Need Help Fighting Hurricanes?

NEWS from BoatUS

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Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatUS Press Room at www.BoatUS.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: D. Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, SCroft@BoatUS.com

Boaters: Need Help Fighting Hurricanes?
BoatUS Adds Online Hurricane Seminars to Arsenal

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 9, 2013 — With the NOAA Climate Prediction Center forecasting an “active or extremely active season this year,” recreational boaters will have to make storm preparations for a likelihood of 13 to 20 named storms. It’s also important to remember that tropical storm and hurricane damage isn’t limited to the coastline. However, if the battle in preventing hurricane damage is to be won, some boaters will need to use every tool in their arsenal of storm planning tools. Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) just added another weapon by offering three online seminars on Superstorm Sandy that share an analysis of what worked, what didn’t, and suggests some lessons learned. The seminars, along with a range of free storm planning, preparation and tracking tools can be found at www.BoatUS.com/hurricanes.

While they were designed for marina and boat club managers, each one-hour long seminar shares relevant and important information for boat owners as well. All of the information is taken from first hand accounts of the BoatUS Catastrophe Response Team. The first seminar is an overview of what the BoatUS team learned, while the second and third tackle the topics of storing boats on land and water, respectively. All can be viewed at your own pace, starting and stopping at anytime. The only prerequisite to watch for free is you must be a BoatUS member – but they are also available to non-members starting at $30 through a partnership with the Association of Marina Industries (call: 866-367-6622).
In addition, BoatUS has free resources online for any boater owner, boat club or marina at the BoatUS Tracking and Hurricane Resource Center at www.BoatUS.com/hurricanes. The website offers easily downloadable storm planning materials including an in-depth Boater’s Guide to Preparing for Hurricanes, and a Hurricane Preparation Worksheetthat can be copied and great for handing out to slipholders, and checklists for what to do before and after a hurricane strikes.
Sample Marina/Club Hurricane Plans for boat and yacht clubs as well as up-to-the-minute storm tracking tools with live satellite images are also offered. A 24-page Yacht Club and Marina Guide to Preparing for Hurricanes shares success stories and failures of dozens of facilities that have experienced a hurricane over last two decades. The latest storm-tracking and forecasting information is also offered.
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About BoatUS:
Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is the nation’s leading advocate for recreational boaters providing its over half-million members with government representation, services such as 24-hour on the water boat towing as well as roadside assistance for boat trailers and tow vehicles, feature-packed boat insurance programs, money-saving benefits that include marina and West Marine shopping discounts, and vital information that improves the boating, fishing and sailing lifestyle. Its member-funded BoatUS Foundation is a national leader promoting safe, clean and responsible boating.

San Juan Islands Update: Do you have a cruising resume?

International-Proficency-Certificate
In order to make it easier for cruising sailors from the U.S. to charter sailboats in the European Union, US SAILING has announced that it has created a simple certification program for cruising sailors seeking to charter sailboats in European Union waters. The newly created International Proficiency Certificate, an extension of US SAILING’s current Keelboat Certification System, allows sailors who have completed a US SAILING Bareboat Cruising course to charter sailboats without a captain in EU waters. Looking very similar to a passport, the International Proficiency Certificate works much like a driver’s license for a car. The certificate must be presented to a charter company to obtain a boat, and then carried aboard at all times while sailing in EU waters.

You may have heard that J World Annapolis is headed to Washington State’s San Juan Islands for a summer flotilla.  We are escaping the Chesapeake heat and sailing two well appointed cruisers around the “paradise of the Pacific Northwest” and the process of planning and preparing for this excursion is in full swing.  You can download the San Juan Islands to learn more about this amazing summer cruise.

In order to charter boats in the states and abroad it is standard practice to submit an application and a cruising resume, and I am refreshing mine.  While a credit card that clears may get you off the dock at some charter companies, many companies are now scrutinizing resumes and even requiring certifications such as the US Sailing Bareboat Cruising Certification (BBC) or an International Proficiency Certificate (IPC.)

Whether you are chartering or not, having an up to date cruising resume is a good thing.  First, it forces you to make some record of your sailing accomplishments and the miles under your keel.  Second, it makes filling out the inevitable charter resume a snap.

Creating a useable resume is fairly simple.  A few short paragraphs the identify you prior experience skippering a similar type of vessel, recent boating experience and any specific skills or certifications (e.g. experience on tidal waters, Coastal Navigation certification, etc.) will provide anyone interested the information needed to quickly evaluate your qualifications as a skipper or crew.

Here are a few other items your sailing resume should include:

  • Name
  • Contact Details including cell phone and email
  •  List of boats sailed in the past 12 months
  • List of boats chartered in the past five years
  • List of boats you have owned
  • How many years have you been actively been skippering?
  • How many days per year do you skipper?

You may want to list specific experience or working knowledge of charter specific skills such as:

  • Sailing in heavy conditions and depowering a sail plan
  • Reefing
  • Sailing in waves and current
  • Close quarters maneuvering under power and sail
  • Picking up a mooring
  • Single bow anchoring
  • Bow and stern anchoring
  • Bahamian anchoring
  • Med-Mooring
  • Docking alongside
  • Docking in a slip
  • Reading nautical charts
  • Reading tide and current tables
  • Plotting location and course
  • Piloting (using visual ATONs to navigate)
  • Using a GPS and electronic charts
  • Dead Reckoning
  • Overboard rescue techniques
  • Safety and emergency procedures
  • VHF Radio use and protocol

All of these practical skills and knowledge items are best developed through a combination of structured learning and experiential learning.  Demonstrating to charter companies that you have both time on the water and the certifications to go along with them is a great way to ensure smooth chartering worldwide.

J/80 World Championship in France

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One hundred nineteen teams are entered in the 2013 J/80 World Championship in Marseilles, France, with teams representing 12 countries (France, Spain, USA, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland, Russia, and Oman/ United Arab Emirates). The sailing schedule starts with a the practice race Monday, July 8th followed by five days of racing with up to three races per day, concluding Saturday, July 13th.  – Event website

Best of luck to Brian Keane and Team Savasana.  US Entries are a little light at this year’s Worlds in France, with many US teams keeping their powder dry for next year’s Annapolis based World Championships.  Will we have 119 here too?

While traveling to Europe may be outside the budget boundaries for many US based teams, traveling to Annapolis is easy.  J World Annapolis can help too!  If you have questions or are looking for a price quote on transportation, logistics support or coaching – please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Annapolis entrepreneur and prior J/World sailing coach sees continued success as amateur sailing stand-out

R80 came back to win the J 80 North American title. (Photo Credit www.photoboat.com)
R80 came back to win the J 80 North American title. (Photo Credit www.photoboat.com)

During last week’s 25th Block Island Race week the J/80 class contested their North American Championship.  More than half of the competitors were Annapolis based with many of the crews having J World Annapolis affiliations.  J World Annapolis co-director Kristen Berry, J World Annapolis coach Aaron Galvin were racing.  Aaron bested Berry’s team by helping long time J World Annapolis clients onboard Courageous place third overall.

Two races on the final day made the difference for skipper Will Crump and his team aboard R80, which launched a comeback to topple the previous leader USA 1162, skippered by John White (Annapolis, Md.). “There were five points between us, and we were excited about the conditions but anxious about the fog,” said Crump, a 1999 J 80 North American champion (as crew)whose crew was comprised of wife Marie, her brother Thomas Klok and new crew member Chris Larson (all from Annapolis). “We’re more experienced in the high breeze, so we knew it was possible to win.  We did a little match racing with our competition to get him driven back in the fleet in the first start. For the second start, we didn’t have such a command, but we got out and away early.”

Crump, a former JWorld Annapolis head coach (1993-1998) has been racing sailboats for more than 40 years, and has owned and raced his J/80 for the last three seasons.  Performing well at major championships is not new to Crump, past successes include winning the 1999 J/80 NA’s as tactician with Roger Kagan another fellow J/World coach, 2000 J/22 East Coast Champion as tactician with Annapolis sailmaker Scott Nixon, 1994 J/29 NA Championship as tactician and 1999 & 2003 J/22 Mid-Atlantic Champion as driver/skipper.

Will took a few minutes to chat with us about his success.  Here is what he had to say:

JWA:  Congratulations on a great win at the J/80 North American Championship held during the 25th Block Island Race Week.  You had an impressively consistent week of racing, what do you think were the keys to your success last week?

We have had a long-standing focus on boatspeed and boathandling which we have seen improve dramatically in the last 24 months, but only recently as we started to establish more consistent participation from a tactician did we see the whole picture start to round out on the score sheet. You can look at boatspeed as your ‘offense’ and your boathandling as ‘defense’ while the tactics play out as having the right coaching. We put the whole package together for this event. Another team I would look to with that analogy would be Courageous where Aaron seems to have put together the right performance as a coach.

 JWA:  Racing on R80 is a “family affair.”  How important to your team’s racing success is that crew dynamic?  Does racing with friends and family make racing better or more challenging?

I’m a big believer in family racing. It’s how I grew up, and it is how most people are introduced to the sport. Our family relationship is more intense than most because my wife Marie and brother-in-law Thomas also work with me. I would attribute our family success in work to our ability to sail together. The dynamics are different for sure. Tony Rey gave us some of the best advice ever by saying families have this great non-verbal chemistry that can work, but it unravels fast if they can’t commit to ‘telling the truth’ about performance and errors. That means we have had to work hard at taking awkward discussions of performance and moving on with determination and not layering baggage on top of the communication process. In the end, it is rewarding winning any event with your best friends.

JWA: As a fellow competitor, I was really impressed with your ability to keep the boat moving quickly in the lumpy conditions.  I think our Thursday Night Racing clients would be very interested in hearing about how you set up the boat to keep going fast in the conditions that we experienced?

 We have evolved through a number of different rig configurations in the last 3 years, and I think we are finally landing on the right dynamics now in going full circle. That rig set-up is seriously important to generating the right feel in a boat that is notoriously neutral, but I would say that I do tend to perform better in lump than most drivers across many boats and here are the 3 reasons.

1)     When I first came to Annapolis in 1993 with my J/24 as a total unknown, I couldn’t find anyone to sail and practice with me and I recruited J/World students for the Thursday night series the first year. To practice, I would sail by myself single-handing the boat and practicing the lessons I taught at J/World by tying off the tiller and steering by sail-trim…..not easy on the J/24 or the lumpy Annapolis seabreeze. Focus on how to set the boat up for a balance that works in the conditions.

2)     I work hard to stay physically fit because I saw the serious rewards in the J/22 and J/24 when the breeze came on and required serious vang-sheeting. I could clearly see the difference up the first beat as others would start to get lazy in the adjustments of the main to shift gears on waves and puffs. Never stop the gear-shifting….. I go to Annapolis Sailing Fitness with Harry Legum to keep me focused on the right strength to deal with the fitness necessary.

3)     You have to listen to the boat and respond. If the boat isn’t saying anything to you through the feel in the tiller or under your butt, than get help to learn that feel.

 JWA: Your team has a lot of experience racing.  Given that there are a variety of leadership and communications styles on race boats I am curious how you would describe the “work flow” onboard?  How are speed decisions, strategic decisions and tactical decisions made on the race course?

 Good question. As a family we have been trapped the last year in several events. I personally have most experience in fleet racing while Thomas and Marie are match racers by background, and that has left us in a ‘committee decision’ mode with me tied up on the helm where you can’t see everything. IN certain circumstances that has worked ok and it is how we won the 2011 NOOD event with a lot of talent in the fleet, but that was in our backyard and we just stayed out of trouble. The more intense the competitive scenario the more authoritarian the leadership dynamic gets with communication directed out of the tactician role. In our team, Marie has a spectacular eye for the wind and my ear is tuned to hear her voice for that input, and Thomas is talking about the boats over my shoulder in terms of speed, point and general fleet activity while I handle the activity under the boom.

JWA:  The old axiom reads that the race is often won before the start.  How long have you been preparing for this specific event, what sort of pre-event preparations do you think were important.

We consider ourselves eternal students in the sport, and this event is the beginning of a preparation cycle in many ways, but our actual preparation started over the winter as we were evaluating rig, sails, team and the right practice regimen moving into the event.

 JWA:  In an act of gratuitous self promotion, I have to ask…  How did you time working with J World Annapolis contribute to your success at the 2013 J/80 North American Championship?

J/World afforded me the opportunity to learn from some really great sailors back in the early 90’s most importantly the tireless J/World Annapolis owner Jahn Tihansky whose work ethic I still see as second to none, but it also offered me the opportunity to constantly reinforce my knowledge across a wide variety of activities along with refining my personal communication style that has become critical in my teambuilding in business and prior success as a tactician.

 JWA: What does the future hold for R/80?  Will we continue you to see you on Thursday Night’s?  Will you be making a run at repeating your title next year in Annapolis?  Can we expect to see you on the line for the J/80 World Championships in 2014?

 I think you will see us ramping up our participation in Annapolis events and continuing to see if we can encourage others to enjoy the J/80 class. The boat is an incredible sailing machine that is perfectly suited to the Annapolis conditions.

 

Handheld VHF Radio Safety Features

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Sailing World Magazine has recently partnered with the US Coast Guard to present some very important boating safety guidelines.  Below is a repost of one of their recent articles.  You can learn more, check out some great videos and take a boating safety quiz at http://www.sailingworld.com/boatingsafety/

The handheld VHF radio may seem outmoded in an age of ubiquitous cell phones, but the capabilities and safety features of VHF stand apart. Unlimited by shorebound transmitters, VHF provides an enlarged safety net and allows immediate communication with other nearby vessels. You don’t have to know their phone numbers to call for assistance, and the Coast Guard is a button push away. That’s a pretty solid case for the VHF, but roll in some of the added features that manufacturers pack into these little radios, and the benefit to anglers becomes apparent.
Safety Link
Standard Horizon’s Jason Kennedy says the company’s HX400 ($199) is a useful VHF for anglers. “This radio has a built-in voice scrambler — it sounds like Charlie Brown’s schoolteacher talking,” he says. Other anglers will have to have a similar radio to unscramble the message, but your message and information will definitely remain private. Just like fishermen like it. It also has a boost in battery reserve. The improved lithium-ion battery has double the life of a standard conventional battery.

Add DSC
Navico ’s flagship handheld, available as the Lowrance LHR80 ($199) or the Simrad HH33 ($249), incorporates GPS to allow it to work in Digital Selective Calling mode. DSC allows for semiprivate hailing and communication, and also position polling and sharing, says Navico product expert Jeremiah Clark. DSC is a handy feature, but it requires acquiring an MMSI number — essentially a phone number — for the VHF radios you want to communicate with. The integrated GPS also serves as a backup, says Clark. With the radio in the charging cradle, the NMEA 0183 output on the cradle allows lat/long information to output to a chart plotter or any other instrument that accepts NMEA 0183 data.

Cell Link
Cobra put a couple of distinctive features in the MRHH 475 ($179), says marketing manager Christopher Kooistra, and both are particularly useful on open boats. The Say Again feature allows the last 20 seconds of a transmission to be replayed. The other feature is the Bluetooth link that patches your cell phone through the VHF.

“You pair the cell phone with the Bluetooth headset,” says Kooistra, “and when you get a call, the radio rings. You press Bluetooth and take the call over the VHF. This allows the cell phone to remain tucked away where it’s safe and dry.” Additionally, says Kooistra, “The noise-canceling function of the VHF reduces the problem of wind noise, and the quality of the call far surpasses anything the cell phone is capable of.”

To call out, you can dial from the cell phone and transfer the call to Bluetooth; you can remotely dial the last call received; or, with a cell phone that allows voice dialing, you can initiate a call by speaking a name through the Bluetooth.

Room to Move
Icom is targeting the small-boat market with its newest radio, the IC-M24 ($179), the smallest floating handheld on the market, says David McLain, national sales manager. It features a flasher that automatically deploys if the unit falls in the water, making it a great emergency tool as well. Even when the radio is off, if there is any juice in the battery, the
LED flasher kicks on in the water to help you find it in the dark.

The IC-M24 has a newly designed single-cell battery with enough capacity for 10 hours of standby power. And since a strong reserve and high capacity are prerequisites for coupling GPS to VHF, Icom is well positioned to continue improving the features and functionality in its handheld VHFs.

Get with DSC
Digital Selective Calling relies on a radio-specific “telephone number” called a Marine Mobile Service Identity. It’s free online from BoatUS (boatus.com) or Sea Tow (seatow.com). Armed with an MMSI number, your unit will broadcast your identity and location, along with any SOS that’s sent, when the distress button is activated.

You can also share your position on a chart plotter with friends with whom you have swapped MMSI numbers, allowing tracking — called position polling — and spoken communication in relative secrecy via the same DSC function.

* * * * *

The U.S. Coast Guard is asking all boat owners and operators to help reduce fatalities, injuries, property damage, and associated healthcare costs related to recreational boating accidents by taking personal responsibility for their own safety and the safety of their passengers. Essential steps include: wearing a life jacket at all times and requiring passengers to do the same; never boating under the influence (BUI); successfully completing a boating safety course; and getting a Vessel Safety Check (VSC) annually from local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, United States Power Squadrons(r), or your state boating agency’s Vessel Examiners. The U.S. Coast Guard reminds all boaters to “Boat Responsibly!” For more tips on boating safety, visit www.uscgboating.org.

Team Fireball – Powered By J World Annapolis – Wins Annapolis To Newport PHRF 1 Division

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By BILL WAGNER bwagner@capgaznews.com

That Fireball was listed as a first-time entry in the Annapolis-to-Newport Race was a bit of a misnomer.

Many members of the crew had competed in the biennial event before with skipper Kristen Berry and tactician Mike Coe having four Annapolis-to-Newport Races under their belt. Berry, Coe and almost everyone else on Team Fireball is involved with the sailing industry around Annapolis.

That collective experience explains why the rookie entry performed so well in the 2013 Annapolis-to-Newport Race, which began last Friday and officially finished on Tuesday when the Hunter 340 Brigadoon was last boat to cross the line off Castle Hill Lighthouse.

“We had a very strong team, a lot of outstanding sailors with plenty of offshore experience,” said Berry, co-director of J/World Annapolis.

Team Fireball had a lot to celebrate upon arrival in Newport as the J/111 took first place on corrected time in the highly-competitive PHRF 1 class. Coe and navigator Eddie Frederick chose to take Fireballapproximately 20 miles east of the rhumb line and that strategy worked out.

“We made a somewhat risky decision to go offshore, but doing so set us up well. We were able to sail under Code Zero pointed toward Newport for about 35 hours,” Berry said.

Berry was referring to the huge asymmetrical spinnaker that provides the most speed in downwind or reaching conditions. Except during periods of extreme light air,Fireball carried that sail shortly after rounding Chesapeake Light until about 15 miles before Block Island. Unfortunately, the remainder of the race was not as comfortable.

“Just as we thought we were home free the wind turned around and we were close-hulled for the last six hours into Newport, beating in the rain and dark,” Berry said.

Despite enduring the upwind slog for the final jaunt from Block Island to Castle Hill Light, Fireball managed to beat the other five finishers in PHRF 1 with a corrected time of three days, two hours and 25 minutes. Saykadoo, a J/120 skippered by Steve McManus of Severna Park, was a very close second — almost 24 minutes behind when time allowances were factored.

“This is a huge accomplishment and we are all very happy. I don’t think it’s quite set in just yet,” said Berry, speaking by cell phone a few hours after Fireball finished. “This was a group of good friends doing a classic race. We had a great boat that is perfect for a sprint distance race like this. Everything just came together real well.”

Coe, the tactician, is a professional with the North Sails-Chesapeake loft. One of the trimmers was Jeff Jordan, is the other co-director of J/World Annapolis. Rounding out the crew were Grady Byus (North Point Yacht Sales), Greg Lines (J/World) and Andrew Boren (J/World).

“This race gave us a little bit of everything. We went through every sail in the inventory,” Berry said. “We blasted out of the Chesapeake Bay and were doing 18 knots at one point with the A2 spinnaker. We were totally becalmed in the Atlantic Ocean for about seven hours. All in all, it was a very interesting and wild passage.”

Irie, a TP52 skippered by Greg Alden of Arnold, was first to finish among PHRF entries — crossing the line at 1:23 p.m. on Monday. Quantum Sail Design professional Scott Nixon called tactics while Dr. Robert Ranzenbach handled navigation aboard Irie. Veteran Annapolis sailors Ian Gordon and Matt Beck served as watch captains.

“This is an awesome boat for offshore racing and we sailed about as well as we could based on the conditions we were dealt,” Nixon said.

Irie was locked in a terrific battle with the other TP52 in the race — the Naval Academy entry Corsair. Those two boats engaged in a jibing duel upon approach to Block Island on Sunday night. Irie went east around Block Island while Corsair chose the inside route. That proved a costly decision as the Navy entry, skippered by Midshipman Andy Beeler, wound up finishing almost two hours behind its TP52 rival.

2013 Annapolis-to-Newport Race Results

(Boat, design, owner, homeport, corrected time)

IRC I (6 boats): 1, Rambler, Custom 90, George David, New York, 3 days, 7 hours, 30 minutes, 33 seconds; 2, Decision, Carkeek 40, Stephen Murray, New Orleans, 3D:15H:29M:38S; 3, Privateer, Cookson 50, Ron O’Hanley, Newport, RI, 3D:20H:41M:36S

IRC II (10 boats): 1, Vamp, J44, Leonard Sitar, Atlantic Highlands, NJ, 3 days, 15 hours, 20 minutes, 29 seconds; 2, Dolphin, J/122, Mdn. Neil McMillan, Naval Academy, Annapolis, 3D:16H:03M:09S; 3, Orion, J/122, Paul Milo, Annapolis, 3D:16H:33M:53S

IRC III (10 boats): 1, Jacqueline V, Hinckley SW 42, Bob Forman, West Islip, NY, 3 days, 14 hours, 49 minutes, 3 seconds; 2, Cygnette, Swan 441, William Mayer, Jamestown, RI, 3D:15H:20M:33S

3, Bandana, Swan 47, Charles Benson, Oxford, MD, 3D:15H:57M:16S

PHRF I (12 boats): 1, Fireball, J/111, Kristen Berry, Annapolis, 3 days, 2 hours, 25 minutes; 2, Saykadoo, J/120, Steve McManus, Severna Park, 3D:2H:48M:52S; 3, Velocity, J/111, Martin Roesch, Annapolis, 3D:3H:41M:20S

PHRF II (10 boats): 1, Flirt, Navy 44, Mdn. Jonathan Driesslein, Naval Academy, Annapolis, 3 days, 2 hours, 46 minutes, 20 seconds; 2, Huck’s Finn, Dehler 36, Jeff Leigh, Annapolis, 3D:3H:18M:19S; 3, Wharf Rat, CS 40, Larry Vazzano, Pasadena, MD, 3D:3H:48M

PHRF III (9 boats): 1, Actaea, Bermuda 40, Michael Cone, Georgetown, MD, 2 days, 19 hours, 33 minutes, 54 seconds; 2, Belle Aurore, Cal 40, Doug Jurrius, Oxford, MD, 3D:00H:51M:53S; 3, Razor’s Edge, Sabre 362, Frank Kendall, Annapolis, 3D:2H:25M:49S

Public Service Announcement: Boating Under the Influence

Coast Guard

Public Service Announcement: Boating Under the Influence

Boating and booze… is that redundant? Asking if a yacht club has a bar … is that even a question? Aren’t we now in ‘Beer Can’ racing season? Yes, it’s hard to escape the connection sailing has with spirits, so consider what follows to be a helpful reminder to be responsible…

* A boat operator is likely to become impaired more quickly than a driver, drink for drink?
* The penalties for Boating Under the Influence (BUI) can include large fines, revocation of operator privileges and serious jail terms?
* The use of alcohol is involved in about a third of all recreational boating fatalities?

While it is not illegal to drink alcohol while boating, it is illegal to operate a boat while under the influence of alcohol or drugs in every state. The U.S. Coast Guard also enforces a federal law that prohibits BUI. This law pertains to ALL boats (from canoes and rowboats to the largest ships) – and includes foreign vessels that operate in U.S. waters, as well as U.S. vessels on the high seas.

The marine environment – motion, vibration, engine noise, sun, wind and spray – accelerates a drinker’s impairment. As a result of these factors, a boat operator with a blood alcohol concentration above .10 percent is estimated to be more than 10 times as likely to die in a boating accident than an operator with zero blood alcohol concentration. Passengers are also at greatly increased risk for injury and death – especially if they are also using alcohol.

The Coast Guard and every state have stringent penalties for violating BUI laws. Penalties can include large fines, suspension or revocation of boat operator privileges, and jail terms. The Coast Guard and the states cooperate fully in enforcement in order to remove impaired boat operators from the waters.

In waters that are overseen solely by the states, the states have the authority to enforce their own BUI statutes. These penalties can include the suspension or revocation of one’s vehicle driver’s license.

Spread the word on the dangers of BUI. Many recreational boaters forget that a boat is a vehicle – and that safe operation is a legal and personal responsibility.

Thursday Night Racing Amendment No. 3

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The race committee posted at 0858 this morning the following amendment to the Thursday Night Racing Sailing Instructions.

 

2013 J WORLD Thursday Night Racing

May 9 – August 29

Hosted by J World Annapolis with support from Eastport Yacht Club

Annapolis, Maryland

SAILING INSTRUCTIONS AMENDMENT #3

 

Sailing instruction 7.2 is deleted and replaced with:

7.2 If the race committee signals a shortened course (displays flag S with two sounds) the finishing line shall be at a rounding mark, between the mark and a flag displaying flag S.

Maryland skipper sails TP52 to record run in Virginia Cruising Cup

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Irie, a TP52 skippered by Greg Alden, smashed the course record for the Virginia Cruising Cup Race – a Chesapeake Bay classic that begins off Annapolis (MD) and finishes off Hampton (VA).

Starting on May 24, Irie covered the 120-nautical mile course in seven hours, two minutes and 32 seconds. That shattered the previous mark of 11 hours and 9 minutes that had been established in 1974 by Running Tide, a Sparkman and Stephens 60-footer owned by Al Van Metre.

“It’s always an honor to do historic things. We were fortunate to get ideal conditions while the boat and crew performed tremendously,” Alden said.

Conditions were ideal for a record run with winds ranging from 20-30 knots out of the northwest with gusts up to 36. Irie, which sailed downwind under asymmetrical spinnaker for most of the race, recorded an average speed of 17-plus knots.

Alden said Irie started with a jib top as headsail then switched to a Fractional A6 asymmetrical and staysail configuration after changing angles near Thomas Point. Irie reached speeds of 25 knots while roaring along under spinnaker for almost five hours before returning to a jib reach near the finish.

“We got the ride of our lives. It was an absolutely epic trip, the most fun I’ve ever had aboard a sailboat,” Alden said. “We were surfing down waves and burying the bow. We were just ripping along the whole way and everybody had a blast.”

Storm Trysail Club-Chesapeake Station started the race at R2 off Annapolis while the Hampton Yacht Club finished the fleet at R22 near the mouth of Hampton Roads. Irie crossed the finish line off Fort Monroe at 5:27 p.m. on Friday evening.

“We got to the dock in time for happy hour, which I never would have imagined,” Alden said.

Quantum Sail Design Group professional Scott Nixon served as tactician for Alden and helped organize the crew. Dr. Robert Razenbach, a renowned Naval architect and aerodynamicist, was aboard as navigator. Boat captain Pete Pendleton and fellow Annapolis professional Mike Beasley doubled as drivers and trimmers. Former North Sails pro Matt Beck also handled both roles while Teddy Haaland (bow), Chris Schasiepen (trimmer), Chris Conway (trimmer), Rob Lancaster (grinder) and Brian Karlisch (mast) completed the crew. Ron Nixon, Scott’s father and a longtime Hampton Yacht Club member, was along for the ride and received a nice welcome in his home port.

This was the 64th edition of the Virginia Cruising Cup Race, which is known as the “Down the Bay” by lower Chesapeake sailors and the “Hampton Race” by upper bay competitors. First held in 1934, the Virginia Cruising Cup Race reached its highest popularity during the 1970s when it annually attracted 130-150 entries.

Run every year from 1934 to 1999 except during the World War II years (1942-45). After a 10-year hiatus from 1999-2008, the venerable race was revived in 2009 and has increased in participation every year since. This year’s event drew 31 boats in five classes.

“An exciting record like that posted by Irie raises the profile of the Virginia Cruising Cup race and shows that top-tier boats are once again competing in this Chesapeake Bay classic,” said regatta chairman Chauncey Wu of the Hampton Yacht Club.

Race website: http://www.hamptonyc.com/downthebay/

Print From Home NOAA Charts

BookletChart-image

NOAA Charts are available for printing at home in booklet form.  http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/staff/BookletChart.html

“The NOAA BookletChart™ is a product that you can print at home for free. BookletCharts are made to help recreational boaters locate themselves on the water.

The BookletChart is reduced in scale and divided into pages for convenience, but otherwise contains all the information of the full-scale nautical chart. Bar scales are also reduced in scale, but are accurate when used to measure distances in a BookletChart. Excerpts from the United States Coast Pilot are included. Most chart notes are consolidated on a single page for easy reference. Emergency information for the charted area is printed on the back cover.

BookletCharts are updated every week with Notices to Mariners.”

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