Relieve Cabin Fever with a Good Read This Winter

Now that the holidays are over and it’s too cold to enjoy boating to its full extent, why not keep your boating skills sharp through reading and re-education.

For some heavy reading, the consummate compendium on boating and seamanship is “Chapman Piloting,” the 66th edition published by Hearst Marine Books. This comprehensive resource is recommended by both the U.S. Power Squadron and the USCG Auxiliary as a reference.

“Chapman Piloting” covers all the basic topics of boating and seamanship (weather, handling, docking, anchoring, knots, etc.), a broad review of related information, and the etiquette of proper boating, including flag display and dockside behavior.

I would recommend this publication to any boater, new or experienced, who is interested in pursuing the details of boating and seamanship. It makes a complete library almost by itself.

Chapman Piloting : Seamanship & Small Boat Handling (66th Edition)
by Elbert S. Maloney, Charles Frederic Chapman, Published by Hearst Books, Reviewed by: Dr. Steve Batson
You can order Chapman Piloting from amazon.com right now

If you have been following the BoatSafe Blog, you know that I have published a couple of articles warning of the dangers of relying solely on GPS as your primary navigation source. Why not use the winter to learn or relearn additional navigation skills, to get you from one place to another without depending on GPS?

The Nautical Know How navigation course is a combination of a printed text/workbook for home study, sample and real time chart work, online animated demonstrations and testing, and email instructor assistance.

Topics covered in the course include:

Introduction to Navigation Understanding Latitude & Longitude Reading the Nautical Chart Finding Latitude, Longitude & Distance Finding Direction Distance, Speed & Time Calculations Getting to Know Your Magnetic Compass Dead Reckoning

Two & Three Bearing Fixes Running Fixes Finding Set & Drift Estimated Position Finding Course to Steer Finding Relative Bearings Tide and Current Calculations Publications: Coast Pilot, Light List, Local Notice to Mariners Publication Excerpts Putting It All Together Final Exam

For additional information and to order the course go to: http://boatsafe.com/navigation/index.htm

If you’re more in a philosophical mood you might want to check out the following:

First You Have to Row a Little Boat : Reflections on Life & Living
by Richard Bode
Jon Ayers sends the following review:

It’s really a book about life, in which the author relates what he learned through his experiences with small boats while growing up on the south shore of Long Island, and how those experiences guided him later in life.

In a questionnaire sent three years ago to all owners of Nonsuch yachts, which generated some 300 responses, this book was mentioned as a favorite more than any other.
It’s what I would call a ‘dear’ book, in that there is no single overpowering message, but when you finish it, you realize that you have thought a great deal about your own life. You can order this book from Amazon.com

If your boat sports an outboard motor you might want to read: The Outboard Boater’s Handbook : Advanced Seamanship and Practical Skills by David R. Getchell , Sr. (Editor)
Owners of larger boats have their bibles, but, until now, outboard boaters have been neglected. This comprehensive manual shows you how to go places and do things you never thought possible in a small outboard motorboat. Covers all the popular types – and some alternative craft – as well as methods that might change your entire boating outlook.
Topics include

• judging a boat’s potential based on design and construction
• how to upgrade an older boat
• how to handle a little boat in big seas, surf or shallow water
• how to navigate
• how to read the weather
• how to head upriver or offshore
• how to trailer your boat
• how to manage and equip it for camp cruising
• how to care for boat and motor

You can order The Outboard Boater’s Handbook from amazon.com

When a Loose Cannon Flogs a Dead Horse There’s the Devil to Pay : Seafaring Words in Everyday Speech

by Olivia A. Isil, Paperback, Published by Intl Marine Pub

Ever wondered about the origin of big-wig, flogging a dead horse, mind your P’s and Q’s, or three sheets to the wind? These commonly used colloquialisms all have nautical backgrounds and entertaining histories. This collection of more than 250 of these fascinating words and phrases also includes yarns, legends, superstitions, weather lore, poetry, rhymes, songs, and more.

You can order When a Loose Canon Flogs a Dead Horse from amazon.com

For other books recommended by http://boatsafe.com visit:

http://boatsafe.com/books/booklist.htm

Grouper Fishing Ban Hits The Florida Keys Economy

KEY WEST, Fla. (UPI) A temporary ban on grouper fishing will bring economic hardship onto the Florida Keys during its peak tourism season, fishermen say.

The four-month ban went into effect Jan. 1 and is meant to protect the grouper fishery, which wildlife officials say has been over-fished and is now in danger. But Keys commercial fishermen and charter boat captains who take tourists on grouper expeditions say the ban will be economically devastating, The Miami Herald reported Sunday.

“This couldn’t come at a worse time,” Key West charter boat owner Andy Griffiths told the newspaper. “My business already is off 80 percent because of the economy.”

“It’s a bitter choice between sustaining the fishery or sustaining someone’s livelihood,” added Andy McDonald, the wholesale manager at the Islamorada Fish Co. “But if you don’t sustain the fishery, there will be no livelihood.”

The Herald said the ban bars commercial and recreational fishermen from keeping shallow-water grouper such as gag, black, red and yellow fin — caught in federal and state Atlantic Ocean waters from North Carolina to Key West. It comes as the fishing industry is already reportedly reeling because of low demand and low prices for their spiny lobster and stone crab products.

The DUKW Then and Today

The DUKW (popularly pronounced “duck”) is a six-wheel-drive amphibious truck that was designed by General Motors Corporation during World War II for transporting goods and troops over land and water and for use approaching and crossing beaches in amphibious attacks.

The designation of DUKW is not a military acronym, the name comes from the model naming terminology used by GMC; the D indicates a vehicle designed in 1942, the U meant “utility (amphibious)”, the K indicated all-wheel drive and the W indicated two powered rear axles.

Although technically a misnomer, DUKWs are often referred to as duck boats. Another popular nickname was old magoo or simply magoo. Though the origin of this term is unknown, it probably refers to the odd shape of the vehicle.

Developed by the National Defense Research Committee and the Office of Scientific Research and Development, it was initially rejected by the armed services. When a United States Coast Guard patrol craft ran aground on a sandbar near Provincetown, Massachusetts, an experimental DUKW happened to be in the area for a demonstration. Winds up to 60 knots, rain, and heavy surf prevented conventional craft from rescuing the seven stranded Coast Guardsmen, but the DUKW had no trouble, and the military opposition melted. The DUKW would later prove its seaworthiness by crossing the English Channel.

The DUKW was the first vehicle to allow the driver to vary the tire pressure from inside the cab. The tires could be fully inflated for hard surfaces such as roads and less inflated for softer surfaces, especially beach sand. This added to the DUKW’s great versatility as an amphibious vehicle. This feature is now standard on many military vehicles.

DUKWs are still in use, as well as purpose-built amphibious tour buses, primarily as tourist transport in harbor and river cities, including but not limited to: Seattle; Philadelphia; Cincinnati; Pittsburgh; Chattanooga; Nashville; Boston; Branson, Missouri; Grapevine, Texas; Saugatuck, Michigan; Liverpool; London; Dublin, Ireland; Rotorua, New Zealand; Belgian coast (Blankenberge, Koksijde) ; The Netherlands; Singapore; Washington, D.C.; Stone Mountain Park, Atlanta, Georgia; and Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

The first “duck tour” company was started in 1946 by Mel Flath in Milwaukee, WI. He moved his tour to Wisconsin Dells shortly thereafter. His company has changed ownership since, but is still in operation under the name Original Wisconsin Ducks. His family continues to operate a duck company called the Dells Army Ducks in the Wisconsin Dells Area. One well-established tour operator in the United States is Ride the Ducks. However, the vehicles used are not Army Surplus DUKWs, as used by many other companies, but are rather designed and built from the ground up by Ride The Ducks.

For info on Ride the Ducks Philadelphia go to: http://www.phillyducks.com/experience-fun/

Connecticut accepting applications for maritime pilots

Connecticut Department of Transportation is soliciting applications from qualified mariners interested in receiving a marine pilot license from the State of Connecticut to work on the Connecticut side of the Joint Rotation of Pilots. Applications will be accepted at the Department until close of business Wednesday, February 10, 2010.  Check here for details.

Maryland Boaters

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources says boating and other recreational uses of the upper Potomac River should be avoided because of heavy rains that have led to hazardous river levels.

The department says recreational activity should also be avoided on creeks and streams feeding the main stem of the upper Potomac from Cumberland to Little Falls.

The DNR says the decision is based on information from the National Weather Service and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. The advisory is in effect through Wednesday, when it will be updated if necessary.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/ap/rains-prompt-warning-against-potomac-boating-82616387.html#ixzz0dis9cwXv

Coast Guard urges duck hunters to ‘plan on not drowning’

The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a safety advisory to migratory bird hunters on the inland and coastal waters of the Northeast.

Nationally, the Coast Guard has rescued nearly 20 hunters in the last month. Five hunters died because they fell overboard or their boat capsized.

According to Al Johnson, recreational boating specialist for the First Coast Guard District, which has headquarters in Boston, “Here in the Northeast, we’ve had seven duck hunters capsize and fortunately all survived,” “With various hunting seasons open through mid-February, we want hunters to know, if you’re on the water, it is essential to be prepared. People don’t plan on drowning, but you can easily plan on not drowning.”

Be prepared for cold-water immersion. Wear a dry suit or a full-length wet suit, plus a Coast Guard-approved life jacket. Water that is 40 degrees or colder will immediately incapacitate most people.

Also have a signal kit readily available. That includes a mirror, flares, whistle, light, a VHF radio, cell phone and, most importantly, a float plan left with a responsible person who knows whom to call if you fail to return as scheduled.

Life jackets must be worn on Massachusetts and Connecticut waters through mid-May, and in Maine on the Saco River between the Hiram Dam and the ocean through the first of June. Life jackets are required for all boaters and paddlers in New York on all vessels shorter than 21 feet through the first of May.

A boater or paddler who hasn’t taken an approved boater education course can do that during the winter. Courses are available through the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, U.S. Power Squadrons or with state, private or Internet providers.

Lake Level Alert Notifications

I continue to be amazed by the amount of information that can be found on the Internet. A fairly new site, LakeLevelAlert.com, is a lake level monitoring service that alerts you via email when water levels for your lake become too high or too low. LakeLevelAlert.com is a FREE service for anyone to use.

After registering with LakeLevelAlert.com (LLA), you will be able to create one or multiple low water and high water level alerts for your lake.

When LLA detects that the water level for your lake has either risen or fallen to the level you set for one of your alerts, LLA sends you a lake alert email that notifies you of the current lake level conditions and instructs you on what action to take.

LLA currently monitors lake levels for 84 U.S lakes in 18 States. If you do not see your lake listed, you can contact them and let them know. They will add your lake if at all possible.

You can create an unlimited number of alerts. Many users set a range of incremental alerts to warn them in advance at various times that they need to move their docks in or out,  a sort of “stair step” approach to their alerts in both directions.

The alert title is a brief and meaningful description of what the alert is warning you about. The alert title displays in the subject line of the email you receive for the alert. For example, if you create an alert that is designed to tell you when your dock is about to become grounded due to low water levels, you might create a title that reads Move the Dock Out! which clearly indicates to you what the alert email is about and what to do. A secondary benefit gained from the alert title is that you know the alert email is NOT spam by simple recognition of your unique title.

A watermark represents the water level that your lake can rise or fall to before an alert email is sent to you. Each alert that you create has its own watermarks. Always set your watermark control to levels that give you ample time to correct an issue before a problem occurs due to rising or falling lake levels. For instance, if your dock becomes grounded when the level for your lake is at 650 feet MSL, set your lake level watermark to warn you when the lake is at or below 652 feet. Doing so will give you a 2 foot water level buffer to get to the lake and move your dock out.

MSL stands for “Mean Sea Level” meaning the average sea level between high tide and low tide. MSL is used as a standard level (starting point) from which other levels around the world are measured. Lake levels are measured in this way. A report that a lake is at a level of 660 feet MSL means that the lake water surface level is 660 feet higher than sea level at a given moment in time.

For more information or to sign up for this FREE service go to: http://lakelevelalert.com/index.php

Asian Carp – The Story that Keeps on Giving

The Associated Press – A group of Louisiana-based companies has started a joint venture that will put Asian carp on retail shelves within weeks. The fish are being marketed as silverfin, the name it was given in a marketing plan developed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The agency is promoting recreational and commercial applications of an invasive fish that has caused huge problems for boaters in northern states. Rather than poisoning the fish to get rid of them like northern states have done, wildlife officials are opting to make them an appetizing meal.

Chef Philippe Parola of Baton Rouge, CEO of Chef Parola Enterprises and Partran, kick-started the campaign in the fall, and it’s finally coming together in the New Year.

Parola, along with Chef Cullen Lord of Fleming’s Restaurant and Darryl Rivere of A la Carte Food, stepped in with recipes like silverfin cakes and silverfin almondine.

Parola will be attending the National Grocers Association Convention in Las Vegas to pitch the fish to its 1,500 members.

As for the fish’s taste, Parola said that it’s a cross between scallops and crab meat. “Consumers will love it,” he said.

It’s a relatively new species that competes with other fish for food and poses a risk to boaters since silverfin, which weigh as much as 30 pounds each, can jump out of the water. (Other sources claim the fish can grow to as much as 100 pounds) The fish have been known to cause boating accidents, black eyes, bruises or in the most extreme cases, death to the boater. Additionally, eradication of this invasive species is basically impossible.

Parola said his role is unique because it puts private money behind a public problem. “This is being done without any taxpayer dollars,” Parola said. “This is our money.”

Culinary adventures are nothing new to Parola. In the early 1980s, he was among the chefs leading the way in cooking alligator meat. He was partly behind the effort for softshell crawfish as well, but he said it was “too expensive.”

Parola, however, may be best known as the man who attempted to sell the nation on nutria meat a few years back. The campaign for silverfin is “dramatically different,” he said, because the fish doesn’t resemble an overgrown rat.

“If we can’t do something with silverfin, we are clowns. It’s too good to ship to Asia, it’s too good to use as bait, and it’s too good to leave on the bank,” he said.

The fish were introduced to the U.S. from east Asia in the 1970s to help manage aquaculture ponds and wastewater lagoons. They quickly escaped into the wild and arrived in Louisiana waters from the north in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

From SailWorld:

Your propeller is the unsung hero of boating. It’s probably the single most complex piece of engineering on the boat. The size and shape of the blades and their angle to the hub are just the start of the story.

The thickness of the blades, the rake and angle of attack at various points along its length, the finishing of the blade edge, whether or not it has any ‘cup’. These are all factors and there are many more. Change just one and the performance changes.

Two miles per hour; that’s what we lost when we accidentally backed out a little too far in a motor boat and at idle speed but in gear; our prop blades just kissed the edge of a rock.

Winter is a great time to remove your prop and have it checked out. Read more here.

Asian Carp Controversy Update

On January 11, 2010, I wrote about the controversy between Illinois and the State of Michigan and other states contiguous to Lake Michigan, concerning Asian Carp. At that time the Supreme Court refused to hear an argument from Michigan, with the support of six other Great Lakes states, asking for an order to close the navigational locks between Lake Michigan and the Chicago and Calumet rivers.

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to order immediate closure of shipping locks near Chicago to prevent Asian carp from infesting the Great Lakes. Scientists fear that if they reach the lakes, they could disrupt the food chain and endanger the $7 billion fishing industry.  Many scientists say they could starve out popular species such as trout and salmon.

The Asian Carp are also spooked by passing motors and often hurtle from the water, colliding with boaters forcefully enough to break bones.

While this action means that the court will not order an immediate closure of the locks, it does not mean that no action will be taken in the case,” said Josh Mogerman, spokesman for the National Resources Defense Council. “There is still a significant possibility that the court will issue a decision regarding Michigan’s broader requests for action on this issue.”

To read the entire article, go to: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100119/ap_on_bi_ge/us_supreme_court_asian_carp