General

With a storm coming, a crew member faces a dilemma: How to say no to the boat’s owner.

Years ago, I was invited to help deliver a schooner to Key West, Florida, only to be faced with an uncomfortable situation before we ever left the dock.

It was late fall when my brother and I arrived in Beaufort, North Carolina, to replace two crewmembers who had helped sail the schooner south from New York. The owner was eager to get to Key West…

Click to read “Listening to the Voice Inside Your Head” from Soundings, written by Pim Van Hemmen.

The sea is no place for absolutes about everything, which is why the safety community’s mantra about PFDs should be modified.

The U.S. Coast Guard says it, the National Boating Safety Advisory Committee (NBSAC) says it, and the National Park Service says it: “Always wear a life jacket.”

“It’s a phrase that’s all too common among boating safety experts…”

Click to read “Should You Really Always Wear Your Lifejacket?” from Soundings, written by Mario Vittone.

The rules of the road can help you avoid an unplanned get-together with another vessel.

“I will never forget the first time I hit another boat. I was 19 years old and sailing a Beetle Cat through the inner mooring field of Newport Harbor, trying to impress a girl who had come to visit. I was a first-year apprentice at the IYRS School of Technology & Trades. It was a beautiful warm June afternoon with blue skies and a 12- to 15-knot sea breeze filling in. I was sailing close-hauled but getting set unusually hard…”

Click to read “Collision Avoidance” from Soundings, written by Will Sofrin.

What you need to know about Aqua Map’s Local Notice To Mariners (LNM) functionality.

Aqua Map seamlessly integrates the USCG’s latest Local Notice to Mariners information directly into the app.

The Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) is a regularly issued publication that provides important updates and information for mariners navigating U.S. waters.  It is a critical resource for ensuring safe vessel operation and compliance with regulations.  LNMs provide essential updates on hazards to navigation.

How to display LNM data in Aqua Map:

Open Aqua Map and go to the Settings menu. Scroll down until you find Coast Guard Data. You’ll see that Coast Guard Data is divided into United States and Canada.

To activate LNMs, toggle on the option “Display Coast Guard – LNMs data on map.”

On the charts, notices are displayed with the “update LNMs” icon.  When you tap on the icon, a pop up window will appear showing the notice title.  To view the full notice, tap on the info icon on the right.  This will open up more detailed information about that notice.

You can also search for LNMs in your area by tapping on the search icon located on the top right corner of the screen.

Once inside, select the tab “Places and POIs”, then filter out the information by tapping on the option “Search Filter”.  Make sure to deselect all other options and leave only “Coast guard warnings”.

Once you have done this, the location you are interested in may be entered into the search field.

Click to learn more about Aqua Map.

More information about the Local Notice To Mariners is available in the Coast Guard’s Local Notice To Mariners User Guide.

“Bert Vermeer tells his story of an overheating Beta Marine 20 diesel sailboat engine with clogged sail drive intake ports and how he used this boat hack. He makes interesting use of his dinghy pump to handle this sailboat emergency. We also look at the Aqualarm Cooling Water Flow Detector and water level sensor switches that you can use to protect your sailboat.

Click to watch “Diesel Overheating Dinghy Pump Hack” from Practical Sailor.

Which Navigation App Should I Use?

Not only is this a question that I am often asked, it’s also a question that I’ve asked myself. With the discontinuation of raster chart data now complete and the increased reliance on smartphones and tablets for accurate and up-top-date navigation information, third-party apps have become a critical component of safe vessel operation.

After several years of using a well-known, popular app, and enduring an ongoing programming bug the company was disinterested in fixing, I set out to find a replacement.  I spent part of this past winter installing and testing more apps than I can remember, and the hands-down winner is Aqua Map.

I will be writing more about Aqua Map in the future. In the meantime, here are some of it’s features that I really like:

Accurate charts with easy-to-identify ATONs.
An intuitive, user-friendly interface.
An online chart viewer/route planner.
The ability to transfer waypoints, routes and tracks to/from phones, computers and onboard chartplotters.
A variety of helpful chart overlays, including tides & currents.
No more “course up – north up” bugs.
A free trial period.
As of this writing, the choice of either an annual chart subscription or a one-time fee for all U.S. & Canada charts ($49).
A host of advanced tools and “pro” features (available by subscription) including Coast Guard data (i.e., Local Notice To Mariners integration).
Integration with Active Captain, Waterway Guide and Bob423 ICW tracks.

Click to learn more about Aqua Map.