Skip Novak

Pelagic Expeditions -- For having exposed millions of ordinary people and sailors around the world to extreme adventure sailing through writing in books, magazines and newspapers plus appearance in film and video.

Through his writing in books, magazines and newspapers, plus appearances in TV and film, Skip Novak has become known as one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts in extreme adventure sailing and has exposed millions of ordinary people, sailors and adventurers around the globe to ocean cruising. As the OCC members tend to skew toward the adventuresome group, he has helped to inspire and fuel their thirst for high latitude sailing as well as helping to improve safety under extreme conditions.

Skip Novak was born in Chicago in 1952. He is well known for his participation in four Whitbread Round the World Yacht Races since 1977. In that year, at the age of 25, he navigated the British cutter Kings Legend to second place. Novel entries followed skippering Alaska Eagle in 1981-1982, the first American entry; Simon LeBon’s (rock group Duran Duran) Drum in 1985-1986, and Fazisi in 1989-1990, the first and last entry from the Soviet Union.

Skip Novak’s books “One Watch at a Time” chronicled the Drum campaign and “Fazisi – The Joint Venture” told the epic story of the Soviets. His swansong from professional ocean racing was sailing over 50,000 miles on maxi multi-hulls over three years including co-skippering the 110-foot maxi cat Innovation Explorer in the millennium non-stop around the world event, The Race, in 2001.

As a result of being at the most extreme and therefore newsworthy end of the spectrum, Skip runs a very successful business as Managing Director and Expedition Leader for Special Projects, Pelagic Expeditions