Training

Tides of navigation

With a little background information, understanding tides will bring fresh confidence and variety to your day on the water.

Tides are an unavoidable irritant of coastal boating anywhere except in The Med, where they are almost non-existent. The problem is that even though tides are a much-used component of passage planning, cruising and launching, most of us do not really understand them. But to use tides effectively, you need to appreciate what is happening. Back to basics . . .

Read more ...

Fear of fog

One of the most frightening things for a novice boater is the appearance of fog in the middle of a sea passage.

There are basically two types of fog of interest to us here. The first is called ‘advection’ fog and the second is called ‘radiation’ fog. In order to understand how they are formed, it is first important to understand what a dew point is all about . . .

Dew point

Air contains water, as illustrated in very everyday fashion by our inclusion of the word ‘humidity’ in our discussions about the weather - but the air can only contain a certain amount before it becomes saturated and the water condenses to form fog. The warmer the air, the more water it can carry and the cooler the air, the less water it can carry. The dew point then is the temperature at which a given body of air reaches saturation. Obviously, the more water the air contains, the higher its dew point will be and the less water the air contains the lower its dew point will be.

Read more ...

Tow talk

If you have a breakdown at sea that you can’t rectify, one way or another you’re going to need a tow.

You’re cruising along enjoying your day when your engine splutters and fails. Upon investigation you discover it’s your nine mil sprocket thingy and you don’t have a spare, or in fact the knowledge to do anything about it if you did. You’ve got no oars and no auxiliary outboard. What do you do?

Well you’re going to need some help, so (subject to stabilising your boat by means of an anchor or a sea anchor and noting your position) you call for a tow, preferably by flagging down a passing boat, but if all else fails by summoning assistance on the radio.

Read more ...

A drop in the ocean

Imagine. You’re in the middle of the ocean, miles from anywhere as your broken boat disappears from view beneath you. You’re alone without a friend in the world. Glad you bought that EPIRB?

Like most electronic equipment EPIRBs are now so compact and affordable that putting to sea without one is tantamount to driving a car without an airbag. Obviously, you hope you never have reason to use it but if you do, chances are it may save your life. Astonishingly though, the proportion of motor and sailing yachts over 35 feet that carry some form of electronic positioning distress beacon is still only five per cent, and despite discussions to put national regulations in place, none have yet resulted.

Read more ...