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Boat Forum / Cruising / January 2005Tis a gift to be simple.
I can't believe that "Navigating with grains of salt" thread I started is still going on. I feel like I'm in a Road Runner cartoon watching two little dust clouds vanish over the horizon. Do you think those guys will ever give up? I was amused to have someone post and email me privately asking if I would pass on my "special knowledge". I was even more amused when a second post from the same fellow revealed that he's probably done more serious piloting and navigating than I have. Duffing around in Maine is actually pretty easy. There are so many hazards that they serve as navigation aids and the coast is so complex that you can almost always find an alternative route out if you misjudge something. Meanwhile, the road runner and the coyote, who do appear to have Ph.D. level knowledge compared to my navigational high school GED, just keep going and going and going.. It did make me realize though that there are some readers of this group that are new to all this so I'll pass on a bit of very basic stuff that I haven't seen well covered in any of the texts I've read. It was the cause of my closest calls when I first started sailing and an almost universal problem among my sailing students. I haven't paid much attention to anything written about piloting in over 20 years so forgive me if it is now obvious. The simple process of sailing straight towards an objective is a lot more error prone than new sailors realize. Tell nine out of ten new helmsman to, "sail straight towards that buoy", and they will line the stemhead up with the objective. Since you sit to one side in a sailboat, the geometry will cause your course to be a curve as the relative angles change. If you are in a channel or have plotted a course close by a shoal area, this can get you in trouble. The first lesson is to have them sight along the centerline and see how far off their aim point is. The companionway edge on most sailboats is a very convenient sight. Show them how to pick another landmark on the bow, such as a lifeline stanchion, that is parallel with their eye along the centerline. Next is the concept of maintaining a constant compass bearing towards the objective. Again, this only works if the boat is actually pointed where you think it is. To hold a precise course without the track line in a magic box, you may need a very good compass bearing. A brief squint along the companionway edge, which may require a brief heading change in a sailboat or when there is current, will give you the most precise bearing you can get. When heading towards buoys, islands, or other marks in coastal waters, there will usually be something visible beyond. A primary skill that must be drilled in until it is unshakable habit, is to look at the land beyond when sailing towards a mark. When you first establish the course, pick the landmark that lines up with it and then adjust your heading so that it always remains in line. Then leeway or current can not be setting you off your intended track. In 36 years of sailing I've never run hard and unexpectedly aground but, almost every time I was startled by the sight of a swirl of water or flash of weed and ledge I didn't expect, it was because I was still learning these simple concepts.  SignatureRoger Long Roger, before Christmas, I think you posted a address to see your log about taking the boat from point A to Maine or Vice Versa...I may be dreaming about the subject matter but would appreciate your posting that address again. I have a friend , recently retired, who is "thinking" about purchasing a sailboat and living on it in the winter months in Florida or perhaps the Texas coast....Making a short story long I guess but reading your posts have been very informative and I would like to pass your info to him. They do not read newsgroups per se but may be attracted to them after reading your info. thanks. Signaturejtc jtamchay@yahoo.com >I can't believe that "Navigating with grains of salt" thread I >started is still going on. I feel like I'm in a Road Runner cartoon [quoted text clipped - 56 lines] > water or flash of weed and ledge I didn't expect, it was because I > was still learning these simple concepts. http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Boat.htm We've actually decided to do the unromantic thing and have it trucked. My new (part time in theory) job as Harbormaster turns out to be a huge clean up task and time is going to be short in spring and early summer. It also means having the boat here before school gets out so I can get the bugs worked out and everything tuned up for more serious sailing in Maine. SignatureRoger Long > Roger, before Christmas, I think you posted a address to see your > log about taking the boat from point A to Maine or Vice Versa...I [quoted text clipped - 69 lines] >> water or flash of weed and ledge I didn't expect, it was because I >> was still learning these simple concepts. A previous message addressed going to Maine. I would like to state that I have found Maine by DR alone, starting from the tip of Cape Cod. It was right where I expected it to be. I think it may still be there this year, when I try again with more sophisticated gear. :-) Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a "Accordions don't play 'Lady of Spain.' People play 'Lady of Spain." >A previous message addressed going to Maine. I would like to state >that I have found Maine by DR alone, starting from the tip of Cape >Cod. It was right where I expected it to be. > >I think it may still be there this year, when I try again with more >sophisticated gear. :-) ==================================== Back in the 70s, pre-LORAN C, we used to DR from P-town to Maine on a fairly regular basis. Plus or minus one mile after sailing 100 miles was fairly typical but maybe we were lucky. That one mile at the other end can still loom large on a foggy morning at 6:00AM however. > Back in the 70s, pre-LORAN C, we used to DR from P-town to Maine on > a fairly regular basis. Plus or minus one mile after sailing 100 > miles was fairly typical but maybe we were lucky. That one mile at > the other end can still loom large on a foggy morning at 6:00AM > however. I don't doubt that one mile can make a big difference. On my first trip to Pubnico NS I entered through Lobster Bay in "thick-o-fog" and somehow managed it with little instrumentation (in particular no Loran or GPS or radar). It was only much later that I understood the dangers due to current, really dangerous shoals, etc. On my last trip, in good visibility and with a bevy of tools, I noticed just how much we were pushed about by the tide and how much of a chance we had taken almost 2 decades earlier. More info is better. SignatureGood luck and good sailing. s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/ > I can't believe that "Navigating with grains of salt" thread I started > is still going on. I feel like I'm in a Road Runner cartoon watching > two little dust clouds vanish over the horizon. Do you think those > guys will ever give up? Never! Not until Spring! I appreciate your post. Good advice. BTW, if you've never run aground you must have learned something about navigation. Its been said only two types of sailors have never run aground, beginners and liars. But those who say that have never sailed Maine, where the consequences of grounding can be rather severe: http://www.cliffisland.com/boat.html Oh, I've run aground plenty but it's always been when I knew I was pushing into a tight area, was prepared to bump, knew the tide, and what I would do if I touched. I've been surprised by the bottom a couple of times. Once was just after I'd picked up someone at a town dock somewhere downeast. It was well inside the chart soundings resolution and who would have thought it could be that shallow 20 feet from the dock? The tide was falling and the fin keeler we'd charted was going to be the subject of great amusement for the whole town. I exploded into action, completely mystifying my crew who hadn't noticed the slight bump. Suddenly, they were abandoned as I leapt into the dinghy, grabbed the anchor off the foredeck, and rowed away. I took the rode around a halyard winch and had us pulled off in short order. The other time, I anchored in a small clear spot in Anisquam, MA in plenty of water. I woke up in the middle of the night to find that the Pearson 26 was completely on its side having gone over so gently that I didn't wake up until the fact that I was lying on cold fiberglass side instead of cushion brought me around. We were in six inches of water. About five feet away was a dredged drop off. If we'd gone the other way, the boat might have tipped all the way over and broken the mast off going past vertical. The next morning, we were floating as if nothing had happened. I learned to be a little more skeptical when I find a clear spot in a crowded harbor. I finally gave up taking the 22 foot catboat I used to sail across the flats off Vineyard Haven. It was great fun skimming the big, two foot draft boat across the sand and being able to clearly see the bottom and the swirls of sand behind us. The problem was, someone would try to follow us across almost every time and end up stuck fast. My conscience got to me and I started going around whenever other boats were nearby. SignatureRoger Long >> I can't believe that "Navigating with grains of salt" thread I >> started is still going on. I feel like I'm in a Road Runner cartoon [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > http://www.cliffisland.com/boat.html >In 36 years of sailing I've never run hard and unexpectedly aground >but, almost every time I was startled by the sight of a swirl of water >or flash of weed and ledge I didn't expect, it was because I was still >learning these simple concepts. Good advice. Even very basic stuff like bits of tape on coamings to get bearings, or having a hand compass and low-power birder's glasses next to the companionway allows you to react quickly...like when the fog is rolling in and you have a few seconds to get a bearing before you are officially lost. Did I not mention Dubya turned off the GPS or you dropped it in the sea or the batteries are flat? Ah, coastal pilotage. is there anything it can't do? R. |
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