American Odysseus Sailing Foundation, the only U.S. team in the race, is a nonprofit founded in 2019 by U.S. Marine Corps veteran Cameron Albin and U.S. Navy veteran Taylor Grieger with the mission to provide adventure therapy to military service members and veterans through sailing expeditions. AMOD has assembled an all-veteran team race team with representatives from all U.S. military services, the UK and Germany. We look forward to representing the veteran community in this race and sharing our message with the world.

Crew

Skipper

Taylor Grieger is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and co-founder of American Odysseus Sailing Foundation. After serving in the Navy for six years as a rescue swimmer, Taylor led an expedition around Cape Horn on a 36-foot boat to raise awareness for veteran suicide. In addition to being a licensed captain and sailing instructor, Taylor is the co-owner of Cape Horn Tequila, a company he founded to support veterans’ causes. Taylor and his partner reside with their two children in southeast texas, a stone’s throw from Galveston Bay.
First Mate

John Hill was born in New Zealand and raised in the United States. After attending the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, John served for eleven years on active duty as a surface warfare officer and continues to serve in the naval reserves. He currently works as a professional captain with over 50,000 ocean miles under his belt and three Atlantic crossings. John is looking forward to facing the challenges of the OGR alongside his fellow military veterans.
No. | Name, Nationality, Military Service | Sex, Age | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Taylor Grieger, Skipper, USA, U.S. Navy | Male | ||||
2 | John Hill, First Mate, USA/NZ, U.S. Navy | Male | ||||
3 | Cameron Albin, Team Manager, USA, U.S. Marine Corps | Male | ||||
4 | Craig Appleby, UK, British Army | Male | ||||
5 | Nicholas Berryman, USA, U.S. Navy | Male | ||||
6 | James Cogan, UK, Royal Marines | Male | ||||
7 | Ruth Corregeux , USA, U.S. Marine Corps | Female | ||||
8 | Justin Cronin, USA, U.S. Marine Corps | Male | ||||
9 | John Fannin, USA, U.S. Marine Corps | Male | ||||
10 | Greg Gegemer, USA, U.S. Coast Guard | Male | ||||
11 | Andre Hofmeister, DE, Heer (Army) | Male | ||||
12 | Dane Hylen, USA, U.S. Army | Male | ||||
13 | Mark Jablow, USA, U.S. Air Force | Male | ||||
14 | Adam Kaluza, USA | Male | ||||
15 | Nadja Meier, DE, Heer (Army) | Female | ||||
16 | Matthew Pinson, USA, U.S. Marine Corps | Male | ||||
17 | Sam Radoff, USA | Male | ||||
18 | John Shepherd, USA, U.S. Marine Corps | Male | ||||
19 | Adam Tesanovich, USA | Male | ||||
20 | Marc Vital, USA, U.S. Marine Corps | Male | ||||
21 | Clayton Young, U.S. Army | Male |
Icebear
Icebear is hull number 11 of 21 Swan 59s built. She’s the tall rig / deep keel version of the boat, and has the optional aft companionway into the cockpit from the aft cabin. She was built in 1986, although the builder’s plaque says ‘1991’. The story, from ‘The Professor’ Lars Strom, goes as such:
There are in some cases odd arrangements and special deals between customer and agent/yard affecting the year on the plaque. 59-011 was originally delivered 1987, and had a plaque showing that. But after one summer, the customer sent the boat back to the yard to be stored until 1991, and then demanded a modified plaque. 018, originally delivered 1988, appears as though there was some monkey business also. If the year on the plaque is clearly later than the production run years, it has been manipulated, with the basic intention to get a better price when the boat is later sold.

LOA | 58.67 ft / 17.88 m |
LWL | 48.15 ft / 14.68 m |
Beam | 16.40 ft / 5.00 m |
Draft | 11.18 ft / 3.41 m |
Displacement | 28.3 to |
Designer | German Frers |
Shipyard | Nautor |
Gallery






Articles & Podcasts
- Coast Monthly Article
- Cruising World Article (Taylor)
- Yachting Monthly Article (Taylor)
- Regular Infantry Guys Podcast (Cameron and Taylor)
- On the Wind (Taylor)
- Combat Zone 360 Podcast
- Black Rifle Coffee Podcast (Taylor)
- Out the Gate Podcast (Cameron)
- Black Rifle Coffee Podcast (Cameron)
- On the Wind (Taylor)
- KCEN TV – AMOD
Documentary Trailer
After leaving the Navy, Taylor led an expedition around Cape Horn in a Watkins 36 and documented the journey in order to raise awareness of the mental health challenges faced by the veteran community.