Sailing interview #1: American McGee

“We’ve received our first patron!” said Jamie.

“Hooray! Anyone we know?”

“American McGee.”

“You’re having a laugh, that’s a made-up name isn’t it?” I said.

Turns out it isn’t a made-up name, American is very much a real person. We know this because we’ve just been sailing with him and his friend, Alicia.

In fact, not only does it transpire American really is his name, but it is a famous name in the gaming world. Ever heard of Alice, Doom or Quake? Check out his website. He has been creating and working out of Shanghai for the past ten years, learning to speak Mandarin along the way. But these days his consuming passion is sailing. He is an inveterate lover of all things aquatic, and story-telling. “I spent my childhood watching endless re-runs of Jacques Cousteau and Monty Python, which had an everlasting effect on me,” he told us.

When we thanked him for supporting us on Patreon, he mentioned that he keeps his yacht in Thailand, and perhaps on his next trip we could hook up. Why not, we thought. If we don’t hit it off we can always spend one day together then politely be on our way.

But it was quite the opposite. American is easy-going and engaging, and full of enthusiasm for this alternative sailing life. We soon realised we are kindred spirits, who share the same values and interests. We became instant friends.

Sadly, we were sailing south while American and Alicia’s plans were to go east. Still, we managed to spend four days hanging out before heading off, and together, we discovered American’s most favourite ever anchorage, and one that surely ranks in our top five all time places.

In the meantime, American agreed to give an off-the-cuff interview and answer some probing questions designed to get the measure of the man. If you look closely at the background you’ll see that favourite anchorage…

Thanks for being our first supporter, American. But more importantly, thanks for suggesting we meet up. We look forward to spending many happy times sailing together in the future.
PS. The knife’s brilliant, we’re using it for everything! It really is the sharpest tool in the box.

If you like our content and would like to support us, we will give you ad-free access to our videos before they go live to the public, discounts in our shop, access to Jamie’s iconic full-res photographs, and supporter-only blog posts. Click our ugly mugs for more info!