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.

--
jtc

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
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.

--

Roger Long

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.

--

Roger Long



"jtc" wrote in message
ink.net...
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.

--
jtc

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
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.

--

Roger Long

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."

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:02:51 -0500, Rodney Myrvaagnes
wrote:
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.

Wayne.B wrote:

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.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/