I chose a different route. When loran-C was decommissioned, the nav station on our 36-foot Morris, Salty Spouse, had a gaping hole that cried out for attention before my wife, Inza, and I took our next cruise.
5 tips for safe docking
By Bill Gesele
- Always make sure the slip isn’t too small or too large for your boat. A too-small slip spreads the poles and may affect the boat next to you. In a too-large slip, your boat could swing past the bow poles and damage neighboring boats.
- Always have your stern lines attached to the cleats before docking. This sounds basic, but haven’t we all been tossed an unattached line while the boat flounders?
- Never (and this happens all too often) allow anyone to stand on the swim platform or outside the boat while docking. One wrong move could put that person in the water and in the path of the running gear.
- Have fenders, not hands, ready to avoid the boat next to you. Fenders and boats can be replaced—limbs, not too easily.
- Keep the engines running until your boat is securely tied to the dock. You may have to give a short forward burst if your boat gets too close.
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Onboard kit for all your first-aid needs
Marine 600 Adventure Medical Kit $200 (available starting February 2015)The new Marine 600 Adventure Medical Kit departs from the company’s blue soft-sided marine design and features a hard, yellow, impact- and water-resistant plastic container. Useful in emergency rafts, at sea or when heading down the Colorado River, the readily visible, airtight container will float if it falls overboard. The container also keeps medical supplies safe and dry in the humid marine environment and when stored on board for long periods.
ProsCons
Errors trip up experienced boaters
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Couple falls for Vancouver marina
Star calendar 1–31 January 2015
1 Jan High in the east at sunset, the Pleiades Cluster is 1 fist-width above or to the upper left of the moon. Aldebaran is 3 finger-widths to the lower left.
2 Jan Gemini and Orion are high in the southeast by midnight.
3 Jan Just after dark, Gemini is to the moon’s lower left and Orion to its lower right.
In memory
Submit an obituary for a deceased USPS member by using the form below.
Star calendar 1–31 December
5 Dec The brightest star in Taurus, Aldebaran, is 1 finger-width to the moon’s lower left at dusk. [Binoculars]
6 Dec By mid-evening, Aldebaran is 1 fist-width to the moon’s upper right, and Capella is 3 fist-widths to the upper left, with Pollux far below. Orion is to the moon’s lower right, with first-magnitude stars Betelgeuse 1 fist-width to the moon’s lower right, and Rigel at the opposite corner beyond the belt.
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Star calendar 1–30 November
3 Nov Mars is less than ½ finger-width above Kaus Borealis, the uppermost star in the dome of the Teapot constellation, Sagittarius. [Binoculars]
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Star calendar 1–31 October
2 Oct The bright star 2½ fist-widths above the moon is Altair.
3 Oct The moon lies between Altair, 2½ fist widths to the upper right, and Fomalhaut, 3½ fist-widths to the lower left.
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Know your VHF channels
If you carry a VHF radio onboard (and you should), you must maintain a watch on channel 16 when the radio is on and not being used to communicate. You may also maintain a watch on VHF channel 9. Note that urgent marine information broadcasts, such as storm warnings, are announced on channel 9 only in USCG First District waters (northern New Jersey, New York and New England).
Most radios have a memory scan option where you can add specific channels to the memory and press scan. The radio quickly switches through and listens to each channel, pausing if someone is using that channel and then resuming the scan.
Make a winterizing to-do list
Every year, I have trouble remembering where I put stuff the season before. I still cannot find the repair kit for the inflatable dingy.