WIND AND WAVES

on April 24, 2022

The relationship between the wind and the waves is very important to boat skippers. So important that a completely new classification system was designed as a guideline incorporating both wind speed and the wave conditions most readily found at those speeds. Beaufort Scale The system, called the Beaufort Scale, was developed in 1805 by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort of the British Navy. It is, to this day, a guideline for what can be expected in […]

DOCKSIDE SINKING

on April 17, 2022

You are finally in the water, and nothing is further from your mind than dockside sinking. Before you go looking to far ahead to the season ahead, don’t forget to take a few steps to ensure success. More vessels sink at the dock while unattended than sink while underway and manned.  A common reason is when cockpit drains get clogged and the vessel takes on water from heavy rains or waves slapping over a low […]

COMPASSES

on April 10, 2022

Compasses are a must have to navigate effectively. The oldest but most important navigational tool known to man is the compass. Compasses come in all shapes and sizes, but for this, I’m concentrating on the main magnetic steering compass. A Low-Tech Necessity Many boaters think that, in these days of electronic-charting aids, compasses are no longer needed. Nothing could be further from the truth. A magnetic compass requires no electricity to operate, so it could […]

EASTER TRADITIONS

on April 3, 2022

There are many Easter Traditions. The Easter bunny is considered a part of Easter because of the bunnies ability to proliferate. There are roots back to the actual name of Easter. Eostre, a goddess of fertility, (who may have been one of the inspirations for the name Easter), is said to have been accompanied by a hare. Although some may debate this connection, the tradition of the bunny was brought to the U.S. by German […]