Hi Sailors!
The Sailing Roundup brings you the latest in sailing news, trends, gear, events, and training. Every week (when we’re not sailing) we’ll send a curated list and analysis by Teresa & Ben Carey. Instead of sifting through a ton of articles and videos each day – let us do the work for you.
Editorial:
I just returned from teaching 12 sessions at Cruisers University in Annapolis. It was a (masked) whirlwind event -- one that is a joy and highly rewarding.
I taught one full day of Traditional (paper chart) Navigation, and then eight shorter sessions including: Line Handling, Beyond the Bowline, Cruising Maine, Sail Theory, Solo Sailing Techniques, Egalitarian Couples Cruising, Intro to Celestial Navigation, and Rules of the Road.
I co-taught the hands-on navigation course with my expedition mate, Angela McIntyre. Angela is an educator through and through. Having worked both in the traditional classroom setting and aboard a variety of tall ships and sailboats in the sail training world, I feel lucky to be working with her on Morse Alpha training expeditions.
Teaching traditional navigation is meaningful to me because of the combined seamanship and navigation skills gained from practicing this dying art. I love getting into the practical aspects of using paper charts and manually fixing one's position with the hand-bearing compass. But, in addition to “staying found,” the process of finding and shooting bearings, then plotting the position on the chart adds value to sailing that's immeasurable and also so satisfying. For me, it's similar to the thrill of sailing wing-on-wing or flying a spinnaker. But you can do it on any point of sail!
Cruiser’s University goes beyond education. The joy in the event is seeing old friends and making new ones. The camaraderie amongst participants lasts far longer than the event itself. This year, a semi post-pandemic year, I was excited to reconnect with many of our former students. We're already scheming some reunion expeditions: Newfoundland, Bermuda, Nova Scotia. Keep ya posted.
~ Ben
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Don’t forget to check out our sail-training expeditions at MorseAlpha.com.
From Morse Alpha:
This Instagram post got a lot of play recently
Here’s a video of Ben teaching a clove hitch backed with a half hitch… one of the knots we use for tying fenders onto our stanchions.
Now for the best of the web...
News:
Scary Weather To Follow If Jet Stream Keeps Moving
Climate-caused disruptions to the North Atlantic jet stream are likely to have drastic weather-related consequences for societies on both sides of the Atlantic, research in Greenland indicates.
Sailing Media:
The Real Deal — Larry Pardey, Legendary Sailor and Adventurer: Video
A new video about Larry Pardey. To view the trailer and order page click here.
Skills & Seamanship:
A Few Good Lessons
This year’s dramatic increase in first-time boat buyers, and the rise in accidents that has occurred as a result of so many newcomers on the water. Safety experts say many of these people are making thoughtless mistakes, in large part because they don’t have enough education.
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