Episode Details
Back to Episodes
The Skill of Starting Over — How Deborah Hammett Built a New Life at 60
Description
“When I tell people I started sailing at sixty, they’re shocked.”
We don’t often think of our sixties as a time to begin something new—which is part of the problem.
In this New Year’s Eve episode, I sit down with Deborah Hammett, a former school principal who learned to sail at 60, moved onto a boat, and now travels solo by sea.
But this story isn’t really about sailing.
It’s about what happens when identity loosens—when long-held roles fall away, and you choose to become a beginner again, not because you have to, but because you want to feel alive.
We talk about:
This conversation explores aging not as decline, but as a long arc of learning—and asks a simple question:
- fear and solitude
- fixing an overheating engine miles offshore with no help coming
- building competence slowly
- and the kind of confidence that comes from adaptation, not comfort
👉 What would you do if the next chapter didn’t have to look like the last one?
Deborah shares life aboard a sailboat with honesty, humor, and humility—the beauty, the friction, and the lessons that come with starting over.
You can also follow Deborah on Instagram for real, unfiltered glimpses into life at sea:
📸 @youngsaltat60
Marek Health: Get a deeper look at your health with comprehensive bloodwork and personalized guidance. Ageless Athlete listeners get 10% off with code AGELESS at https://agelessathlete.short.gy/marek
Timeline: Support cellular renewal and mitochondrial function with Mitopure, featuring Urolithin A. Get up to 20% off at timeline.com/AGELESSATHLETE
🚀 Love the show? Here’s how to support it
If something you’ve heard here has stayed with you, made you smile, please consider supporting the show. 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/agelessathlete
Ageless Athlete is a podcast about healthy aging for people who want to stay strong, active and capable for life. Conversations explore strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, VO2 max, muscle and bone health, and what it takes to keep doing the things you love as you get older.
Follow Ageless Athlete — How to Stay Strong, Curious & Capable for Life for new episodes each week.