Hi Sailors!
The Sailing Weekly 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:
Who Gets to Use Our Oceans?
A new proposal would track lobster boats in federal waters to collect data that protects commercial fisheries against developers.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.Coast Guard says a ship's anchor dragged California oil pipeline
Investigators believe a 1,200-foot cargo ship dragging anchor in rough seas caught an underwater oil pipeline, months before the leak.Girl drowns after her life jacket traps her in capsized boat
A UK teenager drowned during a horrific boating incident, in which her automatic life jacket prevented her from escaping a capsized pleasure cruiser.Sailing Hall of Fame Inducts Class of 2021
The National Sailing Hall of Fame has inducted eleven new members to make up the class of 2021.Mariners' Dashboard
NERACOOS Mariners’ Dashboard users can now find data about current wave and wind conditions, regional forecasts, and more. Users can also access subsurface oceanographic, biological, and ocean acidification data.Couple Dies as Their Boat Goes Aground
A couple in their late 70s were found in the water after their 42-foot sailboat, Bagheera, washed up north of Rockaway Beach, along the Oregon coast.Maiden voyage of the first long-haul autonomous tugboat
The Nellie Bly is currently about three-quarters of the way through its mission: To become the first autonomously operated tugboat to complete a long-haul run.In the Mediterranean, Megayachts Do Megadamage
From anchors to engines, large private yachts can leave problems in their wakes.Shipwreck of Famed US Revenue Cutter Bear Located Off Nova Scotia
Researchers from NOAA and Coast Guard have located the underwater shipwreck of the former U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear.Sailing World Boat of the Year 2022 Lineup
A diverse fleet of new models will be put to the test to determine the Boat of the Year for 2022; here’s a peek at this year’s lineup.La Niña is coming. Here's what that means for winter weather in the U.S.
La Niña generally brings winters that are drier and warmer than usual across the southern U.S. and cooler and wetter in the northern part of the country.Shipping Disruptions Keeping Coffee Prices High for Longer
Disruptions to transportation of coffee around the world, caused by container shortages and port congestion, will likely keep coffee prices high.Massive Sculpture Silences Ships In New York
A towering statue of a woman’s head with her index finger pressing on her lips now faces lower Manhattan along the Hudson River.
Gear & Equipment:
Will We Say Goodbye, Genset?
Boat buyers may soon encounter a lithium-powered replacement for conventional gensets powered by gasoline and diesel FUEL.Window storm covers could have prevented fatal yacht sinking
An investigation by Maritime New Zealand has concluded that window storm covers could have prevented the fatal sinking of the Bavaria 47 Ocean, Essence off North Island.Find the Right Sailboat for a Sailing Sabbatical
Boat life isn’t one-size-fits-all. Cruising can be played out in myriad sailboat styles: shiny new or classic, Bristol or project, big budget or micro.My Rocna didn't hold in mud - a first.
Today my Rocna 55 broke out of hard mud and didn't reset. This happened in 11' of water with somewhere around 90' of scope.How much sunlight can you expect to reach a boat’s solar panels?
A crucial piece of information you need to be able to scientifically specify your boat solar panels is how much sunlight you can expect to receive
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.Get Rid of Single-Use Plastics: Podcast
It's important to give up single-use products whenever possible. And it's gotten easier--thanks to these nifty products.Practical Skipper – Essential Checklists: Book review
Checklists are a feature of Johnson’s approach and many people may decide to adopt his suggestion of downloading the app from Aztec Sailing which gives the checklists in an accessible form on a smart phone.
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.Steering Techniques For Different Winds
As the wind builds, use heel angle as your guide: Steer and use the sails to keep the boat on its feet and stay fast in the chop.Q&A Live Call with Jon Emmett
Train Hard, Fight Easy. Too many sailors rely on racing as their only way of improving and it's a hugely flawed way of trying to make progress.How to make a VHF radio call – voice procedures
Using the right words makes all the difference to making yourself understood quickly and clearly on the VHF radio.Planning Your Route with GPS
Explore the uses of GPS in route planning. How to select waypoints, suggests how to name the waypoints you’ve saved as well as how to use the auto-route functionMax Ebb Takes Us to Spinnaker School
Max Ebb shares his tips on spinnaker use and handling. And as always, Max’s lessons are not only informative, but also entertaining.
Thanks for reading — we will be back at it regularly now!