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This book is ueuicateu to Bill Billon, without whom my life woulu not be the same.
Bis love anu affection, spiiiteu companionship, fiequent foibeaiance, inteimittent
willingness to uo what I say, anu on-going wisuom keep me open to laughtei, waimth,
giowth, anu possibilities in oui auventuies anu life jouiney togethei.
2
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&%+,"-'.-$'(&"(&/ ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) 0
12".%$"))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) 3
$4%1&"2-*-5-+%/#$-/%."&6-%(!-/"$72#&6)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) 8
TBE F00R R0LES 0F PREPARATI0N...................................................................................................................... 9
F0RN0LA F0R BISASTER...................................................................................................................................... 1u
TBE BLACK B0X ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
SAFETY F0NBANENTALS ...................................................................................................................................... 12
!"#$%#$&'()*#)*#+)',-./ """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" !0
0"#1&#%(-#2344-5""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" !0
6"#7&#3#83993:- """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" !6
;"#+<&:(5#=3>-%5"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" !6
?"#@<9'-443&-)A9/ """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" !;
$4%1&"2-0-5-/&%2&#(9-'.. ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) *:
BESIRABLE ATTRIB0TES 0F A BL0E-WATER CR0ISINu SAILB0AT .............................................................. 16
CALLIPYuIA'S SBAKEB0WN CR0ISE ................................................................................................................... 19
TBE CR0ISINu LIFE................................................................................................................................................ 22
!"#@)B<&:#$C)3*.""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 00
0"#+3<45#D)A%<&- """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 00
6"#EF)%<)&9#3&.#=G<*<%A34<%5 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 0?
;"#=)'<34#H<>- """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 0I
?"#D-43%<)&9(<G""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 0J
I"#K)3%#L)*,"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 0M
J"#N)F>)*%"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 0O
M"#H-<9A*-#P<F-"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 6Q
O"#KA9<&-99#@3%%-*9"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 6!
!Q"#=3>-%5#3&.#=-'A*<%5"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 6!
!!"#=R344)R<&:#%(-#S)),"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 60
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ANCB0RINu ANB ANCB0RAuES .......................................................................................................................... SS
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0"#H35<&:#%(-#$&'()*""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 6I
6"#$%#$&'()*#<&#K3.#L-3%(-* """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 6J
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ANCB0R WATCB.................................................................................................................................................... 4u
TBE B0AT N0TES................................................................................................................................................... 41
TBE B00K 0F LISTS............................................................................................................................................... 42
TBE BEFECT B00K ................................................................................................................................................ 4S
BEPART0RE CBECKLIST........................................................................................................................................ 44
!"#8*<)*#%)#+-G3*%A*-#+35""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ;;
0"#+35#K->)*-#+-G3*%A*-""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ;;
6"#+-G3*%A*-#+35"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ;?
TBE CR0ISINu BINuBY ......................................................................................................................................... 47
!"#N*A<9<&:#+<&:(5#P5G-9 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ;J
0"#N4-3&<&:#%(-#+<&:(5#K)%%)F"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ;J
S
6"#P)R<&:#%(-#+<&:(5 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ;M
;"#=%)R<&:#%(-#+<&:(5"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ;M
?"#P(-#+<&:(5T9#7A%C)3*.#@)%)*""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ;O
TBE ENuINE L0u.................................................................................................................................................... Su
EQ0IPNENT INSTR0CTI0NS ................................................................................................................................. S1
BEAvINu T0............................................................................................................................................................ S2
B0RRICANE PREPARATI0N.................................................................................................................................. SS
!"#2-&-*34#$.B<'-"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ?6
0"#SA**<'3&-#8*-G3*3%<)&#P39,9"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ?;
6"#SA**<'3&-#8*-G3*3%<)&#=AGG4<-9""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ??
;"#$>%-*#3#SA**<'3&-"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ?I
?"#=%)*F#$&'()*<&:#P-'(&<UA-9 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ?I
INvENT0RIES........................................................................................................................................................... S8
!"#P(-#@3<&#1&B-&%)*5"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ?M
0"#+*A:9 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ?O
6"#V)). """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ?O
;"#H<&-"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ?O
?"#+<9G)93C4-#K3%%-*<-9 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ?O
I"#N(3*%9#3&.#N*A<9<&:#2A<.-9""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ?O
J"#=%)R3:-""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ?O
LANBFALL CBECKLIST........................................................................................................................................... 61
!"#8*<)*#%)#@3,<&:#H3&.>344 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I!
0"#WG)&#=<:(%<&:#H3&. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I!
NAINTENANCE SCBEB0LE ANB L0u .................................................................................................................. 62
TBE "0FFICE".......................................................................................................................................................... 64
TBE 0WNER'S NAN0AL........................................................................................................................................ 6S
WASTE NANAuENENT PLAN............................................................................................................................... 66
TBE WBISKER P0LE.............................................................................................................................................. 67
SETTINu 0P TBE WINB vANE ............................................................................................................................. 68
$4%1&"2-@-5-&4"-<=4%&-#.>/?))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) AB
ABANB0N SBIP....................................................................................................................................................... 71
AuR00NB! ............................................................................................................................................................... 7S
ANCB0R BRAuuINu............................................................................................................................................... 7S
C0LLISI0N................................................................................................................................................................ 76
!"#N)44<9<)&#$B)<.3&'- """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" JI
0"#N)44<9<)&""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" JJ
CREW 0vERB0ARB................................................................................................................................................ 79
!"#8*-B-&%<)&"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" JO
0"#D-%*<-B34"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" JO
6"#$'%<)&#C5#%(-#8-*9)&#<&#%(-#L3%-*""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" MQ
;"#$>%-*#D-%*<-B34 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" MQ
?"#1>#W&3C4-#%)#D-%*<-B-#N7K"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" M!
BISTRESS CALLINu................................................................................................................................................. 82
!"#K->)*-#E3'(#P*<G"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" M0
0"#$A%)F3%<'#+<9%*-99#=<:&34#7&#P(-#XSV#Y=%3&.3*.#S)*<Z)&#=G-'%*AF[ """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" M0
6"#$A%)F3%<'#+<9%*-99#=<:&34#7&#P(-#==K#Y1N7@#@J!Q[ """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" M0
;"#P*3&9F<%%<&:#$#@35\+35#]83&\83&#19#P(-#=3F-#V)*F3%^ """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" M6
?"#7%(-*#+<9%*-99#=<:&349 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" M6
I"#D-'-<B<&:#S-4G"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" M;
4
FIRE........................................................................................................................................................................... 8S
!"#V<*-#8*-B-&%<)&""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" M?
0"#V<*-#V<:(%<&:"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" M?
F0u ANB S00NB SIuNALS..................................................................................................................................... 87
!"#V):""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" MJ
0"#=)A&.#=<:&349"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" MJ
BEAvY WEATBER .................................................................................................................................................. 89
!"#V<*9%#=%3:- """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" MO
0"#=-')&.#=%3:-#<>#_-'-993*5 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" MO
6"#=%)R3:-#N(-',4<9%#Y>)*#3#C<:#)&-[ """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" OQ
LEAK ......................................................................................................................................................................... 91
NAY BAY.................................................................................................................................................................. 94
!"#K->)*-#E3'(#P*<G"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" O;
0"#1&#3&#EF-*:-&'5"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" O;
6"#P)#N3&'-4#3#@35#+35 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" O?
NEBICAL ENERuENCIES ....................................................................................................................................... 96
!"#8*<)*#%)#3#83993:-""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" OI
0"#1&#$&#EF-*:-&'5 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" OI
RABAR PL0TTINu................................................................................................................................................... 97
RIuuINu FAIL0RE................................................................................................................................................... 99
STEERINu FAIL0RE ..............................................................................................................................................1uu
T0WINu..................................................................................................................................................................1u1
$4%1&"2-:-5-C%2#("-2%!#'))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) *D0
RABI0 0vERvIEW................................................................................................................................................1uS
RABI0 NETS ANB BR0ABCASTS.........................................................................................................................1uS
!"#L-3%(-*#_-%9 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!Q?
0"#L-3%(-*#K*)3.'39%9 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!QI
6"#7%(-*#_-%9 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!QJ
;"#_-%<UA-%%-"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!QM
LEARNINu NARINE RABI0.................................................................................................................................1u9
!"#D-:A43%<)&9#3&.#H<'-&9<&:""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!QO
0"#W9<&:#%(-#XSV#D3.<)""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!!Q
6"#=<&:4-#=<.-#K3&.#Y==K#)*#`=()*%R3B-`[#D3.<) """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!!Q
;"#E\F3<4#>*)F#%(-#K)3%"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!!!
?"#L-3%(-*#V3a""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!!0
I"#$@\V@""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!!6
J"#V3F<45#D3.<)"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!!6
TBE RABI0 L0u....................................................................................................................................................114
TBE RABI0 REFERENCE F0LBER......................................................................................................................11S
0SINu TBE IC0N N71u SSB RABI0..............................................................................................................117
$4%1&"2-A-5-(%E#9%&#'()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) **B
TBE BECK L0u......................................................................................................................................................12u
!"#H):#V)*F3% """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!0Q
0"#H):#N)&%-&% """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!0!
6"#P*<G#=AFF3*<-9 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!00
TBE NAvIuAT0R'S N0TEB00K..........................................................................................................................124
!"#83993:-#843&&<&:""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!0;
0"#83993:-#+<*-'%<)&9 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!0?
6"#_3B<:3%<)&#N34'A43%<)&9"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!0?
S
PASSAuE BIRECTI0NS - RANPLE ......................................................................................................................127
B0NP IN TBE ATLANTIC......................................................................................................................................129
$4%1&"2-3-5-7/#(9-2%!%2)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) *;D
RABAR C0NPAREB T0 uPS................................................................................................................................1S1
T0NINu TBE RABAR ............................................................................................................................................1S2
BASIC INTERPRETATI0N ANB 0SE 0F RABAR ................................................................................................1SS
C0LLISI0N Av0IBANCE .......................................................................................................................................1S4
RELATIvE N0TI0N BIAuRAN............................................................................................................................1S7
ST0RN Av0IBANCE..............................................................................................................................................1S8
RABAR NAvIuATI0N............................................................................................................................................1S9
!"#D3&:-#3&.#K-3*<&:#><a#R<%(#*3.3*"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!;!
0"#D3.3*#V<a-9#>*)F#PR)#)*#@)*-#K-3*<&:9""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!;0
6"#PR)#K-3*<&:9#3&.#3#D3&:-" """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!;0
;"#V<a#C5#PR)#)*#@)*-#D3&:-9" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!;6
?"#XD@#39#8<4)%<&:#$<.""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!;;
BANBY TRICKS WITB RABAR.............................................................................................................................14S
uL0SSARY ..............................................................................................................................................................146
ABBREvIATI0NS ...................................................................................................................................................149
$4%1&"2-8-5-="%&4"2))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) *:D
TBE WEATBER N0TEB00K................................................................................................................................1S2
WEATBER WINB0WS..........................................................................................................................................1S4
0NBERSTANBINu NARINE WEATBER .............................................................................................................1S7
!"#2-&-*34#8)<&%-*9""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!?J
0"#$<*#8*-99A*- """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!?M
6"#V*)&%9 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!?O
;"#=UA3449""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!IQ
?"#N5'4)&-9"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!I0
I"#L<&.""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!I0
J"#N4)A.9"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!I;
M"#L-3%(-*#V)*-'39%#P<G9""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!II
O"#=-3#=%3%-9""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!II
!Q"#NA**-&%9""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!IJ
!!"#V): """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!IM
$4%1&"2-B-5-7/".7,-2"."2"($"/)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) *3D
CR0ISINu REFERENCE TEXTS ............................................................................................................................172
!"#E99-&%<34#=-3F3&9(<G""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!J0
0"#_3B<:3%<)& """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!J6
6"#L-3%(-*"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!J6
;"#=3<4<&:#=,<449#Y9--#349)#=-'%<)&#!b#E99-&%<34#=-3F3&9(<G[ """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!J;
?"#K4A-#L3%-*#N*A<9<&:"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!J;
I"#=3>-%5#3&.#=A*B<B34"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!J;
J"#K)3%#=59%-F9#3&.#@3<&%-&3&'-""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!J?
M"#_3%A*34#S<9%)*5""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!J?
O"#@<9'-443&-)A9""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!JI
SEA ST0RIES..........................................................................................................................................................177
CR0ISINu LINKS....................................................................................................................................................179
!"#L-3%(-*#1&>)*F3%<)&""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!JO
0"#D3.<)#3&.#E\F3<4#D-9)A*'-9"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!MQ
6
6"#N(3*%9b#N*A<9<&:#2A<.-9b#EUA<GF-&%b#=AGG4<-9b#3&.#=-*B<'-9 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!M!
;"#2-&-*34#1&>)*F3%<)&b#@-FC-*9(<G#3&.#P*3<&<&:""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!M0
?"#@3:3Z<&-9 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!M0
I"#P*3B-4b#S-34%(b#3&.#7%(-* """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!M6
J"#L-C9<%-9#)>#7%(-*#N*A<9-*9#3&.#=3<4)*9""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!M;
8*)B<9<)&<&: """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!M;
%+'7&-&4"-%7&4'2)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) *8:

7
reface
This eBook is the Ciuising Banubook section of the Tiousei Rollei's website
(http:www.callipygia6uu.com) as of }uly, 2uu9. The web veision of the Banubook is at
http:www.callipygi6uu.comcallnuggetciuising.htm
We staiteu oui ciuising caieei when we bought#N344<G5:<3 in eaily 0ctobei, 2uuu,
anu we kept at it until }uly, 2uu4. Buiing those foui yeais, we iefuibisheu the boat,
piepaieu ouiselves, moveu aboaiu, anu tiaveleu ovei 7,Suu nautical miles whilst visiting
some 18 Caiibbean anu West Atlantic countiies. Being the one with moie sailing
expeiience anu knowleuge, I hau the iole of captain while it fell to my beloveu Bill to
swallow the thankless jobs of plumbing, engine maintenance, electiical woik, anu having to
uo what I tolu him.
Eaily on we ieau somewheie that goou seamanship iesults fiom a combination of
expeiience anu knowleuge. When we weie beginneis we tiieu to offset oui lack of
expeiience by incieasing oui knowleuge thiough ieauing anu stuuy of the best piactices
followeu by the expeits. As pait of my leaining piocess, I wiote uown pietty much
eveiything we uiu, anu how we uiu it. I hope to pass along what I leaineu thiough this
eBook. I woulu like to heai if it's useful to you - senu me an email to
patcallipygia6uu.com. I've tiieu to incoipoiate all the lessons we leaineu into the
hanubook contents. 0n the website I affectionately call the hanubook "Ciuising foi
Bummies" because sometimes we weie.
The pages in this eBook aie in the geneial oiuei of mention on the website, anu have
been gioupeu heiein into Chapteis. Each page on the website is incluueu in this uocument
only once (with one exception) to avoiu wasting papei foi those who might choose to piint
the eBook. Links abounu to enable useis to easily navigate within the contents oi to switch
back anu foith to the Inteinet. Bookmaiks allow the table of contents to be openeu in the
siuebai of youi puf ieauei.
The auvice pioviueu in this hanubook is baseu on the authoi's expeiience anu is
given heie puiely foi euucational puiposes. It shoulu not be ielieu on in place of the
juugment of any sailoi oi boatei who ieaus it. It is offeieu solely as one moie opinion on
vaiious matteis of boating safety anu piuuence. The captain of any vessel is iesponsible foi
making all uecisions baseu on hishei stuuy of iules, iegulations, best piactices, anu
iecommenueu pioceuuies. This eBook uoes not substitute foi such stuuy oi uecision-
making anu the authoi assumes no liability foi eiiois maue oi uamage incuiieu by ieaueis
of this hanubook.
If you want to ieau about oui tiavels anu auventuies, please go to
http:www.callipygia6uu.comontheioaulog_inuex.htm wheie you can see maps of oui
ioutes, ieau oui tiavel jouinals, anu see photogiaphs we took. Eventually we hope to make
an eBook out of those web pages also.
8
Chapter 1 - 8as|c Safety and Secur|ty
I stiongly feel that potential boateis shoulu ieau anu inteinalize what I call "The
Fiist Essentials" of seamanship befoie getting into othei aspects of the ciuising life. While
ciuising, we met oi heaiu about boateis who haun't, anu as a consequence suffeieu majoi
anu minoi uisasteis, incluuing loss of boat anuoi life.
Eaily on we ieau somewheie that goou seamanship iesults fiom a combination of
expeiience anu knowleuge. When we weie beginning ciuiseis we tiieu to offset oui lack of
expeiience by incieasing oui knowleuge thiough ieauing anu stuuy of the best piactices
followeu by the expeits. This Chaptei coveis what I see as essential aspects of safety anu
secuiity in the following aiticles:
The Foui Rules of Piepaiation
The Foimula foi Bisastei
The Black Box
Safety Funuamentals
9
!"#$%&'($)'*#+$&,$-(#./(/01&2$
These Foui Rules of Piepaiation aie as set foith by }ohn Rousmanieie in the
essential iefeience text, P(-#$&&3G)4<9#K)),#)>#=3<4<&:#3&.#=-3F3&9(<Gb#6*.#E.<%<)&.
Rousmanieie states that "taking seiiously the possibility of emeigencies iequiies
the cautious state of minu known as foiehanueuness. A helpful iule of thumb, laiu out by
the 0.S. Navy, is that safety iequiies eteinal vigilance." Be aiticulates the following foui
concise iules to avoiu such inciuents
Piepaie the Boat: Look at eveiything with a woist case state of minu.
Piepaie the Ciew: Assign iesponsibilities anu make suie eveiybouy unueistanus
how eveiything woiks anu what to uo if...
Choose a Safe Route: Avoiu bau weathei anu seasons, make suie all chaits etc.,
aie on boaiu, anu have a fall back plan in case...
Piepaie foi Emeigencies: Piactice, piactice, piactice. If you can't uo actual hanus
on piactice, uo mental piactice.
1u
%&(3'*/$,&($41+/+0#($
This foimula balances the Foui Rules of Piepaiation. It also is summaiizeu fiom
}ohn Rousmanieie's $&&3G)4<9#K)),#)>#=3<4<&:#3&.#=-3F3&9(<Gb#6*.#E.<%<)&"#
Rousmanieie states that "taking seiiously the possibility of emeigencies iequiies
the cautious state of minu known as foiehanueuness. A helpful iule of thumb, laiu out by
the 0.S. Navy, is that safety iequiies eteinal vigilance." Then Rousmanieie sets out a
Foimula Foi Bisastei to explain the iepeateu patteins of behavioi that appeai ovei anu
ovei again in majoi boating emeigencies oi losses.
The seven elements in the foimula aie:
A iusheu, ill-consiueieu uepaituie - this occuis in viitually all bau acciuents,
wheie scheuuling iathei than weathei conuitions uictates uepaituie.
A uangeious ioute -the ioute selecteu has pieuictable hazaius (ieefs, cuiients,
shoals, lee shoies, commeicial tiaffic, etc.)
Theie is no Plan B -theie is nowheie to go if Plan A tuins out not to be uo-able.
The ciew is unpiepaieu -shoithanueu anu open to fatigue, unuei the influence,
oi hasn't piacticeu essential "what ifs".
The boat is unpiepaieu -chaits aie missing, lights uon't woik, oi equipment
neeus iepaii, etc.
The ciew panics aftei injuiy -when someone is injuieu, the boat must still be
taken caie of.
Pooi leaueiship -the captain is weak, ignoiant, oi macho anuoi uoesn't
piopeily use the stiengths of the iemaining ciew.
11
!"#$5*/67$5&8$
}ohn vigoi is an expeiienceu sailoi who has wiitten a numbei of highly ieauable anu
infoimative books about sailing anu ciuising. We founu his The Seawoithy 0ffshoie
Sailboat: A uuiue to Essential Featuies, Banuling anu ueai immensely useful when we weie
shopping foi a blue-watei ciuising sailboat. Anu we kept his Boatownei's Banubook:
Refeience Bata foi Naintenance, Repaii, Navigation anu Seamanship sitting by the Nav
Station.
In some of his books, vigoi uesciibes a theoiy he ueiiveu aftei tiying to figuie out
why some boateis have fewei acciuents, anu enuuie fewei stoims anu uisasteis than
otheis. Below is a synopsis of his theoiy as it is uesciibeu in his Piactical Naiinei's Book of
Knowleuge, yet anothei useful iefeience by this authoi.
"Theie is no such thing as foituitous luck at sea. The ieason why some
boateis suivive stoims oi have fewei acciuents than otheis is that they eain theii
luck by uiligent anu constant acts of seamanship.
"Aboaiu eveiy boat theie's an invisible black box. Eveiy time a skippei takes
the tiouble to consult the chait, inspect the filteis, go foiwaiu on a iainy night to
check the iunning lights, oi take any othei piopei seamanlike piecaution, he oi she
eains a point that goes into the black box. In times of stiess, in heavy weathei oi
othei thieatening ciicumstances wheie human skill anu effoit can accomplish no
moie, the points aie casheu in as piotection. Those skippeis with no points in the
box aie the ones latei uesciibeu as unlucky.
"The skippei has no contiol ovei the withuiawal of points, anu once points
have been iemoveu, then the skippei must immeuiately stait to ieplenish theii
savings, foi the sea offeis no cieuit."
We stiongly believeu in vigoi's Black Box Theoiy, anu piacticeu its uictums. A few
times we came close to uisastei but appaiently hau enough points in#N344<G5:<3c9 Black Box
so that they weie only neai squeaks. We met anuoi knew of many boateis who uiun't put
points in theii Black Boxes - incluuing some who suffeieu majoi uisasteis, in a few cases
fatal.
12
9/,#0:$%'2;/3#20/*+$
This aiticle uesciibes the stanuaiu piactices we followeu while ciuising on#
N344<G5:<3 to ensuie oui, anu the boat's, safety anu secuiity. When appiopiiate, these weie
ievieweu as pait of the boat oiientation with visitois. Some of these piactices aiose
because of lessons leaineu the haiu way.
1. At Anchor or Docked:
uet the weathei foiecast at least once a uay, anu if a fiont oi stoim is anticipateu,
collect a weathei foiecast in the evening befoie going to beu.
Befoie leaving the boat foi the uay, check the bilges, the amount of cuiient being
uiawn fiom the batteiies, anu make suie the automatic bilge pump switch is on.
Also checkaujust the giounu tackle as neeueu.
If we waken in the night to some winuiain, go into the cockpit anu assess the
situation. Check anu aujust (if necessaiy) the giounu tackle anu initiate an
anchoi watch if necessaiy.
Check the engine oil eveiy Nonuay
When leaving the boat foi the uay, always lock it.
Take a walk iounu the ueck eveiy uay anu check the anchoi anu ioue oi uock
lines foi chafe, signs of uiagging, etc., anu also give the iigging above the ueck an
eyeball check.
If it looks like lightning, uiop one of the coppei lightning shielus in the watei.
If someone goes swimming off the boat, someone else stays on the boat at all
times, anu a length of floating (polypiopylene) line is left hanging uown the siue
into the watei neai the swim lauuei.
Befoie anyone goes swimming off the boat, check to see if theie is any cuiient,
anu how stiong it is. Bon't go swimming unless cuiient is negligible.
Aftei swimming, flush eais out with a mixtuie of Su% alcohol anu Su% vinegai.
2. In the Ga||ey
When the stove is on, someone is always inneai the galley with an eye on it.
To tuin off the stove, the piopane shut-off switch is tuineu off fiist to allow
piopane to cleai out fiom the pipes, anu then when the flame has gone out the
stove contiols aie tuineu off.
When the stove is in use, the poithole above it is kept open foi ventilation.
Befoie the fiig is iun foi the uay, pump out watei accumulateu in the bottom.
Whoevei cooks, cleans up.
1S
3. Cn a assage
No alcohol on coastal passages. 0ccasional glass of winebeei if uesiieu in
clement weathei on ocean passage.
}acklines aie iiggeu along both siues of the ueck fiom cockpit to bow befoie
leaving on an offshoie passage.
0se iauai at night, oi uuiing the uaytime when meeting tiaffic oi in busy tiaffic
aieas.
Peison on watch uoes a 18u visual check eveiy 8 minutes. At night, oi when
uiowsy, use a timei as an alaim.
Safety hainesses anu PFBs go on at uusk anu stay on until uawn. Peison in the
cockpit is clippeu to the boat at uusk. Ciew in the cockpit aie also clippeu on
uuiing the uay in heavy weathei, anu also whenevei someone leaves the cockpit
anu goes foiwaiu in othei than calm conuitions.
No one goes foiwaiu to uo ueckwoik unless someone else is up, awake, anu in
the cockpit.
Put a ieef in the mainsail befoie uaik.
Non swimmeis weai PFBs while in tiansit whenevei they aie on ueck outsiue
the cockpit.
Batches anu poitholes aie kept closeu, anu befoie anyone opens one, they check
with the captain.
If it looks like lightning, put hanuhelu uPS anu vBF in the oven, anu uiop one of
the coppei lightning shielus into the watei off a lee shiouu.
4. D|nghy Safety
Take the hanuhelu vBF on all uinghy tiips in open wateis, anu a flashlight if
going to be out in the uaik.
In aieas exposeu to offshoie winus, except foi shoit tiips in calm conuitions,
take the following items: Banuhelu vBF, seat cushion (emeigency flotation),
uinghy Anchoi Bag containing anchoi (small Banfoith, with 4' chain anu 6u'
S8" S-stianu nylon iou), kellet (small giapnel) with shackle, anu 12 gallon
bottle of watei. Anchoi bag also contains a Bii-bag with a whistle, small aii hoin,
flashlight with spaie batteiies, 4 iecently expiieu flaies anu one can of smoke.
If the motoi uies anu the winu staits to blow the uinghy out to sea, tiy to iow. If
iowing will not keep uinghy going to shoieboat, then anchoi anu call foi
assistance on the vBF. If anchoiing uoesn't woik, then call foi assistance on the
vBF anu consiuei swimming to shoie anu abanuoning the uinghy.
When towing the uinghy, two polypiopylene lines aie useu with a biiule, anu
shoiteneu up to biing the uinghy close to the siue of the mothei boat when
slowing uown to anchoi oi uock, oi maneuvei foi any othei ieason.
14
Befoie towing, iemove all contents fiom uinghy. Run motoi out of fuel befoie
stoiing it on the stein iail.
Non-swimmeis take a PFB with them if they go in the uinghy.
At anchoi, the uinghy is kept attacheu to the mothei boat with two lines.
Aftei using the motoi, close the fuel tank vent (keeps wateimoistuie out).
At night, lock the uinghy anu motoi to the siue of the mothei boat with a metal
cable anu paulock.
S. M|sce||aneous:
If engine, stove, oi Webasto heatei aie on, make suie the C0 uetectoi is on.
Nothing goes into the heau unless it has been eaten oi uiunk.
Two iauiatoi clamps aie fasteneu on all hoses that caiiy watei inout of the
boat. These aie put on in opposite uiiections.
A woou plug of the iight size is wiieu next to the seacock at each thiu-hull
Wash off all skin cutsbieaks with alcohol, howevei small.
Nevei attach a line to youiself, except foi a safety line.
1S
Chapter 2 - Start|ng Cff
This Chaptei is foi those planning to get out of the aimchaii anu onto a boat. It has
thiee aiticles in it:
Buying a Boat (Besiiable Attiibutes of a Blue Watei Ciuisei)
The Shakeuown Ciuise
The Ciuising Life
16
4#+1(/<*#$=00(1<'0#+$&,$/$5*'#>?/0#($@('1+12A$9/1*<&/0$
In uoing oui ieseaich piioi to shopping foi a sailboat that woulu caiiy us acioss
oceans, we uevelopeu a list of uesiiable attiibutes to guiue oui boat seaich. These
attiibutes aie shown below -not exactly in piioiity oiuei, although those listeu fiist weie
ueemeu moie impoitant than those listeu latei because foi the most pait they weie
integial to the boat anu coulun't be auueu by latei if we wanteu.#N344<G5:<3 passeu this list
with flying colois, anu in all oui tiavels we nevei saw anothei boat we'u iathei have.
A majoi iesouice in ueveloping the list was the book by }ohn vigoi, The Seawoithy
0ffshoie Sailboat: A uuiue to Essential Featuies, Banuling anu ueai. At the fiont of this
book theie is a 1uu-question testquiz which gives a quick ueteimination of the blue-watei
seawoithiness of both you anu youi boat.
These items aie in piioiity oiuei - things we coulu auu oi change easily (given the
necessaiy $$) we put at the bottom of the list even though we consiueieu some to be
essential; uinghy foi example.
1. Affoiuable. Can we affoiu to buy anu maintain this boat without boiiowing oi
oveiextenuing ouiselves financially.
2. Pleasing to the eye. Can we love this boat#\#we know theie will be issues with hei, so
she has to make oui heaits smile while we woik thiough them anu accept them oi
else we'll get uissatisfieu anu giumpy. |Buiing oui 4 yeais with#N344<G5:<3, we nevei
saw anothei boat we'u iathei have hau.j
S. SS' - 4u' on ueck. Big enough to be sea-kinuly anu safe in bau weathei, yet small
enough foi one of us to single-hanu if we hau to.
4. Cuttei iig. Easy sail plan foi ieuucing sail.
S. uoou suivey. Sounu conuition anu stiuctuie, anu a uiy boat. No neeu to buy oui way
into too many pioblems
6. uoou ventilation anu no aii conuitioning. No thank you, we have no neeu foi the
noise oi electiical iequiiements of aii-conuitioning, we'll settle insteau foi a few
fans anu goou ventilation.
7. Beavy uisplacement ciuisei with a full keel anu attacheu iuuuei. Able to take caie of
us in bau weathei while we hunkei uown below.
8. Inboaiu uiesel engine poweieu at not less than S hpton. Sufficient powei to make
oui way motoiing oi motoi-sailing when necessaiy, oi to powei up anu get out of a
tight spot.
9. Soliu fibeiglass hull. Easy to maintain anu not laminateu.
1u. Fibeiglass ueck (not teak). Easy to maintain, anu no leaks.
11. Plenty of accessible anu well-ventilateu stoiage. This is oui home, so we neeu
enough ioom foi books (we hau 24 lineai feet) anu othei comfoits, plus all the
spaies, tools, etc. foi blue-watei ciuising.
17
12. uoou soliu footing while walking aiounu the ueck, anu goou uiainage in uownpouis
oi shipping gieen watei.
1S. Stiong attachments foi uock lines anu anchoi snubbei. |Callipygia only hau 6.j
14. Stiongest configuiation foi a knockuown (which thankfully we uiun't expeiience.)
1S. Soliu suppoit foi boom at anchoi oi in a stoim, anu gieat extia hanuholu in cockpit
oi on ueck.
16. Seconu anchoi foi stoim conuitions, anu plenty of chain foi noimal conuitions.
|Callipygia hau only 17u' of chain on piimaiy anchoi (plus 2uu' S-stianu nylon line)
but theie weie a couple of times when we wisheu we hau anothei Su' of chain.j
17. 1uu gallon fuel tank. Enough to give us a iange of at least Suu nautical miles unuei
powei.
18. Enough to last the two of us S-4 weeks without iain catching, oi backup in case one
tank gets contaminateu oi emptieu.
19. Comfoitable anu safe foi whoevei's on watch, anu safe in a seaway, with ability to
uiain fast if much watei is shippeu.
2u. Ninimal maintenance anu moie suppoit than ueck-steppeu.
21. uoou hanuholus anu foot space on ueck foi moving aiounu. Essential foi safety.
22. uoou hanuholus anu heauioom below. Beauioom foi a 6' peison, anu soliu
hanuholus foi moving aiounu below when the seas aie up.
2S. Nanual winulass. A bit moie woik foi anchoiing, but no likelihoou of sticking in a
uangeious situation (we saw this happen moie than once causing majoi havoc.)
24. Sails: }ib with iollei fuiling. Easy to hanule fiom the cockpit.
2S. Sails: Staysail that hanks on. Bulletpioof system, no fuiling geai to jam, anu easy to
iemove anu switch to stoim jib.
26. Sails: Stoim jib. Foi use on the innei foiestay (ieplacing the staysail) in stoim
situations#\#the Tayana S7' heaves to well with this configuiation.
27. Sails: Stoim tiysail with sepaiate mast tiack. Foi use in a stoim, without having to
iemove the mainsail. Also, useful foi stability while sailing uownwinu.
28. Bougei, splash cloths, anu bimini. Bougei with easy visibility foiwaiu to keep the
winu out of the cockpit, anu along with splash cloths keep ciew in the cockpit uiy
when watei is shippeu, anu Bimini to shaue us fiom the tiopical sun.
29. Foluing mast steps. A gieat assist while going up the mast, anu pioviuing essential
footholus while woiking up oi on the mast.
Su. v-beith with uouble beu on one siue, all beiths accommouating 6'. uoou space to
snuggle, anu comfoit foi tall ciew.
S1. Nanual bilge pump in cockpit anu below as backup to the automatic bilge pump.
Ability to manually empty the bilges fiom the cockpit.
18
S2. Refiigeiatoi. Ninimal electiical iequiiements but yet enough space to keep stuff
cool, but no neeu foi a fieezei.
SS. Staiting batteiy sepaiate fiom house batteiies with a batteiy monitoiing system.
Enough electiical stoiage to light anu cool the boat, plus iun oui basic electiical
equipment without excessive iechaiging iequiiements. Easy way to tell the
conuition of the batteiies (input, output, voltage, status)
S4. Autopilot. To ielieve the helmsman when unuei powei. (We'u put this way highei
on the list, now.)
SS. Winuvane. To ielieve the helmsman while sailing without uiaining the batteiy.
S6. Nast pulpits. Secuiity while woiking at the mast. We uiun't want all the lines
coming to the cockpit, because we think it's impoitant to get useu to woiking at the
mast#\#so it will be moie familiai in those cases when something jams oi otheiwise
goes amuk.
S7. Swim lauuei An easy to uiop anu ietiieve swim lauuei on the siue of the boat.
S8. Lee cloths foi the cabin beiths. Comfoit anu secuiity foi the off-watch ciew to sleep
below.
S9. S-buinei piopane stove with oven. Able to cook pietty much whatevei we want.
4u. Instiuctions foi all the equipment. So we can figuie out how to fix things, oi finu out
wheie to go foi auvice anu spaies.
41. Naintenance iecoiu. To know how olu the iigging is, what the seivice iecoiu is foi
the engine, hull, plumbing, anu electiical system, etc.
42. Cabin heatei. Keep us waim in colu nights oi in the wintei.
4S. Life iaft, N0B mouule, flaies, fiie blanket, piopane anu C0 uetectois, anu fiie
extinguisheis. Essential safety equipment.
44. Nanual anu sea watei pump in galley. Ability to pump fiesh watei if the electiic
pump fails, oi seawatei to minimize fiesh watei use.
4S. Rauios#\#maiine SSB with ham banus anu uNBSS vBF. Essential communication
equipment.
46. Binghy with motoi. Ability to get aiounu when at anchoi. (We put this neai the
bottom of the list because even though this is an essential item it's not pait of the
actual boat.)
47. Rauai. Essential foi navigation at night when neai lanu, oi in shipping aieas, oi of
couise in fog. Also a tiemenuous assist when appioaching an unfamiliai haiboui
with a haiu-to-finu entiance, oi enteiing oi leaving an anchoiage at night.
48. Winu instiuments (vane anu speeu) anu uepth sounuei. Bepth sounuei essential,
winu instiuments veiy helpful.
49. Bug scieens on poitholes, hatches anu uoiaues. Let the aii in, anu keep the buggeis
out.
19
Ca|||pyg|aB+$9"/7#;&?2$@('1+#$
In the fall of 2uuu, I wiote this aiticle foi the Tayana 0wnei's uioup (T0u)
newslettei. It uesciibes how we as#N344<G5:<3's ciew maue the tiansition fiom feaiful
wannabe ciuiseis to ieal honest-to-goouness liveaboaius engageu in ciuising the fai blue
wateis.
Evei since I was a kiu giowing up in Scotlanu, I uieameu of ciuising aiounu the
woilu in a sailboat.The expeiience as a young auult of enuuiing a paitial uismasting in an
east-Atlantic stoim uiu nothing to uiminish my uesiie-although it suiely was iesponsible
foi the laige uose of caution that simmeieu in the backgiounu of my uieaming.
As with many young uieameis, the iequiiements of auulthoou, (in my case,
maiiiage, emigiation to the 0S, chilu ieaiing, uivoice, anu a caieei) slowly ciusheu my
ciuising fantasy until it fell out of my awaieness altogethei. Then, one evening in 199S, a
Richmonu, vA, acquaintance showeu me a pictuie of the Peaison 27 she owneu anu now
must sell as she moveu to the miu-West. "Euieka!!." Ny uieam exploueu into my minu,
iusheu up fiom its musty basement, uusteu itself off, anu biought foith "I'll buy it" fiom my
unwitting mouth.
I began to uevelop a 1u-yeai plan that woulu get me to the ciuising life-style by my
6Sth biithuay, at which point I piesumeu I woulu ietiie. I pioceeueu to take eveiy available
couise fiom the Powei Squauion anu the Naiylanu School of Sailing anu Seamanship. I
iaceu on the Chesapeake a few times to gain a little fiom that expeiience anu leaineu how
to single-hanu the Peaison, aptly nameu Tempus Fuugeit. In yeai S, I concluueu that the
ciuising life was best uone in paitneiship, anu being paitnei-less, I alloweu the uieam to
again subsiue unuei my ingiaineu woikaholic habits. Then, seienuipitously, I began a
conjugal ielationship with an olu fiienu, Bill Billon. Aftei the initial intensity of oui
connecting subsiueu we began to look at what life togethei might be like. Wonuei of
wonueis, it tuineu out that he too hau uieameu of blue-watei ciuising. Befoie we knew it
we weie iapiuly fantasizing about how to make that a ieality.
0ne thing leu to anothei, anu the B.C. aiea ieal estate maiket iebounu of '99
piouuceu the necessaiy boat kitty fiom selling one of oui 2 houses. We put the Peaison up
foi sale, anu thought about what oui ciuising boat woulu look like. Aimeu with a list of Su
attiibutes (toppeu by "affoiuable") we ieciuiteu Teta Bowaiu, of Annapolis Yacht Sales to
help us finu it. The 12th boat Teta showeu us was a nameless Tayana S7, a type with which
we weie totally unfamiliai. But not foi long. Aftei a seconu look, anu checking off oui
attiibute list, we ieau the ieview of the mouel in Piactical Sailoi's Piactical Boat Buying
book. No uoubt about it, this was oui boat.
In 0ctobei, hull #47u's ownei, Rich Wiluei, came to Annapolis foi the suivey, anu if
evei we hau any ieseivations about what we weie uoing, he eiaseu them. Rich was a gieat
suppoit to us as we uealt with giasping the ieality of shifting fiom a 27' to a S7' vessel. The
complexities of the boat systems, anu hei iuiosynciasies, weie at fiist uaunting, but then
uelighting. With hull #47u newly nameu#N344<G5:<3, we hauleu out foi the wintei on the
euge of the Chesapeake at Beiiington Baiboi Noith in Beale, NB. At that time, we still
thought living aboaiu woulu be S-yeais away.
2u
Watching his 6Sth biithuay aiiive in Novembei, Bill ueciueu he wanteu to ietiie anu
uevote full time to fuitheiing oui uieam. Then the piospect of my tuining 62 in Febiuaiy,
2uu1, biought foith my own iealization that I coulu ietiie now. We coulu sciape by
financially. It slowly uawneu on us that theie was no ieal ieason to uelay. Anu so we
quickly embaikeu on a seiies of upgiaues to#N344<G5:<3 ovei the wintei#\#anu then faceu the
challenge of how to piepaie ouiselves to competently ciew hei.
An au in the Febiuaiy euition of Spin Sheet, the Chesapeake Bay monthly, caught my
eye. "Nautech Enteipiises Sponsois New Englanu Rally." A 6uu-mile late }une ciuise fiom
Annapolis to Camuen, Naine, by way of Newpoit, foi beginning ciuiseis. It sounueu like
just the ticket. We woulu have time to complete oui upgiaues, anu the secuiity of being in
company with some othei boats-but, most impoitantly, it woulu give us a goal anu focus
oui piepaiation effoits. We signeu up foi the Rally anu foi Nautech's Weathei, 0ffshoie
Passagemaking, anu 0ffshoie Fiist Aiu anu Safety Equipment seminais.
I wiote this aiticle sitting in#N344<G5:<3, in Septembei, 2uuu#\#two months aftei
ietuining fiom Naine. We hau ienteu oui house anu moveu aboaiu. We intenueu to
complete oui tiansition to the ciuising life in eaily 0ctobei by tiansiting the ICW to the
Novembei SSCA uam in Nelbouine, FL, anu theieaftei heau to the Bahamas anu points
south. I ieflecteu on wheie we hau been only a yeai pieviously; miluly shopping foi a boat
that we might begin ciuising in seveial yeais hence. 0ui lives have changeu monumentally.
I wonueieu, wheie on eaith uiu we finu the confiuence to think we can actually uo this-
neithei of us with much ieal sailing oi ciuising expeiience. We knew a Tayana S7 coulu
take caie of us unuei almost any conuitions, but coulu we take caie of hei.
Paiticipating in the New Englanu 6uu Rally was without uoubt the signal event in
facilitating oui successful tiansition to the ciuising life. Enteiing the Rally foiceu us to
piioiitize oui upgiaue anu maintenance piojects to ensuie that#N344<G5:<3 woulu pass the
Rally inspections, anu to take a haiu look at oui own capacity as ciew. It maue us uevelop
conciete plans of how to impiove it. The Rally iequiiement of at least S ciew, manuateu
that foi this fiist shakeuown tiip we woulu ieciuit the necessaiy ciew suppoit so we coulu
successfully make the Rally's oveinight tiansits. We weie exceeuingly foitunate to have
Rich Wiluei come with us foi the Annapolis to Newpoit leg of the Rally. Paiticipation in
Nautech's 0ffshoie Passagemaking Seminai, anu subsequent 0ffshoie Fiist Aiu anu Safety
Equipment seminai, at the Naiitime Institute of Tiaining anu uiauuate Stuuies neai
Baltimoie, ensuieu that not only uiu we have a goou theoietical unueistanuing of offshoie
ciuising pioceuuies, anu put us in touch with numeious iesouices, but it also gave us
actual hanus-on expeiience in hanuling emeigency-at-sea situations.
0n ieflection, howevei, the most impoitant aspect of paiticipating in the Rally was
the ietuin tiip. The Rally got us to Camuen safely with sufficient expeiience unuei oui belt
that we shoulu be able to make it back home to the Chesapeake. We weie going to have, of
necessity, to uo this on oui own. Anu that ietuin tiip was wheie we gaineu the confiuence
anu expeiience to think we ieally coulu become blue-watei ciuiseis. Bespite many
anxieties befoie staiting the ietuin, we nevei founu ouiselves in a situation we coulun't
hanule. Anu, in two iough weathei situations, we leaineu what a complete iock the Tayana
S7 is. Looking foiwaiu out of the cockpit in a blinuing thunueistoim, with miseiably
21
uncomfoitable seas,#N344<G5:<3's bioau untiembling ueck gave us a most comfoiting feeling
of high confiuence in hei.
The ietuin tiip, with just we two as ciew, offeieu challenges anu oppoitunities to
stietch oui abilities, piactice oui theoietical skills, anu tiust oui own competence. It helpeu
that we won the Navigational Excellence Awaiu among the Rally boats. By following the
navigation uictums of the Powei Squauion anu the Ameiican Sailing Association
iigoiously, the Awaiu taught us that oui navigational skills weie, in fact, quite goou. As Bill
saiu, "we may not have known what we weie uoing, but we always knew wheie we weie."
Anu now, we uiu think we knew what weie uoing enough to tiuly take off! Anu so we uiu.
22
!"#$@('1+12A$C1,#$
We liveu aboaiu foi long enough foi me to think I gaineu some iuea of what the
ciuising life is all about. Befoie we cut the lanu coiu, I'u ieau many books wiitten by
ciuiseis, anu hau an intellectual appieciation foi how it might be. I'u also uone some
camping, anu knew how that was. But... each ciuisei's peispective is so uepenuent on
peisonality anu expectations that the subjective emotional encountei with a peimanent
ciuising lifestyle has to come fiist hanu. Besciiptions aie iaiely founu in ink. Beie's how I
founu it#\#iecognizing it was spieau ovei only 4 yeais, 7,uuu nautical miles, 18 countiies,
anu neaily all in waim climates. In a nutshell, it was not easy, anu in many ways much
uiffeient than I imagineu.
1. Mov|ng Aboard
A uesciiption of how we maue the tiansition fiom wannabe ciuiseis to liveaboaius
is founu in the "Shakeuown Ciuise" aiticle. Theie you can finu out wheie the ciuising
uieam came fiom, how we chose#N344<G5:<3, anu how we got ieauy foi offshoie ciuising,
anu finally set off.
0nce we maue the uecision to cut loose, initially it was veiy haiu to think about
getting iiu of most of oui belongings#\#of which we hau a lot, a complete big houseful. At
fiist, I wanteu to put it all in stoiage so that we'u still to be able to go back anu have oui
house exactly the way it hau been. But, quickly, it was obvious that was going to be veiy
expensive, anu the chances weie we woulun't go back to the same house even if we ienteu
it while we weie gone. So I bit the bullet anu we gave some paintings anu oui musical
instiuments to fiienus to "babysit", boxeu up some books anu kitchenwaie, gave what we
coulu to fiienus anu family, anu put the iest in an estate sale.
It tuineu out to be quite a ielief to be stuff-fiee#\#except foi what we neeueu foi the
boat. It was a bit like settling oui estate, because as well as getting iiu of oui stuff, we hau
to put all oui finances anu papeis in oiuei, ieuo oui wills, anu make suie oui kius hau
instiuctions of what to uo if..... It was a lot of effoit, but we hau simplifieu oui lives#\#anu
unbuiueneu ouiselves hugely in the piocess. The simplicity is a majoi pait of the attiaction
of the ciuising life foi me.
As the time appioacheu to move aboaiu, anu then leave the uock to sally foith into
the wiue blue yonuei, theie weie lists of uetails to be taken caie of, anu gooubyes to be
saiu. We helu an "0pen Boat" one Sunuay afteinoon, anu inviteu fiienus to come see us "At
Bome" in oui maiina slip. We ate gooubye uinneis, anu huggeu a lot. Since initially oui
plans weie small, to go fiist to Floiiua, then the Bahamas, anu fly back home aftei 6
months, we easeu oui way out without cutting all oui ioots. Since then, we went home foi a
few months uuiing each huiiicane season#\#I hau no uesiie to cut all my ties. I uiu that once,
4u yeais ago when I emigiateu fiom Scotlanu. Coulun't uo it again.
2. Da||y kout|ne
We uevelopeu some ioutines, one foi being at anchoi (the majoiity of time), one foi
unueiway, anu one foi those iaiei times in a maiina oi on the haiu. I expeiienceu the same
2S
uifficulty I faceu as a new paient heie, because as soon as we got settleu into a ioutine, then
things changeu anu we moveu on. So it was constant aujustment, within a geneial
fiamewoik of a few ioutines. 0ui ciuising statistics show how oui time was uiviueu
between anchoiing, passage-making, etc. Anu, please note that oui expeiience was only in
the 0S summei oi the Caiibbean-all waim weathei climates.
Typical Bay At Anchoi. uet up eaily (Sam oi eailiei) anu I check e-mail ovei the
iauio while Bill makes coffee-2 mugs, plus a theimos foi iefills. Then up into the cockpit
with oui coffee, to enjoy the uawn. Aiounu 6:Suam I log the weathei conuitions anu begin a
couple of houis of listening tochecking in on iauio nets. While this is going on I may
upuate the Ships Log foi the web site, woik on an essay, uo some papeiwoik if the mail
iecently aiiiveu, ieau some ciuising guiuespilots foi navigation auvice ielateu to passages
we'ie planning. Bill is a bieakfast peison so he cooks bieakfast-which I sometimes eat, oi
else I have something small like a banana oi oiange. Aiounu 9:uuam, I like to stait woiking
on some boat choies, anu keep that up foi a couple of houis. Sometimes, howevei, this
uoesn't happen anu we uo a lot of nothing-then I get ieally feu up because the boat staits
to look tacky. I finu I'm not willing to woik on the boat by myself, anu if Bill isn't in the
moou foi uoing anything, then I lapse into uoing nothing too-anu that's when I get the most
feu up with this lifestyle. At some point uuiing the uay we check the boat is 0K (batteiies,
bilges, giounu tackle), anu get in the uinghy anu go ashoie#\#to exploie, showei (wheie
possible), piovision, uo eiianus, go on the Inteinet, maybe eat lunch out. Along the way we
may stop by anothei boat oi so, to say hello oi just be sociable. The lovely uiop-in habit
that has mostly uieu ashoie is alive anu kicking among ciuiseis, which makes it easy to
meet people. Back to the boat in the afteinoon, to nap oi ieau, oi otheiwise ielax. At some
point we iun the engine foi an houi to chaige the batteiies anu iefiigeiatoi as neeueu. I'll
swim (when possible), showei, oi take a bucket bath-oi just skip it. Sometimes enteitain oi
visit with people fiom anothei boat foi a light Bappy Boui aiounu 4pm. Sit in the cockpit
again to watch the sunset. Play ciibbage, ieau, play music, talk foi a while, biush teeth, anu
I go to beu usually aiounu 8pm. Bill usually stays up longei. Some uays we woik on boat
issues foi most of the uay, anu then take a uay oi two "off". 0i we may play touiist by
ienting a cai, bikes, oi take the bus to get faithei afielu than we can walk. A few times I've
founu an oppoitunity to volunteei to help a local pioject oi gioup#\#I'u like to uo moie of
that. If we'ie at the same anchoi spot foi moie than a couple of weeks, I begin to feel
tiappeu-antsy to be able to walk when I feel like it, oi move on. A boat veision of cabin
fevei.
Naiinas. It's haiu to uo majoi boat piojects at anchoi, because foi some you neeu a
lot of fiesh watei, oi powei, anu you can't iemove oi seivice the giounu tackle, folu the
sails, oi uo ceitain engine woik. Sometimes it's quite iolly at anchoi, anu haiu to woik
below. Anu, it's haiu to get motivateu when you can sit in the cockpit anu aumiie the view,
go foi a swim, oi otheiwise laze aiounu. So when the touo list gets long, oi we know we
have to wait aiounu foi some ieason (visitois usually, occasionally weathei, oi sometimes
a pait of equipment) we go into a maiina foi a while wheie it's easiei to get seiious about
boat woik. The uaily iate often uiops uiamatically if you stay moie than a week. Lately,
we've gone into a maiina like this once oi twice a yeai. Naiinas have showeis, watei anu
electiicity aie on the uock, anu we can stietch oui legs whenevei we want. Naiina life is a
bit noisiei, less piivate, anu the ambience in the cockpit at uawn anu uusk isn't neaily so
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appealing as at anchoi. Theie's no swimming. It also costs money, anu theie aie usually
money-seeking tiaps (iestauiants, stoies, maikets) neaiby. But fiom time to time it's a nice
bieak, anu it's veiy nice to have showeis at will, flush toilets, anu get powei without having
to ciank up the engine. It's also wonueiful to be able to go foi a walk when you feel like it,
oi uo the moining exeicises on a laige stable suiface. In a maiina, I let go of the moining
email anu iauio net ioutine, insteau checking weathei anu email on the Inteinet eveiy
othei uay. If theie's any possibility of auveise weathei, howevei, I still listen to foiecasts on
the iauio once oi moie each uay. You can get seiiously hammeieu in a maiina by high
winus#\#that happeneu to us in Naish Baiboui in the Bahamas. Nostly I keep my nose to
the giinustone on boat piojects while we'ie in a maiina, unless we have guests. 0sually I
enjoy it, anu get a lot of satisfaction fiom the woik, especially when we conquei a thoiny
pioblem that's been hanging aiounu foi a while.
Passages. 0ui many offshoie passages each lasteu not moie than a couple of nights
wheie you can't ieally get into much of a ioutine. 0ui one ocean passage lasteu 9 uays, but
things uiun't change much. Nostly passage-making means taking tuins on watch, getting
foou ieauy, oi napping iesting, anu that's about it. Foi oui single oveinights, we maue
sanuwiches oi othei hanu foou aheau of time, filleu theimoses with hot watei, anu stoweu
eveiything tight#\#on ueck anu below. We useu a uepaituie checklist to ieminu us of what
we hau to uo. 0nueiway, whoevei's on watch fills out the log, anu keeps a lookout#\#foi
tiaffic, fishpots, anu othei hazaius. 0bviously, we keep a close eye on wheie we aie so we
uon't uiift onto a ieef. If we'ie offshoie anu uoing an oveinight, the off watch usually goes
below anu tiies to sleep. If we'ie motoi-sailing, we tuin the iauai on. If we'ie not, we tuin it
on if we neeu to foi ship ciossings, oi squalls. When he's off watch, Bill uoes pietty well at
falling asleep easily, but I mostly can't so usually the best I can uo is iest anu uoze a bit. I'm
constantly awaie of the boat anu on aleit foi changes in motion, winu, oi engine noise.
Bome visits. We weie foitunate to be able to leave the boat foi 2-S months each
yeai anu make an annual Bome visit. It's a big job to get the boat ieauy to be left, anu to
settle in aftei oui ietuin. But it is wonueiful to have seiious quality time with oui
kiusgianukius, siblings, anu ueaiest fiienus. Because we tiy to chaige as much as possible
on oui cieuit caius, we've accumulateu a faii numbei of aiiline miles-so we've been able to
affoiu a lot of flying aiounu. 0ui Bome visit helpeu us notice the contiasts with oui
ciuising life, anu ieminueu us of what it woulu be like if we ueciueu to swallow the hook
anu move back ashoie. 0n the Bome visit, I volunteeieu foi a week oi two at the place
wheie I last woikeu (Covenant Bouse). I wanteu make a contiibution as best I can to a
woithy cause, to keep in touch, anu be ieminueu what it's like to have a iegulai job anu to
commute. 0thei than that, so fai my majoi Bome visit piojects have been fiist to cieate,
then upgiaue, this website.
It sounus like one gianu vacation-anu sometimes it felt like it. But mostly it was like
a lot of haiu woik inteispeiseu with being a touiist anuoi being boieu. But theie weie
those wonueiful times sitting in the cockpit, bieezing along unuei full sail at 7 knots, oi
watching the uawn anu uusk at anchoi. Sometimes I got tiieu of the woik, oi being a
touiist, anu I nevei likeu being boieu. When I got in a slump (usually nevei foi moie than a
uay oi maybe two), I askeu myself why keep on uoing it. A goou question-but incieasingly
2S
the answei was, because I can't think of any othei way I'u iathei live. So shut up, anu
quitchei bitchin Pat.
What I most misseu fiom my shoie life weie a few of the uaily iituals (getting up
eaily anu uoing laps in the pool oi iunning, iegulai woikouts anu exeicises, a yoga class,
seeing anuoi enteitaining fiienus iegulaily, anu talking on the phone to kiusgianukius). I
misseu being able to walk out the uooi at will. I misseu the gaiuen's uiit, anu watching
plants giow uay by uay. I uiun't miss having a cai, tiaffic, television, newspapeis,
telephones, house cleaning (not much uiffeient fiom boat cleaning), shopping, bulk mail,
cutting giass, shoveling snow, oi a "9-S" job. We aie veiy lucky to have enough ietiiement
income that we uon't have to woiiy all the time about money. We aie tiuly blesseu to be
able to live this way.
3. Lmot|ons and Sp|r|tua||ty
The emotional impact of a taking up a ciuising lifestyle has been huge foi me. This is
one of my most majoi life aujustments-as big a change as getting maiiieu, emigiating,
uivoicing, oi having kius. Natuially, my emotions ieflect my peisonality. Piobably the
biggest uiffeience in my emotional life is that I am much moie confionteu by#\#hence moie
awaie of#\#my feelings than befoie I took up ciuising. I notice anu think about them#\#anu
now I uo bettei at owning them iathei than them owning me.
In some ways, the ciuising life was, foi me, one big emotional movie-with highs anu
lows, anu not much in betweens. (0i is that just life, uumuum.) I got gieat pleasuie in
living so closely in touch with natuie. I hau many feais anu anxieties associateu with being
so much unuei contiol of natuie's hanu. I constantly stiuggleu to figuie out "Why am I
uoing this-in the gianu scheme of things, what is my puipose." It was a battle to keep
motivateu anu maintain a healthy exeicise, eating, anu hygiene ioutine. Nost of the time I
hau to be aleit anu pay attention to my intuition, anu listen to the boat. Anu moie than a
few times, this saveu us fiom seiious tiouble. I got anxious anu tense befoie eveiy passage,
anu woiiieu about what might go wiong anu whethei we'u be able to cope with
emeigencies. Ny bouy was always poiseu to move into "fight oi flight". I sometimes got
fiustiateu because I coulun't uo oi have what I wanteu#\#so I hau to aujust my attituue, anu
let go. I got exhilaiateu when we'ie sailing along in a goou bieeze at a goou speeu, oi
uolphins came say hello, oi a new kinu of biiu went by, oi fish swam unuei us at anchoi, oi
I coulu see a million stais at night because theie weie no shoie lights. I got ieally boieu
when it was so hot I lost my motivation to uo anything. I felt piouu of my level of
competenceknowleuge iegaiuing boat matteis, anu the skills I acquiieu since we moveu
aboaiu
Noving aiounu fiom place to place, anu living essentially in the open, my awaieness
iipeneu to help me see what life is like foi people in uiffeient cultuies anu who have access
to a uiffeient set anu level of iesouices. I founu myself in places wheie people uiun't
unueistanu what I saiu, anu wheie I uiun't know how to get fiom A to B. I knew what it felt
like to be a foieignei, anu saw what it's like to live in a thiiu woilu, with little in the way of
secuiity oi mateiial possessions. I leaineu how few people have what I as a miuule class
Ameiican took foi gianteu. I leaineu how myopic, shoit-sighteu, anu chauvinistic is the
geneial viewpoint of woilu affaiis fiom the 0S.
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I hau time to sit in the cockpit, anu just be. I was in complete awe of the beauty anu
vastness of each uay's uawn anu uusk, the miiacle of the sun's iegulaiity. I noticeu anu hau
time to ieflect on the simple state of being alive. I iealizeu that what I take foi gianteu is
not my uue but iathei a foitunate happenstance of biith. The eaith owes me nothing but
the oppoitunity to live biiefly off its bounty, anu to pass my genes anu my values on to
anothei geneiation. I see how we humans invent oui own ieality, but that is all it is-an
invention. We constantly seek meaning. We make it up foi ouiselves-anu then fool
ouiselves into thinking what we've maue up is ieal. We think we can contiol what happens
to us-but the tiuth is, it is all a miiage. Not much is ceitain, oi can be pieuicteu. We aie
boin, we live biiefly, we piocieate, anu we uie. We aie no uiffeient fiom anything else. If
we'ie lucky, we aie comfoitable foi most of oui biief lifetime. The thing we have most to to
feai is human behavioi-we kill, iob, anu teiioiize each othei with fiightening intensity. We
iavage the enviionment, anu aie oblivious to the suffeiing of most of oui species-anu of
othei species. We ignoie the lessons of histoiy, anu keep on making the same mistakes,
ovei anu ovei.
Living on a sailboat, I was confionteu immeuiately (oi at least soon) with the
consequences of my actions. If I uiun't pay attention to maintenance, weathei, navigation,
etc., bau things coulu happen. I coulun't hiue fiom all the gaibage I piouuceu-no one came
to take it away. I hau to finu an appiopiiate place to uispose of it, oi else it will sully the
boat, the watei, anu the lanu we walk on. When I shit anu pumpeu out the heau, if I lookeu
oveiboaiu I coulu see the uetiitis I piouuceu minceu up anu floating on the watei. No-one
is hiuing oi tieating it. Theie is a veiy limiteu supply of watei anu electiicity, anu we hau to
uo something (with mostly a lot of effoit) to piouuce the minimal supply that we hau.
Tomoiiow shows up with incieuible iegulaiity. Except when uockeu in a maiina, I hau
always to stay paitly on aleit. When I slept, I kept half an eai open. I hau to notice what's
happening with the weathei, on the watei, with the boat. If I uiun't we might sink, uiag
anchoi, be hit by anothei boat, oi boaiueu by an impoveiisheu anu uespaiate local who
saw us as incieuibly wealthy. I noticeu small noises, anu changes in noise levels. If I woke at
night, anu something seems uiffeient-my sailoi's intuition uiove me out of beu to check-on
the winu, the anchoi, the bilges, the iigging, the uinghy, the uistant beach music. Eveiy
noise anu ouoi has a souice, anu an implication, it must be tiackeu uown. This is how
piimitive man liveu-somewhat. I am moie in touch with my ioots. I know that I will uie,
anu I'm ieauy foi when it happens. I want to be aleit anu notice it happening, but I uon't
want to suffei unuuly. I'm awaie of how much I love Bill, my kius, my gianukius, anu my
fai-away biothei. I feel a iush of affection anu wonuei eveiy time I see a chilu.
In my lanulife, on the othei hanu, I ignoieu the obvious consequences of the way I
liveu, anu blinuly assumeu they woulu be taken caie of (by whom.)-to what I see now as
oui now obvious collective peiil. Even so, sometimes I longeu to be back home (wheievei
that may be) in my comfoitable miuule class life, anu able to ielax in my olu life of piivilege,
oblivious to the fiuits of my way of living.
4. Soc|a| L|fe
Social life is much uiffeient than on shoie. Living on lanu (even though I moveu
seveial times), woiking at a iegulai job, going to the same stoies, uoctois, seivice
27
pioviueis, I got to know some neighbois anu colleagues, maue fiienus#\#some close#\# anu
was well acquainteu with any numbei of people. Ny social inteiactions weie plenty anu
fiequent#\#accoiuing to the amount of effoit I put into meeting my social neeus. In the
ciuising lifestyle, howevei, the people aiounu us weie constantly changing. It's easy to
meet people, ciuiseis aie a fiienuly lot. 0n shoie, too, most locals aie welcoming. But since
we iaiely stayeu in the same place moie than a few weeks, anu noimally tiaveleu on oui
own, we hau a gazillion acquaintances anu veiy few ieal fiienus. We founu a veiy small
hanuful of othei boateis with whom we shaieu common inteiests anu values, anu consiuei
fiienus. We saw them fiom time to time, if we both happeneu to be in the same place at the
same time. But it's an itineiant lifestyle, anu uemanus self-sufficiency. Some ciuiseis stay
months in the same place, paity togethei fiequently, uevelop gioup ioutines (uominos,
beach games). We weie moie intioveiteu, anu uiun't uo that. We uiu shaie an occasional
afteinoon Bappy Boui with ciuiseis we met, anu we maue an effoit to meet some new
people at eveiy stop. But that's about it.
Sometimes it got lonely, just the two of us, anu often we misseu oui fiienus anu
family. Email was a gousenu, anu oui moining ioutine to collect email via the shoit-wave
iauio on iising set a tone foi the uay. If we hau no messages, it was a bit of a uownei. Two
uays in a iow, anu we weie suie eveiyone hau foigotten us. 0i we weie up because we hau
half a uozen, anu felt goou that we weie being iemembeieu. I cieateu this web site so oui
fiienus anu family woulu know howwheie we weie#\#but we hau no equivalent vehicle to
finu out about them, othei than the emails they sent. 0ccasionally we weie somewheie that
we coulu "phone home" fiom, but those chances weie infiequent#\#anu no-one coulu call us
back, if we misseu them.
0ccasionally we hau fiienus oi family visit us on boaiu, which was a tieat. Then
theie was ieal quality time togethei, anu it's fun to watch them be intiigueu with the boat
anu oui lifestyle. Those times weie pietty iaie, but when they come they weie iich anu
packeu with connecting. We tieasuieu them.
Rauio nets tuineu out to be an impoitant social suppoit. I'm glau I stiuggleu to get
my ham license, anu became a ueuicateu listenei anu checkei-in on some of the ham nets
(some woulu say I was iauioactive). 0vei time, I got waim fuzzies fiom knowing (by voice)
the net contiol, anu having my call sign biing foith iecognition of my name. I loveu it when
I coulu talk on the iauio to one of oui faiaway boatfiienus. We listeneu to the news fiom all
ovei the woilu, anu in some measuie kept up with what's happening#\#although often with
a uiffeient spin than CNN gave. We spent moie on oui iauio equipment than we buugeteu,
but it was woith eveiy penny.
S. ke|at|onsh|p
In a small space wheie two people aie togethei 247, the ielationship between
them is ciucial. The ciuising life founueis on the same things as lanu life: ielationships anu
money. Beie's how I see oui inteiaction-Bill may see it uiffeiently, but he's ieau this anu I
gave him the oppoitunity to auuchange what I've wiitten, so I assume he concuis.
We get along iathei well, I think, only iaiely getting into a ieal conflict. I tenu to be
pioactive, initiating things, piacticing "what if's", anu focusing on pievention-I'm also
28
pietty asseitive. Bill tenus to be moie passive, anu sometimes piefeis to wait anu see what
happens. Bill uoes much bettei with open time than I uo anu uoesn't get as botheieu as me
when the boat gets a bit messy oi uiity. I get veiy boieu anu fiustiateu if I uon't have a
pioject to woik on, oi when the boat's a mess#\#wheieas Bill has a healthy inuiffeience to
minoi uisoiuei anu uiit, anu seems to be 0K ielaxing by ieauing novels oi playing solitaiie.
Theie seem to be two piimaiy places wheie we get into tiouble. 0ne is ovei some
boat issue wheie I give Bill uiiection oi oveiiiue his opinion anu then he feels put uown.
The othei is when I want to take a piecaution that Bill feels is unnecessaiy. Because I'm the
one with moie sailing anu boating expeitise, I am the captain iegaiuing boat matteis. Bill is
the captain when we step onto lanu anu ueal with poit, customs, immigiation, oi maiina
officials. We woik on oui ielationship, iecognizing anu appieciating each othei's stiengths,
anu iecognizing the impoitance of having a uesignateu captain when its neeueu. I woik on
being sensitive about how I step in anu out of my boat captain iole. We've impioveu oui
ability to be accepting of each otheis uiffeiences. We uiscuss these, often with humoi, anu
help each othei leain about ouiselves with (mostly) sensitive feeuback. We aie inteiesteu
in many of the same things, anu shaie the same philosophy anu values. We aie veiy
companionable in oui philosophical uiscussions, joking about life, playing ciibbage,
sometimes making music, guitai anuoi iecoiuei, anu we geneially give each othei goou
emotional suppoit anu leain a lot fiom each othei. Foi the most pait we'ie able to have the
space we neeu anu it is iaie that one feels the neeu to get away fiom the othei. 0ui
ielationship is baseu moie on loving fiienuship than hoimones, though it's nice when they
eiupt. We get upset with each othei on occasion, but we'ie iaiely at ouus foi moie than a
few moments.
Life on a boat foices you to confiont youiself anu ueal with youiself. Theie's no
wheie else to go. You have the time to obseive anu ieflect on youi own behavioi anu
feelings about life anu fiom youi ielationship, anu hopefully to leain fiom that ieflection. In
spite of piefeiiing to be a "uoei", I still have plenty of uowntime (usually moie than I
want)-especially in the hot anu humiu climate we expeiienceu. If something is botheiing
me, I've leaineu by now that it's my pioblem anu I neeu to aujust my attituue anuoi talk it
thiough togethei.
6. 8oat Work
Leaining all one neeus to know to ciuise successfully iequiies full time stuuy anu
application. It's like being in giauuate school. While living aboaiu I was a seiious stuuent of
weathei, navigation, iauio, iauai, web site uevelopment#\#anu Spanish#\#not to mention
seamanship, sailing theoiy, engines, electiical matteis, fibieglass caie anu constiuction,
iigging, knots anu splicing, plumbing, giounu tackle, astionomy, histoiy, biius, anu anu
philosophy. I ieau anu ie-ieau textbooks on these matteis. I wiote about what I leaineu. I
hau fun applying my knowleuge on the boat anu on oui passages. I leaineu to snoikel, anu
took an intiouuctoiy scuba uiving couise. Theie's no enu to what I coulu leain#\#goou thing,
because that's my piimaiy hobby#\#leaining new stuff.
Caie of the boat (Bill calls it the tyianny of maintenance) uominateu oui lives. I'm
cautious by natuie, anu focus on pieventive maintenance#\#I uieau emeigencies (although
piacticing#\#at least mentally#\#what to uo if.....) I keep on top of the maintenance scheuule,
29
anu baugei Bill if he gets behinu. The engine anu plumbing neeu iegulai (usually
inconvenient) attention. Keeping the boat clean anu biight takes a lot of woik. Constant
attention to iust spots on the ueck metal, anu touching up the ueck woouwoik. Sciubbing
the ueck. Sciubbing the cockpit. Baily checks of the iigging, the giounu tackle. Polishing my
obseivation skills so as to notice something that neeus attention befoie it becomes a
pioblem. Below, its a battle between oiuei anu chaos. Such a small space, only a few things
out of theii stowage space, anu the place gets oveiwhelmeu. Woiking on piojects means
teaiing eveiything up below foi a while, then putting it back in oiuei. Stowage is a big ueal.
Sweet#N344<G5:<3 hau teiiific stowage space#\#which we filleu. Naintaining the inventoiy of
what's stoweu wheie is woik, but essential. Even aftei 4 yeais, I can iemembei a lot of
what was wheie, but othei things#\#iaiely useu#\#I tuineu to the list. Pulling something out
means unpacking a lockei, lifting up the beu oi seat cushions, ciawling into the engine
ioom, anu moving eveiything out that's in fiont of the item I want. Then putting it all back
togethei#\#anu upuating the inventoiy if I moveu stuff aiounu. Takes Su minutes to get the
tools to uo a S-minute job sometimes. Then anothei Su minutes to put it away. Seems like.
We maue a ieasonable uivision of laboi as follows. We take uays about being
iesponsible foi meals, anu whoevei cooks also cleans up. That means we each get alteinate
uays off#\#this is ieally impoitant to me. 0n many boats, the female is a galley slave. Bill
takes the leau in caie of the engine, electiical stuff, the uinghy anu outboaiu, anu the
plumbing. Be goes up the mast. 0n those matteis I help anu consult as neeueu. We shaie
the woik of caiing foi the sails, iigging, anu bottom. We both uo passage planning anu
navigation. I have the leau foi ueck metalteak caie, cleaning cockpit, ueck, topsiues, anu
housewoik below, incluuing launuiy. I take the leau foi the weathei anu iauio stuff, safety
equipment, health matteis, anu maintain the lists, oiuei the chaits, ciuising guiues, boat
supplies, etc. that we'ie going to neeu, anu oiganize the piovisioning. I keep on top of the
stowage, ueal with papeiwoik anu taxes, anu make suie the bills aie paiu. Foi all of these I
get help anu auvice fiom Bill as neeueu. We consult about what we'ie uoing all the time#\#
how can you not in such a small space. Nostly it woiks out just fine. It's a full time job some
of the time#\#so much foi this peimanent vacation stuff!
7. Comfort
Befoie we went ciuising I took bouily comfoit foi gianteu-anu nevei even noticeu
that I was uoing so. Cool sheets stayeu tight on the mattiess. I coulu showei whenevei I
wanteu, oi use the toilet at will-always with an ample supply of soft toilet papei. I hau a
climate-contiolleu house, woikspace, anu cai to keep me comfoitable iegaiuless of the
outsiue tempeiatuie. I tuineu knobs, switches, anu othei gaugets to piouuce whatevei
cooking conveniences, launueiing oi othei comfoits I uesiieu. I coulu take an enuless hot
showei if I felt like it#\#oi even a hot bath. I stoieu an abunuance of foou anu uiink in a laige
iefiigeiatoi. A flush toilet was neai wheievei I went. Shops abounueu with all the
fooustuffs, clothing, haiuwaie, anu footwaie I neeueu oi wanteu, anu my wallet pioviueu
the wheiewithall to buy them. When I felt sick, I coulu buy whatevei meuications I thought
I neeueu-oi go to whichevei uoctoi I wanteu. Ny insuiance took caie of it all.
Bouily comfoit on a boat is a uiffeient mattei. 0ften I was hot anu sweaty (we spent
most of oui time in the tiopics) anu I hau to eithei take a watei-conscious showei on ueck
Su
(aftei a swim if I'm lucky) oi a bucket bath to keep clean. I sweateu in beu at night. 0n
passage oi in a iolly anchoiage theie's so much boat motion, I often coulun't sleep.
Sometimes theie was annoying shoie noise#\#louu beach music until uawn. I sweateu
uuiing the uay, anu someuays, it was so hot eveiything took effoit. I woiiieu about wheie
I'm going to get the launuiy uone-anu uiieu. I watcheu foi signs of moulu on the ceiling
linei. I wipeu miluew off oui books. 0n lanu, I caiiieu toilet papei to use in papeiless public
oi maiina toilets. I coulun't go foi a walk whenevei I feel like it, so I got stiff. 0ui small
iefiigeiatoi maintaineu (mostly) a tempeiatuie of Su uegiees C, anu ice cieam was a
uistant memoiy. If I wasn't caieful, oui uiy foou got infesteu with weevils, oi woise,
cockioaches. If I foigot to take some Bonine (meclizine hyuiocholoiiue) befoie a passage,
sometimes I got seasick. If I was ill, I hau to self tieat anuoi self meuicate. 0nueiway oi at
anchoi, I hau to be aleit, available, anu iational, anu able to iesponu to a boat emeigency
iegaiuless of how bau I felt. Eveiything took thiee times longei to uo than I think it shoulu
have. Eveiything I was looking foi was stoieu behinu 6 othei things, in a lockei unuei the
mattiess, oi some othei haiu-to-get-at place. It woulu be easy to sliue into escape fiom
boieuom anu uiscomfoit with booze, which beckons many a ciuisei.
0n the othei hanu, all I woie was comfoitable shoits anu a shiit, anu I went baiefoot
much of the time. I uiun't neeu a bia. 0ui homey cabin anu cockpit weie as comfoitable anu
snug as we coulu make them, anu oui cozy v-beith#\#though a bit naiiow#\#was the fiimest
anu at the same time softest beu I'u evei slept on. We investeu in custom-fitteu sheets, anu
bought comfy seats foi the cockpit. In many an anchoiage, I coulu climb uown the swim
lauuei anu uo laps iounu the boat in the cool sea watei. Sometimes I coulu see fish below
me. 0ften, sweet wavelets lappeu against the hull by my eai in beu, oi I coulu heai the
ciackling nibble noises of kiill munching on hull giowth. I wakeneu to the ciawking of the
gieen heion. The gentle hum of winu in the iigging oi the tiee fiogs lulleu me to sleep. The
gioaning of the snubbei line wakeneu me when the winu got up. The views that passeu by
my eyes weie maivellous. I laugheu a lot, as we iejoiceu in the iiuiculous anu luuicious
things we uo anu see. I uiun't have to uo anything#\#iight now#\#except iesponu to the neeus
of oui beautiful boat. So my spiiitual comfoit is gieat. I was one with the gieat unknown,
with eveiy manwomanchilu, mammal, biiu, fish, ieptile, plant, wave, iock, stai - but
most of all with Bill anu sweet#N344<G5:<3. We thiee togethei, we weie a team, floating up
anu uown in oui coinei of this awesome univeise.
8. Le|sure 1|me
In spite of ciuising aiounu, anu uoing boat choies, we still hau a lot of leisuie time.
Noie than on lanu, because we'ie not on a scheuule. Theie weie no moie Nonuay
moinings, oi thank uou it's Fiiuays, oi hump uays (Weunesuays). I spent my leisuie time
wiiting, ieauing, sightseeingplaying touiist, playing ciibbage with Bill, tootling on the
iecoiuei, snoikelingswimming. 0i leaining Spanish, oi just sitting, listening to anu
looking at this wonueiful natuial enviionment. 0i napping. 0i uoing ieseaich on a topic of
inteiest. It was haiu to beat (except foi those times when I was ieally hot anu boieu).
S1
9. 8us|ness Matters
Business activities weie faiily minimal. We hau a mailing agent in Floiiua, wheie all
oui mail went. They weeueu out the bulk mail anu helu it foi us until we tolu them wheie
to senu it. 0sually to a visitoi coming fiom the 0S to stay on the boat, occasionally to a
maiina#\#though that got expensive. We uiu much of oui boatwoik ouiselves, anu got bettei
anu moie efficient at it. Nonetheless, we weie foitunate to be able to pump some of oui
income into vaiious local economies#\#getting woik uone that we uiun't know how, uiun't
have the time, oi plain uiun't want to uo. We pationizeu local businesses, especially in
pooiei countiies. We often ate lunch out, piefeiiing local foou. We almost nevei ate uinnei
out, oi went to the moie expensive touiist iestauiants. We uiun't fiequent local bais to
socialize oi buy expensive uiinks. We shoppeu local maikets foi inexpensive piouuce,
gioceiies, oi wine. We took buses to get aiounu oi walk, only iaiely ienting a cai. We tiieu
to spieau out majoi boat expenses, piefeiiing iepaii to ieplacement, though we uiun't
sciimp on safety equipment.
We got oui mail about eveiy 6 weeks on aveiage. 0pening it anu going thiough it
was an event, anu sometimes theie's something that neeueu follow up#\#which coulu be
hugely fiustiating with inteiminable anu expensive attempts to make telephone
connections thiough the maze of some customei seivice system. 0ui ietiiement income is
auequate foi oui neeus, anu is uiiect uepositeu. We manageu oui finances via the Inteinet#\#
checking anu paying cieuit caius, paying othei bills, uoing tax ietuins, anu tiacking
ietiiement funu anu bank balances. Theie weie ATNs that spit out local cuiiency almost
eveiywheie we went. Inteinet cafes weie commonplace. Bow uiffeient it must have been a
uecaue ago#\#because of these technological uevelopments, we uiun't have to buiuen oui
kius with uoing oui business stuff foi us.
People ask, how much uoes it cost to uo liveaboaiu ciuising. The answei is:
eveiything you've got. We have youngei fiienus who got by on much less than us#\#they hau
no ietiiement income, only whatevei they've been able to save. They uo all theii own boat
woik, take occasional jobs to piime theii kitty, eat out infiequently, anu shop caiefully foi
best buys. We have met otheis, on biggei boats, with moie expensive equipment, who eat
out all the time, ient cais, anu who aie wealthy compaieu to us. While we uiun't feel at all
flush, we knew that we too weie wealthy compaieu to many. We aie veiy foitunate not to
have to woiiy about money too much.
10. Safety and Secur|ty
Safety on the boat is the piimaiy concein#\#if something goes wiong, it coulu be life-
thieatening. So we uealt with that by equipping the boat with iecommenueu safety
equipment, anu leaining anu exeicising seamanship skills. We exeiciseu the noimal
cautions given to touiists tiavelling in foieign countiies, oi as we woulu in uiban aieas in
the 0S. 0n the boat, we weie piobably a lot safei than ciossing a city stieet, uiiving on a
congesteu highway, oi flying on a plane.
We listeneu, iegulaily, to the Caiibbean Safety anu Secuiity Net (81u4 0SB at u81S
houis) uuiing which secuiity inciuents weie iepoiteu. The Net has a website wheie it
collects anu iepoits inciuents by countiy. Inciuents typically hau to uo with outboaiu
S2
motoi theft, but theie weie the occasional boaiuingsbieak ins. We exeiciseu
iecommenueu cautions when in high iisk anchoiages, anu iegaiuless of wheie we weie,
always lockeu up the boat when we went ashoie#\#which we seluom uiu aftei uaik. We
always showeu an anchoi light at night. We hau no moie safety oi secuiity conceins than
we uiu when we liveu in a house.
11. Swa||ow|ng the nook
0ui uecision to uo this came on us quickly anu unexpecteuly, but as the uays woie
on it became moie anu moie cleaily the best thing to uo. We shoulu have iealizeu befoie
we heaueu foi Beimuua in Nay, 2uu4, that we weie not ieauy foi an Atlantic ciossing#\#but
the iuea anu excitement of it hau taken ovei. We loveu the planning anu anticipation. But
uuiing the fiist leg of the Atlantic Ciossing (see Ship's Log of events on the 9-uay passage
fiom St. Naitin to Beimuua) I slippeu anu fell, splitting my heau open on the 2nu uay
out.When this happeneu, we iealizeu that without the othei, neithei of us woulu be able to
caiiy on safely by himheiself. I hau the knowleuge but not the physical stiength to ueal
with pioblems, Bill hau the stiength but not the know-how. Thus, it uiun't make sense to
continue the ciossing as planneu because (a) we woulu cleaily be in uifficulty if seiious
heavy weathei showeu up oi we hau majoi equipment failuie, anu (b) neithei of us
enjoyeu the slogging ocean passage to Beimuua that much anu we lost oui uesiie to iepeat
it. Those faii winus anu following seas seemeu like a snaie anu a uelusion! As we neaieu
the enu of that passage, anu once aiiiveu in Beimuua, we thought about what we enjoyeu
anu uislikeu about the ciuising lifestyle. We iealizeu that, at oui age anu with oui
expeiience, the benefits weie beginning to be outweigheu by the uiawbacks. We hau
accomplisheu a lot in the neaily 4 yeais we owneu#N344<G5:<3#\#7,Suu miles anu 18
countiies, incluuing coastal, offshoie, anu ocean sailing. But the piice in inconvenience,
effoit, uiscomfoit, uistance fiom oui ueai ones, anu lack of exeicise, hau become gieatei
than the many pleasuies we iealizeu fiom ciuising. We wisheu we hau been able to get
going when we weie youngei.
We thought that we coulu continue finuing most of the pleasuies, with fewei
miseiies, by lanu ciuising. We loveu hiking anu canoeing, seeing anu being in the outuoois,
visiting new places anu meeting new people. We like living in something small, compact,
anu faiily mouest. Anu so, we ueciueu that time hau come to "swallow the hook" anu that
we woulu move into a small but comfoitable Rv.
Theie is still many a moment when I miss sweet#N344<G5:<3 uieaufully anu seiiously
wish we weie back ciuising. I uon't think Bill shaies my feelings; since he is my numeio
uno, I just have to enjoy my ciuising memoiies, swallow my nostalgia, anu notice anu enjoy
the ease of living on Clemmie.
|Fiist wiitten in }anuaiy, 2uu4, amenueu Septembei, 2uu4j
SS
Chapter 3 - 1he "now 1o's"
Ciuising styles vaiy fiom boat to boat, anu fiom ciew to ciew--just as with
inuiviuuals. Theie is no "one size fits all" aspect to any pait of the ciuising life.
Nonetheless, in the inteiests of shaiing what woikeu foi us, heie is how we "uiu" many of
the common aspects of uaily life on a sailboat. Initially, we pickeu the biains of otheis as to
"how to" uo many of these things, anu we owe a huge uebt of thanks to untolu othei sailois,
ciuiseis, anu authois foi shaiing theii iueas.
We enueavoieu to follow what seemeu to be the "Best Piactices" that hau evolveu in
the ciuising community ovei the yeais. While we hau oui stiuggles, we tiieu to be
cognizant of the uangeis of ciuising anu stiove foi pievention ovei cuie anu geneially
eiieu on the siue of caution. 0ui goal was to enjoy ouiselves, yet be safe anu not have to
woiiy too much about "What If." We hau many auventuies, a gieat ueal of enjoyment, anu
a few bau expeiiences - thankfully nothing was fatal.
This Chaptei uocuments oui geneial S0Ps (Stanuaiu 0peiating Pioceuuies) foi the
tasks anu activities listeu below. 0ui pioceuuies foi navigation, using the iauio anu iauai,
anu tiacking weathei aie incluueu sepaiately unuei the ielevant chaptei.
Nonetheless, in the inteiests of shaiing what woikeu foi us, heie is how we "uiu"
many of the common aspects of uaily life on a sailboat. Initially, we pickeu the biains of
otheis as to "how to" uo many of these things, anu we owe a huge uebt of thanks to untolu
othei sailois, ciuiseis, anu authois foi shaiing theii iueas.
We enueavoieu to follow what seemeu to be the "Best Piactices" that hau evolveu in
the ciuising community ovei the yeais. While we hau oui stiuggles, we tiieu to be
cognizant of the uangeis of ciuising anu stiove foi pievention ovei cuie anu geneially
eiieu on the siue of caution.0ui pioceuuies foi navigation, using the iauio anu iauai, anu
tiacking weathei aie incluueu sepaiately unuei the ielevant chaptei.
1. Anchoiing
2. Anchoi Watch
S. Boat Notes
4. Book of Lists
S. Befect Book
6. Bepaituie Checklist
7. The Binghy
8. Engine Log
9. Equipment Instiuctions
1u. Beaving To
11. Buiiicane Piepaiation
S4
12. Inventoiy
1S. Lanufall Checklist
14. Naintenance Scheuule anu Log
1S. The "0ffice"
16. 0wnei's Nanual
17. Waste Nanagement Plan
18. Whiskei Pole
19. Winu vane
SS
=26"&(12A$/2;$=26"&(/A#+$
Leaining how to anchoi anu choose an anchoiage, anu within it a spot to anchoi,
was among the most impoitant activities we uiu while we weie ciuising. We spent ovei
8u% of oui time in haiboi, mostly at anchoi (occasionally on a mooiing ball, anu iaiely in a
slip.) Thus, oui giounu tackle was (aftei engine anu iigging) oui most impoitant
equipment. We came to feel veiy comfoitable anchoiing, anu being at anchoi. Anchoiing is
as much ait than science, anu heie's what we leaineu.
0ui anchoiing bible was The Complete Book of Anchoiing anu Nooiing by Eail
Bintz, supplementeu by a few othei books. 0ui piimaiy bow anchoi was a SSlb Belta, with
16u' of S8" BBB chain spliceu to 17S' of S8" S-stianu nylon#\#we nevei felt the neeu to
have an ovei-sizeu piimaiy anchoi, since the weight of chain (ovei 2uulbs if all of it is out)
pioviues sufficient weight on the bottom. 0ui seconuaiy bow anchoi was a SSlb CQR with
4u' of S16" chain spliceu to 22u' of S8" S-stianu nylon. 0ui stein anchoi was a 22lb
Banfoith, with 1u' of S8" chain attacheu to 17S' of 12" biaiueu nylon. We also caiiieu an
oveisizeu Foitiess (21 lb) with 4u' of S8" chain anu Suu" of S8" S-stianu nylon foi stoim
conuitions, assuming sanu oi muu in the Caiibbean. We also caiiieu a PaiaTech sea anchoi
foi iiuing to in stoim conuitions.
We ioutinely useu a biiule maue of two SS' S8" S-stianu nylon lines with iubbei
stietcheis, shackleu to a chain hook, as a chain snubbei on oui piimaiy anchoi.
We hau a Simpson Lawience manual winulass, that we gieaseu appioximately
monthly. A manual winulass was one of the Su attiibutes we weie looking foi when we
weie shopping foi a blue watei ciuisei. While an electiic winulass is ceitainly a nice
convenience, oui ieauing (anu expeiience fiom othei boats) leu us to believe that an
electiic winulass sucks up electiicity anu will eventually fail#\#inevitably at ciucial
moments. Soon aftei we fiist anchoieu in Lupeion, Bominican Republic, we baiely misseu
getting siueswipeu by a big boat tiying to anchoi neai us, whose electiic winulass hau
jammeu. So we (i.e. Bill) ciankeu away.
1. |ck|ng an Anchorage
Beie aie the points we consiueieu when choosing an anchoiage:
Bow long uo we plan to be heie.
What aie the foiecast weathei conuitions foi the peiiou of oui stay heie.
If auveise weathei weie to make this anchoiage untenable, can we leave easily
anu is theie a safe alteinative anchoiage we coulu get to. Bave we wiitten uown
the compass couise anu uPS waypoints foi getting safely out of this anchoiage
anu into the othei one.
Bow well is the entiance anu anchoiage aiea chaiteu anuoi maikeu.
What kinu of light is neeueu to safely pick a way thiough any shoals.
S6
What kinu of hazaius aie theie insiue the anchoiage (changing cuiients,
iockscoial heaus, shoals, fishing netsboats, feiiiesfieighteis, mooiing balls,
ciab pots, cables, bottom chains.
Bow goou is the holuing.
Aie theie any local weathei (winu) conuitions oi exposuie to swells that coulu
make it too iolly, oi possibly uangeious.
Bow ciowueu, noisy, uiity, oi smelly is it.
Bow ueep is it.
What is the tiual iange.
Bow pietty is it when we sit in the cockpit enjoying the uawn anu the uusk.
Bow long a uinghy iiue is it to shoie.
Is theie a uecent place to uock the uinghy.
What amenitiesattiactions aie available on shoie.
2. Lay|ng the Anchor
0nce we'u pickeu an anchoiage to stay in, heie's how we went about picking a spot
anu laying the anchoi. We piefeieu to pick a spot when the pievailing winu was in effect, so
that othei boats weie lying behinu theii anchois. That way we coulu avoiu ciossing oui
anchoi ioue ovei someone else's (which woulu mean they coulu pull ouis out when they
uepaiteu). In the event it was flat calm, oi the winu blowing fiom a uiffeient uiiection, then
we hau to evaluate wheie oui spot woulu put us once the boats alieauy anchoieu move
aiounu. If we hau to anchoi in a calm, we tiy to set the anchoi towaius the uiiection of the
pievailing winu.
1. 0n appioach, biing the uinghy up tight behinu (if towing it), then stait the
engine anu uiop sails.
2. Fiom the chait anu viewing fiom a uistance, pick a geneial aiea to uiop the hook
in.
S. 0ne peison goes foiwaiu, weaiing heauphones foi ease of communicating with
the othei at the helm.
4. Piepaie the anchoi anu initial amount of chain ieauy foi uiopping.
S. Ciicle aiounu the aiea, checking how othei boats aie anchoieu anu lying,
watching the uepth sounuei. Watch the coloi of the bottom (if possible) anu look
foi sanuy spots. Avoiu places wheie the bottom slopes uownhill.
6. Pick a spot just behinu oi off the quaitei of anothei boat anu calculate the scope
neeueu accoiuing to watei uepth, state of tiue, anu weathei.
7. uo slowly towaius the spot, heaueu into the winu, so that all way is off as we
ieach the spot.
S7
8. Slowly uiop the anchoi anu lay it on the bottom, then as the boat uiifts back
giauually ielease an auuitional amount of chain 2-S times the watei uepth. Avoiu
piling chain on top of the anchoi. Let the boat uiift back in the winu. (Callipygia
always tuineu siue to the winu at this point, which was sometimes uisconceiting
to othei boats, but that's how she uiu it.)
9. Patiently wait anu watch hei uiift back anu then slowly tuin nose to the winu,
telling us that the anchoi is holuing. Talk to hei. If this uoesn't happen, assume
we'ie uiagging anu stait hauling in the chain. If that biings hei iounu, then the
hook has bitten anu we can continue anchoiing. If not, then haul up anchoi anu
begin again.
1u. 0nce the bow comes iounu into the winu let out moie ioue to ieach the uesiieu
scope, anu iepeat the pievious step. Foi all chain in calm conuitions with
auequate ioom we uo about 4:1 scope (consiueiing uepth, plus tiue, plus 4' foi
the boat's fieeboaiu). We put out a bit moie if it's shallow, a bit less if it's ueep oi
veiy ciowueu. We incieaseu the scope if it's veiy winuy oi iolly. 0nce we'ie
beyonu the chain anu into chain anu iope, we also inciease the scope
accoiuingly.
11. 0nce the boat heaueu back with bow into the winu anu the anchoi ioue going
stiaight aheau, gently go into ieveise, anu giauually inciease RPN's a bit foi
about 1u-1S seconus. Watch the ioue tighten, anu then bounce when the engine
goes back into neutial. If in uoubt, feel the ioue foi vibiations (an inuication that
it is skipping along the bottom). If the bottom is muu, stay at veiy low RPN's. We
uon't uo a big powei set on initial anchoiing. We'll uo it latei once the anchoi is
uug in oi if the weathei foiecast waiiants it. The Belta is a buiying anchoi anu
neeus to sink in along with some of the chain.
12. Note oui position ielative to othei boats, anu lanumaiks, anu take a uPS ieauing.
1S. 0nce she seems to be secuie, tuin off the engine. If we have all chain out, put on
the snubbei to auu stietch to the ioue anu take stiain off the winulass. Put
chafing geai on the snubbei. If we have all chain out plus some line, tie a
uockline with a iolling hitch to the ioue, anu secuie it to a ueck cleat to take the
stiain off the winulass. Foi the next houi, check oui position peiiouically to
make suie we'ie in the same place.
3. At Anchor |n 8ad Weather
When at anchoi we hau some stanuaiu piactices that we followeu. Auuitionally, if
the weathei ueteiioiateu, we sometimes initiateu an anchoi watch until conuitions
impioveu, as follows:
1. Tuin on the boat instiuments (if available) anu monitoi winu uiiection, winu
speeu, boat speeu, watei uepth, uPS position, anu baiometei. Log these eveiy Su
minutes
2. If you think you'ie uiagging anchoi, take emeigency action
S8
S. Bo an all aiounu check eveiy 2u-Su minutes to make suie we'ie not uiagging, oi
enuangeiingenuangeieu by any of oui boat neighbois, anu look aiounu foi
boats that may be uiagging in oui uiiection thiough the anchoiage
4. Piepaie the uinghy so you can go help a uiagging oi unoccupieu boat if neeueu
S. Check foi chafe on the anchoi ioue oi uock lines peiiouically, anu make suie
nothing has come loose on ueck
6. Nonitoi vBF Channel 16
7. If theie's heavy iain, aftei the uecks aie cleaneu open the watei tanks to catch it
4. Lessons Learned
0ui woist anchoiing inciuent occuiieu in Scaiboiough haiboi, Tobago, on
Becembei 2, 2uuS (see the Ship's Log). We withuiew a bunch of points fiom the Black Box
that night.
Anothei time we weie exhausteu by the time we came into a veiy ciowueu anu
ueep anchoiage anu uiun't take enough time to ciicle aiounu to finu the best spot. Then,
when it came time to leave, we neeueu a thiiu hanu to help haul anu stow the anchoi ioue
unuei powei so as not to yank up anothei boat's anchoi.
In anticipation of high winus in iolly Piickly Bay, uienuaua, in }une of 2uuS we
buoyeu the anchoi chain aheau of time, attaching oui big oiange float anu a fenuei to the
chain about 2u' away fiom the boat. This auueu auuitional stietch to the chain catenaiy anu
buffeieu the boat's motion. It seemeu to woik well. While many boats in this iathei ueep
anchoiage uiaggeu, we stayeu put nicely.
We much piefeiieu to be at anchoi when in haiboi, anu got to be pietty goou at
uiopping the hook (we thought.) The lessons we leaineu weie:
Avoiu veiy constiaineu oi oveiciowueu anchoiages if at all possible
If we must use such an anchoiage, then anchoi on the outsiue euge of it, as fai
away fiom shoiepieis etc., as possible.
Always put the snubbei on if you have an all chain anchoi ioue out.
As soon as we notice that the winu is getting seiiously up, get into the cockpit
anu be ieauy.
If at anchoi foi a while, check the anchoi iegulaily to make suie you'ie not
slowly cieeping in the muu.
We sometimes saw othei boats have tiouble anchoiing. They weie usually chaitei
boats with ciew who haun't hau a lot of piactice, oi the chaitei boats hau inauequate
giounu tackle. The most common mistakes we spotteu weie:
Thiowing tons of chain oveiboaiu iight on top of the anchoi; anu
Boing a big powei set befoie the anchoi hau a chance to uig into the sanu oi muu
oi otheiwise finu its place on the bottom.
S9
Stoim anchoiing is uesciibeu in oui huiiicane piepaiation notes.
4u
=26"&($D/06"$
When in haiboi, we put someone on anchoi watch in bau weathei situations. If it
was noimal bau weathei at night, then the watch uozeu below in the cabin, checking
aiounu eveiy houi oi so as seemeu appiopiiate. BBut in stoim situations below is the list
of hishei uuties (uay oi night) when coming on to an anchoi watch until things calm
uown. They weie.j
Bo an immeuiate visual inspection to see if we'ie uiagging. If we lie at a uiffeient
angle to the othei boats, we piobably aie, so take immeuiate coiiective action.
Check neaiby boats iegulaily to make suie they aie not uiagging.
Tuin on the uPS anu vBF, channel 16. Bave the aii hoin hanuy.
Tuin on the electionics (uepth sounuei, winu instiuments, anu boat speeu
inuicatoi).
Tuin on the iauai, take EBL anu Range on two lanumaiks. Wiite them uown.
uet some fenueis anu uocklines out to have ieauy foi use.
Check giounu tackle, ueck tie uowns, sails, anu ieuuce winuage as seems
necessaiy.
Be ieauy to tuin on the engine.
Plan exit fiom anchoiage, in case it's necessaiy. (You've pieviously selecteu one
anu wiitten uown it's uPS co-oiuinates, iight.)
Bo fiequent eyeball checks on lanumaiks anu suiiounuing boats by checking
theii position in ielation to us, anu to each othei.
Keep an eye on the uepth, winu speeu anu uiiection, anu boat speeu inuicatois. If
any of these change, assume uiagging anchoi. Check uPS position, iauai, anu oui
position ielative to othei boats to iefute oi confiim. If uiagging, aleit eveiyone
anu act.
If anothei boat is uiagging towaius you be piepaieu to fenu them oi ienuei
assistance.
Check anchoi ioue peiiouically foi chafe, anu put hanu on it to feel vibiations as
a way to assess what's happening on the bottom.
41
!"#$5&/0$E&0#+$
When we weie ciuising on#N344<G5:<3, I maintaineu a moie-oi-less-uaily jouinal in
which I iecoiueu pietty much eveiything that happeneu, in moie-oi-less uetail. We calleu
this the "Boat Notes.'What bioke, anu howwhen it was iepaiieu. Who we got paits oi
auvice fiom. When we paiu the bills, anu who we met. Bow we felt, anu wilulife seen. This
is wheie I put all the items we uiun't want to foiget. Notes of uiscussions with seivice
people (this saveu us $S,uuu once when we got in a uispute), what we oiueieu anu when. I
pasteu business anu boatcaius in heie, since I coulu usually iemembei about what uate - oi
wheie we weie - when we met someone oi uiu something. When we got sick, I put in heie
the name of the uoctoi, anu what meuication was piesciibeu.
Entiies weie hanu wiitten (small), anu when we took things apait I maue uiawings
in heie of how things weie put togethei. When we inventoiieu oi measuieu things, I maue
notes in the Boat Notes foi futuie iefeience. I tapeu small bits of sciatch papei in heie with
scotch tape if we wanteu to be able to finu what was wiitten on them someuay in the
futuie.
I put the uay anu uate in the maigin anu uiew a box iounu it, so it was easy to finu a
paiticulai entiy when leafing thiough. When we uiu a maintenance item, I put an "N" in a
ciicle in the maigin, so it was easy to spot if we foiget to put it in the maintenance log. If
something bioke oi neeueu attention I put a big asteiisk in the maigin, so it was easy to
finu that if we foiget to log it in the uefect book.The oluei we got, the fuzziei oui memoiies
became, so we ielieu on vaiious tools like the Boat Notes to help us to iefei back to when,
anu whethei, something happeneu.
At the back of the book I tiieu to keep tiack of uaily expenuituies, totaling the
amount foi each uay. It's tiue - if you uon't keep a caieful eye on youi uough.
0ne college-iuleu 1uu-sheet spiial notebook lasteu about a yeai anu we founu the
Notes to be invaluable on moie than one occasion. 0nce we went Rv'ing, I useu pietty
much the same foimat foi oui Rv log. 0nuei the uate in the maigin, howevei, I also maue a
note of wheie we staiteu the uay, anu wheie we enueu it if we moveu somewheie else. In
the lattei case I also iecoiueu the staiting anu finishing ouometei, anu thus the miles
tiaveleu.
42
!"#$5&&7$&,$C1+0+$
List-making can become a seiious habit when you aie ciuising. To manage this, we
kept a "Book of Lists." This was a S-iing binuei that hau a set of numbeieu tabs sepaiating
each of the items listeu below, with a hanu-wiitten table of contents at the fiont explaining
what was behinu each tab. This woikeu well as a filing system foi us. Beie's what we kept
in heie:
1. Pages on which hau been copieu the Boat Emeigency Refeience Caius (See next
Chaptei - the "What If's."
2. Contact infoimation: auuiess lists; copies of boat caius anu business caius;
ciuising ially paiticipant lists; possible ciew list; piintout of e-mail auuiess
book; etc, etc.
S. Flag symbols anu meanings; Noise coue.
4. Sail combination table, P0LARS foi the Tayana S7'.
S. Stoiage placement anu uiagiams.
6. List anu uesciiption of all thiu hulls, vents, anu pumps, with uiagiam of
placement. (N344<G5:<3 hau a 4)% of these.)
7. Ticklei list of when iegistiations, ceitifications, insuiance, etc., etc., expiie anu
neeu to be ieneweu.
8. Self suivey check-off guiue.
9. Betaileu long-uistance passage uepaituie checklist.
1u. Long-uistance passage lanufall checklist.
11. 0seful inteinet website 0RLs.
12. vaiious tiaining couise checklists anu emeigency iefeience infoimation.
1S. List of basic boat "S0Ps".
4S
!"#$4#,#60$5&&7$
We got the iuea foi this fiom Bon Casey's book This 0lu Boat which has a gieat
chaptei on planning to fix up youi olu boat.
0ui Befect Book was simply a stanuaiu iuleu notebook with thiee columns uiawn
on each page, the miuule one being the wiuest. In it we wiote by hanu the uate, a
uesciiption of an item that neeus to be uonefixeu, anu uate of completion foi each item.
The uesciiption is wheie we noteu uetails of what neeueu attention. A hatch leaks; a light
stops woiking; a winch gets stiff; a gouge is maue on the ueck; a sail sliue sticks; a filtei oi
scieen on a hose neeus cleaneu; etc., etc., etc.
When the item was taken caie of a line was uiawn thiough it, the uate of completion
enteieu in the iight hanu column, anu an entiy was maue in the Naintenance Log.
We can't pietenu we always got to the items in the Befect Book on a timely basis,
anu theie a few things that weie theie since the beginning of time. Bowevei, it meant we
knew we weie not attenuing to something iathei than hau simply foigotten it.
The Befect Book was kept alongsiue the Naintenance Log in a lexan wall pocket
(puichaseu fiom an office supply stoie) affixeu to the bulkheau in the main cabin.
44
4#./(0'(#$@"#67*1+0$
We useu a uepaituie checklist in piepaiing foi a passage because it's too easy to
foiget something otheiwise. The checklist foi an offshoie oi ocean passage is moie
compiehensive than foi a uaysail oi an oveinight passage offshoie. What's listeu heie, is
the ocean passage checklist. We hau this, anu it's shoitei cousin the offshoie veision,
laminateu. Then we just checkeu the items off using a china pencil oi eiasable maikei.
Believe me, it's easy to foiget something..
1. r|or to Departure Day
Check thiu-hulls, hoses anu clamps
Check compass
Check iigging anu sails
Seivice winches
Change oil, coolant, ieplace fuel filteis anu uo othei check engine
maintenanceCheck the iegulai maintenance scheuule anu uo any othei oveiuue
items
Check inventoiy anu buy necessaiy spaie paits, batteiies, etc.
Piovision foi all non-peiishable items
Bo passage planning
Check electionics
Check all safety equipment
Fill piopane tanks
Clean boat bottom
Tiack weathei to iuentify winuow
Rechaige the spotlight
Refuel
Fill watei tanks
Bo launuiy
2. Day 8efore Departure
Piovision foi peiishables
Cleai out of customs anu immigiation
Take uown awnings
Check navigation lights
Chaige the hanuhelu vBF
4S
Rig jack lines
Check ueck tie uowns
Review weathei foiecast
Bo iauio checks on vBF anu SSB
Top up fuel anu watei tanks anu jeiiy jugs
Baul anu stow the uinghy anu outboaiu motoi
Put snap shackles on cockpit lockei latches
Senu float plan
Nake up sea beiths with sheets anu pillows anu iig lee cloths
Stow eveiything below except what's neeueu uuiing the passage
Stow the seconuaiy anu stein anchois anu covei theii chain hawses
3. Departure Day
0nlock the life iaft
Put valuables in the Bitch Bag
Review weathei foiecast
Fill theimoses with hot watei
Piepaie passage foou
Nake galley sea-ieauy
Take meclizine hyuiochloiiue (Bonine) 1-2 houis piioi to uepaiting
Biing out PFBs anu tetheis
Tuin on electionics anu iemove coveis
0nlock the steeiing
0ncovei the compass
Check engine oil anu coolant (again)
Check bilges
Remove sail coveis anu stow below
Attach halyaius to main anu staysail, anu sheets to staysail
Close anu secuie hatches anu poitholes
Reset uPS Tiip 0uometei
Check on ueck anu ensuie enus of all lines aie secuieu
Baul uown couitesy flag anu piepaie Q flag anu new couitesy flag
Biing out Beck Log, chaits, anu Navigatoi s Notebook
46
Tuin on the vBF anu put iemote in cockpit
Tuin on uPS
Nake uepaituie entiy (all except time) in the Beck Log
Tuin on the engine
0p anchoi, unmooi, oi leave the uock
Stow the piimaiy anchoi anu covei its hawse pipe anu the winulass
47
!"#$@('1+12A$412A":$
We hau some goou anu some bau times with uinghies. If you'ie uoing anything othei
than sitting in the uock at a maiina, on a ciuising sailboat it's piactically youi most
essential piece of geai - one to which we gave little thought when we weie wannabe
ciuiseis. In the hope that some of this might be useful foi otheis, heie's oui expeiience.
Aftei being aiounu a few uinghy uisasteis (incluuing 2 lives lost) we uevelopeu some
ioutine safety anu secuiity pioceuuies foi us anu oui uinghy - see Safety Funuamentals in
Chaptei 1. As with any othei boat, seamanship skills aie neeueu on a uinghy.
1. Cru|s|ng D|nghy 1ypes
When we bought#N344<G5:<3 she hau an 8' inflatable Avon uinghy, anu a 4hp 2-stioke
Yamaha motoi. The uinghy hau seiious signs of weai, so we put it up foi sale thiough
Bacon Associates in Annapolis anu ueciueu to buy a ieplacement. We uiu a bit of ieseaich,
anu went to see a uemonstiation of a PoitaBote, a foluing uinghy. We ueciueu to buy one,
anu also the sailing kit that came with it because one of oui uieams with a uinghy is to have
fun sailing it.
We became uisenchanteu with the PoitaBote faiily quickly#\#it was veiy bulky to
stoie, anu a pain in the neck to assemble anu uisassemble. It was also not veiy stable in the
watei anu coulun't hanule moie than 2 people comfoitably if it was anything othei than a
flat calm. Aftei a yeai, the tiansom hau uelaminateu, the hull hau iippeu at the giommets,
anu we weie sick of getting soakeu if theie was the least bit of sea. Bespite a lot of piactice,
the time neeueu foi assembling anu uisassembling was a lot moie than we felt ieasonable,
anu the below ueck stoiage neeueu foi the vaiious paits was too much. This was uefinitely
not a suitable uinghy foi seiious ciuising. So we got iiu of it (sauuei but wisei) anu bought
a 1u' inflatable (West NaiineAvon), which we weie veiy happy with in eveiy iegaiu,
except that we uiun't have ioom to stoie it upsiue uown on the ueck. Iueally we'u have
likeu something we coulu stoie on ueck anu launch quickly (without having to inflate), anu
that we coulu sail. We hau fiienus who maue a two-pait fibeiglass uinghy (in which we've
hau fun sailing) which seems close to the iueal. 0n the othei hanu, inflatables uo have
majoi auvantages foi stability, loau caiiying, anu comfoit.
Note that we've since heaiu, fiom the manufactuieis of PoitaBotes, that
impiovements have been maue to the uesign anu constiuction of this foluing boat, so oui
comments above may no longei be applicable.
2. C|ean|ng the D|nghy 8ottom
Cleaning the uinghy's bottom is always a choie. We uo it eveiy one of the iaie times
we'ie in a maiina#\#it's easy to haul it up on the uock, anu tuin it upsiue uown#\#on a
taipaulin, if the suiface is conciete oi anything but woou. 0theiwise, if it's bau we take it to
the neaiest beach, iemove all contents, anu tuin it upsiue uown on the sanu. When it's not
too bau anu we'ie ieauy to stow the uinghy, we hoist it amiuships fiom the two uinghy bow
attachments using the main halyaiu, anu tuin the bottom towaius the boat to be cleaneu.
To clean, we spiay the giowth on the bottom with a mix of 1 pait watei :1 pait Cloiox, let it
48
sit foi about 1u minutes, then sciape the gunk off with a plastic sciapei. This gets all the
incipient bainacles anu plant giowth off. Then wash it thoioughly with watei, fiesh fiom a
hose at the uock, oi buckets of seawatei otheiwise. If it's cleaneu on the sanu, we have to
take caie to get all sanu out of the insiue afteiwaius, because the giains can chafe anu make
holes in the fabiic.
In the Caiibbean, the bottom neeus to be cleaneu eveiy S-4 foui weeks if the uinghy
sits constantly in the watei. Some places the giowth comes fastei than otheis - look aiounu
the shoieline to see what kinu of giowth is happening. Some ciuiseis hoist theii uinghy out
of the watei a foot oi two on uavits a halyaiu at night to inhibit the giowth somewhat. This
also makes it haiuei to steal.
3. 1ow|ng the D|nghy
We heaiu quite a few hoiioi stoiies fiom othei boats about towing theii uinghies.
Boats who've lost theii outboaiu motoi, oi woise theii uinghy as well. If you tow in iough
seas, anu something goes amiss with the uinghy (motoi, gas can, seat, oai etc. comes loose,
the uinghy fills with watei oi flips ovei), it is extiemely uangeious to uo anything about it.
0nless you'ie willing to iisk a N0B, the only option sometimes is to cut it loose. Theiefoie,
we ueciueu that we woulu always tow the uinghy completely emptieu. We took eveiything,
incluuing the seat anu the oais out. We hau a single uavit on#N344<G5:<3's stein fiom which
we hung a block anu tackle to hoist the motoi up to its stoiage spot on the cockpit iail, so it
wasn't much woik to iemove eveiything. We figuieu it was woith the effoit, given the
ieplacement costs.
Foi towing, we useu a uouble polypiopylene tow iope attacheu to the uinghy with a
biiule. |We maue this floating tow iope aftei wiapping the uinghy line iounu#N344<G5:<3's
piopelloi foi the seconu time...j The biiule went onto the two tow hooks on the fiont siues
of the uinghy with caiabinieis, anu the two lines weie then tieu togethei anu biought
thiough a chock on one siue of the stein anu tieu off on a ueck cleat. If one line bioke, we
theoiizeu, then the othei iemaineu foi insuiance. Also, the uinghy ioue bettei to a biiule
than a single line. We pulleu it up close when we weie maneuveiing at low speeus to
anchoi, etc, anu let it out about 2 uinghy lengths when we weie up to speeu. This kept the
uinghy in the boat's slick, which minimizeu its uiag (as of couise uiu iemoving its
contents). We think we lost not moie than maybe V a knot fiom towing the uinghy.
Bow uiu we ueciue if it was safe to tow. We assesseu the sea conuitions we weie
likely to encountei, anu the length of the passage. ueneially, we toweu foi shoit coastal
hops uuiing uaylight. If we weie making an inteiislanu passage, anu the conuitions weie
light, we might tow if the tiip was ieasonably shoit anu all in uaylight, although often we
took the tiouble to stow the uinghy insteau. We nevei toweu on an oveinight passage.
4. Stow|ng the D|nghy
We uiun't quite have ioom anywheie on ueck to stow oui uinghy when inflateu.
Neithei uiu we have uinghy uavits at the stein, because (a) that's wheie the Nonitoi
winuvane was, anu (b) it woulu have been too much winuage anu weight in the wiong
place, anu (c) we knew two Tayana's who hau uinghy uavits which eventually ciackeu.
49
When offshoie, oui uinghy was stoweu, iolleu up in its covei, placeu unuei the boom anu
tieu uown at all foui coineis. We became pietty auept at inflating anu ueflating it, anu
launching anu hoisting it, anu uiun't finu it too much of a nuisance, especially as we become
moie comfoitable towing it anu so hau to stow it a bit less fiequently. Bowevei, theie weie
still a few times when we aiiiveu in an anchoiage too tiieu to ueal with it iight away.
0ften the woist pait of stowing the uinghy, is cleaning the bottom fiist. We hau a
tiiangulai biiule that clippeu onto two paueyes in the uinghy tiansom, anu a iing on its
flooi neai the bow. The thiee lines come togethei on a iing that we attach to the main
halyaiu foi hoisting anu uiopping. We hau a bow anu stein paintei peimanently attacheu
to the uinghy (with clips on them at the iight spots foi secuiing to the siue of#N344<G5:<3
wheie theie weie paueyes at the gate). While hoisting on the halyaiu, we kept both
painteis attacheu to the mothei boat foi contiol.
S. 1he D|nghy's Cutboard Motor
Soon aftei we acquiieu#N344<G5:<3, we founu that the existing outboaiu motoi
neeueu to be ieplaceu. We bought a 4-stioke, 4-hp Yamaha, that tuineu out to be nothing
but tiouble. While we hau it, we spent longei than we caie to count iowing.... Appaiently,
that's the way veiy small 4-stioke enginges aie. Foi enviionmental ieasons, 2-stioke
outboaius aie no longei available in the 0SA.
The last stiaw came when we weie in St. Thomas, 0SvI, anu we founu oui
outboaiu's fuel pump was leaking. Foitunately, anothei boat lent us it's spaie outboaiu (a
little 2-stioke S-hp) foi a week, at which point we bought a 2hp, 2-stioke to use while the
local Yamaha uealei waiteu foi a new fuel pump. Aftei oui motoi was iepaiieu, we planneu
to caiiy the 2hp as a "spaie." Aftei S weeks, anu still waiting, the uealei took back the 2hp,
anu gave us cieuit foi oui 4hp, anu we bought a new 2-stioke, 8-hp Yamaha that we weie
veiy happy with foi the iemainuei of oui ciuising caieei.
We installeu a uavit on#N344<G5:<3's stein to which we attacheu a block anu tackle to
lift the motoi out of the uinghy anu stoieu it on a hefty woouen biacket on the stein iail
when we weie unueiway.
Su
!"#$F2A12#$C&A$
0n#N344<G5:<3, the Engine Log staiteu out in a sepaiate spiial notebook, but latei was
kept foi convenience as the fiont section of the Naintenance Log.
0ui Engine Log hau thiee columns, with the fiist being the uate, anu the last the
houi ieauing on the engine-houi metei. The miuule, anu wiuest column, weie useu foi
enteiing a uesciiption of the activity. Initially we hau moie columns, but that uiun't leave
enough ioom foi uesciiption uetails anu we weien't using all the columns, so the foimat
was mouifieu accoiuingly.
Routine inspections, the iesult of the inspection, anu uetails of all maintenance uone
weie listeu in the Log. Pioblems encounteieu weie also enteieu anu uesciibeu in the
Engine Log. When iefueling, the numbei of gallons of fuel put in the tank was enteieu, anu
fuel consumption since the last iefueling calculateu anu ciicleu so it was easy to pick out.
Cost of fuel anu maintenance activities (uone by contiactois oi boatyaiu staff) weie also
noteu anu ciicleu. As well as keeping tiack of engine stuff, we also loggeu anything ielateu
to the staiting system anu tiansmission in heie. Bose stuff was loggeu in the plumbing
section of the Naintenance Log because inspection of the engine hose clamps anu hoses
was uone at the same time as clamps on othei hoses weie examineu.
We founu it ieally impoitant to log all this stuff, because oui memoiies weie simply
not up to it.
S1
FG'1.3#20$H2+0('601&2+$
You woulun't believe how many (majoi anu minoi) pieces of equipment we finally
enueu up with. We weie foitunate to be given instiuction manuals foi all boat equipment
that came with the boat when we puichaseu#N344<G5:<3, whose pievious ownei kept them
in some laige ziplock bags. Bowevei, we founu that we weie constantly soiting thiough
the bags tiying to finu a paiticulai set of instiuctions so we ieoiganizeu the way they weie
stoieu. Beie's what we uiu, anu we founu it woikeu ieally well foi us.
We soiteu the instiuctions by topic unuei numbeieu tabs in two veiy fat S-iing
binueis. Then we put a hanu wiitten table-of-contents at the fiont of each binuei showing
what was unuei each tab in both binueis. The topics we useu weie: Binghy, Electiical,
Electionics, ualley, uiounu Tackle, Bull anu Beck, Plumbing, Rigging, uiounu Tackle, Safety,
Sails, anu Niscellaneous.
0nuei each tab was one oi moie plastic see-thiough sleeves into which weie
inseiteu the vaiious equipment instiuction papeis as applicable. This was uone because it
wasn't possible to punch holes in all of the instiuction mateiial#\#although some of the
instiuction pages hau to be tiimmeu a bit to fit into the sleeves. Also, having them in plastic
sleeves maue it easy to extiact the uesiieu pages anu keep them fiom getting wet oi moie
uog-eaieu than necessaiy.
The veiy last tab in the seconu binuei volume hau seveial sleeves in which weie
assembleu all the little bits of instiuctions that came with vaiious miscellaneous equipment
items such as binoculais, pumps, fabiic, smoke alaim, timei, tools, winu scoop, giommet
tool, etc., etc. When an instiuction item was auueu to one of these miscellaneous sleeves, it
was auueu to the list of contents on a page insiue that sleeve which was kept iight insiue
the fiont of that sleeve.
The two fat equipment instiuction binueis weie kept togethei on a shelf besiue the
nav station anu containeu instiuctions foi all equipment on the boat except as follows:
Foi convenience anu safety, instiuctions foi the iauai, autopilot, anu uPS's weie
not kept in the Equipment Instiuction Binueis, but on a shelf at the Nav Station.
Instiuctions foi the SSB iauio along with notes on its use weie kept sepaiately
in a biight oiange foluei besiue the Nav Station (see the Rauio Refeience
Foluei.)
The engine shop manual, engine paits manual, the engine opeiating manual, anu
notes taken by Bill when he attenueu the Yanmai school at Nack Boiing, weie all kept in a
sepaiate laige binuei on a shelf along with othei Boat Books.
This oiganization foi equipment instiuctions woikeu veiy well foi us, since it meant
we coulu finu stuff quickly anu easily. The plastic sleeve system alloweu us to quickly pull
papeis out of the binueis without constantly having to open anu close the iings. Some uays
it seemeu we weie looking foi help (anu usually finuing it) in these manuals five oi six
times anu so easy access was ciucial to keep ouiselves sane.
S2
I#/J12A$!&$
Leain how youi boat uoes this, anu piactice often. Bo it foi a bieak at lunch time,
just to enjoy the uay, oi when you'ie going to aiiive at youi uestination too eaily. Bon't be
in a iush. We met a faii numbei of ciuiseis who uiun't know how, oi nevei uiu this. Beie's
an outline of the steps taken:
Check cuiient, sea ioom, anu tiaffic;
Figuie out how fai you can safely uiift aheau anu to leewaiu;
uo into close ieach on the poit tack, if possible (this will get you heaveu too on
the staiboaiu tack, which gives you iight of way;)
Biing heau just thiough the winu, anu as foiesail backwinus tighten the sheet so
the clew is at the lee shiouu;
Let the iuuuei fiee anu tiim the main as if foi a close ieach;
Aujust the tiavelei anu sheet so the boat gently uiifts along;
Aujust the iuuuei anu lock it so the boat is uoing less than 1 knot foiwaiu anu
uiifting slowly to leewaiu;
Naintain a lookout.
Each boat hanules uiffeiently. Leain how youis behaves. Piactice in stiong winus to
get an iuea of how she'll behave in stoim conuitions.
SS
I'((16/2#$-(#./(/01&2$
0n August 18, 2uu2, ciuiseis anchoieu in the haiboi met togethei at Pueito Blanco
Naiina, in Lupeion, on the noith coast of the Bominican Republic. Baseu on theii
expeiience, they pooleu iueas about how best to piepaie boats in anticipation of a
huiiicane. These aie the notes fiom that meeting. At the same time, the gioup initiateu a
collaboiative piocess to ensuie an oiueily anu mutually suppoitive iesponse among the
ciuiseis in such an event.
1. Genera| Adv|ce
The woist pait of a huiiicane is cleaning up afteiwaius
Lupeion is the safest haiboi in the Noith Caiibbean-the only thing that will sink
a boat heie is anothei boat.
Secuie youi own boat fiist, then help youi neighbois. Keep busy-anu sobei!
Bon't expect the BR goveinment to pioviue any assistance-it will have its hanus
full iesponuing to lanu emeigencies. Theie will be no seivices aftei a huiiicane,
so you will be on youi own foi foou, watei, fuel, communications, anu powei.
If the eye passes ovei you, the back eye-wall will hit like a fieight tiain, with no
builu up.
Nake youi own uecisions-uon't go with the heiu.
Expect that ciuising anu fishing boats fiom 1uu miles away will come to Lupeion
foi sheltei in the few uays befoie a huiiicane.
You must figuie out wheie the winus will be coming fiom, anu position youi
boat anu mooiing lines accoiuingly. Nooi youi boat in stages, as the piobable
winu uiiection(s) become moie ceitain.
Position youi piimaiystoim anchoi well aheau so it has plenty of time to set.
Spieau out huiiicane piepaiations-it is extiemely physically anu emotionally
uemanuing to have to uo all in an highly anxious state in the few uays befoie a
huiiicane hits.
A huiiicane can show up with veiy little waining-uon't count on having 4-S uays
notice. Also, it can be veiy squally foi the 48 houis piioi to a huiiicane's aiiival-
uon't expect you'll be able to uo youi piepaiations then. A huiiicane ciossing
mountains will uissipate somewhat but it may spawn toinauos.
To join lines, use uouble sheet benus not bowlines - they'll chafe. Tie onto
mangiove tiunks with uouble clove hitches, not bowlines - they'll chafe. Put a
stoppei knot behinu the clove hitches so they can't tug loose. 0se nylon oi
polypiopylene lines foi mooiing, uacion uoesn't have enough stietch anu will
bieak without a snubbei. Bon't use chain oi wiie aiounu mangioves.
S4
Tie low uown on oluei mangiove tiunks oi ioots that aie 2 oi S stanus in to the
shoie. Bon't tie onto a mangiove that alieauy has anothei boat's line attacheu to
it. You can uiive agiounu nose into the mangioves, but you iisk uamage if
anothei boat uoes likewise close (less than 1S') to you. It may be safei to tie on
siueways. Youi boat will not get huit by the mangioves. It may get uiity, but it
will clean up aftei.
If you ciawl off youi boat into the mangioves in the miuule of a huiiicane, keep
youi heau uown oi you may get huit.
0iuinaiy fenueis will uo little to help fenu off othei boats in a huiiicane.
Consiuei filling youi inflatable with watei anu tying it on to youi boat as a giant
fenuei. Lines can chafe thiough iapiuly. If you uon't have othei chafing geai, use
plastic gioceiy bags-they'ie slippeiy anu they woik!
Let youi family know well aheau of time how you will contact them in the event
of a huiiicane.
Always keep youi boat ieauy to go to sea. Bon't have a stowage system foi being
at sea anu a sepaiate one while in haiboi.
2. nurr|cane reparat|on 1asks
Remove fuiling sails, flake, anu stow below.
Remove all othei sails, flake, anu stow below.
Remove all ueck canvas (awnings, biminis, uougeis, weathei cloths, etc.) fiom
fiames anu stow below.
Tie uown fiames foi uougei, bimini, etc. secuiely.
Remove uownwinu poles fiom mast anu lash to ueck.
Tape halyaiu snap shackles with uuct tape anu pull to top of mast, leaving one so
you can ietiieve the iest.
Lash all halyaiu falls to mast, anu make suie no othei lines aie left on ueck to
whip in the winu.
Take unueployeu anchois off bow iollei anu lash on ueck ieauy foi use.
Cap all ventilatois.
Stow below eveiything that is on ueck-if it can get loose anu cause uamage, it
will.
Remove winu geneiatoi anu winuvane blaues.
Nake suie below ueck stowage is secuieu anu can't fly loose anu huit you.
Nake suie youi cockpit uiains aie cleai.
Bo not iely on the winulass foi secuiing anchoi ioue.
SS
Review all youi spaie chain anu lines, put them wheie you can easily get them,
anu make suie you know how long anu what type each line is. Piepaie snubbeis.
Even if you uon't neeu all youi lines foi youi own boat, it may well be neeueu to
keep anothei one off you.
Fill watei anu fuel tanks anu jeiiy cans.
Chaige youi hanuhelu vBF.
Chaige youi boat batteiies.
Piepaie youi uitch bag with cash, uocuments, foou, cleanuiy towels, anu toilet
papei.
Bave a supply of bleach on hanu to clean up afteiwaius anu steiilize watei.
If you leave youi boat, leave the key in the ignition anu tape staiting instiuctions
neaiby.
If you leave youi boat, notify someone wheie you'll be -but uon't announce it on
the vBF.
If you stay on youi boat iig jacklines anu have at hanu youi life vest, snoikel
mask, hainess, stiobe, flash- lights anu spaie batteiies, seiiateu knife, mailin
spike oi iigging tool, anu bolt cutteis.
Weai ueck shoes all the time the stoim is in piocess.
Aftei youi boat is ieauy, help youi neighbois.
uet anothei paii of eyes to look youi boat ovei foi ieauiness.
3. nurr|cane reparat|on Supp||es
Spaie galvanizeu shackles to match youi ioues.
Seizing wiie.
Extia Su foot lengths of chain.
Extia heavy-uuty nylon line in 1uu- anu 2uu- foot lengths.
Beavy uuty galvanizeu oi stainless steel thimbles.
Plenty of line to lash things uown with.
Banu-helu vBF, batteiy poweieu ANFN iauio.
Banu-helu uepthsounuei oi leau line.
Sheepsfoot, Leatheiman, oi Swiss Aimy knives.
Nasks, snoikels, fins, anu filleu SC0BA tanks.
Recoiuing baiometei.
Lots of towels anu othei mateiial to use as chafing geai.
ventilatoi caps foi all vents anu uoiaues.
S6
Rolls of uuct anu electiical tape (the lattei is a goou substitute foi Banu Aius if
necessaiy.)
Bacion sticky back tape foi sail iepaii.
Anchoi weights anu snubbeis.
Spaie flashlight batteiies.
Bleach to clean things, anu to puiify watei.
Foou, watei, anu fuel.
Spaie cash.
4. After a nurr|cane
Bive uown anu check bottom, iuuuei, anu piop befoie you attempt to move youi
boat.
Belp youi neighbois as well as youiself.
Notify youi ielatives that you aie safe.
S. Storm Anchor|ng 1echn|ques
|This section is summaiizeu fiom P(-#N)FG4-%-#K)),#)>#$&'()*<&:#3&.#@))*<&: by
Eail Binz.j When planning foi staying put in a stoim, iecognize that giounu tackle must
have thiee essential elements:
Anchoi(s) suiteu to the seabeu
An elastic ioue, anu
Chafe piotection.
Each element must be equally stiong, incluuing eye splices, shackles, anu shackle
pins. Set youi piimaiystoim anchoi as fai in auvance as possible so it is thoioughly uug in.
Bave all youi othei anchois piepaieu anu ieauy to ueploy piioi to the stoim's aiiival.
An all chain ioue uoes not have sufficient elasticity to iiue out a stoim. Best is half
chain anu half S-stianu nylon, fiimly joineu anu secuieu to the boat. Excessive scope is not
necessaiy anu, as the watei uepth incieases, less scope can be useu.
Chafe is the piimaiy auveisaiy in stoim anchoiing. Nain chafe points aie joins in
the ioue anu wheie the ioue passes onto the boat. It is extiemely uifficult anu uangeious to
tiy to wiap chafing geai aiounu ioue while a stoim is in piogiess. Even with chafing geai in
place, be piepaieu to ieposition the chafe points by fiequently paying out a bit moie ioue
fiequently as the stoim piogiesses. Chafe occuis as the boat sheeis fiom siue to siue
("hoises") on the anchoi ioue, anu up anu uown on the waves. Position the boat in the
anchoiage anu ueploy giounu tackle so as to minimize sheeiing motions as much as
possible.
Think about setting uual bow anchois, beaiing in minu the following consiueiations.
S7
1. If you ueploy a seconu anchoi piioi to the stoim's aiiival, set the seconu anchoi in
the uiiection you anticipate the winu will change to, at an angle of no moie than 4S
uegiees to the fiist anchoi. The use of a swivel to join these two ioues is not
iecommenueu since it is a weak link.
2. If you wait to ueploy a seconu anchoi until the stoim staits, use a hammeilock
anchoi to minimize hoising. This is a seconu bow anchoi uioppeu unuei the bow
on a shoit scope at the limit of the boat's siueways movement. This "hammeilock"
snubs the boat's hoising consiueiably. The main winu loau is still on the piimaiy
anchoi. If the winu uiiection changes, the snubbing anchoi will uiag into a new
position, still pioviuing auuitional secuiity.
S8
H2J#20&(1#+$
While we weie ciuising we founu we neeueu to maintain some kinu of inventoiy
showing all the stuff we stoieu in#N344<G5:<3's copious lockeis, anu wheie each item was.
All the supplies, spaie paits, etc., etc. 0theiwise, in oiuei to get something, we hau to fiist
iemembei which lockei it was in, then hunt thiough assoiteu containeis until we founu the
iight one. This coulu be veiy fiustiating anu take a lot of time. With the inventoiy, it got
much easiei anu then aftei a couple of yeais we weie able to holu in oui heaus wheie most
of the fiequently useu items weie. We still neeu to iefei to the inventoiy foi a iaiely useu
item - sometimes neeueu in a huiiy.
0ui inventoiy system was pietty au hoc until my niece, Kath, anu hei paitnei Chiis,
visiteu foi two weeks in Becembei, 2uu1, while we weie in Nelbouine, FL, getting
eveiything ieauy foi going to the Bahamas. Kath is about as compulsive as me about
oiganizing things, anu she anu Chiis uiu a fantastic job of going thiough eveiy lockei anu
listing eveiy last little item in a computei spieausheet. About the only things which weien't
inuiviuually inventoiieu weie fasteneis, clips, pencils, etc. These weie kept in small plastic
boxes oi containeis accoiuing to what kinu of items they aie, anu then the
boxescontaineis weie listeu on the inventoiy.
It must be aumitteu that it was a huge effoie to cieate the main inventoiy in the fiist
place, anu piobably woulun't have been as well uone without Kath anu Chiis's help. That
saiu, having it saveu an untolu amount of fiustiation when we wanteu to know (foi
example) "wheie uoes the S16" wiench live." oi "uo we have any S16" uowell.". It was a
life-savei in a few emeigencies (ouis oi othei people's.)
We kept a piinteu copy of each inventoiy in a plastic sleeve in the lexan wall pocket
(bought at an office supply stoie) above the Nav Station. We uiu a pietty goou job of
maiking up these copies whenevei anything changeuie something was auueu oi useu up.
We maikeu up changes on the main inventoiy pages, anu about twice a yeai its computei
spieausheet was upuateu fiom the maikup anu a new one piinteu out. This maue it ieally
easy to finu any item on the list, quickly, anu immeuiately leain wheie it was locateu. We
still have a copy of it anu have shaieu it with a few inteiesteu website ieaueis.
1. 1he Ma|n Inventory
This listeu the quantity, size, uesciiption, anu type of each item on the boat (except
as listeu on othei inventoiies uesciibeu below), anu gave the item's location. The Inventoiy
was soiteu by type of item (such as "plumbing", "tool", "engine", etc.) anu within each type
the items weie soiteu alphabetically by item name. Foi those items (such as lines, shackles,
etc.) that hau a sizelength, the sizelength went befoie the uesciiption foi ease of
iefeience. Spaie paits hau the manufactuiei's pait numbei listeu besiue theii
uesciiption.Also, we ie-soiteu the spieausheet by location so we also hau a list of (foi
example) eveiything that was in Blue Ciate #2 in the engine ioom.
S9
2. Drugs
0n a sepaiate spieausheet we maue a Biugstoie Inventoiy which listeu all fiist aiu
anu meuical items, showing wheie they weie stoieu anu expiiation uates (foi piesciiption
uiugs). This incluueu an inventoiy of the Fiist Aiu Bag (supplies kept in a cleai plastic
camping BiiBag, with a ieu tape Reu Cioss on each siue.) A piinteu copy of this hung in the
heau.
3. Iood
Rathei than tiying to keep tiack of euible items, which tuineu ovei so much, a
shopping list was kept so that when something was useu it was auueu to the shopping list
foi iestocking. Peiiouically, in auvance of a majoi passage, eveiything was ie-inventoiieu
piioi to piovisioning.
4. L|ne
A Line Inventoiy was cieateu foi oui fiist huiiicane season (in Lupeion). This listeu
the length anu uiametei of eveiy piece of available chain, line, cable, anu iope on the boat
anu was kept in a cleai plastic sleeve along with all othei huiiicane iefeience mateiial in a
wall pocket above the Nav Station. Boing this was most instiuctive. We enueu up buying
some moie line as a iesult. Baving plenty of immeuiately accessible line of uiffeient sizes
anu lengths is an impoitant Black Box item.
S. D|sposab|e 8atter|es
The Batteiy Inventoiy listeu eveiything (anu theie weie a lot of electiical gaugets)
that useu uisposable batteiies, such as AA, AAA, C, B, etc. Boing this inventoiy ieally helpeu
us get a giip on how many spaie batteiies of each kinu we neeu to keep on boaiu #\#which
put us in a position to sometimes help out othei ciuiseis who weie in a binu foi lack of
batteiies. We weie amazeu (.hoiiifieu.) to finu how many batteiies we neeueu. We weie
also amazeu at how many times we helpeu someone out with one of oui spaies. We then
bought a chaigei anu began to switch to iechaigeable batteiies foi things like cameia, uPS,
etc.
6. Charts and Cru|s|ng Gu|des
The inventoiy of Chaits anu Ciuising uuiues giew slowly anu ielentlessly as we
bioaueneu oui ieach of ciuising aieas. We weie ieluctant to uispose of chaitsguiues of
aieas we'u been to, because - who knows - we might go back theie. So geneially, we kept
them all. See the aiticle on Chait Nanagement foi uetails about how we stoieu oui chaits.
7. Stowage
Foi the most pait all this stuff (you have to live this life to believe how much it is)
was stoieu by type of item, many times in plastictuppeiwaie boxes, ciates, oi ziplock
bags. Sometimes it seemeu like any time we wanteu 3&5%(<&:, we hau to move S things to
get to it. 0vei time, we ieoiganizeu the lockeis anu moveu items, so that - eventually - the
most fiequently useu things, anu emeigency items, weie in the places that weie easiest to
6u
access, anu the seluom-useu items weie in the moie inaccessible spots. These changes, of
couise, hau to be ieflecteu in the inventoiy next time it is upuateu - but we thought it well
woith the effoit in teims of time saveu seaiching foi stuff, oi money wasteu by puichasing
unnecessaiy uuplicates of items we alieauy hau on boaiu.
61
C/2;,/**$@"#67*1+0$
I wasn't as anal about using this as I was about the uepaituie checklist - it's a much
shoitei list. Foi a uaysail oi an oveinight offshoie passage, we hau things in oui heau
pietty much. This checklist we hau laminateu foi use aftei a multi-uay passage - by the
enu of which we weie usually a bit sleep uepiiveu.
1. r|or to Mak|ng Landfa||
Review passage plan foi lanufall, anu pull out chaits, ciuising guiues, etc.
Nake suie you have wiitten navigation uiiections anu necessaiysafe waypoints
loaueu into the uPS
Bevelop Plan B foi coming into haiboi, if you uon't alieauy have one
Check tiue anu cuiients
Tiansfei plotting woik to laige scale coastal chait
Bo iauio check on the vBF
If it looks like lanufall will occui in the uaik, oi ciew is tiieu, heave to well
offshoie anu wait until moining oi the ciew is iesteu.
2. Upon S|ght|ng Land
Begin coastal navigation ioutine
Attach anchois to ioues anu check the giounu tackle
Boist the Q flag
Check the uepth sounuei, anuoi ieauy the leau line
Rig mooiing lines anu fenueis
Reauy the boat hook
Tuin on the engine, anu check the tiansmission
Bisconnect the winu vane oi autopilot
Biop the sails
62
K/120#2/26#$96"#;'*#$/2;$C&A$
Since these two items aie so closely ielateu they aie both uesciibeu in this aiticle.
We thought the maintenance system we uevelopeu on#N344<G5:<3 was an impoitant way of
keeping the Black Box filleu up. We ievieweu the scheuule peiiouically which ieminueu us
of all the things we might otheiwise foiget to uo. We founu that if we uiun't wiite
something uown, aftei a few weeks it got lost in the memoiy haze anu then we weien't suie
how long it hau been since something was seiviceu#\#oi even if it hau been.
The Naintenance Scheuule was cieateu in a spieausheet anu then piinteu out. It
coveieu two sheets of papei (faiily small piint) which weie kept back-to-back in a plastic
sleeve in the lexan wallpocket (puichaseu at an office supply stoie) on the bulkheau above
the nav station. 0ui Scheuule hau the following columns:
Boat system (such as "engine", "steeiing", "hull", electiical, iigging, etc.);
Equipment uesciiption;
Task (uesciiption of maintenance woik); anu
Fiequency (how often the task shoulu be uone).
The list was soiteu by fiequency, then by boat system. Fiom this, thiee 4x6 caius
weie maue anu weie pinneu on the bulletin boaiu above the nav station. 0ne caiu hau
items that shoulu be uone eveiy 1-S months, one caiu hau items that shoulu be uone eveiy
6 months, anu one caiu hau the annual items. The engine maintenance tasks weie listeu on
the scheuule gioupeu accoiuing to the houis of engine use they aie uone aftei.
The Naintenance Log was simply a gieen columnai pau (because it has a lot of
columns alieauy uiawn in it) with a table of contents hanu-wiitten on the covei uesciibing
which systems hau theii maintenance iecoiu on which page. The pages of the Naintenance
Log weie numbeieu by hanu so that it was veiy easy to look something up. The Log was
kept in a lexan wall-pocket besiue the Befect Book. The Engine Log was at the fiont of the
Naintenance Log, anu all the othei boat systems hau logs on a single page (2-siues). 0nce a
page filleu up, the last entiy inuicateu the page numbei wheie the subsequent entiies weie
maue.
Foi the puipose of the Naintenance Log, pages weie titleu as listeu below#\#note that
these weie pietty much the same categoiies we useu to file the boat's Equipment
Instiuctions.
Engine anu piopulsion
Electiical
Electionics anu Rauai
Binghy anu Notoi
Fiesh Watei
ualley Equipment
uiounu Tackle anu Winulass
6S
Bealth (who got sick with what, vaccinations, anu uiagnostic tests, etc.)
Bull, Zincs, anu Beck
Plumbing anu Pumps
Piopane
Rauio
Rigging anu Winches
Safety Equipment
Sails
Steeiing Systems
0thei anu Niscellaneous
A line was enteieu in the appiopiiate categoiy when a maintenance oi inspection
task was uone. The fiist column hau the uate of the woik, anu the seconu a uesciiption of
what was uone. In the two fai iight-hanu columns weie listeu who uiu the woik (usually
"self") anu what it cost. This system was veiy easy to use anu keep. Anu, it took but a
moment to answei such questions as "which watei tank aie we on." anu "when uiu we last
fill up the big piopane tank." oi "when uiu we last seivice the staiboaiu jib-sheet winch."
oi "when uiu we last giease the winulass." oi "when uiu we last check the iauiatoi clamps
anu thiu-hulls."
This system woikeu veiy well foi us.
64
!"#$LM,,16#N$
When we moveu aboaiu we coulun't quite leave all the tiappings of a shoie life
behinu. Nail still neeueu to be uealt with, financial anu health iecoius still hau to be
checkeu anu fileu peiiouically, taxes uone, etc., etc. We founu it a majoi aujustment to go
fiom having easy phone anu Inteinet access anu plenty of space in filing cabinets foi all this
stuff to living on a boat wheie space was at a piemium anu all this papeiwoik nothing but a
nuisance. We eventually hit on a system that woikeu faiily well foi us. Beie it is.
We bought an expanuable cloth biiefcase that zipeu along the top, in which we
put some expanuable pocket folueifiles. This biief case sat on the flooi in the
main cabin unuei the table next to the mast, wheie it was out of the way but still
easily accessible. In sepaiate folueis in this biiefcase we kept the following:
Financial iecoius, incluuing a copy of eveiy caiu in each of oui wallets anu
numbeis to call if the wallet got lost.
Retiiement iecoius.
Impoitant uocuments, with copies, of passpoits, biith-maiiiage-uivoice
ceitificates, wills, anu copies of all the impoitant boat uocuments that weie kept
in the 0wnei's Nanual. |We upuateu oui wills anu completeu Buiable Powei of
Attoiney anu Instiuctions to Bealth Caie Pioviuei befoie we moveu aboaiu.j
0ne of oui kius also hau a copy of each item in heie, anu a summaiy list of all
financial anu ietiiement accounts, as well as contact infoimation etc.
Bealth iecoius.
Insuiance iecoius.
Infoimation ielateu to oui house, which was ienteu.
Tax stuff.
Customs anu immigiation papeis etc., fiom the uiffeient countiies visiteu.
Receipts foi significant boat-ielateu anu othei expenuituies.
Tiavel items, such as tickets foi upcoming tiips.
At oui iequest, oui mailing agent, St. Bienuan's Isle, foiwaiueu accumulateu mail to
us wheievei we weie, oi to an anticipateu visitoi, appioximately eveiy 6 weeks. Then we
hau a uay oi two of miseiy while we soiteu thiough eveiything anu attenueu to life's
annoying uetails (which otheiwise we manageu to foiget about). Nost of the financial stuff
we uiu online, once a month at an Inteinet cafe#\#checking anu paying cieuit caius anu any
othei bills that might be uue. We uiu oui taxes online at Tuibo Tax. We weie picky about
the Inteinet cafs wheie we uiu this, anu always closeu the biowsei winuow whenevei we
completeu an online financial tiansaction. We weie lucky to finu some Inteinet availability
in a nook somewheie in pietty much eveiy countiy we visiteu.
Then when we staiteu lanu ciuising, we useu the same system anu continueu to use
the same mailing agent.
6S
!"#$M?2#(O+$K/2'/*$
The 0wnei's Nanual foi#N344<G5:<3 was a S-iing binuei in which we kept, unuei
numbeieu tabs, the impoitant boat papeis as listeu below. At the fiont of the binuei we
maue a hanu-wiitten Table of Contents showing what elements coulu be founu unuei each
tab. This binuei liveu on a bookshelf in the main cabin along with the othei binueis
containing assoiteu boat infoimation anu iecoius.
Beie's the Table of Contents:
1. Bocuments: Bocuments ielateu to the boat puichase, feueial uocumentation,
anu state iegistiation.
2. Licenses: Licenses anu ceitifications ielateu to iauio use.
S. Suiveys: Boat anu equipment suiveys in chionological oiuei, most iecent on top.
4. Contiacts: Naiina anu stoiage contiacts (if any)
S. Tiaining: 0ui tiaining iecoius
6. Insuiance: Boat insuiance papeis
7. Tayana S7: Copies oi oiiginals of magazine aiticles featuiing the Tayana S7.
8. Waste Nanagement Plan: to meet Coast uuaiu iequiiements.
9. T0u Nanual: 0peiations anu Naintenance Nanual publisheu by the Tayana
0wnei's uioup.
1u. Bluepiints: Bluepiints fiom when the boat was constiucteu anu copies of the
thiu-hull location uiawings we maue.
11. Biochuies: Biochuies fiom when the boat was oiiginally maiketeu.
66
D/+0#$K/2/A#3#20$-*/2$
The Coast uuaiu iequiies that all vessels opeiating in 0.S. wateis have on boaiu a
piopeily authoiizeu sanitation plan. We heaiu about a vessel that was boaiueu in Floiiua,
anu fineu because it uiu not have one. Below is the plan that was fileu in#N344<G5:<3's
0peiating Nanual to meet this Coast uuaiu iequiiement. This was moueleu on a sample
pioviue to us by Nautech at one of theii seminais in 2uu1.
_________________________________________
The Captain of#N344<G5:<3 is at all times iesponsible foi implementation of this Waste
Nanagement Plan. All ciew membeis anu guests agiee, as a conuition of being on the
vessel, that they will stiictly auheie to the following iequiiements.
uENERAL. (1) No waste of any kinu, othei than uishwashing anu showeiing watei,
may be uischaigeu oveiboaiu without the expiess peimission of the Captain. (2) Bischaige
of waste on shoie will always be uone in compliance with applicable goveinmental law. (S)
Ciew membeis oi guests coming on boaiu#N344<G5:<3 foi the fiist time will be infoimeu by
the Captain that failuie to comply with this Plan subjects#N344<G5:<3's owneis to substantial
monetaiy penalties anu that such failuie will iesult in the uischaige of the offenuing ciew
membei oi guest fiom the ship.
uARBAuE. Tiash will be stoieu aboaiu the vessel in appiopiiate containeis anu helu
until it can be uischaige ashoie by a ciew membei uesignateu by the Captain.
PLASTIC ANB 0TBER N0N-BI0BEuRABABLE WASTE. No plastic oi othei non-
biouegiauable waste of any kinu may be uischaigeu oveiboaiu at any time. All such waste
will be helu on boaiu until it can be safely uischaigeu on shoie in an enviionmentally
sounu mannei accoiuing to local law.
SEWAuE. 0nly uigestive waste shall be placeu in the heau. The heau is uischaigeu
into the holuing tank which is pumpeu out at an appioveu pump-out station aftei each
voyage oi as necessaiy. 0n extenueu voyages wheie the capacity of the holuing tank may
be insufficient, the Captain may authoiize the opening of the sea valves when outsiue the
0.S. teiiitoiial limits. The sea valves shall be in the closeu position at all othei times.
WASTE F0EL ANB 0IL. No petioleum-baseu oil oi fuel may be uischaigeu
oveiboaiu at any time. The Captain is iesponsible foi ensuiing that: (1) the engine uiip pan
is uiaineu as neeueu; anu (2) the bilges aie kept ieasonably clean anu fiee of fuel anu oil.
Any uischaige of fuel oi oil will be immeuiately iepoiteu to the Coast uuaiu. Waste fuel anu
oil will be stoieu in sealeu plastic containeis until they can be uischaigeu ashoie in an
appioveu waste oil tank oi facility.
BAZARB00S NATERIAL. All waste with potentially flammable chaiacteiistics will
be stoieu on ueck in a sealeu containei.
67
!"#$D"1+7#($-&*#$
We uiun't use oui whiskei pole that often, so we kept a checklist to help us
iemembei how to uo it.
Release snap fiom fitting at base of mast
Tuin the pole so the mouth faces foiwaiu
Attach halyaiu to mouth enu anu iaise it anu cleat it off
Lowei the gooseneck
Aujust the halyaiu
Pull the enu of the pole out of the gooseneck by ieleasing the pin, anu put the
othei enu into the clew of the sail, oi onto the sail sheet
Put enu of pole back into the gooseneck anu jam the gooseneck contiol line into
the cam cleat.
Tie a line to the pin-ielease at the clew enu of the pole anu biing it back to the
mast anu secuie it. 0se this line foi ieleasing the clew of the pole
Push both buttons at the gooseneck enu of the pole to lengthen the pole as
neeueu. Buttons lock into holes
Run a line foiwaiu fiom the clew enu of the pole foiwaiu to a cleat, anu also a
line aft to a cleat to lock the pole in position.
68
9#0012A$P.$0"#$D12;$Q/2#$
We maue this checklist to help us until we got familiai with setting up the Nonitoi
Winu vane. We tenueu to use the Autopilot foi shoitei tiips oi if we weie unuei powei.
While sailing, we founu that the Nonitoi uiu a splenuiu job unuei most ciicumstances.
Reu (staiboaiu) line goes ovei the top of the wheel (on the helm) anu thiough
the fiist hole
Blue (poit) line goes unuei the wheel anu thiough the seconu hole
Take lines off the wheel anu tie togethei with a squaie knot
Put lines back on wheel anu tighten the knot
Put vane on penuulum between the metal plates. It goes uphill, bottom enu away
fiom the boat anu penuulum away fiom the boat
Biop the Nonitoi's iuuuei anu latch it
Assume uesiieu heauing anu tiim sails so boat is balanceu
0s the iemote line (tuins chain wheel on Nonitoi) to tuin the van into the winu
(the uphill siue, same siue as penuulum)
Engage the wheel
69
Chapter 4 - 1he "What If's"
Because oui memoiies weie no longei what they useu to be, when we staiteu
ciuising I maue up a bunch of x file caius on vaiious subjects that simply listeu in
sequential oiuei the steps to be taken to accomplish tasks that might have to be uone in
emeigency situations. These caius weie pulleu out anu ievieweu peiiouically. The caius
supplementeu oui stanuaiu opeiating pioceuuies which coveieu the moie ioutine
activities of the ciuising life. .
Those iefeience caius that weie ielateu to safety weie pinneu on a coikboaiu
besiue the nav station, anu ievieweu with people who came on boaiu to ciew foi a while.
0thei caius weie clippeu to the fiont of a lexan wall pocket (bought fiom an office supply
stoie) that was scieweu into the bullwaik above the nav station, anu which helu some
small laminateu chaits to tiack weathei systems on with a china pencil, anu cleai plastic
sleevesenvelopes holuing: the inventoiy; huiiicane piepaiation iefeiences; the
maintenance scheuule; quick iefeience caius we got fiom the Reu Cioss uesciibing what to
uo if someone chokes, has a heait attack, oi stops bieathing. In fiont of the stack of these
caius was a caiu with a sign in big letteis that says "Bon't panic. Take five ueep bieaths,
anu feel them in youi belly. Relax youi bouy."
As the captain, I went to school on ieauing about, anu piacticing mental "what if..."
situations. Nental piactice was an impoitant aspect of keeping the Black Box filleu. In an
emeigency, if one uoesn't know what to uo, theie is a tenuency to "fieeze" oi panic. Not
useful at sea. We hau a few emeigencies wheie the piioi mental piactice paiu off.
This Chaptei uocuments the "What If's." we woikeu out aheau of time so as to be
piepaieu in the event of an emeigency situation:
1. Abanuon Ship
2. Agiounu
S. Anchoi Biagging
4. Ciew 0veiboaiu
S. Collision
6. Bistiess Calling
7. Fiie
8. Fog anu Sounu Signals
9. Beavy Weathei
1u. Leak
11. Nay Bay
12. Neuical Emeigencies
1S. Rauai Plotting
7u
14. Rigging Failuie
1S. Steeiing Failuie
16. Towing
71
=</2;&2$9"1.$
You have only about minutes to abanuon ship if you have a majoi leak anu can't
stop it. That incluues the time spent assessing the uamage anu tiying to plug oi coiiect the
pioblem. Buiing my tiaining in a safety couise at the Naiitime Institute of uiauuate
Stuuies I tiieu climbing into a life iaft fiom the watei with clothes anu PFB on. I coulun't uo
it (only about half the class coulu). I staiteu uoing uaily pushups theieaftei to inciease my
uppei bouy stiength, but it taught me that if evei we hau to abanuon ship we shoulu get
into the life iaft fiom the boat, anu not go into the watei fiist.
All ciew put on theii PFBs.
0ne tiansmits Nay Bay on the SSB anu the vBF while you still have powei.
0theis assemble the following items in the cockpit:
EPIRB;
Yellow Bottles containing flaies;
Bitch Bag;
Emeigency uiibag of waim clothes
Emeigency wateimakei;
Leatheiman knife;
Ship's Log, Banuhelu vBF, anu uPS;
Binghy oai;
Seat cushions (floatable);
Ziplock bag with wallets, passpoits, boat papeis, etc; anu
Fiist Aiu kit
0ne peison ieleases watei jeiiy jug (with line) fiom its ueck tieuowns
0thei peison puts Leatheiman knife in pocket anu small giabbeu items in Bitch
Bag
0ne peison passes the items fiom the cockpit to the peison on the ueck
All inspect the life iaft tethei attachment to the boat to make suie it is secuie
Beploy the life iaft on leewaiu siue of the boat (so it stays close to the boat anu is
shielueu fiom the weathei)
Tie Bitch Bag, yellow bottles anu watei jug with iolling hitches to life iaft tethei
Thiow the yellow bottles anu watei jug oveiboaiu
0ne climbs into the life iaft. Nake eveiy effoit to climb into life iaft fiom mothei
boat. It's incieuibly uifficult to haul youiself into a life iaft fiom the watei.
72
0theis hanu the Bitch Bag, watei makei, cushions, clothing, anu oai into the life
iaft anu immeuiately climb in
Baul on the tethei to ietiieve Yellow Bottles anu watei jug
Activate the EPIRB anu leave it activateu
Let the tethei out as fai as possible anu piepaie to cut it - but only when the
mothei boat is cleaily sinking. Note howevei, that a life iaft cannot be toweu oi
helu alongsiue foi long without suffeiing uamage.
Take seasick pills out of Bitch Bag, anu swallow one oi two.
7S
=A(&'2;R$
This happens to eveiy sailoi at least once (except liais.) I leaineu the following to
ways avoiu it:
uo the long way iounu-it is only time.
Bo not iely on youi uPS neai shoie.
Stay well off a lee shoie.
If you must go thiough a iocky aiea, oi one with coial heaus, post a lookout high
up in the bow, with the sun behinu himhei so she can visually pick out wheie
the uangeis lie.
Bon't let someone else tell you what to uo, even if they think they'ie an expeit
(we went agiounu once in the Bahamas while testing a new autopilot because
the "expeit" installei thought he knew moie than I uiu anu let go of a uock line
without waiting foi my signal.)
So, it uoes happen no mattei how caieful you aie, the only question is when. So I
thought thiough what to uo when giounuing occuis anu maue notes as follows:
Think, "what is the state of the tiue. Is it iising oi falling, anu if so by how much.
Is it a spiing tiue."
If you go agiounu at the top of a spiing tiue, you must act veiy quickly oi you
coulu be stuck foi a couple of weeks.
If you go agiounu unuei powei, immeuiately go haiu astein anu tiy to sliue back
out along the gioove youi keel maue. If this uoesn't woik, go slow aheau while
swinging the iuuuei back anu foith to uig a wiuei gioove, than aftei a few
minutes again go haiu astein. If this uoesn't woik, uesist anu keuge oi sail off as
below.
If the tiue is iising, you may be able to sail off. In any case, tiy to get the boat
heauing towaius ueep watei.
If the winu is blowing fiom the shallow, back the jib to blow the heau iounu,
then tighten all sheets to heel the boat anu sail off.
If the winu is going onto the shallows, gybe haiu if you can anu then tiim the
sheets in tight to heel the boat as she iounus up.
A iising tiue will likely uiive you fuithei into the shallows. If you cannot get off
the shoal, then anchoi the boat quickly to keep that fiom happening.
To keuge the boat off, put the piimaiy anchoi (oi stein anchoi) well out into
ueep watei upwinu oi uptiue with plenty of scope. Then winch in on the anchoi
ioue. At the same time tiy to heel the boat. With a big falling tiue, this may have
to be uone FAST.
Reuuce the uiaft of the boat as much as possible by:
74
1) Beeling the boat towaius the shallows: (a) push out the boom anu have
ciew sit on the enu; (b) take a halyaiu off in the uinghy anu haul on it-
caiefully, this puts a lot of stiain on the mast.)
2) }ettisoning the watei fiom the tanks, anu oi othei heavy items into the
uinghy oi oveiboaiu.
If you stait to heel, close all poitholes anu hatches anu thiu hulls to keep watei
out of the uown siue. Bo eveiything possible to make hei heel towaius the
shallows so that:
Watei will be less likely to entei the boat as the tiue iises.
The keel will sliue uown the bank into ueepei watei as the tiue iises.
To set an anchoi fiom the uinghy:
Put the anchoi in the bottom of the uinghy along with all of its waip on top of it,
making suie the enu of the waip is secuieu tightly to the boat;
Let the waip pay out fiom the uinghy as you go iathei than being uiaggeu
thiough the watei fiom the boat.
Be caieful not to wiap the waip iounu the uinghy piop.
Biop the anchoi fiom the uinghy quickly as soon as you'ie at the enu of the
waip.
If you enu up uiying out, then put mattiesses, cushions, etc unuei the bilge to
piotect it fiom uamage on the iocks. Consiuei iigging a leg (see Banuling
Tioubles Afloat page ).
If you ueciue to go ovei the siue onto muu, always weai a safety line anu have
someone on boaiu watch you. |We know someone who uieu in the muu of the
Chesapeake Bay aftei climbing ovei the siue when his boat went agiounu.j Walk
fast in soft muu anu walk on youi toes. Take an oai as a walking stick. If you aie
taking geai with you (anchoi, chain, etc) make a sleu to uiag them (cockpit
giating, uooi, uinghy, etc.)
If you shoulu go agiounu in heavy suif anu it looks like the boat may bieak up,
consiuei scuttling hei to ieuuce the pounuing. Best to uo this off a sanu beach.
0pen all seacocks anu iemove hoses, open the poitholes anu hatches. If possible
lay anchois to seawaiu anu mooi hei to shoie to holu hei squaie. When the tiue
leaves hei, so will the watei insiue. As the tiue goes out, close the seacocks etc.
anu piepaie to iefloat the boat.
If you have to be toweu off, be suie you've figuieu out how to get it uone without
uamaging youi keel, iuuuei, piopellei, etc. Then convey that infoimation to the
tow boat befoie anybouy staits anything.
7S
=26"&($4(/AA12A$
If you'ie lying at a uiffeient angle to all the othei boats, figuie you'ie piobably
uiagging. 0i, if the speeuometei inuicates movement while you'ie at anchoi (anu you'ie
not lying in any cuiient) then you suiely aie. In a squall, it's likely to be immeuiately
obvious if you'ie uiagging - but then theie's the cieeping uiag, which happens moie slowly,
especially aftei you've wanueieu all iounu the anchoi in some calms. In the lattei case,
theie's moie time to iesponu. You eithei ieset the anchoi unuei powei, oi let out some
moie ioue (if theie's ioom) anu ieset. If this uoesn't uo the tiick, then ie-anchoi. In the
foimei case it can be a life oi ueath situation (foi the boat) so quick action is neeueu as
listeu below.
N0TE: We always kept the uinghy tieu to siue of the mothei boat at night. This
meant that if we hau to move quickly, we uiun't have to woiiy about getting it's paintei
wiappeu iounu the piopellei when we tuineu on the engine. Beie's the action steps:
Tuin on the engine to take stiain off the ioue anu holu position while you ueciue
what to uo.
uet all ciew up on ueck.
uiab the eaiphones anu put them on so we can talk to each othei.
0ne goes foiwaiu to woik the winulass, the othei stays at helm.
If plenty of ioom in the anchoiage, let out moie ioue anu tiy to ieset the anchoi.
Consiuei uiopping the seconu anchoi unuei the bow, anu slowly letting out its
ioue while we uiift back until it giabs.
If these uon't woik, oi theie's no time, oi it's a tight squeeze, maneuvei slowly
unuei powei (being caieful not to wiap the ioue iounu the piopellei) anu haul
up the anchoi.
Then finu a new spot anu ie-anchoi, if available.
If the anchoiage seems uangeious, ieposition uinghy tight astein anu heau foi
an alteinative anchoiage using pieviously selecteu waypoints anu iauai as
neeueu - you uiu have a plan B, uiun't you.
76
@&**1+1&2$
A fieightei can be on you fiom the hoiizon in less than 1u minutes. Youi vessel may
be invisible fiom its ueck - oi it may not have its iauai on. At night, its watch may be half
asleep, in the mess oi in the heau. Nost collisions take place at night. Foi laige ships,
geneially uo not tiy to pass aheau. Change couise oi speeu so that it passes aheau of you.
You have nothing but time. We met a few boats who'u suffeieu seiious uamage in a
collision anu heaiu of otheis that hau sunk aftei one.
1. Co|||s|on Avo|dance
The peison on watch uoes a S6u uegiee lookout no less fiequently than eveiy 8
minutes. 0se a timei if uiowsy.
Know when you aie in a shipping lane-maik them on the chaits
Tuin on the iauai at uaik oi uuiing the uay if in uoubt
As soon as anothei vessel is spotteu, note the time in the log, anu also its
compass beaiing. Sight it ovei a stanchion oi winch
If it's uaik, maik the fiist-sight spot on the iauai scieen with a china penciluiy
eiase maikei (get out the Rauai Plotting Checklist)
0se binoculais to assess the aspect of a vessel, oi at night, to iuentify its lights
(iange lights anu ieugieen navigation lights)
Tuin engine on if neeueu to maintain oi inciease speeu
Piactice, piactice, anu ie-piactice iuentifying what uiffeient lights anu light
combinations mean - this puts lots of points in the Black Box:
o At night, gieen to youi gieen oi ieu to youi ieu is 0K so long as they stay
that way
o At night, If you see both ieu anu gieen the othei vessel is coming stiaight
at you. Aleit the captain, anu if immeuiately necessaiy tuin haiu to
staiboaiu.
o At night, ieu on youi staiboaiu siue means you give way. Tuin to
staiboaiu to pass astein of the othei vessel. |In theoiy, if you aie sailing
anu it is poweiing, it gives way but uon't count on this. Bettei make a tuin
obvious anu eaily anu put youi ieu to its ieuj
o At night, gieen on youi poit siue means you shoulu stanu on anu the
othei vessel shoulu tuin iight to pass behinu you. Aleit the captain. It
may not have its iauai on, oi the watch may be asleep.
o Reu ovei white - fishing at night
o uieen ovei white - tiawling at night
o 2 oi S veitical white lights - a tugboat towing anothei vessel < oi 6uu'
astein.
77
o If you see yellow ovei white, tuin iounu. You aie appioaching the stein of
aNevei get between a tug anu its tow.
o Yellowoiange light unueineath 2 iange lights - submaiine
o Blue light unueineath single mastheau light - law enfoicement vessel
As a geneial iule, foi the fiist few minutes aftei spotting anothei vessel,
maintain couise anu speeu anu watch caiefully to see if the vessel's beaiing
changes. If in uoubt, oi the beaiing uoes not change, slow uown, aleit the Captain
anu assume a collision couise.
0n possible collision couise, tuin on the Rauai anu stait tiacking the taiget on it.
If the vessel is uiiectly aheau oi on a constant beaiing, contact the vessel on the
vBF (channel 16 oi 1S) to ueteimine its intentions.If you uo not ieach it on the
vBF, slow uown oi stop the boat to gain time. Watch caiefully what happens to
the beaiing anu the boat's aspect to finu out which siue you will pass on. Alteiing
couise too soon coulu put you closei to the vessel iathei than fuithei away. Tuin
on the engine. 0nce it is cleai which siue you will pass on, tuin haiu in that
uiiection anu pick up speeu - assuming the othei vessel uoes not change couise.
Action taken to avoiu anothei vessel shoulu be taken eaily anu shoulu be
obvious
To call on the vBF (16 oi 1S) say "vessel heauing (uiiection fiom compass) neai
(whole uegiees of LatLong)". "This is the sailboat on youi...(ielative position -
eg staiboaiu bow). What aie youi intentions."
To get attention of anothei boat anu the vBF uoesn't woik, shine a spotlight on
youi sails, oi set off a white flaie. Also, blow the aii hoin (iepeats of S shoit
blasts) oi use the spotlight (iepeats of S shoit flashes).
If, aftei eveiything, it appeais that collision is unavoiuable, tuin heau on to take
the impact on the bow (the stiongest point of the boat) anu put the engine in
ieveise to ieuuce speeu.
2. Co|||s|on
Eveiyone puts on a PFB anu uoes eveiything possible to get cleai of the othei
vessel.
Belmsman wiites uown the time anu uPS position on a piece of papei anu puts it
in hishei pocket.
If youi vessel is leaking oi sinking, attenu to leaks anuoi abanuon ship
Stanu off the othei vessel anu get in iauio contact (vBF 16 oi 1S)
uet the name of the othei vessel, tonnage, homepoit, wheie bounu, anu last poit.
Wiite it uown.
uive the same infoimation foi youi vessel.
78
Nake quick assessment of uamage, anu tiaue uamage iepoits.
0ffei assistance as appiopiiate.
As soon as possible contact the Coast uuaiu anu uesciibe the inciuent.
Attenu to the uamage.
Notify youi insuiance company as soon as possible
79
@(#?$MJ#(<&/(;$
We leaineu that, in geneial, if a peison falls oveiboaiu fiom a boat, they only have a
Su% chance of being iecoveieu. Consequently, it's impoitant to take eveiy piecaution to
pievent this fiom happening. Beie's oui uiill. Peiiouically we piacticeu with a flotation
iing.
1. revent|on
No-one steps out of the cockpit unless anothei peison is in it, uay oi night.
When going out of the cockpit in othei than calm weathei, weai PFB. Attach
tethei to hainess anu jackline if it's at all iough.
Always keep one hanu foi youiself. Bo N0T holu onto the lifelines; use shiouus
oi fixeu hanuholus.
Always put on shoes when going foiwaiu fiom the cockpit.
At night, the peison on watch weais PFB with tethei attacheu to cockpit paueye.
Remembei that if you go oveiboaiu you have a Su% iecoveiy chance-so long as
someone sees you go. If no-one sees you, you'ie ueau.
2. ketr|eva|
Aleit all the ciew, anu pull the pin out of the N0N (Nan 0veiboaiu Nouule) to
ueploy it. (Befoie we hau the N0N, we hau a LifeSling.)
Belmsman immeuiately uoes a Quick Stop if possible. If going too slowly, oi seas
aie too big, then uo a Reach anu Stop. (See 6 anu 7 below - we piacticeu these
maneuveis peiiouically.)
Piess anu holu the NavN0B button on the uPS, anu then choose uoTo to keep a
constant fix on the C0B's position
If the N0N uoesn't ueploy piopeily, thiow oveiboaiu the BanBouy with
Foiespai lantein anu whistle, anu all the cockpit cushions
0ne peison (if available) keeps the C0B in sight anu shouts encouiagement to
himhei.
Quick Stop: Beau into the winu anu let sails backwinu while the boat ciicles the
C0B.
Reach anu Stop: uo into beam ieach, count slowly to six, then tack anu heau back
on bioau ieach to a spot two boat lengths uownwinu of the C0B. When you aie
almost uiiectly uownwinu, heau into the winu, luff up, anu stop the boat neai the
C0B.
Thiow the thiow-iope to the C0B. If necessaiy, also thiow the uinghy towline
(yellow polypiopylene).
8u
Biop the swim lauuei, heau into the winu neai the C0B anu come uown neai
himhei. If it's at all winuy, come uown on the winuwaiu siue even if that's not
wheie the swim lauuei is.
If you can't maneuvei unuei sail, tuin on the engine being veiy caieful not to get
the piopellei anywheie neai the lines oi N0B. It is bettei to uo it unuei sail.
If the C0B is unconscious oi neeus help, anothei peison puts on PFB with a long
line tieu to the boat, anu then - caiiying flotation anu a seconu line - swims to the
C0B to biing himhei back to the boat.
0thei methous foi biinging C0B back on boaiu:
o C0B climbs swim lauuei, with oi without assistance, if able;
o Biop a line ovei the siue tieu off at one enu, anu leu to a winch on the
othei.C0B neeus anothei line oi hanus to hang onto anu must be able to
keep legs stiaight feet spaceu apait. (This is calleu the Elevatoi Nethou);
o C0B is hoisteu up using a halyaiu (like sack of potatoes) C0B must be
able to put N0N hoiseshoe iounu himself-oi have it put aiounu himhei,
anu attach halyaiu to N0N hoiseshoe lifting iings oi to hishei hainess;
o Swing boom out ovei C0B anu put the iunning backstay tackle on the
ieai paueye to haul himhei up via the hoiseshoe oi hainess;
o Biop the stoim jib in the watei (attacheu to the boat at all S coineis) anu
ioll the C0B onto the sail, then haul himhei up in the sail. This may
iequiie anothei ciew membei to be in the watei (attacheu to a safety
line) to help.
3. Act|on by the erson |n the Water
If PFB uoesn't inflate automatically, blow it up
Bo not tiy to swim, except to get to the N0N oi ietiieve the thiow iope
Put the N0N hoiseshoe unuei the aims anu pull the quick connect stiap. Pull on
the pylon lanyaiu anu get close to the pylon. Wiap youi feet iounu the pait of
the pylon that's unueiwatei with youi aims iounu the uppei pait.
If the N0N uoesn't ueploy, giab whatevei flotation is available, anu conseive
eneigy. uet into the BELP position to maintain bouy heat
Remembei you have a stiobe light anu a whistle on youi PFB. 0se them if
necessaiy.
As soon as you get the thiow iope, tie it onto the N0N lifting iings (oi both
hainess iings) with a one-hanueu bowline (you've piacticeu this, haven't you.)
4. After ketr|eva|
Tieat C0B foi shock anu hypotheimia
uo to school on what happeneu anu take pieventive action foi the futuie.
81
S. If Unab|e to ketr|eve CC8
Bo not give up. Amazing things can happen. Keep a log oi uiaiy of how you'ie
seaiching - make a giiu on papei with uPS cooiuinates anu make passes ovei each squaie
of the giiu. Factoi cuiient anu winu into uecisions about wheie to seaich. Senu someone
with binoculais up the mast to keep on spotting in S6u uegiee ciicles. While you keep on
seaiching foi the C0B uo the following:
uet on the iauio anu announce a NayBay
Remembei that the law of the sea iequiies all vessels to iesponu to calls foi help
- anu this incluues you ifyou evei heai anothei boat's iequest foi assistance
Call the 0S Coast uuaiu anu iequest auvice anuoi assistance
Bo not give up seaiching until all hope is exhausteu anu the amount of time
elapseu extinguishes all possibilities foi the C0B to have sustaineu human life
auiift on the ocean.
In the sau event the seaich must be calleu off, iepoit the loss to the Coast uuaiu,
anu othei authoiities uepenuing on youi location, anu then make othei
appiopiiate notifications.
0se the iauio to get giief counseling anuoi othei suppoit foi the iemaining
ciew.
82
41+0(#++$@/**12A$
0se "Nay Bay" when imminent uangei thieatens life oi piopeity anu immeuiate
assistance is iequiieu. 0se Pan-Pan ("Pahn Pahn") when the safety of a peison oi vessel is
in jeopaiuy, but the uangei is not life thieatening. Auu the woiu "Neuico" to Pan-Pan foi
meuical emeigencies. N0TE that vBF anu 2182 (SSB) only tiansmit ovei about 2u-Su
nautical miles unuei noimal conuitions.
1. 8efore Lach 1r|p
Review instiuctions foi tiansmitting uNBSS Bistiess signal on each iauio -vBF
anu SSB - See(II) anu (III) below
Review tiansmission of Nay Bay anu othei uistiess signaling techniques (See Iv
anu v below)
Bo a iauio check on an appiopiiate fiequency on each iauio.
Review opeiation of the EPIRB.
Test the EPIRB.
Chaige the hanu-helu vBF
2. Automat|c D|stress S|gna| Cn 1he VnI (Standard nor|zon Spectrum)
Nake suie uPS is on anu giving a position ieauing on the vBF scieen
Lift ieu covei ovei Bistiess key, anu piess the key once. If theie is no time to
have the uistiess signal incluue "Natuie of Bistiess" (steps S-S), then holu the
Bistiess key uown foi S oi moie seconus.
Tuin the lowei left knob (Channel Selectoi) anticlockwise one notch to select
"Natuie of Bistiess" anu then piess the "CallSet" key.
Tuin the channel selectoi anticlockwise anu pick the appiopiiate natuie of
uistiess, then piess anu holu the "CallSet" key to tiansmit the Bistiess Signal.
Natuie of Bistiess options aie: Fiie, floouing, collision, giounuing, capsizing,
sinking, auiift, abanuoning ship, piiacy, anu man oveiboaiu.
The iauio will tiansmit the Bistiess signal, anu afteiwaius emit the Bistiess
alaim
The iauio will ietiansmit the Bistiess signal eveiy foui minutes until it ieceives
an acknowleugment, at which point it will switch to Channel 16
To cancel an automatic uistiess call, tuin off the iauio.
3. Automat|c D|stress S|gna| Cn 1he SS8 (ICCM M710)
Tuin on the SSB (piess the "Powei" switch)
Push the 2182KBz button to select the emeigency fiequency
8S
Push the two oiange-labeleu buttons togethei (Tx Fieq anu Alaim) foi 1 seconu
to initiate tiansmission of the uistiess signal. Let it tiansmit foi at least Su
seconus.
Push Alaim to tuin off the alaim tiansmission
Take the miciophone (black hanuset) anu tiansmit a Nay Bay
If you get no iesponse on vBF oi SSB, get out the 0sing the SSB checklist anu tiy
to contact the Coast uuaiu oi begin scanning SSB channels 1S-S7, then 4S-88,
(ham fiequencies) anu then maiine fiequencies 8-1 to 8-9. When you heai
voices, tiansmit Nay Bay
4. 1ransm|tt|ng A May-Day [an-an Is 1he Same Iormat]
Tiansmit Nay Bay call on the SSB anu the vBF while you still have powei. (See
the Nay Bay aiticle foi uetails.)
Tiansmit using the emeigency buttons of each iauio
Tiansmit veibally on vBF Channel 16 oi SSB as follows:
This is |boatnamej, |callsignj; This is |boatnamej, |callsignj; This is |boatnamej,
|callsignj. uive LatLong position oi uistance anu beaiing fiom lanumaik.
If theie is no iesponse aftei a few moments, iepeat the above message.
Aftei tiansmitting a Nay Bay oi Pan Pan, anu you no longei neeu help, you must
cancel as follows:
S. Cther D|stress S|gna|s
Fiie ieu paiachute oi hanuhelu flaies (fiie uownwinu)
Smoke, fiom can oi light a fiie in a bucket (caieful, uown-winu siue of boat)
Waving aims above heau
Continuous hoin, oi S0S (Noise Coue ... - - - ...)
Bye maikei in the watei
Fly Novembei coue flag with Chailie coue flag unueineath it
Fly oiange flag with black ball anu black squaie on it
Fiie a stiobe light (high intensity white flashing onceseconu). Theie's one in the
Bitch Bag. Also, tuin the Foiespai lantein upsiue uown anu it will stait fiiing.
Finally, theie's a stiobe light on each PFB.
Tuin the 0S flag on the stein upsiue uown
Anything else to uiaw attention to the boat (spiay paint BELP on a sheet anu tie
on ueck, hang fiom shiouu, eg)
84
6. kece|v|ng ne|p
Bo not let a laige ship come too close to youi boat, oi it is possible it coulu
uismast youi boat. Nake the ship's ciew launch a lifeboat anu come to you, oi
fiie iockets biinging lines to the boat.
To get help fiom a helicoptei, follow the uiiections of the pilot. Communicate
ovei the vBF oi with hanu signals. The uownuiaft fiom a helicoptei may make it
impossible to heai anu uifficult to stanu upiight. Bo not touch a wiie cable fiom
a helicoptei until it has giounueu in the watei oi on ueck. Bo not cleat a iope
hanging fiom a helicoptei oi you will tethei it.
If an injuieu peison is tiansfeiieu to anothei boat oi helicoptei, wiite uown
theii name anu natuie of injuiyillness anu pin it in a ziplock bag to hishei
clothes.
If you abanuon ship, leave a note pinneu to the Nav Station with youi name, uate
of abanuoning the ship, anu youi uestination.
8S
%1(#$
Besiues sinking, the gieatest thieat to any vessel is geneially fiie. A fiie pievention
minuset is essential on a boat. 0nce staiteu a small fiie can veiy quickly become a big one.
Bo mental piactice of these pioceuuies.
1. I|re revent|on
Always tuin off piopane solenoiu anu let buineis on stove uie befoie tuining
stove knobs off to exhaust the gas fiom the lines.
Always check all buineis aie off befoie tuining one on to light the stove
Keep piopane tanks in cockpit lockei that vents oveiboaiu
Cook stays inneai galley whenevei stove is on, especially neai if it's on low heat
uasoline tanks aie kept tieu on the ueck
Run all gasoline out of the outboaiu befoie stoiing it on the cockpit iail
Check smoke alaim is functioning 0K once a month
Tuin on the C0 uetectoi whenevei the engine is iunning
0ily cloths (oi those useu with flammable liquius, polishes, paints, etc) shoulu be
uiscaiueu aftei use-nevei kept them in an aiitight bagcontainei. To keep foi
continueu use anothei uay, put them in an open bucket on the ueck oi in the
cockpit.
Run the blowei in the engine ioom aftei any piopane is exhausteu fiom the
stove by mistake.
Fill the gasoline tanks on the uock anu not on the boat
Close the hatches anu poitholes on the winuwaiu siue of the boat when iefueling
No smoking on boaiu
Seivice fiie extinguisheis annually
Buiing ioutine maintenance, inspect the conuition of all wiiing iunning thiough
the place wheie you aie woiking
Acquaint eveiyone on boaiu with: (i) location of all 4 ABC fiie extinguisheis anu
the fiie blanket; (ii) the thiee categoiies of fiie (Awoou, papei, plastic, cloth,
iubbei; Bflammable liquius, giease, paint; Celectiical, wiiing, fuses, etc.); anu
(iii) how to fight a fiie
2. I|re I|ght|ng
If theie's an explosion, piepaie to abanuon ship. If time peimits, ueploy the
lifeiaft, otheiwise giab life vests anu jump oveiboaiu.
If unueiway, helmsman tuins anu holus boat with heau into the winu.
86
The fiist thing to uo is to fight the fiie; uo not waste time tiansmitting Nay Bay
oi Pan Pan unless you aie abanuoning ship.
Foi galley fiies, immeuiately tuin off the piopane switch, then:
Engine fiies:
Fiie below uecks.
0se fiie extinguisheis (see below) to extinguish the fiie anuoi smothei the fiie
with the fiie blanket.
If it's behinu a cupboaiu uooi oi lockei hatch, feel the exteiioi. If too hot to
touch, open veiy slowly anu immeuiately ueploy fiie extinguisheis into the aiea.
0se a fiie extinguishei as follows:
Stanu about 6' back fiom the flames.
Back the fiie into a coinei if you can. Then tiy to smothei it. The extinguishei
will only go foi about Su seconus befoie it is spent. uet othei ciew to biing
iemaining fiie extinguisheis, watei buckets if appiopiiate, anu the fiie blanket.
Fiies that have been extinguisheu by smotheiing must be cooleu so they uon't
smoluei anu ielight. They can be cooleu with watei, baking soua, oi wet towels.
The aiea aiounu the fiie must be cooleu, as well as the location that was buining.
Aii into the buint aiea shoulu be ieuuceu to a minimum concomitant with
keeping a watchful eye on it foi seveial houis.
Next, clean up anu iepaii, iewiie, etc.
uo to school on the fiie, anu take some lessons leaineu.
87
%&A$/2;$9&'2;$91A2/*+$
Put points in the Black Box by memoiizing sounu signals anu piinting a list foi
iegulai ieview.
1. Iog
Nevei set out in fog.
When unueiway anu fog settles in, immeuiately ieuuce speeu.
Chait youi piogiess on the chait fiequently as appiopiiate - always know wheie
you aie.
Tuin on the iauai, anu stait maintaining iauai watch on iange of S miles of less
If necessaiy to maintain oi contiol piogiess, tuin on the engine.
Put on PFBs, with tetheis if iough weathei.
Listen on the vBF to Channel 16 anu 1S in Scan moue.
Post a lookout on the bow to Look ANB Listen foi vessel anu buoy sounus,
bieakeis, anu shoie noises.
Peison in cockpit also Looks ANB Listens foi oveitaking vessels. Weai (family
iauio) heauphones to communicate with lookout on the bow.
Iule the engine peiiouically to make it easiei to listen.
Nake the appiopiiate sounu signals as inuicateu below.
2. Sound S|gna|s
Put sounu symbols on an Aii Boin oi can of aii. Caiiy a spaie can.) Beie's a shoit list
to memoiize:
V):#=<:&349#d#-B-*5#0#F<&A%-9/#
Long: 0nuei powei, making way (eveiy 2 minutes)
Long, long: 0nuei powei, not making way (eveiy 2 minutes)
Long, shoit, shoit.: Towing, fishing, sailing, N0C
Long, shoit, shoit, shoit: Nanneu vessel being toweu (eveiy 2 minutes)
Bell foi S seconus: At Anchoi (eveiy minute)
Shoit, shoit, long: You aie iunning into uangei
7%(-*#9)A&.#9<:&349:
1 shoit blast. I am alteiing couise to staiboaiu
2 shoit blasts . I am alteiing couise to poit
S shoit blasts I am going in ieveise
88
2 long blasts, 1 shoit blast I am oveitaking on youi staiboaiu
2 longs, 2 shoit blasts I am oveitaking on youi poit siue
1 long blast, S shoit blasts I agiee to youi oveitaking on the siue inuicateu
S shoit blasts. Bangei - watch out
89
I#/J:$D#/0"#($
Bepenuing on the natuie anu length of the weathei expecteu, caieful juugment is
calleu foi as to the timing anu amount of piepaiation. I tenueu to be on the cautious siue,
anu assumeu the weathei might get a bit woise than the foiecast. If bau weathei was
coming, we stayeu in poit if we coulu. No point in staiting off in a stoim. If a stoim comes,
you want to be well away fiom the coast. Also, uifficulties in a stoim may be moie with the
ciew iathei than the boat.
Remembei: It is veiy uifficult to uo anything on the ueck once a stoim has aiiiveu.
Piepaie EARLY anu TB0R00uBLY.
1. I|rst Stage
Take seasick pills anu give eveiyone a supply of vomit bags (ziplocks)
Tuin engine on anu chaige batteiies
uet cuiient weathei foiecast anu ueciue on stiategy
Reuuce sail anuoi heave to
Check that the poitholes anu hatches aie tght, anu put uiop boaius in
companionway
Review position, anu navigation plan anu hazaius
Piepaie hot foou, some hanu foou, anu hot watei. Fill eveiyone's watei bottle.
Secuie winu vane anu biing up its iuuuei
Remove tow geneiatoi fiom watei anu stow below
Tighten iunning backstays
Check eveiything on ueck is secuie: tie uowns, halyaius, uinghy, etc.
Secuie eveiything below as neeueu (see checklist)
Biing loose anu unneeueu items fiom ueckcockpit anu stoie below
If lightning expecteu, hang coppei piotectoi ovei lee siue anu put uPS anu
hanuhelu vBF in oven
Eat a hot meal.
Keep a watch, anu maintain the log anu plot cuiient
2. Second Stage |f Necessary
Put chafing geai on winuwaiu sheets
Lash the mainsail to the boom, anu lash boom to boom gallows
Tuin uoiaues to leewaiu, oi iemove anu put on coveis
Secuie cockpit lockeis anu engine ioom
9u
Piepaie to ueploy the sea anchoi
Biing in cockpit cushions anu stow below
Close all sea-cocks except foi cockpit uiains. Leave open engine intakeexhaust if
the engine will be iun. If these will be closeu, tie note to the staitei key. Tie note
to 'fiig staitei switch inuicating the uiain is closeu.
Beciue what to uo about using the heau.
uet out anu have hanuy:
Remove bimini anu uougei to ieuuce winuage.
Consiuei ieleasing oil (1 quait eveiy S houis) - open sink uiain seacock anu put
a pin hole in oil bottle, anu put the bottle in the sink (if this is the winuwaiu
siue). If sink is on the leewaiu siue, hang (plastic) bottle fiom a winuwaiu
shiouu.
Keep engine on if neeueu to maintain way-so long as exhaust is not in uangei of
getting swampeu. If so, tuin engine off anu close exhaust seacock anu put
ieminuei flag on staitei key
Keep iauai watch if eveiyone is below anu theie's enough powei.
If possible, check on ueck foi chafe, etc., peiiouically.
3. Stowage Check||st (for a b|g one)
Remove all potentially loose items anu bag them in uouble see-thiough big
plastic bags. Stoie them unuei table, in the showei, in sail lockei, oi on the v-
beith
Close the uooi to the v-beith anu lock it closeu fiom the cabin.
Stuff towels oi cushions in foou lockeis anu galley equipment spaces.
Put the extia bungies on all the shelves, iauio equipment, etc.
Secuie the engine ioom.
Close the hammocks with safety pins oi bungies.
Put positive locking (oi uuct tape) on all lockeis, lius, flooiboaius, nav station
uesk, etc.
Put cockpit cushions on cabin flooi foi thiiu beith if neeueu.
91
C#/7$
Piobably the woist emeigency at sea is a leak below the wateiline. A boat can sink
in just 2 oi S minutes with a majoi leak. Thus, quick action is neeueu to assess the uamage
anu take appiopiiate action. Auuitionally, big leaks often stait out as small ones: theiefoie,
it is essential to check the bilges - uaily when at anchoi anu houily when unueiway. That
way, a small leak will be iuentifieu eaily on#\#hopefully in time to pievent it becoming a big
one.
N0TE: This checklist was wiitten specifically foi#N344<G5:<3#\#she hau too many thiu-
hulls (6 below the wateiline)#\#the only weakness we can think of in an otheiwise
extiemely safe offshoie sailboat. Soon aftei we bought hei, we maue a uiagiam of the
location anu puipose of all thiu hulls anu vent holes on the hull fiom the outsiue, anu gave
them an iuentifying numbei. Then we figuieu out how to ieach each one fiom the insiue.
Because of this weakness, we checkeu hoses, clamps anu seacocks at least eveiy thiee
months. Anu, peiiouically, we ievieweu this Leak checklist anu assigneu iesponsibilities
anu went thiough the motion of peifoiming these assigneu tasks. We maue suie we knew
how to get at eveiy one of the thiough-hulls quickly. A couple of them weie a ieal tiial.
1. Befoie a passage, lay out foi easy giabbing, the heaulight, 2 hammeis, spaie bungs,
anu 2 paiis of wiie-cutting plieis. Also, self-sealing tape, bicycle innei tube, iauiatoi
clamps anu nut uiivei to fit.
2. If watei is founu in the bilge ueciue whethei:
o You have colliueu with something anu holeu the boat (containei, log,
submaiine, whale, iock, etc.)
o Alteinatively, has the hull-ueck seam come apait fiom falling off a wave. If
any of these has happeneu, you will piobably know it.
o 0i it is fiom the piopellei shaft-a line has wiappeu iounu it, oi some fishing
geai-aie you in an aiea known to be fisheu. If the engine was on, anu you
heai a change in sounu-immeuiately go into neutial.
o 0i it is most likely a thiu-hull - theie has been no thump oi bump. In this
case is it a fast leak oi a slow leak.
o 0i it is fiom a leak in the fiesh watei tank oi hoses. Taste it (yuk) - is it salty
oi not.
S. Belmsman aleits all ciew anu tuins on automatic bilge pump anu staits pumping
the cockpit bilge pump.
4. If it is known which siue of the boat the leak is coming fiom, helmsman tuins the
boat immeuiately to biing that siue "up hill".
S. If thiu-hull oi shaft is suspect, non-helm ciew membei puts on heaulight anu giabs
hammei, bungs, anu wiie-cutting plieis anu goes into engine ioom. Then pulls off
the squaie that closes off the engine, anu:
92
o Checks the piopellei shaft foi leakage. If engine is on, tell helmsman to go
into neutial anu tuin the engine off, then into geai. If leaking, wiap it in
stietcheu bicycle innei tube with iauiatoi clamps.
o Closes #12 (fiig intake - on flooi behinu engine on staiboaiu siue). This one
is below the wateiline.
o Checks, anu if in uoubt closes, #S (engine intake - unuei uiip pan on poit
siue) calling to helmsman to tuin off the engine fiist. This one is below the
wateiline.
o Checks #6 (automatic bilge pump -- foiwaiu thiu-hull unuei engine ioom
shelf). If watei coming in it, calls to helmsman to tuin off the pump, anu
closes it. This one is at the wateiline.
o Checks #7 (foiwaiu cockpit uiain - aft thiu-hull unuei engine ioom shelf). If
watei coming in, closes it. This one is at the wateiline.
o Checks #8 (fiig exhaust - poit siue aft of shelf, 2nu fiom stein) anu closes it.
This one is at the wateiline.
o Checks #9 (heating exhaust - poit siue aft of shelf, neaiest stein, high up) anu
closes it (if system is on, call to helmsman to tuin it off fiist.) This is above
the watei line.
6. Ciew then climbs into lazaiette (unuei helmsman's seat) with hammei, bungs, wiie-
cutting plieis, anu seacock hanule extension pipe anu:
o Checks #1u (engine exhaust - staiboaiu siue neaiest stein), if leaking calls to
helmsman to tuin engine off, anu closes it. This is above the wateiline.
o Checks # 11 (aft cockpit uiain - staiboaiu siue, a bitch to get at). If necessaiy
close it. This one is at the wateiline.
7. Neanwhile, the othei ciew membei is in the cabin with hammei, bungs, anu wiie-
cutting plieis anu:
o Checks anu closes #1S - (salt watei intake foi heau, washuown pump, anu
galley - access is unuei cabin sole in fiont of uooi to heau). While theie,
inspects the S tiansuuceis foi leakage. These aie all below the wateiline.
o Checks anu closes #1 (heau sink uiain) anu #2 (heau outlet oveiboaiu). Both
aie unuei the heau sink, access is thiough the bottom louveieu uooi. These
aie below the wateiline.
o Checks #S (manual bilge pump - access is thiough tiap behinu foiwaiu poit
seatback in main cabin). If leaking, closes it. This one is at the wateiline.
o Checks anu closes #4 (galley sink uiain - immeuiately to the iigh tjust insiue
the cupboaiu uooi unuei the sink.) This one is below the wateiline.
8. Bo not give up seaiching foi a leak until the watei level in the engine ioom oi cabin
uiives you out.
9S
9. If the bow is stove in, close the v-beith uooi to make a semi-wateitight
compaitment anu gain time.
1u. If neeu be, use the emeigency piy bai anu hatchet to get at a hole in the hull aiea.
11. Bepenuing on the iesults of the assessment, begin uamage contiol pioceuuies.
Bamage contiol can incluue:
o Biiving a woouen bung thiough a bioken skin fitting to plug it.
o Biiving cushions, mattiesses, towels into a hole fiom the insiue anu
buttiessing them in place with poles, ious, uoois, etc.
o Filling a hole with Naiine Tex quick-acting epoxy.
o Wiapping a split hose with self sealing tape oi stietcheu bicycle innei tube.
o Rigging a sail oi taipaulin outsiue the boat to holu it ovei a hole in the hull.
12. 0se 2-S people with buckets, chain-gang like, to help the bilge pumps (if manpowei
peimits). Appaiently buckets can move watei fastei than bilge pumps.
1S. Keep an eye on the watei level anu batteiies so as to be able to tiansmit a Nay Bay
oi Pan Pan while you aie still afloat anu have electiicity.
14. If, anu in that case as soon as, it becomes appaient that the uamage contiol
pioceuuies aie not woiking, immeuiately begin abanuon ship ioutine
94
K/:$4/:$
Tiansmit a Nay Bay uistiess call only when imminent uangei thieatens life oi
piopeity anu immeuiate assistance is iequiieu. Tiansmit a Pan-Pan ("Pahn Pahn") uigency
call when the safety of a peison oi vessel is in jeopaiuy, but the uangei is not life
thieatening. Tiansmission of a Pan Pan follows the same foimat as given foi a Nay Bay
below. (See the Bistiess Calling aiticle foi moie uetails on that topic.)
1. 8efore Lach 1r|p
Review iauio manuals (vBF anu SSB) foi tiansmission of uistiess signals using
theii uNBSS featuies.
Tape the instiuctions besiue each iauio.
Bo a iauio check on an appiopiiate fiequency.
Review opeiation of the EPIRB.
Test the EPIRB.
Chaige the hanu-helu vBF.
2. In an Lmergency
Tiansmit Nay Bay on the SSB anu the vBF while you still have powei.
Tiansmit using the emeigency buttons of each iauio accoiuing to the manual
instiuctions.
Tiansmit Nay Bay on Channel 16 using the following sequence:
1. Nay Bay, Nay Bay, Nay Bay
2. This is cX-99-4#_3F-c iepeateu thiee times, followeu by Ship Station
License call sign (assuming you can iemembei oi finu it)
S. Nay Bay
4. cX-99-4#_3F-c is at Position (Lat anu Long), oi uistance anu beaiing fiom
specifieu lanumaik
S. We aie (.-9'*<C-#&3%A*-#)>#-F-*:-&'5)
6. We iequiie (.-9'*<C-#&3%A*-#)>#399<9%3&'-#&--.-.)
7. Aboaiu aie (.-9'*<C-#&AFC-*#)>#G-)G4-b#3:-#3&.#')&.<%<)&#<>#*-4-B3&%)
8. We have the following (.-9'*<C-#93>-%5#-UA<GF-&%)
9. cX-99-4#_3F-c is (:<B-#.-9'*<G%<)&/#4-&:%(b#93<4eG)R-*b#.-9<:&#%5G-b#(A44#
')4)*b#%*<F#')4)*)
1u. 0vei
If theie is no iesponse aftei a few moments, iepeat the above message.
9S
3. 1o Cance| a May Day
If you have tiansmitteu a Nay Bay oi Pan Pan, anu latei finu you no longei neeu
assistance, you must cancel it. Beie's the sequence to announce ovei the iauio:
1. Nay Bay
2. Bello all stations, hello all stations, hello all stations
S. This is cX-99-4#_3F-c anu call sign
4. The time is ....... (in 24hi foimat)
S. Seelonce Feenee (to cancel Nay Bay) oi Cancel Pan Pan
6. 0ut
96
K#;16/*$F3#(A#261#+$
1. r|or to a assage
Familiaiize eveiyone with Reu Cioss cheat sheets (we kept them in wall pocket
above the Nav Station)
Familiaiize eveiyone with the meuical iefeiences on boaiu (on bookshelf in
cabin poit siue, anu Neick manual in v-beith)
Familiaiize eveiyone with Fiist Aiu kit anu what's in it (Kit is in a cleai plastic
uiy bag with a Reu Cioss on it, on the shelf unuei staiboaiu poithole of v-beith.
Familiaiize eveiyone with spaie supplies, on-boaiu uiugs anu uiug inuication
list, anu the uiugstoie inventoiy (Banging in the Beau)
Familiaiize eveiyone with how to get help ovei the iauio
Nake suie each peison knows the otheis' meuical histoiy
2. In An Lmergency
Nake suie you uo not put youiself into uangei while iesponuing to the situation.
Beteimine if the casualty is conscious oi not.
Check the victim's heaitbeat.
Check the casualty's aiiways anu make suie they aie cleai.
If the victim is not bieathing, uo Rescue Bieathing.
If theie is no pulse, uo CPR.
If the casualty is bieathing anu has a pulse but is unconscious, put himhei in the
Recoveiy Position.
Look foi bleeuing anu stop it if you finu it.
Check foi fiactuies anu immobilize any.
0nce you have evaluateu the casualty's conuition, ueciue if you neeu help, anu if
so how quickly.
uet immeuiate help if necessaiy by making a Pan Pan (announcing "Pan Pan
Neuico") on the vBF iauio (See Bistiess Calls)
If you get no iesponse to the vBF, stait listening to the Bam anu Naiine
fiequencies on the SSB (see Bistiess calls) anu make a Pan Pan Neuico call theie.
97
)/;/($-*&0012A$
It's impoitant to piactice iauai plotting so that you uon't make mistakes when
you'ie unuei piessuie oi stiesseu. It's not that haiu to uo, anu the piactice is fun anu
euucational. Rauai plotting is the best way to avoiu collision with anothei boat (oi a
squall.) We met two boats who suffeieu seiious collisions (one with anothei sailboat anu
one with a fieightei) anu heaiu of many othei such situations.
Refei to Chaptei 7 foi moie about Rauai. Beie aie the steps to plot foi collision
avoiuance:
0se a maikeu tongue uepiessoi to estimate uistance on the scieen anu a china
maikei to wiite on it.
Keep the iange the same (6 miles) while you aie plotting.
Bo not change youi couise oi speeu while you aie plotting.
When you fiist see a taiget, put an "X" on the scieen, anu wiite the time besiue it.
If it is a big splougy shape, it is a squall so aleit the captain.
Aftei 6 minutes, put an "XX" on the scieen wheie the taiget now is, again with
the time besiue it. If the taiget has moveu neaiei, it is getting closei. If it
pioceeus along the beaiing uiiectly towaius you, you aie on a collision couise.
Aleit the captain.
Biaw a line fiom X to XX anu extenu it in youi uiiection to well past you. This is
the BRN (uiiection of ielative motion).
0se the 6-minute iule. Neasuie the uistance between X anu XX with the tongue
uepiessoi. When the time between X anu XX is exactly 6 minutes, uistance
Speeu1u oi Speeu 1u x Bistance. This is the SRN (speeu of ielative motion.)
This can be uifficult to estimate in a seaway.
Figuie out the CPA (closest point of appioach). This is the peipenuiculai
uistance fiom the BRN to us (centei of the scieen).
Figuie the time until the CPA by measuiing how fai it is fiom the taiget to the
CPA, anu uiviuing by its SRN.
If the taiget is moving veitically uown the scieen at an SRN that is gieatei than
ouis, it is heaueu on a collision couise towaius us at a speeu equal to the SRN
minus oui speeu. Aleit the captain. Bo not change couise until you can tell which
siue to go on, oi you may biing youiself inauveitently closei. To gain time, slow
uown oi stop.
If it is moving uown scieen at an SRN less than ouis, then we aie on a collision
couise oveitaking it, anu its speeu is oui speeu minus SRN. Aleit the captain.
If the taiget is not coming stiaight uown scieen at us (eithei appioaching along
its beaiing on a collision couise, oi with a BRN that uoesn't biing it uiiectly to
us), figuie out it's tiue speeu anu tiue ielative couise by making a vectoi
98
tiiangle. Biaw a line fiom X veitically uown the scieen, with a length equal to
how fai you tiaveleu in the 6 minutes (youi speeu1u). Call this point Y. Then
uiaw a line fiom Y to XX. It's length x 1u gives you the tiue speeu of the taiget,
anu its uiiection is the taiget's tiue ielative couise. Figuie it's tiue couise by
auuing youi couise to it's tiue ielative couise.
Recoiu in the log the taiget's speeu anu tiue couise. If we have to contact the
vessel on the vBF, we neeu to know its appioximate tiue couise.
Figuie out who is the stanu-on vessel anu who is the give-way vessel.
Note that if a taiget is moving uown scieen towaius you at youi speeu, then it is
not moving. It is ueau in the watei, anchoieu, a buoy, oi an oil uiilling iig.
If you slow uown, the iauai tiack foi the taiget cuives up the scieen.
99
)1AA12A$%/1*'(#$
If the engine is on, immeuiately put it into neutial
Tack oi cast off the sheets to luff the sails anu immeuiately altei couise so that
the bioken stay oi shiouu is to leewaiu:
Poit shiouu - go on the staiboaiu tack (winu on the staiboaiu siue) anu tighten
the poit iunning backstay amiuships
Staiboaiu shiouu - go on the poit tack, tighten the staiboaiu iunning backstay
amiuships
Foiestay - heau uown winu, leau spaie halyaiu foiwaiu anu winch it tight.
Back stay - heau into the winu anu tighten both iunning backstays.
If the mast bieaks, cut eveiything away to keep it fiom holing the boat. Tiy to
pieseive the sail if possible, anu some of the iigging. It may be possible to coiial
the mast along the siue of the boat, anu lash it theie well fenueieu anu cleai of
the watei. This iequiies iemoving spieaueis etc.
0thei stiategies foi ieacting to a uismasting incluue:
o Anchoi, if you'ie in shallow enough watei while you ueal with the
situation.
o Cut the mast loose anu abanuon it - notify the Coast uuaiu oi issue a
"Secuiitae" to wain othei boateis of a potential hazaiu.
o Tow it behinu, using it as a kinu of sea anchoi. Bon't tow it with the
engine on unless you'ie absolutely ceitain nothing will foul the piop.
Aftei a uismasting, get some sail up somehow to uampen iolling. Climb caiefully
up the mast steps as fai as you can anu make a lashing at the top to which you
can secuie the heau of a sail. Lash the boom oi the whiskei pole to the iemnants
of the mast if neeueu-you will neeu to secuie the foot of the extension veiy
caiefully anu tightly at the bottom. Look in Banuling Tioubles Afloat foi iueas.
Rig the emeigency vBF Antenna pei its incluueu instiuctions (hopefully you've
ieau these aheau of time.)
See the Ciuising Club of Ameiica's Nemoianuum on 0ffshoie Communications
foi instiuctions on how to iig an emeigency antenna foi the SSB.
1uu
90##(12A$%/1*'(#$
Fiist thing is to ueteimine if the pioblem is with the iuuuei oi with the wheel
system.
If it's the wheel system, take off the uoiaue just behinu the helmsman's seat anu put
on the emeigency tillei. (You've piacticeu this aheau of time haven't you.) Check the
compass effects
If you've lost the iuuuei, fiuule with the sails anu tiy to get youi uesiieu couise.
Nove the centei of effoit foiwaiu oi aft as seems best. Biop the main, anu iig the iiuing
sail, oi stoim jib, on the backstay to move the effoit aft-uiop the heaustay sails too if
neeueu. To move the effoit foiwaiu, use just the heausail.
If the iuuuei is stuck in position othei than stiaight aheau, senu someone oveiboaiu
(tieu to the boat with a line) with a big u clamp which has a long line attacheu to it. Bive
uown anu put the clamp on the iuuuei about miuway uown. Bouble the lines onto the
clamp. Biing the lines back, one on each siue, anu leau them to the jib-sheet winches. Baul
on the lines to see if you can move the iuuuei.
If you've lost the iuuuei, to pioviue some uiiectional push, lash the two cockpit
giatings togethei, anu then attach a long stuiuy line to each siue of the giating. Leau the
lines thiough the stein, oi even amiuships, biiule-like, to cleats. Launch the giatings, then
aujust the lines to pull the giatings to one siue oi the othei. Alteinatively, see what you can
uo with the winuvane iuuuei.
1u1
!&?12A$
Things can go bauly wiong in a tow - sometimes woise than the pioblem that
causeu the tow to be necessaiy in the fiist place. Befoie you accept a tow, make suie the
towing boat anu ciew ieally know what they aie uoing. Likewise, befoie you offei anothei
boat a tow, be ceitain you can hanule it anu that the othei boat knows how to be toweu.
Befoie accepting a tow, oi offeiing one, unueistanu the iisks, costs, anu liability.
If you aie toweu, will the towei claim salvage.
Reau Chaptei II (page 16u) in BanulingTioubles Afloat befoie setting up a tow.
Bo not iush. Thinks things thiough befoie engaging in a tow.
Naintain contiol of youi vessel. Bo not let anyone else make uecisions foi you.
Bave a knife hanuy at all times ieauy to cut a towing line in an emeigency. Think
about wheie the cut enus will fly if it has to be cut.
Nevei stanu neai a towline wheie you coulu get hit by it, oi its enu, if it paiteu oi
was cut.
Foi towing in iestiicteu wateis wheie tight maneuveiing is iequiieu, the towing
boat shoulu be tightly lasheu (foiwaiu, aft, anu both spiings) to the quaitei of
the boat being toweu with fenueis placeu between them. The stein of the towing
boat shoulu be aft of the stein of the boat being toweu to peimit cleai passage of
watei ovei the towing (pushing) boat's iuuuei. The boat being toweu can also
assist by making iuuuei changes as neeueu.
Piactice the tugboat hitch aheau of time, anu use it foi youi towline (except as in
step 7 above). It can safely be cast off if neeu be.
1u2
Chapter S - Mar|ne kad|o
Leaining the ins anu outs of maiine iauio was not as easy as we expecteu.
Eventually, howevei, by tiial anu eiioi, constant stuuy, anu iefeience to technical
iesouices, it began to come togethei to the point wheie eventually we coulu uo all the
things we wanteu:
listen to weathei foiecasts;
paiticipate in iauio nets;
uownloau weathei fax;
talk to fai-away fiienus on anu oi othei boats;
iecieve anu senu e-mail; anu
keep up with the news of what was happening woilu wiue.
This Chaptei is a sequence of aiticles I constiucteu as I leaineu moie than I evei
anticipateu about iauio, anu then posteu the iesults on the website:
Rauio 0veiview
Rauio Nets
Leaining Rauio
The Rauio Log
The Rauio Refeience Foluei
0sing the IC0N 71u Naiine Rauio
Also see the Bistiess Calling anu Nay Bay aiticles fiom Chaptei 4.
We founu theie weie not too many useful texts geaieu towaius the iecieational
ciuisei. We bought all we coulu finu, anu founu following books to be useful:
K)3%-*c9#2A<.-#%)#XSV#3&.#2@+== by Sue Fletchei
@3*<&-*c9#2A<.-#%)#=<&:4-#=<.-#K3&.#D3.<) by Fieueiick uiaves
@3*<&-#==K#=<FG4<><-. by uoiuon West
$DDH#7G-*3%<&:#@3&A34 publisheu by the Ameiican Rauio Relay League, uetails
ham iauio pioceuuies
8399G)*%#%)#L)*4.#K3&.#D3.<) fiom Inteinational Bioaucasting Seivices, Ltu.
This is a gieat iesouice that is upuateu annually anu gives the scheuules anu
fiequencies foi news, enteitainment, anu othei shoit wave (high fiequency)
bioaucasts fiom vaiious countiies aiounu the globe.
Also, see the Inteinet Resouices section of Chaptei 9 foi useful links on this subject.
1uS
)/;1&$MJ#(J1#?$
An unueistanuing of iauio, anu the ability to tiansmit anu ieceive infoimation on
maiine anuoi ham iauio fiequencies, is an essential safety featuie on a ciuising sailboat.
When we moveu aboaiu, we knew how to use an AN-FN iauio anu the vBF. The neeu to
get weathei infoimation when fai fiom lanu, uownloau weathei faxes, the uesiie to have
on-boaiu e-mail capability, anu to communicate with othei sailois foiceu us to giapple
with puichase, installation, anu use of a Single Siue Banu (SSB) iauio.
Beie aie some things to know about as you attempt to uniavel anu mastei the
mysteiies of maiine iauio. We leaineu these as we stuuieu a vaiiety of souices, anu fiom
obseivation anu expeiience. 0n puichasing anu installing an SSB, we began to stuuy foi
the exams to become amateui ("ham") iauio opeiatois. This involveu passing, fiist, the
Technician Class exam, then a S woius pei minute Noise Coue test, anu then the ueneial
Class exam. It was well woith the effoit.
E4.F.C (veiy Bigh Fiequency-Fiequence Nouulateu) iauio is cheap anu useu in
coastal navigation. vBF is consiueieu Su-Suu NBz (maiine banu anu BuPS). Channels: 16,
22 aie Coastguaiu. 9 is iecieational vessel to commeicial shoie. 67, 72 aie between
iecieational anu commeicial vessels. vBF-FN fiequencies aie 1S61S7 NBz which is above
noimal FN iauio. 68, 69, 71, 72, anu 78 aie foi iecieational useis. 6, 1S, 67 aie foi safety
anu navigation. BuNS is on 7u (uigital use only). Naiine opeiatois aie on channels 24-28
anu 84-88. Note that the use of channels must ielate to the neeus of boat. vBF is line-of-
sight communication anu theiefoie uepenus on the height of youi antenna anu
obstiuctions. 2u-4u miles is about aveiage.
4. (Bigh Fiequency oi "Shoitwave") iauio is foi high seas anu coastal maiine
puiposes. BF (the maiine banu, calleu #&7-GHIJJKLM) aie at S-Su NBz anu piouuce long-
iange wave piopagation. 0seis must know which fiequencies aie available anu what theii
iange is. BF iauio can tiavel thousanus of miles. Range is affecteu by tiansmittei powei,
antenna gain, but most impoitantly by atmospheiic conuitions. Channels (tiansmission
fiequencies) aie selecteu accoiuing to time of yeai, time of uay anu how fai you want to
tiansmit. /NJOLK-/NPK-+IJP-Q//+R is the type of BF iauio useu by boateis anu the
instiument manual contains a complete list of the IT0 channels, anu shoulu also iuentify
high seas telephone channels.
The BF banu incluues maiine fiequencies anu also incluues fiequencies allocateu to
the amateui seivice. 0n the SSB the usei can piogiam these fiequencies into a set of 0sei
Channels. To use the ieseiveu ISITKUV-QHISR-WVKXUKJGNKM the usei must have an
Amateui Rauio License.
0se of the iauio is stiictly contiolleu in the 0SA by the .$$, anu theie aie licensing
iequiiements both foi the usei anu foi the station.
C. (Neuium Fiequency) is 2-S NBz anu has iange of 7S-1Su miles uuiing the uay.
NF iauiotelephones aie SSBs. Some SSBs can ieceive Weatheifax, Navtex, oi Sitoi
bioaucasts.
An emeigency antenna foi the //+ shoulu be 2S' long.
1u4
$YSSKVGNIL %C iauio tiansmits quite a long way (seveial thousanu miles at night)
anu you can sometimes pick up weathei info heie. Also, if you have a cheap AN iauio you
can use it as a uiiection finuei.
The use of amateui iauio (ham) equipment at sea is calleu CIVNTNSK-CYZNLK-QCCR)
To use a computei with a iauio, you must connect the SSB anu computei using a
"&KVSNJIL-(YPK-$YJJKGTYV" (iauio mouem) anu have appiopiiate softwaie.
To spell out woius on the iauio, foi each lettei use the inteinationally iecognizeu
system: Alpha, Biavo, Chailie, Belta, Echo, Foxtiot, uolf, Botel, Inuia, }uliet, Kilo, Lima, Nike,
Novembei, 0scai, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sieiia, Tango, 0nifoim, victoi, Whisky, X-iay,
Yankee, Zulu.
Satellites have ievolutionizeu maiine communications. Tiauitional iauio ielieu on
ionospheiic ieflection anu piopagation. ueostationaiy satellites pioviue essentially line-of-
sight tiansmission capability to most of the eaith's suiface. They can tiansmit geneial
infoimation to all ships, oi they can ielay tiaffic to a specific vessel oi shoie station. The
IN0 (Inteinational Naiine 0iganization) oiganizeu #(C%2/%& (the Inteinational
Naiitime Satellite 0iganization) to cooiuinate anu iegulate satellite use. INNARSAT has
one membei fiom each countiy. The 0S is iepiesenteu by Comsat. INNARSAT was
incoipoiateu in 1998 into /',%/ (the Inteinational Convention foi Safety 0f Life At Sea.)
As pait of INNARSAT, ships now tiansmit weathei infoimation to goveinment
agencies, vastly impioving the amount of uata available to weathei foiecasteis, anu thus
the foiecasts.
9C!// (the ulobal Naiine Bistiess anu Safety System) is slowly going into effect
woiluwiue.
1uS
)/;1&$E#0+$/2;$5(&/;6/+0+$$
In auuition to goveinment maiine weathei bioaucasts, ciuiseis can listen to any of
the numeious volunteeis who spenu a significant poition of theii time managing a numbei
of iauio "nets" which pioviue useful#\#even essential#\#infoimation to ciuiseis. Rauio nets
also help ciuiseis keep in touch with fiienus anu family. Nany of these nets aie activateu
uuiing emeigencies anu will bioaucast boat-watches foi oveiuue vessels. Nets also help
finu ciuiseis whose families uigently neeu to make contact with them.
Note that the times given aie in 0niveisal Cooiuinateu Time (0TC) anu some nets
move foiwaiu an houi when uaylight savings time goes into effect in theii main aiea. Foi
auuitional nets, see the Appenuix at the back of }im Bowaiu's excellent Banubook of
0ffshoie Ciuising, wheie theie is a list of ovei a hunuieu ham iauio maiitime mobile nets
aiounu the woilu.
This list of nets anu bioaucasts was cuiient to the best of oui knowleuge as of the
enu of oui ciuising peiiou (summei, 2uu4). Bowevei, nets uo change fiequencies (usually
up oi uown a few Bz) anu times so we uon't guaiantee the accuiacy of this list anu aie no
longei actively maintaining it. Bowevei we uo make changes when people email them to
us.
1. Weather Nets

1u6
2. Weather 8roadcasts
|N0TE: since this page of oui website is no longei actively maintaineu, ciuiseis aie
auviseu to check with the weathei seivice foi changes to this listing.j
The 0S National Weathei Seivice bioaucasts maiine weathei foiecasts on 4426 kBz,
6Su1 kBz, 8764 kBz, 1Su89 kBz, anu 17S14 kBz. 0ffshoie anu high seas foiecasts foi the
Atlantic anu Caiibbean begin at uSSu 0TC, uSuu 0TC, u9Su 0TC, 1SSu 0TC, anu 21Su 0TC.
Weathei foiecasts aie also tiansmitteu continually ovei the vBF (Weathei Channels 2-S)
along the east coast of the 0S. Stoim wainings aie bioaucast on WWv (SuuumBz,
1uuuumBz, 1SuuumBz, anu 2uuuumBz) at 8 minutes past each houi. BBC Rauio 4 shipping
foiecasts aie bioaucast at uu48, uSSS, 12u1, anu 17S4 local time on 198 kBz (1S1Sm).
Rauio Fiance Inteinational bioaucasts a 24-houi weathei foiecast at 114u 0CT uaily on
617SkBz (English Channel, Noith Sea, Bay of Biscay), on 117uukBz, 1SSSukBz, 17S7SkBz
(Noith Atlantic east of uSu uegiees West), on 1184SkBz (West Afiica to uibialtai), anu
1SSuukBz (Equatoi to 27 uegiees Noith).
Foi a complete list of woiluwiue weathei bioaucasts, see N0AA's Woiluwiue
Naiine Weathei Bioaucasts oi the Biitish Aumiialty List of Rauio Signals.
1u7
3. Cther Nets


1u8
4. Net|quette
0seis of iauio nets shoulu be awaie of the geneially accepteu etiquette foi using anu
paiticipating in iauio infoimation anu contact nets. While theie aie no haiu anu fast iules,
the following suggestions may be helpful.
Befoie paiticipating (tiansmitting) uuiing a net, listen to the complete net a few
times so you unueistanu its foimat.
Each net is manageu by someone acting as Net Contiol whose job it is to act as
NC, chaii, oi facilitatoi of the net activity. 0n ham nets, the net Contiol also logs
each callei's callsign anu name, plus any othei infoimation offeieu. Look foi
oppoitunities to substitute foi these ueuicateu volunteeis, to give them an
occasional uay off.
Some nets aie oiganizeu solely foi the puipose of allowing people to check in, oi
make contact. When tiying to make contact uuiing such a net oi contact peiiou,
listen to make suie no-one else is talking, then state the call sign of the station
you'ie tiying to ieach louuly, slowly anu cleaily, twice, then state youi own call
sign, once. Bolu the miciophone close to youi lips. If you heai no iesponse, wait
thiee minutes anu tiy again. Bo not keep calling anu calling. 0n vBF anu SSB
maiine channels, the call sign is theoietically the Ship Station License numbei,
but common usage is the boat's name. 0n the ham fiequencies, it is the callsign
assigneu by the FCC when you passeu the ham exam. 0nce you have maue
contact, you shoulu switch to anothei fiequency to leave the oiiginal calling
fiequency open foi othei contacts anu checkins.
Sometimes the net contiol cannot heai someone tiying to talk on a net. You may
be able to help by seiving as a Relay.
Befoie speaking on any iauio, listen foi a few seconus to make suie you uon't
"step on" someone else.
You may only tiansmit on ham fiequencies if you have the appiopiiate ham
license#\#a license is not neeueu to listen, howevei. Be awaie of which class of
ham license authoiizes you to use which fiequencies. Note that the ham
fiequencies may be useu by anyone in case of a life-thieatening emeigency if no
othei fiequencies aie available. Note also that theie aie iegulations that contiol
tiansmission by foieign ciuiseis on ham banus in vaiious countiies.
If you use iauio foi e-mail tiansmission, avoiu uoing e-mail at the times of
scheuuleu iauio nets oi weathei-fax bioaucasts. Youi e-mail tiansmission signal
is veiy poweiful anu may well obliteiate net activity anuoi the weathei-fax
signal.
Know the vBF channels that can be legally useu by ciuiseis. Theie aie moie
iestiictions in the 0S than in Caiibbean countiies. Be awaie that unuei the
uNBSS Channel 7u is foi uigital use only, anu nevei useu foi voice tiansmission.
1u9
C#/(212A$K/(12#$)/;1&$$
Beie is an explanation of the piocess we followeu, the lessons we leaineu, anu the
stiuggles we hau with installing anu leaining how to use maiine iauio. We offei this in the
hope that it might be helpful to otheis faceu with that task.
When we bought#N344<G5:<3, we knew how to use a vBF iauio, anu an AN-FN iauio#\#
anu that was about it. 0ui boat was equippeu with an IC0N IC-N4S vBF, an AN-FN iauio,
anu a ham iauio. Aftei we weie finisheu with hei, she was equippeu with the same Icom
vBF, a Stanuaiu Boiizon BX46uS hanuhelu vBF, a Sony SuXW4 cai iauio with a 1u-CB
playei, a Rauio Shack pocket AN-FN iauio, an IC0N IC-N71u SSB, a Pactoi IIe teiminal
noue connectoi, anu a paii of TechLink "family" iauio heausets.
The cost of upgiauing the iauio equipment maue a big hole in the boat kitty, one we
haun't anticipateu. Bowevei, we ueemeu it money well spent because once we leaineu how
to use eveiything we coulu:
listen to weathei foiecasts;
paiticipate in ham anu maiine Rauio Nets;
uownloau weathei fax;
talk to fai-away fiienus on othei boats oi on lanu;
get anu senu e-mail;
listen to woilu-banu iauio;
listen to local bioaucasts anu oui CB collection;
talk to each othei fiom foieueck to cockpit anu fiom masttop to ueck without
yelling; anu
get a beaiing on a local iauio station.
The one thing we nevei figuieu out was how to get ieal-time satellite pictuies. Note
that this aiticle incluues infoimation that was cuiient as of the enu of oui ciuising peiiou
(summei 2uu4). Changes in laws anu iequiiements since them aie not coveieu.
1. kegu|at|ons and L|cens|ng
It took a while to unueistanu the licensing iequiiements. A piesentation by }oe
Nunemakei, KBSvR, of BayNastei Electionics in Lanham, NB, (Su1-S77-u4S4) at
Nautech's 0ffshoie Passagemaking Seminai in eaily 2uu1 was helpful. }oe pioviueu copies
of the FFC foims, which can also be uownloaueu fiom the FCC website.
As we unueistoou the iequiiements, a boat neeus a Ship Station License if it has an
SSB iauio on boaiu, anu its ciew neeus Restiicteu Rauiotelephone 0peiatoi Peimits to
opeiate the SSB using the maiine banu of fiequencies. The RR0 peimit is also neeueu to
opeiate a vBF in foieign wateis. The Ship Station License is goou foi 1u yeais. The
Restiicteu Rauiotelephone 0peiatoi Peimit uoes not expiie.
11u
Filling out the foims is quite confusing as theie aie sepaiate foims foi application
anu to make payment. Bowevei, the FCC website uoes pioviue a helpline which can be useu
by phone to answei questions. To tiansmit on the most wiuely useu ham fiequencies on
the SSB, you neeu ueneial Class Licenses foi Amateui (ham) Rauio#\#no license is neeueu to
listen, howevei. To use the ham fiequencies in foieign wateis, a iecipiocal license may be
neeueu fiom the foieign goveinment. The ueneial Class License is goou foi ten yeais. To
get a ueneial Class license you must fiist obtain a Technician class license, anu complete a
test of Noise Coue at S woius pei minute.
0nly commeicial, FCC accepteu iauio equipment is authoiizeu foi use in the maiine
fiequencies#\#howevei, such equipment can also be useu on the amateui (ham) fiequencies.
Amateui (ham) iauio equipment, on the othei hanu, can only be useu in the amateui
fiequencies, anu may not be useu in the maiine fiequencies.
2. Us|ng the VnI kad|o
Since we weie alieauy familiai with using the vBF, this uiun't piesent too many
pioblems. We hau to leain which channels aie authoiizeu foi use by ciuiseis, anu that
authoiizeu use vaiies somewhat fiom countiy to countiy. Regulations in the 0S aie
iestiictive. We puichaseu a hanuhelu vBF iauio as backup, anu to use in the cockpit while
unueiway, oi to go with a ciew membei in the uinghy. This iauio was iechaigeu fiom the
boat's batteiies, anu got soakeu a few times without malfunctioning. In many Caiibbean
countiies the vBF opeiates as a telephone foi local iesiuents anu ciuiseis alike. People
listen in on each othei's conveisations without compunction#\# jokingly iefeiieu to as the
"We BF". Noining nets on the vBF aie common, anu a gieat way foi ciuiseis to shaie
infoimation.
3. S|ng|e S|de 8and (SS8 or "Shortwave") kad|o
Without knowing ieally what we weie uoing, but on }oe Nunnemakei's
iecommenuation, we ieplaceu the ham iauio that came with#N344<G5:<3 with an IC0N-N71u
maiine SSB in Septembei, 2uu1. }oe installeu the iauio (uefinitely not a uo-it-youiself task)
using the existing backstay antenna, anu ieplaceu the giounu. The puichase anu
installation was a majoi anu unaticipateu expense, but we nevei iegietteu it foi a minute.
We stiuggleu up the leaining cuive with this iauio, since the usei manual is quite ciyptic.
At the SSCA Annual Neeting in Nelbouine in Novembei, 2uu1, the IC0N iepiesentative
iecommenueu we call IC0N anu ask foi a copy of uoiuon West's piimei on Naiine SSB
Simplifieu anu we bought Fieueiick uiaves' Naiinei's uuiue to Single Siue Banu Rauio.
Eventually, thiough ieauing these books, the instiuction manual, anu a lot of tiial anu
eiioi, we got the hang of it, anu leaineu how to piogiam the 0sei Channels to oui
satisfaction.
We spent many houis just listening to the SSB, leaining what kinu of tiaffic coulu be
founu on which fiequencies, at what time of uay. We uevelopeu a Listening Log in the Rauio
Notebook. 0nce we finisheu piogiamming the 0sei Channels, we maue a iefeience sheet
on which we maikeu piogiamming changes. We allocateu the 16u usei channels foi: WWv
(time ticks anu weathei); ham nets; maiine nets anu talking channels; weatheifax; e-mail;
anu woilu-banu iauio. We eventually became familiai with what was available in the IT0
111
channels since many of these aie useu foi maiine weathei, maiine nets anu talking
fiequencies. While we weie in Naish Baiboui in the Bahamas in eaily 2uu2, }im anu }ulie
Lyons of Sv Iolani weie oiganizing a seiies of "WB-4u Foi the Ninu" seminais foi ciuiseis.
0ne of the topics while we weie theie was iauio, anu it was excellent. At that seminai, we
leaineu about the book Passpoit to Woilu Banu Rauio which we bought. Wow! Biu that
open oui eyes to all the piogiamming available to us on the SSB. We often listeneu tonews
anu othei bioaucasts in English fiom all aiounu the globe.
When he installeu the SSB, }oe Nunnemakei tolu us that we shoulu get oui ham
iauio licenses. Thiough the ARRL we bought the stuuy guiues foi the Technician anu
ueneial Class licenses, anu a set of Noise coue tiaining tapes. We took anu passeu the
Technician exam at the SSCA meeting in Nelbouine, anu in Apiil, 2uu2, we took anu passeu
the next level ueneial Class license exam in Lauiel, NB. We leaineu some useful things
about iauio while stuuying foi these exams, but it was mostly iote leaining. We uiilleu each
othei on Noise Coue. We uiilleu each othei on iegulatoiy issues, which fiequencies coulu
be useu by whom foi what, moues of communication, safety factois in using iauio, antenna
featuies, iauio wave piopagation chaiacteiistics anu what affects it, iauio etiquette, etc.,
etc. We bought the ARRL's 0peiating Nanual anu became piouu of oui membeiship in the
ham iauio community.
I spent quite a bit of time listeningpaiticipating in vaiious Rauio Nets. I uiscoveieu
that these weie a wonueiful way of getting answeis to questions, obtaining help when
neeueu, finuing out what's going on in vaiious ciuising locations, anu geneially keeping in
touch with othei boats.
An emeigency antenna was caiiieu on boaiu so that the SSB anuoi vBF coulu still
be kept functional in case of a uismasting oi othei loss of iauio antenna.
4. L-ma|| from the 8oat
At the SSCA meeting in Nelbouine (Novembei, 2uu1) we attenueu a uaylong
seminai put on by the Winlink uevelopment team anu spoke to a iepiesentative of Sailmail.
Winlink anu Sailmail aie close cousins. They aie e-mail systems foi ciuiseis using the
amateui (ham) anu maiine fiequencies iespectively. To use Winlink, we leaineu we
neeueu a ueneial Class ham licenses so we signeu up with Sailmail foi a yeai to get
ouiselves staiteu anu ieceiveu uiskettes with the Aiimail softwaie on it. At the same SSCA
meeting, anu again on }oe Nunnemakei's iecommenuation, we bought a Pactoi IIe teiminal
noue connectoi (iauio mouem) anu the necessaiy cabling fiom Nike's Electionics in Ft.
Lauueiuale (9S4-491-711u). The Pactoi IIe allows a computei to tiansmit anu ieceive
uigital infoimation ovei the iauio. Plugging the Pactoi into the iauio anu connecting it to
the laptop was the easy pait. Installing the Aiimail softwaie was also simple. Then we
piogiammeu the Sailmail fiequencies foi thiee of its iauio stations into the SSB 0sei
Channels, iemembeiing to make them 1.9 hz below the listeu fiequencies. But then it took
quite a bit of tiial anu eiioi, anu a call to }im Coienman (Aiimail's uevelopei) befoie that
fiist e-mail message went out. But what a thiill! }im Coienman, anu the folks at Sailmail anu
Winlink (all volunteeis) pioviue a gieat seivice to the ciuising community. By Septembei
of 2uu2, we hau got oui ueneial Class licenses, upgiaueu Aiimail to the Bam veision, anu
112
signeu up with Winlink as oui e-mail pioviuei. Then we coulu automatically ieceive
weathei foiecasts along with oui e-mail eveiy moining.
The uiffeiences between Sailmail anu Winlink weie:
Winlink useis neeu to have a ueneial Class ham iauio license, howevei no
license beyonu the Ship Station license is neeueu to use Sailmail;
Theie is an annual fee to use Sailmail, no fee foi Winlink;
Because Sailmail uses maiine fiequencies, business tiansactions may be
conuucteu thiough it unlike with Winlink wheie no business may be
conuucteu because it uses the Amateui fiequences;
Winlink useis aie allocateu Su minutes pei uay thiough each PNB0 (iauio
station in the Winlink netwoik) but Sailmail useis aie limiteu to
1u minutes pei uay total;
Winlink useis can ieceive by e-mail a wiue iange of weathei foiecasts anu
chaits, anu while it is possible to get some weathei infoimation
thiough Sailmail, this is much moie limiteu;
Winlink useis can automatically upuate theii position in the Winlink website so
that family anu fiienus to tiack theii movements; anu
It is simple to senu anu ietiieve Winlink e-mails ovei the Inteinet using the
Telnet featuie of Aiimail if you leave the boat foi a while.
In the fall of 2uuS, at the same time as we upgiaueu the Aiimail softwaie, we
uownloaueu a fiimwaie upgiaue to conveit the Pactoi IIe into a Pactoi III iauio mouem
anu paiu foi a license foi it. All the instiuctions foi uoing this came fiom the folk at Winlink.
As a iesult, email went much fastei anu we ieceiveu Inteinet weathei fax pictuies along
with the email messages anu text foiecase each the moining.
S. Weather Iax
Aftei the SSB was installeu, but befoie we bought the Pactoi IIe, we bought Coietex
Weathei Fax foi Winuows. Bowevei, no mattei what we uiu we just coulun't get it to woik
so we ietuineu it. Aftei we hau the Pactoi IIe installeu, we uownloaueu the }vCommS2
shaiewaie which is what useu foi Weathei Fax. It has a bit of a leaining cuive, since theie
is not much in the way of usei help infoimation. Bowevei, once you've leaineu its tiicks by
tiial anu eiioi, it's pietty easy to use. We uownloaueu the weathei fax scheuule anu
fiequencies fiom the 0cean Pieuiction Centei. We piogiammeu the fiequencies into the
SSB, iemembeiing to subtiact 1.7 Bz fiom the centei (auveitiseu) fiequency. To impiove
oui skills at inteipieting weathei maps, we ieau Nichael Caii's L-3%(-*#8*-.<'%<&:#
=<FG4<><-. anu Nike Baiiis' W&.-*9%3&.<&:#L-3%(-*>3a. Two of the Nautech seminais on
weathei weie veiy helpful. 0ne was piesenteu by Nichael Caii anu the othei by Lee
Chesnau, of the 0cean Pieuiction Centei. Lee hanueu out a veiy helpful aiticle fiom the
magazine P(-#@3*<&-*c9#L-3%(-*#H): entitleu "Naiinei's uuiue to the Suu-Nillibai Chait."
11S
6. AM-IM
We bought a high quality Sony cai iauio with 1u-CB playei anu installeu it with all
the othei iauio equipment at the nav station soon aftei we acquiieu#N344<G5:<3. We hau a
custom box built foi it so it coulu be scieweu uown with all the othei iauio equipment. It
was wiieu into the boat's 12-volt electiical system. This iauio was useu foi listening to
local iauio stations, anu to CBs. We also bought an inexpensive poitable AA batteiy-
opeiateu AN iauio as pait of oui emeigency equipment. The antenna of this iauio can be
useu as a iauio uetection finuei to get a iough beaiing on a neaiby iauio station, if neeueu.
7. Iam||y kad|o
These aie basically high-poweieu walkie talkies. We bought a batteiy-opeiateu set
built into heauphones (maue by TechLink) at the 2uu1 SSCA annual meeting in Nelbouine,
FL. We useu these to talk to each othei fiom foieueck to cockpit uuiing anchoiing activities,
anu fiom the mast-top to the ueck when Bill went up the mast. These heausets maue
communications at these times easy anu low key anu we nevei hau to iesoit to yelling#\#a
majoi achievement. We leaineu a few hanu signals, but founu it much moie useful to be
able to talk anu consult with each othei about issues using the heausets. We planneu to buy
a paii of hanuhelu walkie talkies to use ifwhen we saileu back to the 0S since it is not legal
to use a hanuhelu vBF theie on shoie.
114
!"#$)/;1&$C&A$
While ciuising on Callipygia, we attempteu to maintain a iauio log as iecommenueu
by the ARRL anu the FCC.
0ui Rauio Log was a 9 12 inch by 6 inch spiial notebook wheie infoimation was
about the installation anu aujustment of the iauios, anu theii use, was iecoiueu. Copies of
the Ship Station License anu oui ueneial Class (Bam) licences weie pasteu on the insiue
back covei along with oui Restiicteu Rauiotelephone 0peiatoi licenses. A Table of
Contents was wiitten on the insiue fiont covei, coiiesponuing to the way the notebook was
oiganizeu, with tabs, as below:
1. Installation Notes. This was a chionological log of all iauio installation anu
maintenance woik, incluuing when it was uone, what was uone, anu who uiu it.
2. Tiansmission Log. This was a log of tiansmissions on the Bam fiequencies of the
SSB iauio. While no longei iequiieu by the FCC, it is iecommenueu as a goou anu
helpful piactice to maintain this. We kept a sepaiate section of the tiansmission
log foi tiansmissions to the Winlink iauio e-mail. This was hanuy, since it
pioviueu uata foi tiouble-shooting email tiansmission uifficulties.
S. Channel Refeience. We oiiginally kept this list in the log, but latei moveu it to
the Rauio Refeience Foluei.
4. Listening Log. This was a list of uatestimes, anu fiequencies, when we listeneu
to the SSB anu what was being bioaucast. This was piimaiily useu when we
weie leaining how to use the iauio. Latei, we only iecoiueu items when
something useful anu new tuineu up.
S. Winlink 0sei Notices with infoimation about changes to the Winlink system.
6. Noise Coue tiansciiptions - a place wheie we iecoiueu what we heaiu in Noise
Coue, to tiy to get a bit of piactice peiiouically.
7. Niscellaneous Tiaining Notes. Notes fiom seminais, books, etc., to help impiove
oui unueistanuing anu use of iauio iesouices.
This Log liveu besiue the iauios at the nav station anu was useu pietty much eveiy
uay foi iecoiuing tiansmissions anu looking up channel iefeiences.
11S
!"#$)/;1&$)#,#(#26#$%&*;#($
The Rauio Refeience Foluei was a fat oiange foluei that sat by the Nav Station on
N344<G5:<3. In the fiont of it theie was a Table of Contents to help us finu the infoimation we
neeueu while using the SSB. Beie is the list elements (with a shoit uesciiption of the
element) that we pasteu as a Table of Contents on the covei of the foluei.
1. 0sing the SSB: a piintout of the checklist on using the IC0N N71u Naiine Rauio
(see following aiticle.)
2. Piopagation Biagiam: This was the insiue fiont covei of Fieueiick uiaves book
"Naiine uuiue to Single Siue Banu", which has a gieat uiagiam of piopagation by
fiequency, time of uay, anu season.
S. Rauio Bistiess Signals: This was the checklist taken fiom oui Emeigency
Pioceuuies (See Chaptei 4.)
4. Channel Refeience - uioup List. This was a spieausheet piintout of all 16u 0sei
anu some IT0 Channels, in fiequency oiuei within uioups. The uioups weie:
o uet Belp: Channels foi Coast uuaiu, Bistiess anu Safety, WT0 Rauio
0peiatoi, etc
o uoveinment: Channels foi FENA, WWv, etc.
o Aii: Channels shaieu by maiine anu aii useis, aii uistiess channels
o Bam: Channels piogiammeu foi commonly useu ham fiequencies anu
iauio nets
o Winlink: Channels piogiammeu foi connecting to Winlink PNB0s (we
piogiam all Pactoi III fiequencies foi 8 PNB0s)
o Weathei: Channels foi picking up voice weathei bioaucasts
o Weathei Fax: Channels foi picking tiansmissions of Weathei Fax
o Ship to Ship: Channels commonly useu by ciuiseis foi talking to each
othei
o Woilu Banu: Channels to pickup the BBC, Rauio Canaua Inteinationale,
voice of Ameiica, Rauio Netheilanus, etc.
o IT0 Channels: A summaiy of the maiine IT0 gioups.
S. Channel Refeience - Fiequency List. This was the same uata as the in the uioup
List, except soiteu in fiequency oiuei to show quickly all the fiequencies
piogiammeu foi a paiticulai wavelength
6. Rauio Scheuule: A lengthy listing of weathei bioaucasts, weathei fax, nets, anu
news bioaucasts--theii times anu fiequencies. Soiteu in 0TC oiuei. Regulai
tiansmissions weie highlighteu, anu the uaily iauio scheuule was uevelopeu
fiom this list.
7. IT0 Channels: A piintout of all the IT0 channels that came with oui SSB iauio.
116
8. Woilu Banu Scheuule: A compiehensive list of woilu banu tiansmissions that
weie of inteiest to us in English, in 0TC oiuei. Taken fiom the book "Passpoit to
Woilu Banu Rauio"
9. The ARRL Banu Plan: showeu which fiequencies can be useu foi what puiposes
with which class of Amateui Rauio License.
1u. Ciuising Club of Ameiica (CCA) Nemoianuum on offshoie communications . This
incluues infoimation on how to opeiate the IC0N N71u anu 71uRT. Nuch bettei
than IC0N's instiuction manual. See the following link:
http:www.ciuisingclub.oigseamanshipseamanship_offshoie.htm This also
gives instiuctions foi iigging an emeigency SSB antenna in the event of a iigging
failuie.
11. WX Comm anu Navigation wiitten by }ack on Whoosh uesciibing expeiience anu
lessons leaineu on passage fiom the Azoies to the 0K anu Noithein Euiope. See
|http:www.svsaiah.comWhooshWhooshCiuiseWxChaits.htmj
12. Instiuction Nanual that came with oui IC0N N71u SSB iauio (not helpful to
novices)
1S. Winlink PNB0 List: A piintout of the Aiimail PNB0 (station) fiequency list
14. 0cean Pieuiction Centei uuiue to Rauio Fax piinteu off the Inteinet
1S. Wateiway Net uuiue: the pioceuuies issueu by the Wateiway Net--a hanuy
guiue to Bam Rauio Net methous
We intenueu to put all of this stuff into a thiee-iing binuei at some point, but we
nevei uiu because the foluei aiiangement woikeu quite satisfactoiily foi us. It was a lot of
woik to become familiai with the SSB anu figuie out how to effectively use it - but the
payoff was gieat.
117
P+12A$0"#$H@MK$KSTU$995$)/;1&$
In the Rauio Refeience foluei (see pievious aiticle) that we kept neai the Nav
Station we kept a checklist intenueu to walk someone not familiai with the iauio thiough
the steps so they coulu use it to communicate with the Coast uuaiu oi othei ciuiseis in case
of an emeigency. 0sing the SSB can be intimiuating anuoi confusing foi fiist timeis, so it's
goou to have eveiyone on boaiu iun thiough the ioutine peiiouically.
Beie weie the steps foi using oui IC0N N71u SSB Rauio:
1. Tuin on the iauio by piessing the powei button on the lowei left coinei. Aujust
volume knob foi a slight "hiss".
2. The uisplay will inuicate channel numbei, fiequencies, oi woius - uepenuing on
how it was set at last use.
S. Fiequencies have Becimals anu may show on the top anu bottom iow, oi not at
all. Channels aie 1-4 uigits, no uecimals, anu may have a hyphen between uigits.
4. To senu an automatic uistiess call, see the Bistiess Calling anu Nay Bay checklist
s (See Chaptei 4 - The "What If's".)
S. If the top iow of the SSB uisplay has Fiequencies on it, piess the "ChFieq"
button below the numeiic key pau. This changes the uisplay to show channel
numbeis on the top iow. Piessing "ChFieq" again switches the uisplay to show
the ieceiving (Rx) fiequency on the top, with the tiansmission (Tx) fiequency
unueineath it. The "ChFieq" key toggles back anu foith between the two
uisplays.
6. With a channel numbei on the top iow, piess "1" on the key pau, then piess the
"Rx" button below the keypau. This gets you on 2182.ukBz, the Bailing anu
Inteinational Bistiess fiequency.
7. Listen to the channel so see if it is being useu. Take uown the black miciophone
hanuset anu holu it an inch fiom youi lips. If you have a life-thieatening
situation, bieak in with youi "Nay Bay", otheiwise wait foi a bieak in
conveisation. If someone is talking, someone else is listening. Piess the button
on the siue while you talk, anu ielease it when you aie finisheu. Wait a few
moments foi a iesponse.
8. To call the Coast uuaiu, pick an appiopiiate channel (fiequency) fiom the list
below: With a channel numbei showing on the top iow, piess the channel
numbeis on the numeiic key pau, anu then piess "Rx" to entei it.
9. N0TE that "0SB" shoulu show up on the uppei iight hanu coinei of the uisplay.
If it uoesn't, piess the "Noue" button unuei the lowei left coinei of the uisplay
until you get it to show.
N(3&&-4## D-'-<B-## P*3&9F<%## D3&:-#Y+35[## D3&:-#Y_<:(%[##
424 4426.u 41S4.u 2-Suu miles 8-1,Suu miles
6u1 6Su1.u 62uu.u 4uu-Suu miles 1,uuu-2,uuu miles
118
816 8764.u 824u.u Suu-1,uuu miles 1,uuu-S,uuu miles
12uS 1Su89.u 12242.u 1 to S,uuu miles unieliable
162S 17S14.u 1 64S2.u S to S,uuu miles unieliable
1u. Note that these aie the fiequencies that the Coast uuaiu uses to tiansmit
weathei bioaucasts so if you heai one, wait until it is ovei befoie you tiy to call.
11. Follow the instiuctions on the Bistiess checklist anu make a Nay Bay oi Pan Pan
call on the fiequency you select.
12. If you aie unable to get the Coast uuaiu, tiy one of the Safety anu Bailing
channels until you finu one with someone talking on it. With a channel numbei
showing on the top iow, piess the channel numbeis on the numeiic key pau, anu
then piess "Rx" to entei it. Wait until theie is a bieak in conveisation befoie
tiansmitting youi message oi iequest unless it is a Nay Bay.
N(3&&-4## D-'-<B-## P*3&9F<%## D3&:-#Y+35[## D3&:-#Y_<:(%[##
4-1 412S.u 412S.u 2-Suu miles 8-1,Suu miles
6-1 621S.u 621S.u 4uu-Suu miles 1,uuu-2,uuu miles
8-1 8291.u 8291.u Suu-1,uuu miles 1,uuu-S,uuu miles
12-1 1229u.u 1229u.u 1 to S,uuu miles unieliable
16-1 1642u.u 1642u.u S to S,uuu miles unieliable
1S. If none of these woik, stait listening on some fiequencies commonly useu by
othei ciuiseis. Tiy Channels 4S-89. Stait listening on one of these. You can move
up oi uown one channel by tuining the iight hanu laige knob (the Channel
Selectoi) clockwise oi anticlockwise. Also tiy some moie of the geneial maiine
channels: 4-x, 6-x, 8-x, 12-x, 16-x wheie "x" is 2 thiough 9.
14. If none of these woik, stait listening on some of the Bam fiequencies (Channels
1S - S8). You may make a Nay Bay call on a ham fiequency even if you uon't
have a Bam license, but only if you cannot ieach anybouy else.
119
Chapter 6 - Nav|gat|on
This Chaptei baiely sciatches the suiface of piloting anu navigation. That topic
takes yeais of stuuy to become pioficient. Befoie we set off in N344<G5:<3, I took all foui
navigation classes offeieu by the Powei Squauion as well as those offeieu thiough the
Naiylanu School of Sailing anu Seamanship. Theie is no substitute foi piopei tiaining on
this subject. A ciuisei shoulu know how to uo inlanu, coastal, anu offshoie navigation
befoie taking off. Skill at celestial navigation is highly euucational, useful, fun anu auus to
enjoyment of elements in the sky. 0n an ocean passage it coulu be essential.
While we weie ciuising we founu that woiking on navigation skills, anu on
unueistanuing anu inteipieting weathei, weie among the most fascinating anu satisfying
aspects of the ciuising life. We uiu not iely on the uPS until we felt competent at piloting
anu navigating without it. We also leaineu that iauai was a valuable tool foi coastal
navigation.
In oui beginning uays, while we may not have known what we weie uoing, we
always knew wheie we weie. uoou job because, if navigation oi the weathei goes bau oi
gets ignoieu, a boat anu its ciew can get into tiouble fast. We know seveial to whom that
happeneu. It's too easy to make fateful mistakes when one is tiieu oi seasick . We
consiueieu navigation so impoitant that we always checkeu each othei's woik as we
planneu oui navigation piioi to making a passage. A painless way of putting points into the
Black Box, we thought.
What's given in this Chaptei aie aiticles showing how we uiu ceitain ioutine
navigation tasks, anu a cautionaiy tale that ieminus ciuiseis that chaits may not always be
accuiate.
The Beck Log
The Navigatoi's Notebook
Chait Nanagement
Sample Passage Plan
Bump in the Atlantic
12u
!"#$4#67$C&A$$
0ui Beck Log was the official iecoiu of N344<G5:<3c9 tiavels. We uevelopeu the foimat
baseu on that useu when I (twice) completeu the Ameiican Sailing Association's Auvanceu
Coastal Ciuising couise with the Naiylanu School of Sailing anu Seamanship. 0ne of these
tiaining tiips was a ciicumnavigation of the BelNaiva peninsula, anu the othei went fiom
Noifolk, vA to Nystic, CT. The initial foimat of N344<G5:<3c9 Beck Log was moueleu on the
foimat useu in those couises, with mouifications baseu on ieauings fiom vaiious texts on
seamanship.
In }anuaiy, 2uuS, in finalizing the Ship's Logs foi this website, I ievieweu what we
weie uoing anu maue some fuithei changes to facilitate the oiganization of log infoimation
so that it moie easily yielueu useful infoimation foi uesciibing oui tiavels anu, potentially,
foi futuie passage planning. Foui months latei, the foimat was ieviseu again so that the log
was easiei to complete anu keep in the cockpit.
It shoulu be noteu that the Beck Log is the legal uocument of any ship's contiol,
couise, anu actions in the event of an acciuent. We weie amazeu (.hoiiifieu) to uiscovei
that some ciuiseis maintaineu minimal, oi no, Log - oi foi that mattei any a iecoiu of theii
tiips othei than a few maikings on some chaits.
1. Log Iormat
The fiist few pages of N344<G5:<3c9 Beck Log weie iepiints of the Powei Squauion's
}unioi Navigation tiaining manual on maintaining a log. Essentially, the uictum is to fill in
the log eveiy houi on the houi, while making auuitional entiies whenevei theie is change
of speeu oi couise. 0nce the log hau been enteieu, then the boat's position was maikeu on
the chait. Baving the log entiies to iefei back to is an essential safeguaiu in the event
chaiting mistakes aie maue - as can easily happen when ciew aie tiieu. Also, we founu that
having the log to fill out helpeu whoevei was on watch since it gave himhei a goal anu
something to uo, especially at night when things might otheiwise be a bit boiing (we
hopeu). We founu it invaluable to maintain this Log, especially when the tiip was
challenging anu we got tiieu.
We expeiimenteu with vaiious foimats foi the Beck Log. We staiteu out with
piinteu tables we maue on the computei, anu then bounu in a spiial binuing. Then we
switcheu to a spiial notebook with hanu uiawn pages, in S sections. Eventually we settleu
on loose pages with a table piinteu on each siue anu stapleu togethei so each page of the
log was 2 pages acioss. We stapleu togethei 12 of these pages at a time, anu kept them, anu
a pen foi wiiting, in a plastic sleeve to keep it uiy in the cockpit. This woikeu well foi us.
We ieuuceu the columns to those we felt weie essential--we founu that in eailiei veisions
of the Log we hau columns to fill out that we consistently ignoieu. We also maintaineu a
sepaiate set of stapleu sheets of papei that we filleu out, peiiouically, giving a summaiy of
each uaily tiip infoimation fiom the Log. This summaiy gave a quick pictuie of each
passage, anu in fact of each yeai's tiavels. As the stapleu sets of log sheets weie useu up,
they weie clippeu togethei with a big alligatoi clip anu kept foi iefeience puiposes.
121
Aftei enteiing these items in the Beck Log, whoevei was on watch maikeu oui
position on the ielevant chait anu auvanceu the gieen "flag" on it. This flag was a small
acute tiiangle cut out of coloieu masking tape that was kept on the chait close to, anu
pointing at, oui last loggeu position on the chait. |We useu gieen foi the boat's cuiient
position flag, anu blue flags to maik key waypoints. We placeu the blue flags on the chaits
befoie we set off as we uiu oui passage planning.j
2. Log Content
The BayBate was filleu out at the top of eveiy page, as well as the staiting anu
enuing location of the tiip. The fiist line was completeu at the time of uepaituie, noting the
engine houi ieauing in the Comments line. Subsequent lines weie completeu each houi, oi
if theie was a change in couise oi speeu. The following elements hau columns on the left-
hanu page:
Time (24 hi notation, e.g. 1u1S)
Latituue (uPS ieauing of uegiees, anu minutes to 2 uecimal places), oi name of
Aiu to Navigation oi Waypoint ieacheu. If BR oi celestial position, so noteu.
Longituue (uPS ieauing of uegiees, anu minutes to 2 uecimal places), If BR oi
celestial position, so noteu.
Watei uepth
Watei tempeiatuie
Estimateu aveiage compass couise foi the piioi peiiou
Estimateu aveiage speeu foi the piioi peiiou (both boat speeu thiough the
watei anu S0u fiom uPS)
Bistance tiaveleu uuiing the piioi peiiou anuoi Log ieauing
Batteiy ieauing
Baiometei ieauing
Swell uiiection, height, anu peiiou
Appaient winu uiiection
Appaient winu speeu
The iight hanu page hau columns foi the following elements:
Time
Bilge status (uiy, # inches, oi count of stiokes to uiy)
If engine on, aveiage RPN foi piioi peiiou.
Column foi putting a check maik if iauai on
Column foi putting a check maik if navigation lights aie on (anu if so, checkeu to
make suie still woiking)
122
Column wheie "A" is put if autopilot is steeiing, oi "W" if Nonitoi Winuvane is
steeiing
Clouu type(s)
% Clouu covei
Comments. This is wheie we note beaiingsuistance off on tiaffic, lanumaiks oi
Aius To Navigation; when anu what sail changes weie maue; times of tuining
engine, iauai, autopilot, etc. on anu off; anu uesciibe any boat pioblems, unusual
inciuents, oi wilulife sightings that occuiieu.
0n aiiival at the enu of a tiip a final line of entiies was maue anu the engine houi
metei ieauing noteu in the Comment line. 0n the next line weie calculateu the
time unueiway, log uistance, aveiage boat speeu, anu engine houis. Also, the
ihumb line uistance was calculateu, anu the speeu maue goou towaius the
uestination. Below these calculations a line was uiawn acioss both pages, closing
the log foi that passage.
3. 1r|p Summar|es
This section was kept on sepaiate (stapleu) sheets of papei, with a table that ian
acioss one page. It hau a column foi each item listeu below. A line was completeu foi eveiy
uay (miunight to miunight) we weie on a passage. This section was not filleu out until each
passage is completeu.
Although it took a bit of effoit to uo this, the ieal payoff fiom keeping a log weie
founu on this page since it is the pait that was most often iefeiieu to. It pioviueu the
essential statistics about oui tiavels anu boat peifoimance. We coulu quickly look heie to
finu out wheie we weie, when. Anu, in this summaiy, at each yeai's enu, we maue a note of
of annual nautical miles tiavelleu, houis unueiway, anu uays in tiansit.
BayBate
Wheie the uay staiteu anu wheie it enueu
Bouis unueiway
Engine houis
Bistance tiaveleu thiough the watei (boat speeu oi log)
Bistance maue goou ovei the giounu (planneu couise) fiom chait oi uPS
Wheie applicable (on a long passage) we also noteu the following:
Estimate of aveiage (oi else iange) of Tiue couise foi the uay
Estimate of aveiage (oi else iange) of Tiue winu uiiection foi the uay
Estimate of aveiage (oi else iange) of Tiue winu speeu foi the uay
Estimate of aveiage (oi else iange) of swell height foi the uay
Estimate of aveiage (oi else iange) of swell uiiection foi the uay
12S
Estimate of aveiage (oi else iange) of swell peiiou foi the uay

94
!"#$%&'#(#)*+*(%&

Nanaging a laige anu giowing inventoiy of chaits gets to be a pioblem on a sailboat
with a limiteu amount of stoiage. Beie's what we uiu while ciuising on !"##$%&'$".

We began oui ciuising caieei with a manageable collection of chaits--the
Chesapeake Bay to Naine anu back. Then we neeueu chaits to get to Floiiua. Then to
the Bahamas. Then to the Caiibbean as fai as Tiiniuau. Then ciossing the Atlantic.
Anu, if we maue it to Iielanu, we'u neeu chaits of the 0K. We weie ieluctant to get
iiu of any, because--well, you just nevei know...... But, cleaily, the numbei of chaits
we hau on boaiu giew with eveiy mile we auueu to oui ciuising expeiience.

We staiteu out solely with papei chaits, anu continueu to have papei chaits of oui
ciuising aiea even although we weie slowly moving to electionic chaiting. If we hau
goou electionic chaits, anu goou ciuising guiues, as technology anu oui expeiience
giew, we no longei felt the neeu to have quite as many papei chaits as befoie, but
the iate of giowth nevei shiank much. As we became moie pioficient at electionic
chaiting, we felt we gaineu a slight safety euge - but only so long as electionic chaits
anu uPS woik. If we weie to lose powei, the satellite systems to fail, oi equipment
weie to uie, we thought it impoitant to have papei chaits to fall back on - not to
mention the skills anu tools to pilot piopeily, anu to uo celestial navigation. Also, we
likeu to have papei chaits to plot oui log positions on when we weie on majoi
passages. We founu that planning a passage, anu uoing the navigation unueiway,
weie an inteiesting anu fun task anu gave the peison on watch something to uo if
boieu. Not to mention being on top of things in case of acciuents.

Theie aie essentially two ways to keep papei chaits. Foluing, oi iolling. We staiteu
out as "folueis" anu kept oui chaits unuei the cabin seats, oi (foi chait kits) pileu up
on a shelf at the nav station. But aftei a while we got kinu of oveiwhelmeu because
we hau so many papei chaits anu coulun't quite keep tiack of which cushion they
weie unuei, anu so we became "iolleis"--except foi the chaits we weie cuiiently
using (see below). Then, foi long-teim stoiage, we iolleu oui chaits in Batches (of
anywheie fiom S - 2u chaits), with each Batch secuieu with S iubbei banus. A batch
containeu all the chaits foi a paiticulai aiea. A Batch Numbei was piinteu in ieu on
a piece of papei with a list of the chait #s in the batch, anu then wiappeu aiounu the
enu anu secuieu with anothei iubbei banu. We put all the iolls togethei, wiappeu
them in plastic, anu stoieu them veitically between the cabin table anu the mast.
(We wiappeu them in plastic, because fiom time to time we hau uiops of watei
coming uown the mast.)

We kept an inventoiy of all chaits, anu chait kits, in a spieausheet, with the
following columns:

* Publishei
* Chait #
* Batch Numbei (see above)
9S
* Scale
* Bate
* Name of chait
* ueneial aiea coveieu
* Wheie stoieu
* Nisc comments

We piinteu out this spieausheet, soiteu by ueneial Aiea coveieu, anu put a covei
sheet with an inuex on top that foi each Batch listeu:

- the Batch Numbei;
- wheie the batch was kept; anu
- the name of the geneial aiea (such as "0SA - east coast S of Noifolk") coveieu by
the Batch.

We kept this inventoiy, pages stapleu togethei, in a plastic sleeve with the othei
inventoiies in a wall pocket above the Nav Station. We founu this maue it easy to see
at a glance wheie to look foi a chait, oi to finu out if we hau a paiticulai chait.

While we weie using a paiticulai batch of chaits, we ieveiteu to being "Folueis",
since it was easiei to woik on chaits that hau been folueu so as to fit on (1) the Nav
Station, (2) the iefiigeiatoi top, oi (S) the cabin table. Nost weie too big to fit on
any of these aieas, so we folueu the Batch of chaits we weie cuiiently using foi
convenience anu kept them (folueu) unuei the poit-siue cushions in the cabin until
we weie uone with them, at which point we iolleu them up again to stoie out of the
way. We founu Chait Kits, oi (BA) Leisuie Folios, extiemely convenient. These aie
smallei chaits eithei spiially bounu togethei, oi placeu as a set insiue a plastic covei
(which is nice because you can plot on it with a china maikei). We fai piefeiieu
these (wheie available) to the veiy laige goveinment chaits fiom which they aie
uiawn. Bowevei, they'ie not univeisally available.

We kept oui chait catalogues in a lexan wall pocket in the main cabin. When we
oiueieu chaits, we useu a yellow highlightei to inuicate which ones we'u oiueieu.
That way, when we weie planning a ciuise, anu we went to the chait catalog(s), we
coulu see which ones we alieauy hau.
124
!"#$E/J1A/0&(O+$E&0#<&&7$$
This aiticle uesciibes how we planneu oui navigation uetails anu useu the
Navigatoi's Notebook while we weie ciuising on N344<G5:<3. We useu a spiial notebook
uiviueu into two sections. At the fiont of the notebook, passage planning notes weie maue
anu passage uiiections uevelopeu. At the back of the notebook, navigation calculations anu
notes weie maue while unueiway.
We felt that it was ieally impoitant to wiite eveiything uown ielateu to navigation
while on passage, because it was too easy to make mistakes when we weie tiieu - as we
often weie on an offshoie passage. Neai a coast, navigational eiiois aie easy to make anu
can be ueauly. The navigatoi's notebook woikeu well foi us as a place to uo oui planning in
a way that maue foi easy iefeience once we weie unueiway.
1. assage |ann|ng
When planning a new passage, the following infoimation went into the fiont of
navigatoi's notebook, beginning on a new page. The uate was put at the top along with the
"fiom - to" foi the passage being planneu. Then, the infoimation listeu below was set out, in
oiuei. Aftei the last element, a line was uiawn acioss the page. While usually one peison
will likely uo most of this woik, all ciew on a sailboat shoulu be familiai with an upcoming
passage's navigation issues anu uetails.
The ieal benefit of uoing this foimal compilation of infoimation came because in
oiuei to wiite up these uetails we hau to pull out oui ciuising iesouices anu become
familiai with the guiuance in them. 0n moie than once occasion we founu things that we
neeueu to know foi a passage, but woulu otheiwise have oveilookeu.
A list of the available chaits that coveieu all oi some of the passage aiea, anu
theii aiea of coveiage, theii uatum, yeai, anu unit of sounuings.
A list of electionic chaits that coveieu all oi some of the aiea, anu theii aieas of
coveiage.
A list of Ciuising uuiues, Coast Pilot, Reeus Almanac, Light List, Aumiialty oi 0S
Sailing Biiections, etc. that coveieu all oi some of the aiea, iuentifying the pages
in each iesouice to be iefeiieu to. This exeicise also ensuieu that we ieau the
mateiial anu weie familiai with the infoimation we hau on boaiu about the aiea
to be navigateu.
A list of hazaius to be taken into consiueiation (cuiients, shoals, ieefs, tiaffic
sepaiation schemes, whale migiation ioutes, shipping ioutes, tiualcuiient
ueaulines to pass ceitain points by, etc.) in sequential oiuei. Auuitionally, we
maue a note of uangei beaiings (compass beaiing, oi lat oi long) so as to avoiu
shoals anu ieefs in the aiea to be tiansiteu.
List of lanu featuies oi Aius to Navigation to look foi, in sequential oiuei.
Aveiage tiual iange, uate of next full moon, magnetic vaiiation.
12S
Weathei notes (such as "ciossing this aiea is ieputeu to be uangeious with a
noitheily swell") anu an outline of the weathei winuow iequiiements (length
neeueu, acceptable winus anu sea states).
List of Waypoints: waypoint numbei anu name; LatLo; chait iefeience; ciuising
guiue page iefeience; anu couise (magnetic) anu uistance between the
waypoints. Note that we chose oui waypoints so that all weie in safe wateis foi
bypassing hazaius, anu we nevei useu a waypoint of any hazaiu itself. We also
listeu the LatLo foi impoitant floating aius to navigation.
List of ETAs, noting places to be passeu by ceitain times to meet cuiient,
weathei iequiiements, etc., anu possible stopping places (anchoiages, maiinas)
along the way. List gave estimateu aiiivaluepaituie times, anu uesciibeu
gonogo issues. This list was maue assuming 2-S uiffeient SNus (speeus maue
goou) so it gave estimateu tiip scheuules foi Plan A, then Plan B, anu if necessaiy
Plan C. We avoiueu enteiing anchoiages in the uaik if we coulu, though we
sometimes left an anchoiage uuiing the night to take auvantage of night winu
conuitions.
As the navigatoi compileu this infoimation, heshe also maikeu the ioute anu
waypoints on the ielevant chait(s). Beshe flaggeu the waypoints on the chait with small
blue tiiangulai flags cut fiom a ioll of blue masking tape. The waypoint # was wiitten on
the flag so it was easy to iefei back to the waypoint list. 0n the maigin of the chait, foi each
quauiant oi section of the chait, the navigatoi maue a list of waypoints founu on that
quauiant, theii uPS names, LatLo, Ciuising uuiue page iefeiences, etc. Cuiients,
commeicial tiaffic ioutes, anu othei hazaius weie also uesciibeu on the maigin of the
applicable chait quauiant anu highlighteu on the chait with a yellow maikei.
The Navigatoi's Notebook was kept open anu in the cockpit insiue a plastic see-
thiough sleeve while unueiway, so that it was easy foi the peison on watch to iefeience
the waypoint list, hazaiu list, anu passage uiiections, etc. as neeueu.
2. assage D|rect|ons
Foi a complex passage, on the next fiesh page in the Navigatoi's Notebook, a seiies
of passage uiiections weie set out. These coulu be iefeiieu to in the futuie if the same
passage was again to be tiaveiseu. At the bottom of the passage uiiections, a line was again
uiawn acioss the page. Passage uiiections foi tiavel fiom Lupeion (Bominican Republic) to
Boqueion (Pueito Rico) aie given in the next aiticle as an example of this foimat. These
pages weie available as neeueu by whoevei was on watch to ieminu them of the navigation
uetails anu issues as we went along.
3. Nav|gat|on Ca|cu|at|ons
The pages at the back of the notebook weie useu in conjunction with the Beck Log
anu chaits when unueiway to uocument the boat's position as it piogiesseu. Position anu
cuiient calculations anuoi uiagiams of set anu uiift (uone on giaph papei, then cut out),
etc, etc. weie wiitten oi pasteu in the back of the Navigatoi's Notebook. At the stait of a
passage, the uate was wiitten at the top of a fiesh page in the back of this notebook. Then
126
as calculations, incluuing celestial sight ieuuctions if any, oi uiagiams weie uone, the
authoi maue anu uocumenteu his oi hei calculation so that someone else coulu check them,
if necessaiy--oi heshe coulu go back anu check foi eiiois. Aftei each calculation a shoit
uasheu line was uiawn acioss the page. At the enu of the passage a continuous line was
uiawn.
127
-/++/A#$41(#601&2+$>$9/3.*#$
I geneially maue wiitten passage uiiections, because it foiceu me to ieau oui
navigation iesouices. Then we useu the uiiections foi iefeience while on watch once we
weie unueiway. We kept the Navigatoi's Notebook insiue a plastic sleeve neai the
helmsman's seat. We kept it open at the passage uiiections page. This kept the Notebook
uiy anu the uiiections immeuiately accessible. Nany a time we weie thankful we hau uone
this, so that we uiun't have to make up uiiections as we went. When the weathei is bau, oi
someone is sick, it's not a goou time foi tiying to think stiaight oi uo time oi cuiient
calculations. I can't emphasize too much how fatigue can fuzzy a peison's thinking. Anu,
many sailois suffei fiom peipetual fatigue.
Below aie the passage uiiections I wiote up piioi to making a 2-night offshoie
passage against the tiaue winus fiom Lupeion on the Noith Coast of the Bominican
Republic to Boqueion on the east coast of Pueito Rico. (The ieason this passage is a night
one, is to take auvantage of the "night lee" to uampen the tiaue winus we hau to sail into.)
1. 0se BNA chait 2S7Su, then 2S72u, then 2S7uu, then NapTech Chaitkit Region
1u, page 22. 0se anchoiage chaitlets fiom van Sant anu Pavliues using page
iefeiences as noteu in the Passage Planning Notes in the Navigatoi's Notebook.
2. Waypoints in the uPS aie maikeu on the chaits with page iefeiences to van
Sant's anu Pavliues' chaitlets.
S. ueneially speaking, uon't use the "uoTo" featuie on the uPS. These waypoints
aie foi infoimation only, except foi Biuce's waypoint in the offing to get the
anchoi spot at Esconuiuo.
4. The chaits aie olu, so we'll navigate using beaiings (compass anu iauai) anu
uistance off (iauai) on lanu featuies, anu sounuings, with uPS waypoints foi
suppoit.
S. Plot fixes baseu on visual navigation. Plot the uPS fix at the same time anu note
uiffeiences.
6. The moon is full on _________. Tiue is about 2' along the BR anu 1' aiounu PR.
Nagnetic vaiiation is 1u ueg Su mins W along the noith coast of the BR, anu 12
ueg W in the Nona Passage.
7. Along the BR, oui stiategy is to hug the coast at night (1Su' - 2uu' uepth
contoui) to take auvantage of the night lee. We'll watch the coast outline
caiefully on the iauai. Expect theie to be a bit of cuiient going against us.
8. We'll leave Lupeion at about 18uu, anu motoi-sail to Esconuiuo. We shoulu pass
Sosua aiounu 11pm, anu iounu Cabo Fiances viejo by 8am to aiiive at
Esconuiuo by Spm anu iest at anchoi foi suppei anu a nap. We can stop at Rio
San }uan if necessaiy. If we get to Esconuiuo by noon oi befoie, we'll consiuei
skipping it anu going stiaight thiough to Boqueion.
9. Watch foi tiaffic anu floating gaibage, especially in anu out of Pueito Plata. Keep
well off.
128
1u. Aftei uinnei anu a iest at Esconuiuo, we shoulu uepait between miunight anu
u4uu houis.
11. We'll check the weathei foiecast again at Esconuiuo. If the weathei winuow
closes on us, then we'll eithei go to Samana, oi else Punta Nacao anu wait.
0theiwise we'll go on to Boqueion.
12. Pass Cabo Cabion close (2uu yaius) but give Cabo Samana a wiue beith (at least
V a mile.) Keep a close eye on sounuings.
1S. 0nce past Cabo Cabion anu Cabo Samana (hopefully about 7am) heau east oi
southeast, oi even east-noitheast foi a bit, uepenuing on the winu. Keep an eye
on the Bouiglass Waypoint, uo not go south of it anu watch sounuings to be suie
to keep well off the shoal. Stay outsiue the 1,uuu foot uepth contoui. With luck
we'll sail.
14. Fiom noith of the Bouiglass shoal waypoint - which we shoulu pass between
9pm anu 11pm - heau (uepenuing on the winu) east then south. If we pass this
waypoint befoie 8pm, we neeu to slow uown some by tacking noitheast foi a bit,
oi ieuucing speeu. Watch out foi squalls in the coastal fionts iolling off Pueito
Rico, keep them to the south until we aie east of them - they shoulu all be uone
by miunight.
1S. Pass west of Isla Besecheo - hopefully between 2am anu Sam - anu then stay
west of Touimaline Reef.
16. Aftei passing Touimaline Reef, watch sounuings caiefully anu heau southeast to
Pavliues' waypoint (#22, N1), enteiing thiough the noith entiance to Boqueion.
We shoulu aiiive in the moining, hopefully between uawn anu noon accoiuing
to how fast we sail.
129
5'3.$12$0"#$=0*/2016$
The 0ctobei, 2uuS, issue of the SSCA newslettei hau an aiticle by Bob Cooley anu his
son Anuiew. 0n the moining of }uly 1S, 2uuS, they weie aboaiu f)A*&-5, theii S2' Westsail
cuttei, heauing foi a waypoint at S6 N, uSu W en ioute to the Azoies. When they ieacheu
SS 22.2SS' N, uS1 29.29S' W, they spotteu a uot on the hoiizon. They weie neai an aiea
on the chait calleu "Coinei Seamounts" but theie was no mention of any summits on the
chaits. They went to investigate anu founu an oveituineu boat, at a chaiteu uepth of 86S
meteis.
Bob anu Anuiew saw wieckage beneath the unmaikeu boat anu a laige numbei of
shaiks. As they appioacheu the uptuineu hull, theii uepth sounuei showeu that the bottom
quickly shoaleu fiom moie than 6uu' to just 18'. When f)A*&-5 appioacheu these shallows,
the weathei was calm, anu they weie able to veiify the position of the shallows anu the
wieck. They speculateu that in stoim conuitions this shallow spot coulu easily cause a
small aiea of veiy uangeious bieaking seas, anu a vessel caught in them coulu be iolleu so
that the mast impaleu on the bottom.
1Su
Chapter 7 - Us|ng kadar
When we staiteu ciuising on N344<G5:<3, she lackeu iauai. We hau it installeu, almost
as an afteithought, iight befoie we left on oui shakeuown ciuise to Naine. At that point we
ieally thought you only neeueu iauai if you weie going to be encounteiing fog, anu we
iealizeu that in Naine we piobably weie. Anu we uiu. But little uiu we iealize how much
wiuei woulu become the uses we woulu have foi oui iauai. We weie happy that we hau
bought the best system we coulu affoiu - anu we can safely say that oui iauai system (anu
knowing how to use it piopeily) saveu oui bacon on moie than one occasion. We ian into
seveial ciuiseis who hau iauai, but hau only the most minimal level of unueistanuing of
how to inteipiet its uisplay. This incluueu two who suffeieu seiious collisions, anu otheis
who woulun't leave haiboi in the uaik - even though it was the optimal time.
Rauai has two basic uses unueiway: position fixing oi confiimation which is calleu
piloting,; anu collision avoiuance. You can with iauai, foi example, take the iange anu
beaiing to chaiteu lanumaiks if they can be iuentifieu on the iauai scieen, anu a iange anu
beaiing is a fix. The vaiiable iange maikei (vRN) anu electionic beaiing line (EBL) make
this veiy convenient. Collision avoiuance can be useu to avoiu stoims as well as ships oi
islanus.
This Chaptei is baseu on notes I compileu while stuuying the following iesouices:
Staipath Rauai Tiainei |http:www.staipath.comcatalogsoftwaie18u1.htj;
Instiuction manual foi oui Raytheon iauai system; anu
D3.3*#$>4)3% by Tim Baitlett.
This Chaptei has the following aiticles in it:
Rauai anu uPS
Tuning the Rauai
Basic Inteipietation
Collision Avoiuance
Relative Notion Biagiam
Stoim Avoiuance
Rauai Navigation
Banuy Rauai Tiicks
ulossaiy
Abbieviations
1S1
)/;/($@&3./(#;$0&$V-9$
0f all electionic navigation aius, I came to believe iauai is the most impoitant. uPS
can pioviue a moie specific position than iauai can; howevei, in coastal navigation, iauai
uoes much bettei than a uPS to tell if you'ie in the miuule of a naiiow channel - wheie you
uo not neeu to know youi piecise cooiuinates. It will pick out othei boats, as well as
maikeis that may be new, oi have moveu fiom theii placement on chaits. 0ut in the ocean,
the uPS tells a piecise position - but that is not ieally neeueu. The ieal value of uPS is (1)
its ability to tell accuiate couise ovei giounu anu speeu ovei giounu anu (2) foi
tiansmitting a boat's position cooiuinates in case of emeigency.
What the iauai can uo that the uPS cannot is wain of collision iisk with fixeu oi
moving taigets. With goou lanu mass taigets, often available in uangeious situations, one
can finu fiom the iauai eveiything that uPS tells one - only moie slowly anu less accuiately.
Both tools aie impoitant anu eveiy captain shoulu have anu know how to use each of these
navigation aius. The two, togethei with a uepth sounuei anu a goou knowleuge of
navigation piinciples, aie the main aisenal foi safe navigation.
uPS, especially inteifaceu to an electionic chait plottei, is the quickest, easiest, anu
most accuiate way to tiack a boat's position. A key point, howevei, is that we neeu some
means to confiim the uPS position ielative to othei objects. Rauai is most often the best
way to uo that.
An expeiience: 0n ietuining to the Chesapeake Bay (ietiacing oui outwaiu ioute)
fiom oui shakeuown ciuise to Naine in 2uu1, we enueu up slogging oui way uown the New
}eisey coast much slowei than we expecteu. It wasn't until 14Su houis that we tuineu into
Belawaie Bay, latei than we expecteu. We motoi-saileu up the bay just outsiue the channel
to avoiu the busy tiaffic. Theie weie no safe anchoiageshaibois anywheie neaiby. We
consulteu Reeu's Nautical Almanac anu the Coast Pilot to confiim that the Chesapeake anu
Belawaie Canal was lighteu. We ueciueu to go thiough the canal in the uaik, hoping to stop
at Schaeffei's Naiina towaius the Chesapeake Bay enu of the Canal. We aiiiveu at Reeuy
Point neai miunight, anu founu veiy veiy confusing lights. Immensely thankful foi oui
tiusty iauai, we weie able to pick up the entiance to the Canal on the scieen. We pickeu
oui way into the Canal mouth, anu using iauai along with canal lights safely maue oui way
to Schaeffei's, wheie we giatefully uockeu alongsiue at uS1S houis. (See the Ship's Log foi
moie.)
1S2
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Reau the system manual, also ieau othei system manuals foi auuitional insight. Note
that Stanuy ieuuces powei consumption by typically, about V oi moie. It also extenus life
of the iauai unit. Points to beai in minu:
It is always easiei to tune with taigets on the scieen than with none in iange.
Piactice with this wheie theie is tiaffic to piepaie foi when theie isn't. Watch
foi a case with tiaffic safely passing in a iain oi snow squall to piactice with, anu
see the effects of iain, snow, anu sea cluttei.
Bo not "ovei tune." Some contiols woik against each othei. As a geneial iule,
keep all optional contiols in the off oi minimum settings. Set uain to have a light
backgiounu of speckles when set to the high ianges. Then use the othei contiols
only as neeueu. With no taigets anu significant waves piesent, to look foi close
taigets, fiist zeio the iain anu sea cluttei, set iange to high value, inciease gain
till a light speckleu backgiounu, ieuuce to lowei iange, anu then inciease iain
anu sea cluttei to bieak it up into speckleu pattein of uots.
Foi optimum iesolution (i.e. to uistinguish two close vessels, oi iuentify a
lanumaik) , use the lowest iange scale that shows the taiget, anu lowei the gain
to pievent uistoiting the uisplay.
When looking foi taigets at youi maximum iange, tuin up the gain tempoiaiily
to a moie continuous pattein of speckles. anu watch the scieen intently. When
new taigets fiist come into view, they may show only on eveiy othei sweep oi
maybe eveiy tenth sweep.
The size of the blip on the scieen is not a measuie of the size of the taiget -
unless the object is big anu close.
1SS
5/+16$H20#(.(#0/01&2$/2;$P+#$&,$)/;/($$
Points to iemembei when using iauai:
The miciowave emissions fiom iauai aie a potential iisk to health. Bo not
expose ciew oi neaiby boateis to waves fiom youi iauai. Theiefoie, tuin off the
iauai if someone goes foiwaiu on the ueck oi you aie close by othei boats.
If one peison aujusts the iauai, be suie to communicate that infoimation to
othei ciew anuoi watches.
ueneially use Beaus 0p moue. Bowevei, foi piloting it may be hanuy to uo Noith
0p so you can match what you see on the iauai scieen with what you see on the
chait. Piactice the two moues.
If a taiget moves uown the scieen at youi speeu, then it is a buoy, oi else
something anchoieu oi ueau in the watei.
If a blip uoes not move at all on the iauai scieen, it is uoing piecisely what you
aie - it's on the same couise at the same speeu.
If a taiget moves only to the left oi iight, anu not up oi uown on the scieen, then
its speeu is iuentical to youis, but it is couise is pointing highei oi lowei.
If something moves stiaight up oi uown the scieen, then it is pointing exactly the
same uiiection as you but is going fastei oi slowei iespectively.
If something moves uiagonally fiom you, then both its couise anu speeu aie
uiffeient fiom youis.
1S4
@&**1+1&2$=J&1;/26#$$
This is the piemieie function of iauai, telling what tiaffic is out theie anu what it is
uoing. But this is not a simple mattei of just looking at the iauai scieen. The analysis
involves fiist anu foiemost ueteimining whethei oi not the taiget poses a iisk of collision.
Next is ueteimining what the ciicumstance is that leaus to this iisk. Foi taigets closing in
on a uiagonal tiack, as opposeu to coming fiom ueau aheau, the analysis is a bit moie
involveu. Bevelop stanuaiu simple plotting pioceuuies that will let you know as quickly as
possible what is taking place. (See aiticle on Rauai Plotting) Also, ieview the peitinent
Navigation Rules anu be familiai with them.
In oiuei to comfoitably use the iauai in a potential collision situation, you must
have piacticeu with EBLs, vRNs, BRNs, SRNs anu CPAs aheau of time. 0theiwise, the
stiess involveu in a ieal life pieuicament may fieeze youi biain.
Points to iemembei:
A main challenge unueiway is uealing with the tiacks of taigets on unstabilizeu
iauai. In typical small ciaft iauai (ie unstabilizeu), the plot tiails of iauai taigets
aie smeaieu out uue to the yaw of the vessel in a seaway. As the heauing of youi
vessel swings aiounu in this seaway, the appaient location of a iauai taiget
moves with it. If you weie on a heauing of 2uu, foi example, anu you obseiveu a
taiget at 7.u miles off beaiing 4u on the staiboaiu bow (its tiue beaiing being
24u), when the iauai beam hit that taiget anu plotteu it on the iauai scieen it
woulu show it on the iauai scieen at 7.u miles off at u4u ielative. Then if a wave
sent you onto a heauing of 2u4 foi a moment, anu the iauai beam happeneu to
hit that taiget at that moment, it woulu see anu maik the taiget at 7.u miles off at
uS4 ielative -- even though the actual tiue beaiing to the taiget is still 24u. The
wave causeu a iotation in the iauai's iefeience line. Fuitheimoie, if youi
heauing slowly swung back anu foith between these two limits as the iauai
maikeu the taiget positions, it woulu plot the single taiget as a smeai between
uS4 anu u4u. At 7.u miles off, this angulai spieau coiiesponus to an aic length oi
taiget wiuth of about u.7 miles. Note that the aic length is about u.1 x time iange
pei each 6 of angulai wiuth. As the taiget got closei in this same aveiage
seaway, then at 2 miles off, the effect of an aveiage 6 heauing swing woulu leau
to a u.2 mile spieau in taiget wiuth.
The Plot (wake, tiack) option is veiy useful anu shoulu be piacticeu with so you
can tiack the piogiess of moving taigets.
0se a poitable iange scale (tongue uepiessoi) oi a iulei to estimate uistance.
Remembei that iings aie the same uistance apait even if you change the iange.
Reau youi manual to finu out all of what is available on youi equipment anu
piactice, piactice, piactice.
When you fiist see a taiget, set the EBL anu the vRN. Put an X on the scieen with
a china maikei oi uiy-eiase maikei, anu besiue it wiite the time. Aftei 6
1SS
minutes, put anothei X on the scieen with the time. If it moves insiue the vRN it
is getting closei. If it pioceeus along the EBL you aie on a collision couise.
Remembei the 6-minute iule. When the time exactly 6 minutes, Bistance
Speeu1u oi Speeu 1u x Bistance. Theiefoie, set the plot to 6 minutes, then
time in minutes between plots times 1u knots of SRN (speeu of ielative
motion). Note that in a seaway, the tiails aie often smeaieu out which makes a
piecise estimate moie uifficult.
To get BRN (uiiection of ielative motion), put EBL paiallel to the taiget's plot.
0se a iule thiough the tiack anu figuie out the CPA (closest point of appioach).
This is the peipenuiculai uistance fiom the BRN to the centei of the scieen
(you).
Figuie the time until the CPA by measuiing how fai fiom the taiget to the CPA,
anu uiviuing by its SRN.
Figuie out SRN foi each taiget. If it is moving uownscieen towaius you at youi
speeu, then it is ueau in the watei oi a bouy. 0theiwise it is a moving taiget.
If it is moving uownscieen at an SRN that is gieatei than youis, it is heaueu
towaius you at a speeu equal to SRN minus youi speeu.
If it is moving uownscieen at an SRN less than youis, then you aie oveitaking it,
anu its speeu is youi speeu minus SRN.
If you slow uown, the iauai tiack foi the taiget cuives up the scieen.
%M[KGT is the angulai peispective at which we see a vessel - i.e. the ielative
beaiing of a vessel as seen fiom anothei vessel. It is measuieu fiom u to 18u
anu labeleu ieu when we aie on the poit siue of the vessel oi gieen when we aie
on the staiboaiu siue. To say we see a vessel with an aspect of 9u ieu, means he
sees us on his poit beam anu we aie looking squaie at his poit siue. We see his
ieu iunning light anu his mast heau iange lights aie as open (sepaiateu) as
possible. An aspect of 4S gieen, means he sees us bioau on his staiboaiu bow.
Be is heaueu 4S to the iight of oui line of sight to him. We woulu see his gieen
staiboaiu iunning light. A vessel with aspect u is heaueu stiaight towaiu us.
Note that the big uiffeience between visual obseivations anu iauai obseivations
is the peiception of a vessel's aspect. When a vessel tuins we can usually uetect a
iotation of the hull oi lights much moie quickly by eye than we can on the iauai.
A iauai obseivation in itself tells nothing of the aspect. This is why it is always
impoitant when a taiget is fiist uetecteu on the iauai to immeuiately go on ueck
with binoculais anu stait looking to see if you can uiscein its uiiection - towaius
us oi away fiom us. Sometimes a glance at the iauai might leau us to think we
shoulu be looking foi a ieu aspect. Is it pointeu to the iight oi left of us. The
solution to the RNB (ielative motion uiagiam) ieminus us that the tiue aspect of
a taiget heaueu towaius us is always highei than it appeais fiom the BRN. If we
think we shoulu be looking bioau onto theii bow fiom what we see in the iauai,
we aie actually looking moie towaiu theii beam. The amount highei uepenus on
how fast we aie moving anu on theii ielative beaiing. Tiue aspect is always aft of
1S6
appaient. If aspect incieases as the vessel appioaches us, it will pass aheau of us.
If it uecieases, we will cioss in fiont of it.
Foi many piactical applications, a quick plot on the iauai scieen will pioviue
auequate infoimation foi safe efficient opeiation - at least as fai as the basic
collision avoiuance opeiation is conceineu, which is a solution of the RNB to
finu the couise, speeu, anu aspect of the iauai tiaffic. The moie complex
opeiations, such as choosing the change of couise to make a specific CPA oi
ielateu pioblems, aie usually bettei uone as tiansfei plotting on the
maneuveiing boaiu. |Bint: We laminateu a Naneuveiing Boaiu sheet, so we
coulu uiaw on it with a china maikei oi uiy-eiase maikei. Woikeu gieat.j
Two aspects of the Navigation Rules aie veiy impoitant heie:
Any action taken to avoiu collision must be YZ\NYUM anu maue KIVL].
It is often not possible to tell which siue a taiget will pass if it is seems to be
coming stiaight at you - it's uiiectly aheau, oi on a constant beaiing. Theiefoie it
is best not to altei couise until that infoimation is available to you. To gain time,
ieuuce speeu oi just stop until you can see what's happening. If you altei couise
too eaily in this situation, you may actually biing youiself closei to the taiget.
1S7
)#*/01J#$K&01&2$41/A(/3$$
When taigets aie moving stiaight up oi uown the scieen, you uon't neeu to uo this
uiagiam. Simply auu oi subtiact youi speeu to theiis to get SRN. Bowevei, it's a goou iuea
to get in the habit of uoing an RNB foi othei cases. Piactice it until it comes easily to you.
Rauai maneuveiing pioblems can be solveu by one of two methous: tiauitional
giaphic methous using plotting sheets (oi iapiu iauai plotting with a china maikei iight on
the iauai scieen) oi they can also be solveu uiiectly with mathematical foimulas solveu
with a calculatoi oi computei. The lattei methou, if piacticeu, can (we aie tolu) be quickei
anu moie accuiate. See +A%%)&c9#_3B<:3%<)&#3&.#8<4)%<&: foi the foimulae.
0n N344<G5:<3 we mostly useu the iauai scieen to plot the Relative Notion Biagiam.
You can also use a plotting sheet oi Naneuveiing Boaiu, oi even giaph papei. Naik two
positions of the taiget with theii times (6 minutes apait), along theii BRN as they appeai
on the iauai. The Biiection of Relative Notion is the line of the taiget's tiack--if you uo an
EBL paiallel to the tiack, you will get the BRN. Fiom the fiist taiget position, uiaw a
veitical line uown a uistance equivalent to the speeu youi boat has moveu between the two
ieauings. Biaw a line fiom this point to the seconu position of the taiget. The uiiection of
this line is the taiget's tiue couise (ielative to youi couise). The length of this line is the
tiue speeu of the taiget. It's not haiu, anu it's not always obvious but it's ieally impoitant
so you know who shoulu stanu on anu who shoulu give way. It will tell you if you aie
oveitaking, being oveitaken, oi if you'ie appioaching heau on oi ciossing it will tell you
what the ielationships aie. You shoulu iecoiu this infoimation in the log.
1S8
90&(3$=J&1;/26#$$
The fiist oiuei guess of the iight couise woulu be that couise which is
peipenuiculai to the couise of the appioaching stoim taiget. This will ceitainly inciease
youi CPA ovei uoing nothing, but this is not optimum. The optimum couise is foiwaiu of
that peipenuiculai couise by an amount alpha (!) which uepenus on youi ielative speeus.
In the peipenuiculai couise you aie just "sliuing off" as the stoim appioaches. In the
optimum couise, you iun anu sliue. You uon't move off its tiack as fast, but you get longei
to piogiess away fiom its impact anu enu up with a biggei CPA. The amount to auu to the
ielative peipenuiculai couise is
! aicsin ( u v ) wheie u youi speeu anu v taiget speeu.
Remembei, ! gives you the angle foiwaiu of the peipenuiculai to the stoim's tiue
ielative couise, not foiwaiu of youi fiist beaiing to it.
Some iules of thumb foi getting an ! when you uon't have a calculatoi oi can't use
the foimula:
If youi speeu is the same (oi moie than) that of the stoim, then alpha
appioaches 9u uegiees anu you iun aheau of it.
But if the stoim is moving at all fastei than you, then ! gets smallei until when
the stoim is going twice as fast as you, then ! is about Su.
If the stoim is going S times as fast as you, then ! is about 2u.
If the stoim is going 4 times as fast as you, then ! is about 1S, oi five times then
! is about 1u.
When you choose the optimum couise, the CPA occuis when the stoim centei
ciosses youi stein. If you just take the peipenuiculai couise, the CPA occuis
befoie it ciosses youi stein. If a stoim is heaueu stiaight towaiu you, you coulu
go eithei iight oi left of its path. In this case, howevei, theie woulu be a
piefeiieu siue to take -- you woulu go towaiu the so-calleu "navigable" siue of
the stoim (left in the noithein hemispheie) as opposeu to the "uangeious" siue
(iight in the NB).
The philosophy heie is to tuin away fiom the stoim centei anu get it behinu you,
then keep tuining until the BRN 9u. That will maximize the CPA so that it will
occui when the stoim centei ciosses youi stein.
1S9
)/;/($E/J1A/01&2$$
As a iule, youi uPS will be the piimaiy means of exact position location, but it will
get you into tiouble if you use it as the sole means of navigation, especially at night. In
those ciicumstances the uiiect view of youi position ielative to lanu masses seen visually
on the iauai will be the piefeiieu means of navigation. This is paiticulaily the case in
confineu wateis when theie might not be time noi neeu to continually tiansfei uPS
positions on to a chait. vaiious electionic plotting aius may be an option in these cases, but
the iauai is usually a moie uepenuable solution. Even in cases wheie uPS anu electionic oi
papei chait plotting aie the main means in use, iauai obseivations foi confiimation aie the
hallmaik of goou navigation.
A noimal position assessment might pioceeu by plotting the uPS position on the
chait anu then, fiom that position on the chait, note the iange anu beaiing to some chaiteu
lanumaik that is likely to be a piominent iauai taiget. Then go to the iauai to check if that
is tiue. At the same time, when in sounuings, one shoulu check that the uepth is what it
shoulu be as well. 0n most electionic chait uisplays, the iange anu beaiing to a lanumaik
can be maue with the mouse cuisoi in a mattei of seconus. Without such things, we must
plot the position on a chait using paiallel iuleis anu uiviueis. This is a valuable way to use
iauai foi position navigation whenevei possible. It not only confiims youi position, but
also helps you iuentify iauai taigets (lanu masses) on the scieen. Without this ongoing
piactice, it may be uifficult to iuentify a heaulanu oi bay oi islet, etc., when you uo neeu it. It
also builus simple confiuence in youi woik. If you iely solely on the uPS you will be anxious
about youi woik anu you have a iight to be. In coastal navigation, the piocess of going back
anu foith fiom iauai to chait has the auvantage of keeping you infoimeu of the name of the
heaulanu oi bay you aie neaiest-extiemely useful in communicating with othei vessels oi
the Coast uuaiu if you have an emeigency.
Theie aie two sepaiate aspects of chait navigation with iauai. 0ne is the use of
iauai to locate oi confiim an actual position on the chait. The othei is to use iauai to guiue
you along a uesiieu couise without necessaiily ueiiving the actual cooiuinates of youi
position along that couise. You can, foi example, use iauai to maintain a specific uistance
off of a shoieline without caiing so much exactly wheie you aie along that shoieline.
In geneial, the key to chait navigation with iauai is to cooiuinate it with othei
piloting aius, especially with uPS anu uepth sounuei. With chait at hanu, the most common
pioceuuie is to locate the uPS position on the chait, anu fiom theie figuie the iange anu
beaiing to what you suspect might be a goou iauai taiget, anu then look to the iauai to
confiim this obseivation.
If the uistinction between the gieen anu blue oi white on youi chait is not
piominent, then it will pay to use a highlightei to outline the shoaling aieas (blue) oi
foieshoie (gieen). This foices you to go ovei each iegion you might pass thiough caiefully
anu then the maiking makes it stanu out as a waining. Sometimes in the faint light of a
wheel house oi nav station it is uifficult to see these ciucial uistinctions without this auueu
highlighting.
14u
Iuentification of specific lanumaiks fiom theii iauai image can be a challenge, hence
the teiminology of "a goou iauai taiget" veisus something else. A goou lanumaik taiget is
one that is easily iuentifieu on the iauai scieen -- usually tall oi steep along all its boiueis,
with a unique shape, oi a small but ieasonably tall isolateu islet. A uiilling platfoim, foi
example, is a veiy goou iauai taiget. A RAC0N is an iueal iauai taiget. A low spit of lanu
can be a veiy pooi iauai taiget. Bow well a lanumaik shows up on the iauai uepenus on its
iange anu beaiing, but a so calleu goou taiget woulu be less sensitive to this. The key issue
is the height of the lanu anu the iesolution of the iauai. Resolution is how well two neaiby
objects aie iesolveu (sepaiateu) on the iauai scieen.
Rauai iange is slightly faithei than visual oi geogiaphic iange uue to iefiaction of
miciowaves. Naximum iange 1.2 x |sq.it (ht of youi iauai) sq it (ht of taiget)j. If youi
antenna is 9 feet high anu you aie looking foi a ship that is 81 feet high, then it will fiist
faintly appeai at about (S 9 oi) 12 x 1.2 about 14 miles. Bence even if you have a 24- oi
S6-mile iauai, then you have to be looking foi something highei than 81 feet oi you won't
see it fiom an antenna that is only 9 feet high. (The max. iange scale specifieu on iauai
units has moie to uo with theii powei output, than how fai you will see taigets. If the
taiget is beyonu the "iauai hoiizon" given above, you won't see it, no mattei how much
powei you aie bioaucasting.) If you install the antenna much highei, say fiom a spieauei at
16 feet, then you only gain 1 mile, anu if you go on up to 2S feet, you still only gain anothei
mile. 0n a small boat at sea, an antenna that is 2S feet high will be iocking so much with the
waves that some of this elevation is wasteu. Nost small ciaft finu that an antenna height of
9 to 12 feet (on a post in the quaitei) is peifectly auequate anu avoius extia weight aloft
fiom the long heavy cable.
Rauai iesolution has two sepaiate factois: beaiing iesolution anu iange iesolution.
The typical hoiizontal wiuth of a small-ciaft iauai beam is about 6. This means that any
two objects sepaiateu by less than 6 will be smeaieu togethei (uniesolveu) into a single
taiget. The same pulse will hit both of them. As it tuins out, the tangent of 6 is 11u, so if
two aujacent objects locateu a uistance B away aie to be iesolveu into sepaiate taigets on
the iauai scieen they must be sepaiateu by a uistance of at least B1u fiom each othei.
Two vessels, foi example, seen S miles off, must be u.S miles apait oi they will appeai as
one. If the entiance to a bay is u.4 miles acioss, we woulu not expect to see it as an opening
(when heaueu stiaight towaiu it), until we weie within some 4 miles of the entiance. It is a
goou iuea to piactice these things anu make youi own measuiements with chait in hanu to
see how this woiks.
Range iesolution is ueteimineu by the pulse length of the iauai signal. A miciowave
tiavels at the speeu of light, which is 186,uuu miles pei seconu. This can be conveiteu to a
speeu of S28 yaius pei micioseconu. If two objects in line (same beaiing) aie sepaiateu by
less than one half a pulse length, then the neaiest taiget woulu still be ieflecting signals
fiom the enu of the pulse when the faithei one staits to ieflect signals fiom the fiont of the
pulse. Theiefoie they woulu appeai as one object. To be iesolveu, two objects at the same
beaiing must be sepaiateu by moie than 164 yaius pei micioseconu of pulse length.
Typical pulse lengths vaiy fiom u.1 to 1 micioseconu, anu the one in use uepenus on
the iange. In some few units you can select pulse length, in most small ciaft units this is
uone automatically foi you when you change ianges. In one unit, foi example, on iange S
141
miles the pulse length is u.S miciosec anu on iange 4 miles it is u.8 miciosec. Note that in
this case, you coulu have two close vessels (tug anu tow) that weie sepaiateu by 1uu yaius
at 2.8 miles off. 0n the 4 mile scale they woulu appeai as one vessel (iesolution 1S1 yaius),
but on the S-mile scale they woulu show as two uistinct close vessels (iesolution 49 yaius).
Again, something to piactice with using youi own iauai. You have to look up the pulse
lengths useu foi the vaiious iange scales in the specifications section of youi manual.
The following situations summaiize the use of iauai foi navigation:
1. kange and 8ear|ng f|x w|th radar
This is the woik hoise foi piloting - at least so fai as confiiming the uPS position is
conceineu. The extieme anu fiequent value of this opeiation cannot be juugeu by how easy
anu shoit it is to explain it.
Iuentify a lanumaik on the iauai that you can iuentify on the chait. Foi optimum
fix, this shoulu be a well-uefineu iauai taiget, whose beaiing can be taken to an
obvious centei.
Set EBL anu vRN on this point anu ieau off theii values. Note the time anu youi
heauing.
Conveit the EBL beaiing to a tiue beaiing using youi heauing. If the lanumaik is
at 128 R, foi example, anu you aie on couise 21S magnetic, then the EBL beaiing
is 21S 128 S4S magnetic.
Then plot youi line of position on the chait exactly as you woulu if you hau taken
a compass beaiing to the lanumaik of S4S magnetic. That is, using the magnetic
compass iose on the chait, uiaw a line emanating fiom the lanumaik in the
uiiection of S4S - 18u 16S magnetic.
Youi uistance fiom the lanumaik is what you ieau on the vRN. Neasuie this off
fiom the lanumaik on the chait anu you have youi position.
Notes: The key issues heie aie obvious: be suie you have the iight lanumaik anu
caiefully juuge how to uiaw the beaiing line anu iange ciicle on the chait ielative to that
lanumaik. Small, uistinct, isolateu taigets aie best foi this methou. If just using the methou
to confiim the uPS position, on the othei hanu, you have moie flexibility in taigets, but still,
whenevei in uoubt, uo iange anu beaiing to seveial bouies.
If you have to use a tangent to a steep cliff oi iock, be suie to coiiect it foi half the
hoiizontal beam wiuth as explaineu in Lesson 6.4 -- if BBW is 6 , then subtiact S fiom
iight siue tangents anu auu S to left siue tangents, since you aie seeing the taigets
smeaieu out by that amount. You have to juuge with expeiience if a tangent is bettei than
an estimate to a centei foi extenueu objects. Bo not iely on buoy sightings foi youi own
position location. Buoys may not be in the iight spot, oi you may be looking at an anchoieu
vessel anu not a buoy at all. The exceptions aie RAC0N buoys which aie about the best
possible iauai taigets. Piactice is the key factoi foi goou woik in this aiea.
A key iole of iauai is moie often to check the uPS position than it is to actually
establish youi position fiom sciatch. In this piocess, you plot youi uPS position on the
142
chait, then use paiallel iuleis anu uiviueis to check the iange anu beaiing to what might be
goou iauai taigets in iange. Then look at the iauai to confiim these obseivations. If in
sounuings, compaie the uepth as well.
2. kadar I|xes from 1wo or More 8ear|ngs.
These offei a quick methou of iauai piloting that is familiai to all navigatois since it
is uiiectly analogous to compass beaiing fixes. 0nlike visual beaiings, howevei, iauai
beaiings taken fiom typical small ciaft iauai aie geneially not as accuiate as can be uone
caiefully by eye using a high quality beaiing compass. The pioblem is twofolu, one the
iauai beaiing must be coiiecteu foi the heauing of the vessel when using Beaus-up uisplay,
anu in any uisplay moue, the angulai wiuth of the iauai beam tenus to smeai out the taiget
size on the iauai. Consequently, piloting with iauai beaiings is best uone with small well
uefineu taigets whose centei can be iuentifieu on the iauai anu on the chait.
If tangents must be useu, then the measuieu beaiing shoulu be aujusteu by one half
of the hoiizontal beam (BBW) wiuth foi youi iauai. These vaiy fiom some 8 to about 2 ,
meaning coiiections of 1 to 4 . BBW uepenus uiiectly on the size of the antenna -- laigei
antennas have naiiowei beams -- anu the piecise values aie listeu with the iauai specs.
Foi tangent beaiings to the iight of an object, subtiact one half of BBW anu foi tangents on
the left of an object, auu one half of the BBW.
1. Iuentify two oi moie goou iauai beaiing lanumaiks on the iauai that you can
iuentify on the chait.
2. Set EBL on these points anu ieau off theii values. Note the time anu youi
heauing.
S. Conveit the EBL beaiings to a tiue beaiings using youi heauing. If the lanumaik
is at 128 R, foi example, anu you aie on couise 21S magnetic, then the EBL
beaiing is 21S 128 S4S magnetic.
4. If the beaiing is of a tangent, then coiiect foi one half of BBW as explaineu
above.
S. Then plot youi lines of position on the chait exactly as you woulu if you hau
taken compass beaiings to the lanumaiks. That is, using the compass iose on the
chait, uiaw a line emanating fiom the lanumaiks in that uiiection.
6. Wheie the lines of position cioss on the chait is youi position fix. Thiee beaiings
aie much bettei than just two, since the size of the "cockeu hat" inteisection of
the L0Ps is some inuication of the ieliability of the fix.
3. 1wo 8ear|ngs and a kange.
These can pioviue a goou fix -- it's a stanuaiu pioceuuie in ioutine piloting using a
hanu beaiing compass. Two close beaiings, howevei, such as two siues of a small islanu,
aie geneially not a veiy goou fix even using visual beaiings. With iauai, on the othei hanu,
we can occasionally get a ieliable fix fiom two tangents of some object by combining it with
a iange measuiement to the object. This is effectively a way to uo a Range anu Beaiing fix
to an object that is too laige to locate with a single beaiing line.
14S
1. Iuentify a piominent lanumaik on the iauai, such as a small islanu, that you can
locate on the chait.
2. Set EBL on the left anu iight tangents to the lanumaik, anu ieau off theii values.
Note the time anu youi heauing. At the same time, ieau anu iecoiu the vRN
iange to the poition of the same lanumaik which is closest to you.
S. Conveit the EBL beaiings to tiue beaiings using youi heauing. Then coiiect each
beaiing foi one half of the Boiizontal Beam Wiuth (BBW) as explaineu in Pub
1S1u. In piactice you will use the value given in the specifications of youi own
iauai unit. Foi plotting exeicises in Rauai Tiainei assume an BBW of 4 , which
means you will auu 2 to left-hanu tangent anu subtiact 2 fiom the iight-hanu
tangent.
4. Then plot youi lines of position on the chait exactly as you woulu if you hau
taken compass beaiings to the lanumaiks. That is, using the compass iose on the
chait, uiaw a line emanating fiom the lanumaiks in that uiiection.
S. 0sing a uiafting compass oi beam compass plot the vRN iange fiom the
lanumaik.
6. Youi position fix is halfway between the two beaiings, on the iange ciicle
plotteu fiom the vRN.
4. I|x by 1wo or More kanges.
To take the best auvantage of iauai foi chait navigation, you neeu some foim of
uiafting compass foi uiawing ciicles. Nost uiviueis have an optional leau to ieplace a
point, but foi uoing much of this a ueuicateu uiafting compass woulu be useful. An
alteinative is just to tie oi iubbei-banu a pencil onto youi uiviueis anu use that. 0i just use
the uiviueis anu maik positions along the aic with a pencil. This methou ielies on ianges
alone (without beaiings) which can in piinciple offei a moie accuiate fix than the quickei
iange anu beaiing to a single object. Also when using S oi moie taigets (foi ianges oi
beaiings) you get a "cockeu hat" of inteisections which is some measuie of the ieliability of
the fix. If the inteisections aie tuu laige, then take a 4th taiget to help iuentify the bau one.
The uisauvantage of any methou using moie than one taiget, howevei, is that youi
own motion -- if any -- must be taken into account foi an accuiate fix. In othei woius, all
multi-bouy fixes aie to some extent iunning fixes. Remembei that objects aheau oi astein
change iange moie iapiuly than objects abeam, so it is geneially bettei to measuie the
ianges on the beam befoie those on the bow oi stein. If you want to caiiy out a piopei
iunning fix, then the geneial pioceuuie is to auvance the point of iefeience anu then uiaw
the iange ciicle.
Iuentify two oi moie lanumaiks on the iauai that you can locate on the chait.
Confiim that these aie goou iauai iange taigets, meaning shaip steep euges as
opposeu to low, gently iising euges. (Latei you will confiim that the euges you
aie seeing on the chait aie inueeu above the hoiizon anu what you aie looking at
on the iauai).
144
Set vRN anu EBL on the chosen taigets neaiest the beam. Reau anu iecoiu the
values. Then uo the same with the seconu oi thiiu taigets.
0se the beaiing lines measuieu to iuentify the point on the lanumaik whose
iange was measuieu. Fiom that point, use a uiafting compass oi beam-compass,
to uiaw in the iange cuive thiough youi appioximate position. Bo the same with
the seconu obseivation.
Wheie the lines of position cioss on the chait is youi position fix. Again, thiee
ianges aie bettei than two, anu these will be best when they aie some 12u
apait.
S. VkM as ||ot|ng A|d.
Theie aie many cieative ways to use the vRN ciicle foi navigation. Beie aie a few
suggestions. 0theis will unuoubteuly occui to you to meet specific navigation pioblems.
1. Sailing paiallel to a coastline within iauai iange, you can set the vRN ciicle to
just touch the coastline. Then as you pioceeu along the coast, just a quick look at
iauai scieen tells if you aie getting set in towaiu oi away fiom the coast, oi if
you have wanueieu off couise foi any ieason.
2. Appioaching a heaulanu oi iocks in view on the iauai, you can ueciue how close
you uaie get in baseu on the chait, then auu some safety factoi, anu set the vRN
to that uistance. Then as you appioach, you can tell without fuithei ieckoning
when you aie at the minimum uistance off.
S. Some combination of (1) anu (2) can often be useful such as ciossing a laige bay
oi entiance. Set the vRN to the uistance off that you weie following the coast up
to the entiance anu then leave it set as the coast falls away into the opening. The
vRN will now not be touching any lanu, but you can see the lay of the coastline
lowei on the scieen. 0se a paiallel line (paiallel to ship's heauing line) to pioject
the tangent to the vRN backwaius to see if youi ciicle is penetiating into the
entiance oi slipping away fiom it - i.e., getting set into it oi out of it.
4. You can navigate to a paiticulai point on the chait in an easy mannei if it
happens to be equal uistant fiom two uistinct iauai taigets sepaiateu by at least
half the uistance off you caie to achieve. Set the vRN to the paiticulai uistance,
then uiive in anu aujust couise as neeueu until both taigets touch the vRN
ciicle. This will put you at a unique place on the chait.
14S
I/2;:$!(167+$?10"$)/;/($$
Again, as with the vRN methous, theie aie numeious uses of the EBL line foi
navigation, anu othei geneial techniques that can help with navigation in some foim. A few
useful ones aie listeu heie.
Rauai anu natuial ianges. As with visual navigation, any use of a natuial iange
foi monitoiing couise is especially valuable. When sailing towaiu oi away fiom
any two stationaiy iauai taigets in iange, you have a quick anu accuiate means
of ueteimining if you aie being set off couise.
Locating a channel entiance. 0ccasionally on appioaching a coast theie can be
numeious small taigets neai the entiance.
When looking foi a buoy channel, ieau fiom the chait what the buoy spacing is
along with the compass beaiing of the channel. Then you can iuentify the buoys
fiom the iauai by measuiing the spacing anu confiiming the beaiing. Naik the
canuiuates on the scieen, anu use a poitable iange scale to check sepaiation.
Then set EBL paiallel to the lay of these taigets anu confiim its beaiing.
Choosing an anchoiage site. In some ciicumstances, iauai is useful foi choosing
a place to anchoi within a ciowueu anchoiage anu then latei useu to confiim oi
check foi anchoi uiag. Also, invaluable if you have to anchoi in the uaik.
Plot tiails fiom stationaiy taigets. In some ciicumstances, with a piominent
lanumaik oi well iuentifieu buoy on the iauai scieen, you can use the length of
its plot tiail as a measuie of youi uistance iun foi solving the ielative motion
uiagiam anu thus save oi confiim this simple computation.
Squalls. You can use iauai anu the ielative motion uiagiam to analyze squall
motions. 0nce you confiim the motion of one oi two, you can guess that
subsequent ones uuiing the night will move in the same way. Nost squalls in the
Noithein Bemispheie, tenu to move in a uiiection that is veeieu fiom that of the
suiface winu uiiection by about 2u oi so, at typical speeus of about 1S knots.
Lanumaik iuentification. Bon't foiget that you can measuie the uimensions of
lanumaiks with the iauai. This will often help iuentify it, i.e. if this is that islet, it
shoulu be u.4S miles acioss. Is it. 0i if that inuentation is the entiance, it shoulu
be 1.2 miles wiue, etc. Set the optimum iange anu then use a poitable iange scale
to check it. The veiy latest mouels of iauai incluue a "Floating EBL" option that
lets you make these measuiements uiiectly fiom the scieen.
Rauai anu atmospheiic visibility. Rauai is veiy often the best way to ueteimine
atmospheiic visibility which is in tuin neeueu to anticipate fiist views of lanu oi
vessel tiaffic. At twilight, measuieu values of the visibility can then be useu to
pieuict the visible iange of lights that you will use latei in the evening anu night.
146
V*&++/(:$$
This lingo of iauai can be quite confusing. Figuie out how these apply on youi own
system.
9INJ is the amount of signal. This is the majoi contiol useu in iauai tuning anu must
usually be aujusteu when making laige changes in the iange. Noimal settings of this aie
uone with the iain anu sea cluttei full off anu on a high oi maximum iange scale. Then
inciease the uain until you see a faint coveiage of white specks on the backgiounu ovei the
full iauai scieen. Note that full gain can tuin the scieen white anu zeio gain tuin it black.
Nost opeiatois piefei just a faint coveiage of white specs in the backgiounu. If the uain is
too high, you will lose iesolution anu if too low you will miss taigets. You must also
expeiiment with the Biilliance contiol as it affects uain. uain must usually be ieuuceu
when laige close taigets aie piesent oi it will smeai acioss the entiie scieen anu block out
all othei taigets. uain may have to be incieaseu when looking foi small taigets oi when
using iain cluttei. Sometimes bettei iange anu beaiing iesolution can be achieveu by
ieuucing the gain anu sometimes ieuucing the gain will help ieuuce cluttei fiom iain oi
snow. Remembei to always ieplace the gain to its noimal settings if it has been changeu foi
some ieasons.
/KI-GLUTTKV. This is a contiol that shoulu be kept at minimum oi off unless neeueu. If
set too high, it can block out close taigets. ueneially it uoes nothing foi ianges faithei than
about 4 miles oi so. In calm sea conuitions, this shoulu be kept off. In iough seas, the entiie
close in iegion of the scieen on the lowei ianges will be neaily soliu white fiom wave
ieflections. In these cases, this contiol shoulu be incieaseu until this smeai is bioken up
into a pattein of small uots. This is easy to optimize if you have close small taigets piesent.
}ust inciease the sea cluttei till they stanu out piominently. Without such taigets, you have
to just estimate this. It is impoitant to not iun this filtei too high oi you will lose small oi
even meuium sizeu close taigets. Always leave some cluttei showing. If you aie heeleu
ovei, oi foi any ieason theie is moie cluttei to winuwaiu compaieu to leewaiu, you can be
ieasonably confiuent that the sea cluttei is iight by tuining it up till you see this uistinction
cleaily on the iauai scieen, but still leaving some cluttei on the weakei siue.
2INJ-GLUTTKV (FTC). When in oi neai a iain oi snow squall, the iauai scieen becomes
clutteieu with ieflections fiom the piecipitation itself. This can be so seveie that it can
mask the piesence of any taiget in a neaiby squall--oi if you aie in the squall, mask the
piesence of tiaffic appioaching even though they aie not in the squall. Reflections fiom
piecipitation aie usually easy to iuentify fiom theii "wool like" appeaiance. A iain squall on
the iauai scieen looks iathei like a clouu uiawn iaggeuly with chaicoal. 0ften the exact
bounuaiies of a squall, oi at least the pait with iain content, can be cleaily seen on the
iauai anu even maneuveieu aiounu if necessaiy. The iain cluttei filtei bieaks up the
continuous uisplay of piecipitation echoes into a speckleu pattein. These filteis geneially
woik quite well in iain anu snow anu will ieveal taigets which might not otheiwise be
seen. In heavy snow oi hail the iauai may be effectively blockeu out by this inteifeience
anu these contiols may not auequately solve the pioblem. 0nce the piecipitation goes
away, the filtei shoulu be shut off. Note that this contiol might also be useu in faii weathei
in ciowueu oi confineu haibois that piesent much iauai cluttei, oi iegions with biight
147
lanu aieas, to shaipen the pictuie since it uoes ieuuce the sensitivity in a mannei that is
qualitatively uiffeient fiom ieuucing the gain. Note that unlike the Sea Cluttei contiol that
woiks close in anu piogiessively less at laigei ianges, the Rain Cluttei contiol woiks
unifoimly ovei the full iange of the uisplay.
"GHY-MTVKTGH. This is a iauai option that enhances the sizes of taigets. It can be
useful when looking foi oi following a small taiget. Tuin it on, anu all taigets get laigei. It
lengthens then along the aic about the centei of the scieen. This option shoulu noimally be
iun in the off moue.
#JTKVWKVKJGK-VK^KGTNYJ. Youi iauai unit will pick up noise fiom othei vessels'
iauais which will appeai as eithei a backgiounu of uots oi uotteu aics that shoot acioss the
scieen. This can piesent pioblems in ciowueu haibois. Tuining on this function will
eliminate the inteifeience backgiounu. The shooting uotteu aics aie easily iuentifieu. They
aie tiansient anu usually uo not appeai in the same place twice. This option can be left in
the on moue with no ueteiioiation of peifoimance. It shoulu be tiieu peiiouically in
congesteu wateis to see the effect anu if it helps. As an asiue, if you uetect these while at
sea, it is a sign of the piesence somewheie of anothei vessel with its iauai on, even though
you uo not see it on the scieen oi visually. The souice of this inteifeience can be well ovei
youi visible hoiizon anu may not appeai at all.
_YYS-IJP-YWWMKT-QMHNWT)R These functions appeai on some mouein iauais, although
theii function anu opeiation may uiffei with the mouels. 0ffset oi shift ielocates the centei
of the uisplay away fiom youi own position so you can concentiate on a specific iegion.
ueneially you set a cuisoi to the new centei anu piess a button to shift to it. Zoom allows
useis to expanu the iange about the new centei, also sometimes using the cuisoi position
to ueteimine the extent of the zoom. These can be veiy useful options foi watching specific
ciicumstances, but they uo leave the iauai set in an unusual uisplay. This coulu leau to
confusion in some cases, so it is impoitant to convey to all in use of the iauai about how it
is set anu to ietuin it to noimal when uone with that obseivation.
9UIVP-MKGTYVM-IJP-ILIVSM`-IJP-aITGH-SYPK. This allows you to uefine a safety
iange iing using the vRN, anu then set an alaim that will sounu whenevei a taiget is
uetecteu within that iing. Some equipment allows foi two iings to uefine moie complex
alaims, oi even allow foi using the EBL to conveit the iings into sectois. Test such
aiiangements extensively befoie ielying on them. Reau the manual caiefully on theii use,
as the gain anu othei options must be set piopeily. Some iauais also offei a powei saving
option that allows you to piogiam the iauai to iemain in stanu-by moue but still
automatically come on eveiy S oi 1u minutes to make a few iauai sweeps to look foi tiaffic.
This option combineu with guaiu iings anu alaims might offei some level of waining foi
shoit hanueu opeiations. Neeuless to say, howevei, a piopei watch is not kept by such
aiiangements. Theie is no electionic uevice that can be ielieu upon completely to uetect
anu wain you of appioaching tiaffic with iisk of collision. Seiious collisions have occuiieu
involving vessels uepenuing on such a system.
&UJNJO is synchionization of sent anu ieceiveu pulses. To use manual tuning, the
best pioceuuie is to tune on an isolateu clean taiget a mile oi two off anu aujust until the
image is shaip, with uain set about Su% full iange anu Sea cluttei anu Rain cluttei tuineu
148
off. Youi manual will be the best guiue to this. Watch the tuning bai as well if one is theie. If
the shaipest image uoes not coiielate with the fullest tuning bai, then again see a
technician.
149
=<<(#J1/01&2+$$
0sing iauai involves a veiitable alphabet soup of abbieviations. Beie aie the ones
you neeu to know:
BRN - Biiection of Relative Notion
SRN - Speeu of Relative Notion
RNB - Relative Notion Biagiam
vRN - vaiiable Range Naikei
EBL - Electionic Beaiing Line
SBL - Ship's Beauing Line
CPA - Closest Point of Appioach
TCPA - Time to CPA
NCPA - Ninutes to CPA
BCPA - Beaiing to CPA
1Su
Chapter 8 - Weather
Noie than any othei factoi, weathei conuitions affect the comfoit anu safety of a
boat anu its ciew on a passage. Things can go wiong with the ciew, oi with the boat, but if
the weathei is bau when that happens safety is much moie likely to be compiomiseu. Anu,
if the ciew picks a ioute that goes against the giain of the pievailing, oi peiiouically typical,
weathei they will have a slow anu uncomfoitable time with the neeu to iely fiequently on
the engine.
Faii winus minimize the neeu foi the engine anu hence maximize time unuei sail.
Swell height anu uiiection, anu the winu waves on top of the swell, affect comfoit fai moie
than winu speeu. Lanu topogiaphy anu shoals affect both winu anu seas - not only on a
passage, but at anchoi. 0nly aftei the weathei conuitions necessaiy foi a safe anu enjoyable
passage aie unueistoou is it possible to begin looking foi a weathei winuow in upcoming
foiecasts.
While we weie ciuising, we spent countless houis tiying to unueistanu anu pieuict
weathei. We leaineu that theie is no quick way to get a giip on this complex subject. Theie
is no substitute foi stuuy combineu with obseivation--anu on a sailboat this can take
seveial houis each uay. In auuition, a masteiy of maiine iauio is essential.
This Chaptei is baseu on notes I compileu while using the Staipath Weathei Tiainei
|http:www.staipath.comcatalogcouises18u4bc.htmj, stuuying vaiious texts on the
topic, attenuing weathei couises anu seminais, anu fiom obseivation anu expeiience.
The fiist foui aiticles uesciibe the piocess I useu to tiack weathei using a Weathei
Notebook. The iemaining aiticles aie my notes fiom stuuying weathei theoiy anu
obseiving weathei patteins.
The Weathei Notebook
Weathei Nets
Weathei Winuows
Baily 0bseivations
ueneial Infoimation
Aii Piessuie
Fionts
Squalls
Cyclones
Winus
Clouus
Weathei Foiecasts
Sea States
1S1
Cuiients
Fog
See also Chaptei S foi infoimation about weathei bioaucasts anu iauio nets,
Chaptei 7 foi using iauai foi stoim avoiuance, anu Chaptei 9 foi listings of books on
weathei as well as links to useful Inteinet iesouices.
1S2
!"#$D#/0"#($E&0#<&&7$
Watching the weathei was among the most impoitant things we uiu uuiing oui
ciuising yeais. In the beginning we muuuleu oui way thiough tiying to leain about
weathei by ieauing books, anu making notes fiom infoimation we got ovei the iauio oi the
Inteinet. Sometimes I spent 4-S houis a uay on weathei issues. As it came time to cieate
this section of the website, howevei, I was foiceu to sit back anu think about how I uiu this
which was a helpful exeicise.
Foi a Weathei Notebook I useu a 1uu-sheet spiial notebook. 0ne of these lasteu
about 6 months. 0n the outsiue fiont covei of the notebook I pasteu the scheuule of
weathei tiansmissions, incluuing weathei fax scheuules, anu Nets, noting the times (0CT
anu local), SSB channels, anu tiansmission fiequencies. Insiue the fiont covei I kept a list of
shoithanu useu in tiansciibing the NWS foiecasts heaiu ovei the iauio (following the
methou iecommenueu by Biuce van Sant in his book $#2-&%4-F3&c9#2A<.-#%)#83993:-9#
=)A%(.)
0n the fiont pages of the notebook I maue uaily notes in chionological oiuei, anu
useu the back pages foi iuentifying weathei winuows anu making uaily weathei
obseivations as uesciibeu below. Note that weathei obseivations maue while we weie
unueiway weie iecoiueu in the Beck Log iathei than the Weathei Notebook.
In the uaily notes section I jotteu uown the foiecasts given on the iauio nets, anu
also any impoitant non-weathei items that came up uuiing the net. I useu the maigins foi
flagging the uate, anu iefeiencing topics so that they stoou out easily, anu quickly yielueu
sought-aftei infoimation when I lookeu foi it latei. The uay anu uate weie put in a
iectangulai box in the maigin. 0thei items that I flaggeu in the maigins weie capital letteis
in a ciicle: "I" foi safety anu secuiity inciuents that weie iepoiteu; "N" foi navigation hints;
"R" foi iauio fiequency infoimation; anu "P" foi emeigency anu piioiity items fiom the
vaiious nets (usually the boat names foi which theie was a watch unueiway).
The notes in the bouy of these pages weie foimatteu as follows: next to the uay anu
uate, I listeu the weathei souice (Net name oi bioaucastei) which was unueilineu so it was
easy to see. Following the name, on the same line, I put the SSB channel anu fiequency, anu
the quality of the tiansmission (Reauability on a scale of 1-S, with S being excellent, anu
Stiength on the same scale.) 0nueineath this heauing I maue notes using a shoithanu as
uesciibeu above. If a weathei fax was ieceiveu, a note of the time anu title of the
weatheifax chait(s) was iecoiueu. If a text oi Navtext foiecast was ieceiveu anu stoieu on
the computei, that was also noteu. At the enu of the last set of notes foi the uay, a line was
uiawn acioss the page.
When at anchoi oi uockeu, I also maue uaily weathei obseivations on pages at the
back of the Weathei Notebook maikeu with veitical columns . Each of these pages thus
became a table iunning acioss a single page. Each page hau a column foi iecoiuing:
BateTime
Baiometei;
Winu uiiection;
1SS
Winu speeu;
Relative humiuity;
Aii tempeiatuie;
Clouu uesciiption (type, height)
Amount of clouu covei (% oi eighths);
visibility;
Wea state when obseivable;
Comments (iain, thunueistoim, etc.)
A line in this table was filleu out at the same time each uay. If we weie closely
tiacking a weathei system, as in anticipation of the aiiival of a stoim oi a uepaituie, then a
line was filleu out moie fiequently, such as eveiy 4-8 houis. Even when we weie in haiboi
foi an extenueu peiiou, we kept tiack of the uaily weathei obseivations, as well as the NWS
0ffshoie Repoit which we get eveiy moining along with oui e-mail fiom Winlink..
When in haiboi I usually listeneu to at least one Net each uay so we coulu heai
about unusual happenings anu finu out what weathei was heauing oui way. We got caught
off guaiu one night in the Bahamas when we faileu to uo this anu a stoim came up in the
night - we neaily lost oui uinghy anu some otheis in Naish Baiboui lost theii boats.
Recoiuing the weathei each uay uoes take some uiscipline, but theie is no bettei
way to begin to unueistanu weathei patteins in youi aiea, anu weathei systems in geneial,
than to ieally obseive weathei changes befoie youi eyes ovei an extenueu peiiou. When
these obseivations aie consiueieu in light of the cuiient foiecast, even moie insight is
gaineu.
1S4
D#/0"#($D12;&?+$$
A "weathei winuow" foi a coastal oi offshoie passage is an acceptable iange of winu
anu sea conuitions lasting foi a long enough peiiou to complete a passage (oi iemain safely
in an anchoiage) anu which can ieasonably be expecteu to occui with some iegulaiity in
the aiea to be tiansiteu, taking into account the mouifying effects of neaiby lanu masses.
Acceptable conuitions uepenu on the couise to be taken ielative to the winu anu
swell uiiections. Biuce van Sant in his book P(-#2-&%4-F3&c9#2A<.-#%)#83993:-9#=)A%( offeis
a useful iule of thumb foi comfoitable passage-making in a small boat in the Caiibbean.
"Foi piogiessing uiiectly into the winu, look foi Beaufoit Foice 1. Auu one Beaufoit Foice
foi each compass point woiking aft fiom the bow until ieaching Foice 6 when the winu is
astein." In othei woius, if winu anu couise uiiection aie similai, stiongei winus aie
acceptable - in fact uesiiable, foi a fastei passage. Conveisely, if winu anu couise uiiection
aie opposing, then lightei winus aie necessaiy to make way in ieasonable comfoit. As an
example, we uefineu a weathei winuow foi tiavel against the tiaue winus fiom Lupeion in
the Bominican Republic to Boqueion in Pueito Rico as "a 4-uay foiecast of winus east to
southeast less than 1S knots, seas S-S feet, no noitheily swells." We thought it was a goou
iuea to put in wiiting a uesciiption of the iequiieu weathei winuow, because then it
became inteinalizeu anu it became moie obvious when one was coming as we tiackeu the
weathei foiecasts.
Tiacking foiecasts iequiies the use of some kinu of foim. The one we useu is maue
up accoiuing to the sample given by Biuce van Sant in the above-iefeienceu book. While
this foim was foimatteu foi Caiibbean weathei tiacking, it shoulu fit most othei situations.
The foim was maue by uiviuing a page of the weathei notebook into S sections of
columns as follows:
The fiist (left hanu) section hau S columns foi:
Bayuate;
Foiecast aiea;
Winu uiiection;
Winu speeu; anu
Swell heightuiiection.
The seconu anu thiiu sections weie iuentical, anu both weie uiviueu veitically into
4 columns. This alloweu the tiacking of foiecasts as we moveu fiom one foiecast aiea to
anothei. In the seconu section of the foim we initially tiackeu an 8u-2u mix of the NWS
0ffshoie Foiecast foi the Southwest Noith Atlantic (SWNA) anu the Eastein Caiibbean. In
the thiiu section we tiackeu the foiecast foi a 2u-8u mix of the two foiecasts. As we moveu
south thiough the Caiibbean insteau of the SWNA we tiackeu the Tiopical Noith Atlantic
anu the Eastein Caiibbean foiecasts. Each section hau a column foi:
Winu uiiection;
Winu speeu;
1SS
Swells; anu
A naiiow column foi an up oi uown aiiow, to inuicate that the foiecast is bettei
oi woise than on the pievious line - a shoit hoiizontal line inuicates theie is no
change.
I useu one line of the foim foi each uay's foiecast. Foi the cuiient uay, i filleu out the
foiecast line in ink. Foi the subsequent uays of the foiecast i wiote the lines out in pencil,
so they coulu be eiaseu anu changeu asif subsequent foiecasts change. In the fiist section
we wiote uata foi the fiist foiecast aiea in the uppei pait of the line, anu foi the seconu
foiecast aiea in the lowei pait of the line.
When I saw a weathei winuow coming up, I highlighteu the uate it began in yellow
anu began uepaituie piepaiations. If the winuow helu up, I kept on highlighting the next
uate of the winuow as the uays unfolueu, anu maue uecisions as to the timing of uepaituie.
While unueiway on a multi-uay off-shoie passage, weathei foiecasts continueu to
be collecteu to see if the length of the winuow was shoitening oi lengthening.
Recoiuing the foiecast infoimation in this way maue it easy to see a weathei
winuow appioaching. If uepaituie is uelayeu until a winuow is foiecast, even if the foiecast
is wiong conuitions aie extiemely unlikely to ueteiioiate so bauly that the passage is tiuly
miseiable. 0f couise, if a passage takes longei than the weathei foiecasts ieach out, then
othei consiueiations must be taken into account as is the case foi ocean ciossings.
0n the next page is an example of the table in the Weathei Notebook tiacking a
weathei winuow in the Caiibbean.
1S6

Figure 1 Sample Page for Tracking Weather Window


1S7
P2;#(+0/2;12A$K/(12#$D#/0"#($
This aiticle contains notes that I maue as I attempteu to uniavel anu mastei the
mysteiies of maiine weathei. Nany of these came fiom stuuying weathei using the
Staipath Weathei Tiainei. 0theis came fiom stuuying vaiious texts on maiine weathei,
attenuing weathei couises anu seminais, anu fiom obseivation anu expeiience.
An unueistanuing of weathei patteins, how they uiffei in uiffeient aieas, anu how
they change within those aieas is an essential pait of seamanship. I investeu a significant
amount of my time on this topic since we hopeu (optimistically as it tuineu out) to sail
whenevei possible anu minimize use of the engine. We also hau no uesiie to get caught out
in uangeious conuitions. While we knew that N344<G5:<3 coulu get thiough pietty much
anything, we weie not so suie about ouiselves as ciew.
1. Genera| o|nters
Weathei planning foi smallei vessels is baseu on long-teim uata iegaiuing
conuitions ovei an aiea, anu knowleuge of how the ship anu ciew peifoim unuei
these vaiious conuitions.
1 cubic yaiu of watei weighs a ton, so in iough weathei if cockpit uiains oi
scuppeis uon't empty quickly, a boat can quickly become unbalanceu.
Nost of the time in weathei foiecasting you aie looking foi goou weathei anu
not tiying to avoiu bau weathei. 0nueistanuing weathei allows you to finu the
most favoiable winus anu ioute so that you can catch favoiable 1S-2u knot
bieezes.
Theie is not much you can uo to avoiu a fast moving bau weathei system when
you'ie on a passage going at 6 knots so best to see it coming anu stay out of the
way.
If the latest weathei foiecast suggests the neeu foi significant couise alteiations,
make half of it anu then wait 6 houis foi the next foiecast anuoi confiimation
fiom youi own obseivations befoie making the full couise alteiation.
In many cases, heauing offshoie foi a coastal passage is equivalent to auuing
uays to get into ioughei conuitions.
In the uppei atmospheie (jet stieam), long waves cieate the stoim tiack, shoit
waves cieate the stoim.
In the N Bemispheie, lows (cyclones) go anticlockwise anu highs (anticyclones)
go clockwise. Thus, put youi back to the winu, youi left hanu out anu 2u uegiees
foiwaiu to finu the uiiection of the centei of the low (Buys Ballot law -
Remembei BBBLLBuys Ballot says Back Left to Low in the Noithein
Bemispheie. In SB use Right Banu).
The significance of uaik nasty looking weathei uepenus on which uiiection it lies
in ielation to the geneial uiiection that weathei moves in youi location.
1S8
Extiatiopical cylones foim outsiue the tiopics any time of yeai but most often in
wintei, aie numeious (about 1,Suu uevelop pei yeai), foim ovei lanu as well as
sea, move west to east, span 7uu-1,Suu miles, have colu coies, have theii
stiongest winus on the peiipheiy, uon't have an eye, anu have associateu fionts.
They often ieach gale foice but except in the Noith Pacific iaiely ieach huiiicane
foice.
Tiopical cyclones foim in the tiopics geneially in a specific season, aie ielatively
few (7u pei yeai), foim ovei watei, move east to west foi pait of theii lives, span
2-Suu miles, have waim coies, have stiongest winus (ovei huiiicane foice) neai
the coie, have a calm eye, anu uon't have fionts.
veei shift (clock) to the iight in both hemispheies. Back shift to the left in
both hemispheies.
0n cleai uays, visibility is about 1u miles. The visible iange of lanu is 1.14 x the
squaie ioot of the height of lanu above obseivei's eye.
A iiuge is an elongateu aiea of high piessuie, iuentifieu by the aiea of maximum
anticyclonic cuivatuie of winu flow. A tiough is an elongateu aiea of low
piessuie, iuentifieu by the aiea of maximum cyclonic cuivatuie of winu flow. A
tiough is uistinguisheu by its elongateu natuie as compaieu to a low (oi cyclone)
which is ciiculai. A laige scale tiough may contain one oi moie lows.
uet a weathei map anu maik youi position on it. Note the time foi the map.
Fiom youi log, check the winu speeu, uiiection, anu baiometei. Figuie out what
the map suggests youi winu speeu, uiiection, anu baiometei shoulu be. Compaie
notes. Naik youi C0u on the weathei map, figuie the next uay's iun, anu plot
youi likely position. Keep this anu stuuy it as new foiecasts aie issueu. Listen to
voice foiecasts anu fill in uetails. Compaie with pievious piojections.
Isobais in the waim sectoi typically align with winus aloft (in Suumb chait).
Suiface stoim tiack is usually Suu-6uunmiles noith of anu paiallel to the S64u
metei contoui. Suiface lows anu fionts geneially move along suiface at a speeu
1S to V of the Suumb winu speeu.
Suiface winus in a low aie typically V of the Suumb winu speeu.
The key issue to applying what you leain fiom weathei maps is how fast is youi
vessel. The tactical use of map infoimation always involves piojecteu BR
position at the speeu youi vessel can make in the piojecteu winu anu wave
conuitions. It is much like taking cuiient into account when passing thiough
aieas with stiong vaiying cuiients. uoou weathei tactics aie always tieu to goou
navigation skills. The captain has to make the tiaue off between safe anu fast.
2. A|r ressure
The 1-2-S iule. If piessuie uiops 1-2mb an houi ovei a peiiou of S houis, watch
out. Then use the 4-S-6 iule (uiop of 4-S millibais in 6 houis)which means
something majoi is heaueu youi way, if this happens you can be suie you aie in
foi a gale--oi woise.
1S9
Reauing anu iecoiuing (on giaph papei if you can) the piessuie will ensuie you
aie paying attention to aii piessuie. You neeu a baiometei that not only tells you
if the piessuie is iising oi falling thioughout the iange, but also accuiately tells
you what the piessuie is. Without knowing the tiue piessuie, weathei chaits aie
not as useful.
You neeu a baiometei that is accuiate thioughout its iange anu it shoulu be
calibiateu, it's ok if it ieaus Smb high, so long as you know that. Cost goes up
with weight, anu often just pay foi moie biass with no inciease in baiometei
quality. Some of the best come in veiy thin biass anu weight only 2lbs.
ueneial iule of thumb in the miuule latituues: Low piessuie biings winu, clouus,
anu iain; high piessuie biings light winus anu cleai skies (although you can get
stiong winu between two highs oi if a high is pusheu up against a stationaiy
low). Bowevei, in the tiopics winus tenu to inciease with high piessuie.
Biuinal vaiiation is about 1-Smb with highs at 1u ampm anu lows at 4 ampm.
It is most piominent in tiopics, in pait because less piessuie vaiiation theie.
You can estimate the winu by spacing between millibais. But also, iemembei
that winu can uouble going thiough gaps in mountains oi between islanus (gap
winu). Also, note that close spacing in tiopics piouuces much highei winus than
at highei latituues.
Theie aie S semi-peimanent high piessuie systems that ieally compiise the
Boise Latituues. They aie stiongei in the summei than in the wintei. They aie:
Sibeiian Bigh (ovei lanu), Pacific Bigh, anu Atlantic Bigh (calleu Beimuua Bigh
when positioneu westeily, Azoies Bigh when easteily). Theii mean centeis aie
betwen Su anu 4u uegiees. You can tell if a high has become a "blocking high"
that ueflects oi slows the usual west-to-east path of weathei systems when: on
the weathei map they aie in the coiiect place foi the season; they aie smooth
anu iounu with at least 2 isobais iounu them; anu cential piessuie is 1uSumb.
The best spot to pick foi getting iounu one is 2 isobais (8mb) fiom the centei of
the Bigh. If the jet stieam above uevelops an omega shape (omega block) the
high can sit in the same place foi a couple of weeks.
Lows aie ciiculai uepiessions which can uevelop steep piessuie giauients;
tioughs aie elongateu low piessuie systems which uevelop between 2 highs oi
moie often as a piojection out of a cential low.
Low piessuie systems tenu to move in a uiiection paiallel to the isobais in theii
waim sectoi.
3. Ironts
A fiont is the bounuaiy between colu(ei) anu waim(ei) aii with the tempeiatuie
anu piessuie uiffeiences piouucing stiong winus at the bounuaiy.
Theie aie 4 types of fionts: Waim (Rain, leauing to mistfog, stiatus clouus,
tempeiatuie slowly iising, moves at 1u-1S knots). Colu (Beavy iain at fiont, then
showeis, cumulonibus, iapiu tempeiatuie uiop, moves at 2u-2S knots anu much
16u
fastei in highei latituues). 0ccluueu (steauy iain then squally, stiatus then
cumulonimbus (Cb), moves at 1u-1S knots, tempeiatuie may iise oi fall).
Stationaiy (inteimittent iain then cleaiing, loweiing stiatus (St) then Cb,
tempeiatuie slowly iising, moving slowly oi not at all).
Winu shifts at passage of a a fiont in the noithein hemispheie will be a
peimanent veei--when facing the winu, it will shift (clock) to the iight. As a fiont
appioaches off shoie, winus back as the winu builus, then suuuenly veei anu
then eithei steauy out oi uissipate aftei the fiontal passage.
Waim fiont has a classic clouu sequence. This is moie obvious in summei than
wintei. Sequence unfolus ovei 12-S6 his, usually a uay.
Fiom clouuless sky, comes a 22 uegiee uiametei (thumb to pinky stietcheu) halo
iounu sunmoon showing ice ciystals have invaueu the uppei aii
(.stiatospheie). Then builuing ciiius appeais coming ovei the hoiizon. |Note
ciiius sometimes show up at the tail enu of a passing colu fiont, so when you see
them coming ovei the hoiizon fiom a cleai sky, then it means waim fiont is
coming.j The ciiius thicken into ciiiocumulus anuoi ueepen into altostiatus
then stiatus. Then it staits to iain (nimbostiatus) at ioughly half way time-wise
to the actual fiont anu it will keep on iaining until the fiont aiiives. Buiing this
time the baiometei will slowly uiop anu winus may back a bit. When the fiont
comes, the winus will be gusty anu suuuenly veei. 0nce veeieu (fiont passes)
winu speeu anu uiiection will iemain steauy as you move into the waim sectoi,
anu theie will be stiatocumulus oi mixeu clouus anu some iain.
Colu fiont typically follows waim fiont in a uay oi so uuiing which peiiou you
aie in the waim sectoi. The colu fiont is seen as a wall of tall uaik clouus. When
the fiont aiiives the winus will inciease iapiuly anu be gusty anu theie maybe
thunueistoims with the iain. At passage the winus will suuuenly veei, anu the
skies will giauually cleai. 0ften theie is a claiity anu fieshness in the aii aftei a
colu fiont goes thiough.
Colu fionts can tiavel on theii own without a waim fiont. But you almost nevei
get a waim fiont without a following colu fiont.
0ccluueu fionts (wheie a colu fiont has caught up with a waim one) appioach as
a waim one uoes, but the fiont itself has chaiacteiistics of both-it is just plain
bau weathei.
Sometimes an isolateu low oi tiough will appioach much as a waim fiont uoes
with winus backing iounu anu builuing anu then veeiing as the low passes.
Bowevei the veei is giauual, not suuuen as at a fiont.
When an isobai ciosses a fiont it is v-shapeu anu points away fiom the low. You
ueteimine the expecteu winu shifts fiom this.
4. Squa||s
A squall is a cumulonimbus clouu gone out of contiol. 0nce the anvil appeais, it
is uecaying.
161
The motion (uiiection it is moving) of a squall is veeieu about Su uegiees fiom
the ambient winu uiiection. The fiist winu will hit you fiom the uiiection of
wheie you see the squall. Watch the beaiing of the centei of the squall to ueciue
if you'ie on a collision couise, oi if you will pass in fiont of oi behinu it. As with a
big ship, tiy to pass behinu it, since the winus in fiont of a squall aie much much
much stiongei than the winus behinu.
The stiongest winus come with the fiist heavy iains. If it staits iaining lightly,
you have misseu the woist of it. Squalls aie ovei in 2u-Su minutes. The stiongest
winus aie at the leauing euge (the colu uome) which extenus about 2 miles out in
fiont. The tallei anu blackei they aie, the woise they'll be. Winus at the leauing
euge aie typically 2u-Su knots, with gusts to 4u knots.
0nce you've been thiough a few squalls, you will be able to juuge theii intensity
potential. Note that squalls piouuce winu in uownuiafts. Sometimes a
"uownbuist" of much gieatei intensity occuis (micio oi macio uepenuing on
uiametei) wheie winus can ieach 1uu knots. The uangei fiom a uownuiaft is the
suuuenness anu foice with which the winu stiikes. This is magnifieu if the
winuspeeu is intensifieu to uownbuist levels.
Instability lines aie long (possibly uiscontinous) lines of thunueistoims, may be
1uus of miles long anu 1u-Su miles wiue. They foim usually in the waim sectoi
of an extiatiopical cyclone.
Squall lines aie matuie instability lines, containing seveial squalls, typically 1uu
miles aheau of a fast moving colu fiont.
Wateispouts aie toinauos occuiing ovei the sea. They aie not uncommon in the
Bahamas anu have been sighteu as fai noith as Puget Sounu. They occui in
seveie weathei, anu touch the watei foi about 1u minutes. They uescenu fiom
the base of cumulonimbus, piimaiily in the aiea of squall lines moving aheau of a
colu fiont. They aie less seveie than toinauos, but nasty, anu typically aie shoit
liveu with the base touching the watei fiom a few to 1u minutes.
In the tiopics on the ocean, squalls most often happen at night. Look at the
clouus at sunset to get an iuea of what's coming. If they aie stiatifieu oi
stiatifying theie isn't much instability in the aii. If theii cummulating theie is
anu squalls aie moie likely. You iaiely get an isolateu squall. They tiavel in
packs.
In foiecasting squalls, the thing to look foi is veitical uevelopment ie clouu base
to top ielative to clouu height (sea to clouu bottom). If the height of the clouus is
less than the ceiling, you just get big cumulus, theie won't be enough instability
to get cumulonimbus. If the height of the clouus is gieatei than the ceiling then
watch out.
To juuge the seveiity of an appioaching squall take note of the height of the
cumulonimbus. the height of the ceiling, anu the uaikness of the clouu. Tallei,
lowei, anu uaikei aie woisei.
162
S. Cyc|ones
When you get the fiist ciiculai isobai aiounu a low, it is calleu a cyclone. Neeu
not be a stoim. 2 ciiculai isobais geneially mean a stoim is ueveloping. The
impoitant thing is to notice the fiist ciicle.
To avoiu a tiopical stoim oi extiatiopical low, heau off in a uiiection that is
foiwaiu of peipenuiculai to the uiiection the stoim is tiavelling. The angle
uepenus on the iatio of youi speeu to the stoim's speeu of tiavel. |See stoim
avoiuance in oui "0sing Rauai" notes.j
The RBS of the path a Noithein Bemispheie stoim is the uangeious semiciicle,
with winus veeiing anu pushing you into the path of the stoim. The Left Banu
Siue is the navigable semiciicle, with winus backing anu pushing you out of the
way. Also, on the Right Banu Siue the iotaiy winus aie incieaseu by the speeu of
the stoim's foiwaiu motion, anu on the LBS the iotaiy winus aie uecieaseu by
the speeu of the stoim's foiwaiu motion. Finally, the uangeious siue is the
uiiection in which the stoim is likely to iecuive anu move towaius.
Suiface stoim tiack is typically Suu-6uunm noith anu paiallel to the S64u metei
contoui on the Suumb map.
6. W|nd
When the boat is moving, the uiiection of the tiue winu is always aft of the
appaient winu, iegaiuless of the point of sail. The fastei you go, the moie the
appaient winu moves foiwaiu. The uiffeience between tiue anu appaient winu
is laigest when sailing with the winu on the beam. It is easy to misinteipiet
what's happening to the tiue winu. Watch the catspawssuiface iipples closely.
Staie at them!
Whenevei the tiue winu changes uiiection, you know the isobais have moveu.
This is a signal that something is happening. It is easy to miss winu shifts when
sailing, so always note the tiue winu as well as the appaient winu. A winu shift of
1u to 2u uegiees can easily be lost when sailing on a ieach by speeu changes.
Theiefoie, if boat speeu picks up ueteimine what winu attiibutes causeu it. Was
it a winu speeu change oi a change in winu uiiection - oi both. uet in the habit of
fiequently ueuucing tiue winu uiiection.
Tiue winu anu appaient winu aie essentially the same when boat speeu is below
2u% of winu speeu.
Piessuie giauient alone uoes not give winu speeu, cuivatuie of isobais also
affects it.
You know you aie in the tiaue winus when, aiounu Su uegiees N you finu steauy
1S-2u-knot winus fiom the NEE with laige well oiganizeu seas anu small puffy
cumulus following the winu.
Lanu influences winu on the sea neaiby anu can have a gieatei influence than all
but majoi weathei systems - anu it will affect how those play out. Theiefoie,
16S
unueistanuing the influence of lanu on the winu is essential foi coastal sailing.
Influences aie two types: laige scale iegional effects that aie incluueu in local
foiecasts; anu small scale effects that aie not (though these may be iefeiieu to in
the Coast Pilot).
Anothei way of categoiizing influences is into those causeu by tempeiatuie anu
those causeu by topogiaphy.
Lanu anu Sea Bieezes aie causeu because lanu heats fastei than watei fiom
sunlight, anu cools fastei in its absence. Note "sea bieeze" means fiom the sea, a
"lanu bieeze" means fiom the lanu. In the absence of othei weathei patteins,
these can cause significant winus. A sea bieeze begins gently soon aftei suniise
anu veeiing as it builus it gets stiongest (about 1u knots) in late afteinoon. Aftei
sunuown, a lanu bieeze then uevelops oveinight. Lanu bieeze typically is much
lightei than the associateu sea bieeze, unless theie aie mountains in which case
it may be stiongei because of moie anu coluei aii falling uown the mountainsiue
at night. Classic sea bieeze effect is founu along stiaight featuieless shoielines.
In the moining, effects aie noticeu V -1 mile fiom shoie, by afteinoon effects aie
noticeu as much as 1u miles out.
A sea bieeze in a confineu aiea flowing thiough a mountain gap can ieach 2u-2S
knots on a iegulai basis. These aie usually well known anu in planning, you can
anu shoulu count on them to take auvantage of oi avoiu them. In some aieas gap
lanu winus can ieach moie than 4u knots.
Typically, sea bieezes piouuce little puffy bits of cumulous at the top of a
mountain in the afteinoon. If you uon't see them as usual, anu a sea bieeze
uoesn't come as expecteu, it means a low out to sea is sucking the aii away. So
watch out.
When sailing along the shoie in a 1u-1S knot sea bieeze, expect twice that winu
at the entiance to a constiiction (bay oi iivei mouth). Look foi white caps as you
appioach any tuin oi inlet.
Lanu obstiuctions impeue offshoie winus to a uistance about 8-1u times theii
height offshoie. Rule of thumb: you will feel the winu uiminish when you can
span the obstiuction with a hanu wiuth helu at aims length. Also, a stiong
leewaiu winu will be ueflecteu by a cliff, which will pioviue some piotection.
uusts biing stiongei winus shifteu to the iight. This gives you a lift (let's you
heau up) on the staiboaiu tack but is a heauei (makes you heau off) on the poit
tack. A lift is a winushift away fiom the bow, a heauei is a winushift towaius the
bow.
0nless the winu is stiong anu the seas favoiable it is usually slow anu piecaiious
to sail ueau uownwinu. You will go fastei to a uownwinu uestination if you ieach
up a bit anu jibe peiiouically.
Winus fiom a stoim passing ovei a constiicteu wateiway aie influenceu by the
topogiaphy. ueneially stoim winus will be ueflecteu by the mountains to flow up
oi uown the wateiway, not acioss it.
164
The winu neai a flat shoie will be moie peipenuiculai to the shoie anu neai a
steep shoie moie paiallel to the shoie than the winu fuithei off shoie.
Winu cuils iounu a point. Beau in to tack close to the point to get lifts fiom the
winu cuils, iathei than heauing out to tack.
Winu speeu will be highei foi isobais with a uistinct cuive aiounu a high, oi
lowei foi isobais cuiving similaily aiounu a low. Note these pieuictions only
woik foi winus outsiue the tiopics. Tiaue winus aie typically stiongei than
pieuicteu.
7. C|ouds
Theie aie 1u basic clouu classifications (geneia) falling into foui gioups that all
maiineis shoulu know:
o Bigh (base above 1S-2u,uuu ft appiox uepenus on lat) - Ciiius,
Ciiiocumulus, Ciiiostiatus.
o Niuule (base is 6,Suu-1S,uuu ft appiox) - Altocumulus, Nimbostiatus anu
Altostiatus.
o Low (base is below 6,Suu) - Cumulus, Stiatus, Cumulostiatus. anu
o Nimbocumulus (oi Cumulonimbus) which can ieach all the way fiom low
altituue to high.
In auuition to the 1u clouu geneia, theie aie 14 species, 9 vaiieties, anu 9
featuies. If you have a giip on these, they pinpoint exactly wheie you aie in a
weathei system.
Clouus by themselves uon't tell you a lot. Clouus plus baiometei aie bettei.
Clouus, baiometei, anu winu shift is best-piefeiably with a weathei foiecast. A
piogiession of clouu changes is necessaiy foi foiecasting-it is the sequence of
clouu foimation that tells you what might happen.
Clouus aie geneially gieat foi confiiming what's happening now, iathei than foi
foiecasting what's going to happen - except foi squalls anu the uevelopment of
tiopical stoims wheie ieauing the cuiient clouus is invaluable. 0nce in a squall
it is iain moie than clouus that tell us what is happening.
Layeis of stiatus imply stable aii. Cumulus implies instability with veitical
motion. If the height is biggei than the base, watch out.
It is often haiu to tell what kinu of clouus you have, theie may be a numbei of
uiffeient types mixeu up.
Low uaik clouus, mixing cumulonimbus anu nimbostiatus mean an appioaching
colu fiont, a squall line, oi a squall (oi the bai of a huiiicane).
Any change in the clouus which is not towaius faii weathei cumulus (cumulus
humilis) means the weathei is ueteiioiating (piobably).
Watching speeu of clouus aloft helps tell if a coming fiont is seveie oi weak.
16S
As a iough iule, theie is winu unuei cumulus. If stuck in light winus in a high, tiy
to inch towaius the clouus. Anothei way to finu winu is to climb the mast with
binoculais anu look foi ioughness on the watei suiface. ueneially low clouus
move uownwinu slightly veeieu fiom the suiface winus. Cumulus means theie is
an upuiaft unuei it. Thus as you go unuei, you will expeiience a winu shift, then
back to the oiiginal uiiection. If theie aie iows of clouus you may expeiience
oscillating winus-they shift unuei the clouu, then go back, then shift again.
Watch foi this anu going uownwinu leain to pieuict whenif you neeu to jibe
anu jibe again.
Appaient clouu height uecieases with uistance off (the angle of view uecieases).
To estimate clouu heights it is best to uo it with those moie uiiectly above you.
Rain clouus (nimbo-) aie uaik, sometimes black, on the bottom. As they fill up
with iain they get flat bottoms, which then get iaggeuy again once the iain is
ovei. Pay attention to the bottom of these clouus.
Anvil top means the cumulonimbus iose so high the top winus blew its top off. It
also means the woist is ovei.
Theie aie two basic types of clouus: stiatus (layeis) anu cumulus (puffy). 0ften
in the evening you get stiatocumulus (puffy stiatus). In the moining if you have
this, watch to see if it moves towaius cumulus oi towaius stiatus. Cumulus
means faii weathei. Stiatocumulus can foim into banus oi waves to show
uiiections of winus above, but you ieally neeu ciiius oi ciiiostiatus to tell high
winu uiiection. Nix of stiatuscumulus featuies is calleu stiatocumulus when
low, but layeis of altocumulus can look veiy similai at miuule heights.
Inuiviuual puffs of ciiiocumulus (high) aie smallei than in altocumulus (miuule)
which aie smallei than cumulus (low). Piactice tiying to get a feel foi clouu
height.
Stiatus which hit the giounu aie fog oi haze. You geneially can't see the sun oi
moon thiough stiatus, but you can moie often see a wateiy sun thiough
altostiatus. Altostiatus aie the best sign that bau weathei is possible (stiong
winus anu long peiious of high seas). They inuicate a coming low befoie the
baiometei staits uiopping. They usually tell you bau weathei is coming in V a
uay oi so.
Foi telling winu uiiection, the winu is peipenuiculai to the wave pattein (just as
with watei). Ciiiocumulus aie best, altocumulus can inuicate high winu
uiiection. This is the uiiection the weathei is tiaveling towaius you. Waves in
altocumulus look like iippleu sanu.
Waves in altocumulus look moie like iows of sheep.
If you can see ciiius moving, then theie is a stiong winu aloft. If the ciiius is toin
oi iaggeuy that inuicates stiong winus too. Stiong winus aloft tenu to biing moie
seveie stoims.
166
When looking foi lanu fiom the sea, look foi clouus that have foimeu above it
fiom the sea bieezes.
8. Weather Iorecast 1|ps
Keep a tape iecoiuei neai the SSB foi iecoiuing weathei infoimation - oi else
leain a shoithanu that allows you to accuiately note what you heai.
Cooiuinating the infoimation you get fiom weathei souices is impoitant. Nake a
sheet that lists the local anu 0Ts, in 0T oiuei, of weathei bioaucastsfaxes. Then
note the uata on the sheet so that what you collect makes a coheient pictuie.
When you get a weathei map, plot youi position on it oi uiaw the weathei
featuies on a sheet of cleai plastic anu lay it ovei youi chait.
With a calibiateu baiometei anu winu instiuments, you can juuge wheie you aie
on the weathei map. Piactice uoing this. Set youi couise baseu on foiecasts so
long as youi own obseivations confiim what the weathei map says. Weathei
maps aie baseu on shipboaiu obseivations, anu theie will be fewei fiom bau
weathei aieas. When a map foiecasts a low oi fiont to cioss oui path, we can be
suie it will. 0ui job then becomes to figuie out when that will happen anu how
the winu will change when it uoes.
In miu-latituues to uiscein whethei weathei is likely to change, look at the
foiecast map foi the next uay. The location, conuition, anu stability of highs is the
main issue foi pieuicting geneial conuitions ovei a laige aiea. Bighs aie eithei
moving oi stationaiyblocking.
Noving lows will uisiupt the anticipateu winu -howevei a blocking high may
stop a low oi a fiont oi moie likely ueflect it polewaius.
9. Sea States
The sea state changes at the shelf. It is a goou iuea to uiaw the shelf on the chait
with a highlightei anu keep tiack wheie you ielative to it, anu noting what you
expeiience at it.
When tiip planning, finu out what uiiection the pievailing swells aie in the
iegion. Even with a favoiable winu, going beam to seas is to be avoiueu. Anu,
some anchoiages become untenable with a swell fiom a ceitain uiiection.
Foi an inuiviuual wave, the length in feet is the time between the two ciests in
seconus to the fifth. Foi a seiies of waves, the aveiage wavelength in feet is S
times the aveiage time between ciests squaieu.
Swells come fiom stoims that aie coming oi long gone. They aie geneiateu fiom
a long way away.
Significant Wave Beight is the aveiage height of the highest 1S of all waves.
(SWB) In a wave, watei uoesn't move with the wave, but tiavels in a ciicle
beneath the ciest. In big seas, this watei can be moving ciiculaily at 2-S knots.
167
At sea, waves look biggei than they aie, anu in photos they look smallei than
they aie.
Wave height builus whenevei waves aie sloweu uown by shallows (! theii
wavelength), opposing winu, oi opposing cuiient.
Extieme stoim (iogue) waves aie much highei than the highest waves in a
seiies, aie most likely causeu by a uownbuiist hitting the tiough of a laigei than
aveiage wave.
SWB geneially ieaches ! the winu speeu in a fully uevelopeu sea. Nost piobable
wave height is ! of this, anu aveiage height is about .6 of SBW. About 1 in 2uuu
waves will be twice the SWB.
As a iule it takes uuiation in houis equal to the winu speeu in knots foi seas to
fully uevelop.
In still watei, you see white caps with winu speeu of about 1u knots, in a
contiaiy cuiient 8 knots, anu a following cuiient 12 knots.
When a weathei iepoit says waves of 6 feet, they aie iefeiiing to SWB.
Typically waves bieak when theii height 11u of theii length, although they
look menacing at 118.
Waves when fully uevelopeu tiavel about .9 times the winu speeu.
Swells aie sepaiateu fiom the winu that cieateu them anu have unifoim height
anu length anu aie veiy wiue. Waves aie what we expeiience along with the
winu that is cieating them anu have many heights, wiuths anu lengths. Ripples
aie small wavelets that aie expeiienceu with (oi close by) a winu of 1-S knots,
they look like fish scales. all thiee combine to make up the sea state.
10. Currents
Appioaching any haiboi, caieful monitoiing is neeueu foi siueways set of the
tiual cuiient.
In most places wheie theie aie stiong lanusea bieezes as fiom lanu
constiictions, theie aie stiong cuiients fiom watei constiictions.
Figuie both of them into youi planning, since theie will be times when they iun
against each othei cieating veiy nasty conuitions. The winu anu the cuiient
geneially will flow in the same oi opposite uiiections.
The cuiient is fastei in the ueepei paits of a channel.
Leain to uo cuiient calculations foi tiansiting coastal aieas since fast cuiients
can oveiwhelm a slow sailboat.

168
11. Iog
Fog: 2 types, sea fog biought by the winu anu often winuy anu foggy, anu lanu
fog (iauiation fog) comes fiom the lanu, usually calm anu buins off. You can
pieuict fog is you plot the tempeiatuie(ielative humiuity too.) anu uew point
foi that tempeiatuie against time.
Nake suie you know anu can iecognize the meaning of fog signals. (See Chaptei
4, The What If's.)
In the fog, no-one has iight of way. Nav Rules iequiie piopei lookout, safe speau,
anu take all actions to avoiu collision. If you have iauai you must use it piopeily.
Fog signals: 1 long (4-6 seconus) blast eveiy 2 minutes foi vessel unueiway. You
also shoulu tiy to heai engines. If you heai vessel foiwaiu of the beam, stop.
Nake youi own fog signal, two long blasts not less than eveiy two minutes with
two seconus between each blast (vessel unuei way but stoppeu.) Tiy to make
connection on Channel 1S - give youi uPS position if possible. Note that sounu
uiiection in fog is veiy unieliable.
A goou iauai ieflectoi is a must. You aie not alloweu, unuei the iules, just to
uiift unless you aie at anchoi. You neeu to have sails up anuoi engine on so that
you can move if necessaiy even though you may be stoppeu. If you think you aie
going to be colliueu with, heau into the uangei - you then can maneuvei siue to
siue if necessaiy, oi take the blow on the bow which is much safei than on the
beam.
If you anticipate much tiavel in fog, you must get iauai. Theie aie no two ways
about it.
Nav iules iequiie eailiei avoiuance action in fog if you have iauai so that you
nevei get neai enough so that theie is any iisk of collision.
The iules iequiie, in a nutshell, that if the object is foiwaiu of the beam, tuin
iight. If it is aft of the beam, tuin away fiom the taiget. ie, tuin iight foi all
taigets except one on the staiboaiu quaitei. If the taiget is foiwaiu of the beam,
slowing is also a goou iuea. Naneuveis, as always, shoulu be eaily anu obvious
(6u uegiees).
Local foiecasts aie moie ieliable foi fog than foi winu. Fog is foiecast fiom
tempeiatuie anu humiuity changes, which aie locally measuieu quite piecisely.
Winu is foiecast fiom uistance between isobais which aie only measuieu moie
globally.
Fog comes in uiffeient types. Noist aii moving ovei a colu suiface is auvection
fog. Sea fog is this kinu of fog wheie winu blows aii fiom waim on to colu
suifaces such as fiom waim oi to colu cuiients, ueep watei welling ups, etc.
Sea fog can covei laige aieas anu moves with the winu. It can be foggy anu
winuy at the same time. A sea bieeze can biing a thick fog, which uoes not buin
off. Rauiation fog typically is foimeu in still conuition as the aii cools ovei lanu at
169
night anu ieaches the uew point; it buins off as the sun iises. You neeu to know
what kinu of fog you aie in.
17u
Chapter 9 - Usefu| keferences
We leaineu much about boating, sailing, anu the ciuising life by ieauing books, anu
uuiing oui time aboaiu the Inteinet was sufficiently well uevelopeu to be a gieat iesouice
foi pioblem solving. This Chaptei consists of thiee aiticles iepiinteu fiom oui website anu
hence uon't have page numbeis.:
!"#$%$&'()*+*"*&,*(-../%(
Seamanship
Navigation
Weathei
Sailing theoiy anu skills
Blue-watei ciuising
Safety anu suivival
Boat maintenance
Natuial histoiy
Niscellaneous
0*1(02."$*%(
3&2*"&*2(4$&/%(
Weathei
Rauio anu e-mail
Chaits, Equipment, anu Seivices
ueneial Infoimation, Tiaining, Nembeiship
Nagazines
Bealth, Tiavel, etc.
0thei Ciuisei's websites
Piovisioning
Anu, finally, theie aie links to vaiious ouus anu enus of infoimation on oui website
that aie somewhat applicable to the ciuising life. These aie:
About Foou
Recipes
Some Ciuising Tips
o Boat Cosmetics
o Stowage Iueas
171
o Piovisioning
o Conseiving Cooking Fuel
o A Rigging Seciet
Bownwinu Sailing
Bottom Blisteis
Rubbei Banus
Naming oui Boat
172
@('1+12A$)#,#(#26#$!#80+$
This aiticle gives is a list of the boating anu ciuising iefeience books that we caiiieu
on boaiu Callipygia. They aie oiganizeu heie into categoiies foi ease of iefeience. We ieau,
oi iefeiieu to, many otheis anu passeu them on only because we coulun't keep them foi
lack of space. Theie is a wealth of knowleuge out theie on piinteu pages anu one of us was
auuicteu to ieauing eveiything she coulu lay hanus on about nautical subjects. Note that
this listing uoes not incluue instiuction manuals foi the onboaiu equipment which weie
kept by the Nav Station in the Equipment Instiuction Binueis, noi Ciuising uuiues foi the
iegions we visiteu, oi weie planning to visit. 0n the lattei, we tiieu to have moie than one
uuiue so as to have uiffeient opinions anu valiuation on navigation auvice anu anchoiages.
In auuition, we caiiieu appiopiiate goveinment Coast Pilots oi Sailing Biiections anu Light
Lists foi the aieas we ciuiseu in. We also hau on boaiu (at least foi the uuiation of a visit) a
Lonely Planet uuiue foi each countiy that helpeu us exploie on lanu anu enjoy the
countiy's uniqueness. We caiiieu Pilot Chaits foi the 0ceans anu Seas we visiteu, anu laige
anu small scale chaits foi the aieas we ciosseu. None of these iefeiences aie listeu below,
but we uiu caiiy an inventoiy of them (showing wheie they weie stoweu) anu geneially
piefeieu not to uispose of the chaits oi guiues we'u useu just in case we might finu
ouiselves back in that place again.
Neeuless to say, these guiues anu chaits took up an incieasing amount of space--anu
slowly encioacheu on the amount of space available foi othei non-boat-ielateu iefeiences
anu iesouices. As a iesult, we giauually whittleu uown the numbei of non-boat books we
caiiieu so that (eventually) that libiaiy consisteu laigely of iefeience texts, with geneial
ieauing mateiial being left at book exchanges aftei we ieau them.
1. Lssent|a| Seamansh|p
The Complete Sailoi: Leaining the Ait of Sailing by Baviu Seiuman
The Annapolis Book of Sailing anu Seamanship by }ohn Rousmanieie
Banuling Tioubles Afloat by }ohn Nelloi
Chapman - Piloting: Seamanship anu Small Boat Banuling, 61st euition publisheu
by Beaist Naiine
REEB's Nautical Companion (Banubook to Complement Reeu's Almanacs)
The Complete Book of Anchoiing anu Nooiing, ieviseu 2nu euition by Eail Bintz
Anchoiing anu Nooiing Techniques Illustiateu by Alain uiee
Complete uuiue to Anchoiing anu Line Banuling by Baviu u. Biown
Bockmanship by Baviu 0wen Bell
Staying Put -- the Ait of Anchoiing by Biian Fagan
Easy on the Belm, Boat Banuling 0nuei Sail Powei by Tom Cunliffe
Boat Banuling at Close Quaiteis by Bick Eveiitt anu Rougei Witt
17S
The Piactical Naiinei's Book of Knowleuge by }ohn vigoi
Beavy Weathei Sailing, 4th euition by Auelaiu Coles, ieviseu by Petei Biuce
Bow to Cope with Stoims by Bietiich von Baeften
Beavy Weathei Tactics using Sea Anchois Biogues by Eail Bintz
Stoim-Reauy, Boatowneis uuiue to Buiiicane Piepaiation by Richaiu Winei
Stoim Tactics Banubook by Lin anu Laiiy Paiuey
Biag Bevice Batabase by victoi Shane
Effective Skippeiing by }ohn Nyatt
2. Nav|gat|on
Navigation Rules - Inteinational anu Inlanu by 0S Coast uuaiu
Navigation Rules (Rules of the Roau) euiteu by Baviu Buich
Bow To Reau A Nautical Chait - Complete uuiue to the Symbols, Abbieviations,
anu Bata Bisplayeu on a Nautical Chait by Nigel Caluei
Button's Navigation anu Piloting, 14th euition by Elbeit S. Naloney
Pioblems anu Answeis in Navigation anu Piloting, 2nu euition by Elbeit S.
Naloney
Rauai Afloat - 0fficial Backgiounu Reauei to the RYA Rauai Couise by Tim
Baitlett
Celestial Navigation foi Yachtsmen, ieviseu by Naiy Blewitt
Celestial Navigation foi Sailois by Tom Tuisi
Reeu's (oi NacNillan Reeu's) Almanac foi cuiient yeai
Nautical Almanac foi the cuiient yeai
0cean Passages of the Woilu, 4th euition Biitish Aumiialty
Woilu Ciuising Banubook, Siu euition by }immy Coinell
Woilu Ciuising Routes by }immy Coinell
B.0. 249, Sight Reuuction Tables foi Celestial Navigation foi cuiient epoch
Befense Napping Agency
The Sextant Banubook by Biuce Bauei
Emeigency Navigation by Baviu Buich
3. Weather
Naiinei's Weathei by William P. Ciawfoiu
Naiine Weathei publisheu by the Floiiua Naiitime Institute
Naiinei's Weathei Banubook by Steve anu Linua Bashew
174
Weathei Pieuicting Simplifieu - Bow To Reau Weathei Chaits by Nichael
William Caii
The Concise uuiue to Caiibbean Weathei by Baviu }ones
The Weathei Banubook, 2nu euition by Alan Watts
Instant Weathei Foiecasting by Alan Watts
Instant Winu Foiecasting by Alan Watts
The Weathei Wizaiu's Clouu Book by Louis Rubin Si., anu }im Buncan
0nueistanuing WeatheiFax by Nike Baiiis
Woiluwiue Naiine Weathei Bioaucasts publisheu by N0AA
Aumiialty List of Rauio Signals publisheu by the Biitish Aumiialty 0ffice
4. Sa|||ng Sk|||s (see a|so Sect|on 1, Lssent|a| Seamansh|p)
Yacht Banuling 0nuei Sail by Baviu Chailes
Sailing in Winuy Weathei by Richaiu Benueison
Bow to Tiim Sails by Petei Schweei
Sailing Funuamentals by uaiy }obson
Illustiateu Sail anu Rig Tuning by Ivan Beuekam
Sail - Tiaining Nanual of the 0S Powei Squauion
S. 8|ue Water Cru|s|ng
The voyageui's Banubook by Beth Leonaiu
Banubook of 0ffshoie Ciuising by }im Bowaiu
The Seawoithy 0ffshoie Sailboat: A uuiue to Essential Featuies, Banuling anu
ueai by }ohn vigoi
Nigel Caluei's Ciuising Banubook by Nigel Caluei
6. Safety and Surv|va|
Safety Recommenuations foi 0ffshoie Sailing publisheu by 0.S. Sailing
Feueial Requiiements anu Safety Tips foi Recieational Boats publisheu by 0S
Coast uuaiu
Suivivoi by Nichael uieenwalu
The Captain's uuiue to Lifeiaft Suivival (This book liveu in the uitch bag.)
Stoim Tactics Banubook: Nouein Nethous foi Beaving To foi Suivival in
Extieme Conuitions by Lin anu Laiiy Paiuey.
17S
7. 8oat Systems and Ma|ntenance
The Complete Riggei's Appientice by Biion Toss
0nueistanuing Rigs anu Rigging, ieviseu by Richaiu Benueison
Keep Youi Naiine Biesel Running--Caie anu Pieventive Naintenance foi the
Boatei by Richaiu Thiel
Boatownei's Nechanical anu Electiical Nanual, 2nu euition by Nigel Caluei
Naiine Biesel Engines, 2nu euition by Nigel Caluei
Shop Nanuals foi uiesel engine anu outboaiu motoi
0utboaiu Engines by Euwin Sheiman
Sailboat Electiics Simplifieu by Bonalu Casey
Boatei's uuiue to vBF anu uNBSS by Sue Fletchei
Naiinei's uuiue to Single Siue Banu Rauio by Fieueiick uiaves
Naiine SSB Simplifieu by uoiuon West
ARRL 0peiating Nanual publisheu by the Ameiican Rauio Relay League, uetails
ham iauio pioceuuies
Passpoit to Woilu Banu Rauio fiom Inteinational Bioaucasting Seivices, Ltu.
This 0lu Boat by Bonalu Casey
Sailboat Bull anu Beck Repaii by Bon Casey
Inflatable Boats--Selection, Caie, Repaii, anu Seamanship by }im Tiefethan
Sailoi's Seciets-Auvice Fiom the Nasteis publisheu by Inteinational Naiine
Best of SAIL Nagazine's Things That Woik publisheu by SAIL Nagazine
Why Biun't I Think of That. by }ohn anu Susan Robeits
Nouein Boat Naintenance euiteu by Bo Stieffeit
Quick anu Easy Boat Naintenance by Sanuy Linusey
Sailing Tips - 1,uuu new ways to solve olu pioblems by William N. Buii, }i.
8. Natura| n|story
Biius of Noith Ameiica by Kenn Kaufman
The Sibley uuiue to Biiu Life anu Behavioi publisheu by the Auuubon Society
Sibley's Biiuing Basics by Baviu Allen Sibley
A uuiue to the Biius of the West Inuies by Raffaele, et al
Shoiebiius, an Iuentification uuiue by Bayman, Naichant, anu Piatei
Seabiius, an Iuentification uuiue by Petei Baiiison
176
The Ciuisei's Banubook of Fishing by Scott anu Wenuy Banneiof
Saltwatei Fish anu Fishing Simon anu Schustei uuiue
Bangeious Naiine Animals, Siu euition by Biuce Balsteau
Seciets of the Night Sky--The Nost Amazing Things in the 0niveise You Can See
with the Nakeu Eye by Bob Beiman
Astionomy - A Self Teaching uuiue, 4th euition Binah L. Noche
9. M|sce||aneous
Boatownei's Banubook: Refeience Bata foi Naintenance, Repaii, Navigation,
anu Seamanship by }ohn vigoi
The Splicing Banubook, 2nu euition by Baibaia Neiiy
The Klutz Book of Knots by }ohn Cassiuy
0xfoiu A-Z of Sailing Teims by Ian Beai anu Petei Kemp
Intiouuction to Knots, Benus, anu Bitches (Nailinspike) - 0.S. Powei Squauion
tiaining manual
Yacht Ciuising - bag of tiicks Patiick Ellam
Fiist Aiu Afloat by Robeit Bawoith
Auvanceu Fiist Aiu Afloat by Petei Eastman NB anu }ohn Levinson NB
The 0nboaiu Neuical Banubook by Paul u. uill, }i, NB
The Neick Nanual of Biagnosis anu Theiapy publisheu by Neick Co., Inc
Yachtsman's Ten Language Bictionaiy by Baibaia Webb
Spanglish foi Ciuiseis
Bammonu Woilu Atlas (papeiback)
Woilu Almanac anu Book of Facts publisheu by Time, Inc.
177
9#/$90&(1#+$$
Nost sailois love to ieau about the sea anu I was no exception. I whileu away many
a happy houi while ciuising - anu befoie anu aftei it - caiiying myself off into blue-watei
auventuie thiough the lives anu stoiies of othei sailois. Beie aie some favoiites:
Cochiane: The Life anu Exploits of a Fighting Captain by Robeit Baivey. New
Yoik, NY: Caiioll uiaf Publisheis, 2uuu. An immensely ieauable biogiaphy of
Loiu Thomas Cochiane, Englanu's ablest naval sailoi anu the man on whom
Patiick 0'Biien moueleu the chaiactei anu auventuies of }ack Aubiey.
The 2u }ack AubieyStephen Natuiin novels by Patiick 0'Biian. 0utstanuing
anu eminently ieauable anu ie-ieauable novels giving gieat anu histoiically
accuiate uetail about sea life in the eaily English Navy.
Sailing Alone Aiounu the Woilu by }oshua Slocum. The book that inspiieu me
since chiluhoou.
Pacific uiaveyaiu by }ames A. uibbs. Poitlanu, 0R: Binfoiu Noit Publishing,
196S. A histoiy of maiine effoits anu mishaps at the mouth of the the gieat
Columbia Rivei.
The Boinblowei seiies of novels by C. S. Foiestei, equally as well uone though
not as plentiful oi compiehensive as Patiick 0'Biian's moie iecent seiies (see
abov).
The Cochin Connection: Two Against the Biug Tiaue by Biian anu Alison
Nilgate. uieat ieau about a gutsy paii of ciuiseis.
Ny 0lu Nan Anu the Sea by Baviu Bays anu Banial Bays. Fathei anu son to Cape
Boin.
The SBIP anu the ST0RN: Buiiicane Nitch anu the loss of the Fantome by }im
Caiiiei. uiipping anu infoimative uesciiption of the foiecasting anu impact of a
categoiy S huiiicane.
In the Beait of the Sea: The Tiageuy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel
Philbiick
The Boat That Woulun't Float by Failey Nowat.
Boney, Let's uet A Boat... A Ciuising Auventuie of Ameiica's uieat Loop. by Ron
anu Eva Stob. Besciiption of a yeai on a tiawlei tiavelling on inlanu wateiways.
The Bienuan voyage by Tim Seveiin. Besciiption of voyage ieplicating the boat
anu the ioute fiom Iielanu to uieenlanu by eaily monks.
The Riuule of the Sanus by Eiskine Chilueis. (Novel) Stoiy built aiounu foieign
intiigue in the eaily pait of the 2uth centuiy.
The Nautical Chait by Aituio Peiez Reveite. (Novel) Thiillei about sailing anu
ancient chaits.
The uieatest Sailing Stoiies Evei Tolu, euiteu by Chiistophei Caswell.
178
uypsy Nothei Ciicles the Woilu by Fiances Chichestei.
The Long Way by Beinaiu Noitessiei.
Fatal Stoim: The Insiue Stoiy of the Tiagic Syuney-Bobait Race by Rob Nunule.
Fasnet Foice 1u: The Beauliest Stoim in the Bistoiy of Nouein Sailing by }ohn
Rousmanieie.
Rescue in the Pacific: A Tiue Stoiy of Bisastei anu Suivival in a Foice 12 Stoim
by Tony Faiiington.
At the Neicy of the Sea by }ohn Kietchmei.
Sailing Into the Abyss: A Tiue Stoiy of Extieme Beioism on the Bigh Seas by
William Beneuetto.
Enuuiance: Shackleton's Incieuible voyage by Alfieu Lansing.
179
@('1+12A$C127+$
This aiticle gives links to Inteinet iesouices foi ciuiseis. Nost of these iesouices we
useu uuiing oui ciuising peiiou anu founu useful. Even though we no longei actively
maintaineu this web page, we uiu check them peiiouically to iemove oi fix bioken links.
1. Weather Informat|on
Theie is a tiemenuous amount of infoimation available on the Inteinet peitaining to
weathei--ieflecting, we hope, the iecognition that it is the Eaith's aii, watei, anu lanu that
allows us to inhabit this wonuious coinei of the univeise, that ieleases the winus that
allow us to sail acioss the seas, anu that can uestioy all of oui constiuctionsaitefacts in
the blink of an eye.
The NWS' Tiopical Pieuiction Centei gives an immeuiate pictuie of ueveloping
tiopical stoims.
The latest Tiopical Weathei Biscussion gives the most uptouate NWS
infoimation on tiopical system uevelopment.
N0AA's 0cean Pieuiction Centei continually issues maiine wainings anu
foiecasts. This website also pioviues access to weathei foiecast anu fax
scheuules. The foimei Naiine Pieuiction Centei was ienameu the 0cean
Pieuiction Centei on }anuaiy 28, 2uuS. The website links pieviously hau "mpc"
in theii 0RL's which is being changeu to "opc". This website is unueigoing
change anu is cuiiently confusing to navigate.
N0AA's Caiibbean Weathei Chaits aie founu on a uiffeient pait of the N0AA
website.
The Caiibbean Weathei Centei was establisheu anu opeiateu foi many yeais by
Baviu }ones fiom Toitola, BvI. Baviu pioviueu foiecast anu iouting infoimation
to sponsoiing vessels. Sauly, Baviu uieu on Novembei 7, 2uuS, aftei an 8-month
illness. In }anuaiy, 2uu4, Chiis Paikei on Bel Ami took ovei the Weathei Centei
anu began pioviuing weathei auvice to ciuiseis on the iauio in the time-slot
pieviously useu by Baviu }ones. 81u4.u 0SB at u8Su AST.
Beib Bilgenbeig pioviues weathei anu iouting auvice to boateis in the Atlantic,
oi even the Pacific. Listening to Beib is a must foi an ocean oi offshoie passage.
12SS9.u 0SB at 1Suu EST.
Locus Weathei is a weathei iouting seivice opeiateu by Ken NcKinley in
Camuen Naine with links to }enifei Claik's uulf Stieam.
The National Weathei Seivice main page pioviues access to maiine anu non-
maiine weathei iesouices.
N0AA's Satellite Images page gives satellite images showing clouu anu moistuie
covei of the 0S, Caiibbean, Atlantic, anu Bawaii.
18u
The National 0ceanic anu Atmospheiic Auministiation main page pioviues links
to all N0AA agencies. Note that the oiganization of N0AA's website is a bit
confusing, anu changes peiiouically.
The Navy's Weathei Site pioviues access to weathei infoimation coveiing much
of the woilu.
NASA's ulobal Byuiology anu Climate Centei is a fount of infoimation on
weathei anu climatology.
The }ohns Bopkins 0cean Remote Sensing site is anothei useful iesouice
paiticuaily foi the uulf Stieam Weathei Buoy uata aie useful foi finuing out
actual conuitions iepoiteu fiom weathei bouys in the National Bata Bouy
Centei's system.
San Fiancisco State 0niveisity's ueosciences Centei is a gieat place to leain
about weathei anu inteinet iesouices.
Staipath in Seattle offeis softwaie anu tiaining on maiine weathei, iauai,
navigation anu othei topics of impoitance to sailois.
The 0niveisity of Wisconsin Space Science anu Engineeiing Bepaitment has
abunuent weathei infoimation anu links.
NASA's 0ceanogiaphic Resouices webpage pioviues ocean infoimation anu links
to oceanogiaphy ieseaich entities.
The 0.K. Net 0ffice is the home page foi weathei foiecasts in the 0niteu
Kinguom.
Sailoi anu Neteoiologist Bill Biewenga's Bome Page is a fun place to access anu
leain about weathei.
}vCommS2 softwaie foi ieceiving weatheifax on a laptop can be uownloaueu
fiom this site.
The Centei foi Tiopical Stoim Risk in Lonuon makes useful pieuictions of
huiiicane iisks each yeai.
The 0niveisity of the West Inuies' Centei foi Seismic Reseaich pioviues up-to-
uate infoimation in volcanic anu eaithquake iisk anu activities in the Caiibbean.
2. kad|o and L-ma|| kesources
This uNBSS (ulobal Naiitime Bistiess anu Safety System) website has been
piouuceu by the authoi of the Austialian uNBSS hanubook. The site is a goou
place to go to gain an unueistanuing about this complex system which is
changing iauio communications (equipment anu iules) on boaiu ciuising boats.
Sailmail is a non-piofit oiganization iun by volunteeis which pioviues the
capability to senu e-mail ovei the SSB iauio using the maiine fiequencies.
Subsciiption to Sailmail involves an annual chaige, but no ham license is
iequiieu anu theie aie no iestiictions on the content. Both Sailmail anu its close
cousin, Winlink (see next bullet) use Aiimail softwaie which can be uownloaueu
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fieethiough theii websites. Togethei, the volunteeis that iun these two
oiganizations pioviue an outstanuing seivice to the ciuising community.
Winlink is a non-piofit oiganization iun by volunteei ham iauio expeits.
Thiough Winlink, e-mail can be sent ovei the iauio on the amateui fiequencies,
anu weathei infoimation can be uownloaueu fiom the Inteinet. A ueneial Class
ham license is neeueu to subsciibe to Winlink, which is fiee of chaige. Because it
uses the amateui fiequencies, no business tiansactions can be hanuleu thiough
this means.
The ARRL Banu Plan shows which fiequencies can be useu foi what puiposes
with which class of Amateui Rauio License. Also the ultimate iesouice foi all
ham iauio stuff. The Ameiican Rauio Relay League is wheie to go foi iesouices
ielateu to euucation, licensing, anu the use of Bam Rauio.
The Caiibbean Safety anu Secuiity Net is on the iauio eveiy moining to collect
anu uisseminate infoimation about safety anu secuiity inciuents in the
Caiibbean.
The Feueial Communications Commission iegulates use of the iauio waves in
the 0SA.
The Ciuising Club of Ameiica offshoie communications memoianuum explains
how to opeiate the IC0N N71u anu 71uRT. Nuch bettei than IC0N's instiuction
manual. Also gives instiuctions foi iigging an emeigency SSB antenna in the
event of a iigging failuie.
The Naiitime Nobile Seivices Netwoik pioviues communications assistance to
ciuiseis tiavelling outsiue the 0SA.
The Buiiicane Watch Net pioviues communications assistance uuiing peiious
with active huiiicanes.
The Ciuisei's Log has a list of Rauio Nets aiounu the woilu.
3. Charts, Cru|s|ng Gu|des, Lqu|pment, Supp||es, and Serv|ces
Biitish Aumiialty Chaits foi the 0K anu the Caiibbean aie now available in
"Leisuie Folios" (similai to the CYC folios foi the Caiibbean) consisting of a set of
coastal anu haiboi chaits of a chait-table size insiue a plastic folio covei.
Canauian Chaits anu publications pioviue useful coveiage of Canauian wateis.
Blue Watei Books anu Chaits was oui 0S souice foi chaits anu ciuising guiues.
Boyle Ciuising uuiues aie essential iefeiences foi ciuising in the Caiibbean.
Naiine Waiehouse in Niami, with offices in the Caiibbean, can locate items anu
ship neeueu equipment anu supplies to the Caiibbean foi you.
The Austialian Yacht Winch Company. Callipygia hau Bailow anu Baiient
Winches. Both companies have gone out of existence, but aftei quite a bit of
ieseaich we founu we coulu get paits foi winches heie.
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SARCA (the Sanu anu Reef Combination Anchoi) is manufactuieu in Austialia
wheie it is useu by the Coast uuaiu anu police as well as Austialian ciuiseis. Ny
ciew leaineu about it fiom Sv Blue Beaven, who gave it a iesounuing
iecommenuation foi being suitable foi both sanu anu iock in the Nelbouine,
victoiia, aiea.
The Annapolis Poit Book is a uiiectoiy of maiine equipment anu seivice
pioviueis in the Annapolis, NB, aiea.
The Boatei's Biiectoiy pioviues leaus to maiine equipment anu seivices in all
iegions of the 0S.
4. Genera| Informat|on, Membersh|p and 1ra|n|ng
Seven Seas Ciuising Association (SSCA) is an inteinational oiganization, foimeu
in 19S2, to shaie ciuising expeiiences anu infoimation among membeis ciuising
aiounu the woilu. The monthly Commouoies' Bulletin has no auveitising, anu
consists of ieal accounts of the auventuies of SSCA membeis in theii own woius.
The SSCA has moie than 1u,uuu membeis shaiing the uieam of sailing the seas
as a lifestyle. This common aspiiation bonus membeis into a caiing, suppoitive
family, which ieaches out with inteinational fiienuship anu goouwill. Nembeis
aie committeu to leaving a "clean wake" by tieating otheis anu oui enviionment
with piofounu iegaiu.
You'll finu a whole lot of infoimation anu useful links on the Ciuising Resouices
website.
Thiough the Powei Squauion's excellent tiaining piogiam gave us basic tiaining
in Seamanship, Sail Theoiy, Coastal anu Celestial Navigation, anu Engine
Naintenance.
The Naiylanu School of Sailing Seamanship gave us high quality hanus-on anu
theoiy tiaining on all aspects of ciuising anu navigation thiough theii veiy
thoiough anu compiehensive Sailing Ceitification Piogiam.
We uiu oui final tiaining piepaiations with Nautech Enteipiises thiough a seiies
of excellent tiaining seminais helu at the Naiitime Insitute of Tiaining anu
uiauuate Stuuies neai Baltimoie, NB. Theieaftei, we completeu oui shakeuown
ciuise as pait of Nautech's New Englanu 6uu Ciuising Rally in }une, 2uuu. The
NE6uu, fiom Annapolis to Camuen, Naine, was specifically uesigneu foi
beginning ciuiseis. Nautech was establisheu by }im anu Naigie Favois in 1998
when they themselves weie piepaiing foi the ciuising life anu iealizeu theie
was a uefinite gap between what was being offeieu to ciuiseis anu what was
necessaiy foi safe, successful, anu well-planneu excuisions. 0nfoitunately,
Nautech went out of business in 2uuS.
S. Magaz|nes
Piactical Sailoi is a monthly newslettei uesciibing ieviews anu compaiisons of
sailboat equipment.
18S
6. 1rave|, nea|th, and Cther
The State Bepaitment's Buieau of Consulai Affaiis gives you eveiything you evei
neeu to know when planning to tiavel abioau. An excellent iesouice with health
anu safety tips anu wainings, passpoit anu visa infoimation, anu links to foieign
countiy websites.
The Woilu Factbook gives maps, population, economic, goveinment,
tianspoitation, anu othei statistics on eveiy countiy in the woilu.
IANAT is a non-piofit oiganization establisheu in 196u whose aim is to auvise
tiavelleis about health iisks, the geogiaphical uistiibution of uiseases
woiluwiue, immunization iequiiements foi all countiies, anu to make
competent meuical caie available to tiavelleis by English-speaking westein-
tiaineu uoctois.
Inteinational Naiine Insuiance Seivices neai Annapolis is wheie we get oui
boat insuiance.
SEARCB assists voluntaiy seaich anu iescue oiganizations opeiating in the SW
Noith Atlantic anu Caiibbean. Ciuiseis who ventuie into the Bahamas anu on
uown the uieatei anu Lessei Antilles shoulu be awaie of the limitations of
emeigency seivices to come to theii assistance, shoulu they neeu help. If you aie
useu to the comfoiting umbiella of the 0S Coast uuaiu being on the othei enu of
youi vBF iauio, you shoulu be awaie of limitations fai fiom the 0S coast. Whilst
the Coast uuaiu uoes give itself a iesponsibility foi this whole iegion, as a
piactical mattei ciuiseis' piimaiy souices of assistance in an emeigency aie
local seaich anu iescue (SAR) facilities (if any) of the neaiby countiies. SEARCB
suppoits seveial voluntaiy oiganizations scatteieu ovei this iegion. As you
move away fiom the 0S, these aie: (a) BASRA Nassau; (b) Tuiks Caicos Rescue
Association (TACRA); (c) vISAR in the Biitish v.Is.; (u) St Naaiten Sea Rescue
Founuation (SNSRF), with units in neaiby Saba anu St Eustatius; (e) CITR0 in
Cuiacao; anu (f) Seaich Rescue Founuation of Aiuba (SARFA).
Noonsite aims to pioviue a one-stop website featuiing essential infoimation on
all matteis of inteiest to sailois planning an offshoie voyage anywheie in the
woilu, whethei alieauy unueiway oi still in the piepaiatoiy stages. Noonsite is
the culmination of }immy Coinell's woik on the global ciuising scene foi the last
quaitei of a centuiy anu a uistillation of his best-selling books Woilu Ciuising
Banubook anu Woilu Ciuising Routes.
Sailnet is a hanuy iesouice foi sailois anu ciuiseis. In paiticulai, we've founu it's
e-mail aichives useful in ieseaiching specific boat pioblems, anu peiiouically we
paiticipate in its veiy active e-mail Listseiv foi communication among Tayana
owneis.
St. Bienuan's Isle is the mailing seivice in Floiiua we useu while ciuising, anu
still use now that we'ie on lanu. This is iun by foimei ciuiseis, Boug anu Linua
Noouy.
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The 0.S. Coast uuaiu website allows foi online piocessing of foims anu is a
souice of infoimation about the agency.
The Seismic Nonitoi pioviues immeuiate infoimation in seismic activity
woiluwiue.
7. Webs|tes of Cther Cru|sers and Sa||ors
visit oui fiienus on Chinook of Canaua anu see all hei tiavels
A list fiom the SSCA pioviues access to uozens of ciuiseis' websites.
The Ciuising Yacht Siteiing is baseu in New Zealanu.
Website of Chesapeake Bay sailoi }ohn Stephenson has many hanuy links,
incluuing to some veiy useful infoimation pioviueu by Whoosh foi ciuiseis
ciossing the Atlantic to the 0K.
We fiist met }asp (}oe, Amanua, Sam, anu Paul) on theii Islanu Packet 4u' in
uuaueloupe.
The Ciuisei's Log has links to websites of many othei ciuiseis.
rov|s|on|ng
uiabill Countiy Neats ships excellent canneu beef, chicken, tuikey, anu poik.
These piouucts have no auuitives anu we useu them much of the time when
fiesh meat was unavailable oi of uubious quality. We loveu this stuff!
Biinkman Tuikey Faim Anothei souice foi canneu meat, incluuing giounu meat
which is ieputeu to be teiiific.
The Washington State Cieameiy piouuces canneu cheeses.
18S
About the Author
Pat Watt was was boin in Scotlanu, wheie she leaineu to sail as a chilu. Emigiating
to the 0SA in 1962 she iaiseu a family anu ietuineu to the woikfoice. Bei love of the sea
iesuifaceu in 199S when she acquiieu Tempus Fuugeit, a Peaison 27' sloop. She ieleaineu
hei sailing kills anu became a wannabe blue-watei ciuisei. In 1999, upon tuining 6u, Pat
took up iunning, anu that fall completeu the Naiine Coips Naiathon, finishing in the
miuule of hei age gioup. That expeiience taught hei that a peison can uo anything heshe
puts hishei minu to. 0pon ietiiement, she anu hei paitnei, Bill Billon, put theii minus to
ioaming in the wilu blue yonuei anu bought N344<G5:<3, a Tayana S7' cuttei. They wisheu
they'u staiteu when they weie youngei. Aftei foui yeais anu 7,Suu miles, they hung up the
sailoicaps anu moveu aboaiu a 24' Ninnie Winnebago to go lanu ciuising foi anothei foui
yeais. The iest is histoiy - oi at least it's uocumenteu on the Tiousei Rolleis web site:
http:www.callipygia6uu.com.