Phonetic Alphabet

We have all heard elements of the phonetic alphabet. It serves a very practical purpose when the air waves are full of static. Here is a copy along with the morse code for each letter.







As always, all 100+ port reviews are free to access, download or print.

Update: VHF Radio Communications

VHF radio communications are vital for safety at sea.

Here is a new section on Communications: http://www.great-lakes-sailing.com/marine_vhf_radio.html



As always, all 100+ port reviews are free to access, download or print.

Free Resources

Every sailor has a collection of notes, scribbled calculations, post-it notes on charts, etc. I am no different but what I have done is begin to organize them so that they can be printed out and filed or posted. These include:

• Distance / Speed / Time Calculators
• Distance to Horizon Calculations
• Beaufort Wind Scale

You can find these at http://www.great-lakes-sailing.com/resources.html

Over time, more will be added.


All 100+ port reviews are free to access, download or print.

Ports Update: Titletown USA (which we all know as Green Bay, WI)

Green Bay WI is intensely proud of its community-owned Green Bay Packers, the winningest football franchise in the United States. Green Bay is a lovely port to visit and the trip up Green Bay would certainly be a highlight of a sailing cruise.

Here is a detailed port review on Green Bay WI: http://www.great-lakes-sailing.com/green_bay_wi.html

All 100+ port reviews are free to access, download or print.

BEAUFORT SCALE

The Beaufort Scale was developed Francis Beaufort in 1805 as a scientific means to measure wind speed compared to conditions observed at sea.

To learn more about weather, the great 'engine' of the world, go to http://www.great-lakes-sailing.com/weather_facts.html

 

Ports Update: Conneaut OH - A lovely harbor town and the finest steelhead trout stream in the US

Conneaut OH is a pleasant harbor town to visit. And, if you are a fisherman, it is renowned for the finest steelhead trout fishing in the USA. Walleye (pickerel) and perch are high on the list too! Nice beaches and Lake Erie waters are warm. 

Here is a detailed port review on Conneaut OH: http://www.great-lakes-sailing.com/conneaut_oh.html
 

All 100+ port reviews are free to access, download or print.

Rolls Royce to use hybrid sailboats to cut shipping costs

By Sustainable Business News

Published July 15, 2013

Email | Print | Single Page View

Tags: Innovation, Shipping & Logistics

The hybrid car might be the latest thing in road transport, but hybrid ships, combining sail and steam, were plying the oceans in the 19th century and they're set for a comeback.

Rolls Royce, better known for luxury cars and its aero engines, is developing a ship that uses sails to help offset soaring fuel costs.

It is helping to develop a ship featuring a 180-foot sail, backed up by bio-methane engines, which can carry 4,500 tons.

"We're at the dawn of a transition," Oskar Levander, vice president for innovation at Rolls's marine unit, tells Bloomberg. He predicts a switch from high-polluting bunker fuels to alternatives such as dimethyl ether and liquid natural gas, as well as "high-tech wind."

Rolls Royce is working with B9 Shipping, a Northern Ireland-based firm, on the hybrid, which will be 330 feet long and primarily powered by a Dyna-rig automated sail system.

The company says all of the technologies used are already proven and readily available, gizmag reports. The Dyna-rig sail system originally was conceived in the 1960s by German hydraulics engineer Wilhelm Prolls and was first used by Italian shipbuilder Perini Navi in its 289-foot clipper, The Maltese Falcon, which made its maiden voyage in 2006.  
An example of a Dyna-rig system from B9 Energy Group. 
The free-standing and free-rotating system has no rigging and comprises numerous relatively small sails that are operated electronically from the bridge. This allows them to be trimmed quickly to maximize wind power and turned out of the wind in the event of sudden squalls.

Rolls Royce will provide a back-up power plant based on its Bergen model, which can burn methane produced from municipal waste by another unit of B9 Energy Group. The sail and engine also could be used together for optimal efficiency.

While the hybrid design increases capital costs, B9 says it will pay back in three to five years of a three-decade lifespan.

This article originally appeared at Sustainable Business News.
Rolls Royce image by Steve Mann / Shutterstock.com

Ports Update: Lexington Michigan and Gordon Lightfoot

In November 1913, the harbour of Lexington MI was destroyed by the "Great Blow", the most severe storm to ever pummel the Great Lakes.

This weather system occurs every year on the Great Lakes. It was made famous by Gordon Lightfoot's reference to the "witch of november" in his great song Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald. It is the convergence, over warm lake water, of cold arctic air from the north and warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico.

Here is a detailed port review on Lexington, Michigan: http://www.great-lakes-sailing.com/lexington_mi.html

All 100+ ports reviews are free to access, download or print.

Port Update: Grand Bend Ontario

From the roar of surf to the roar of race cars, this summertime mecca has something for every visiting sailor.

A great place to visit is Purdy's Fish Market. For over 100 years, this family has run a successful commercial fishing business on Lake Huron. Their retail store is a perfect place to find excellent fillets and some great ideas on how to cook them. Look under our RECIPES section for some good tips, courtesy of Purdy's.

Here is a detailed port review on Grand Bend Ontario: http://www.great-lakes-sailing.com/grand_bend_ontario.html

All 100+ ports reviews are free to access, download or print.

Ports Update

Clinton River, MI - BOAT TOWN USA

On the west side of Lake St Clair, lies the river mouth of the Clinton River and, just upstream, the town of Mt. Clemens, MI. This area is known as BOAT TOWN USA and the the name is justified. With dozens of marinas, marine businesses, restaurants and bars, charter operations and some 2,000 slips, this is one of the largest recreational marine concentrations in the United States.

Check out this boat mecca haven at  http://www.great-lakes-sailing.com/clinton_river.html
  
All 100+ ports reviews are free to access, download or print. 

Ports Update

TWO NEW GREAT LAKES PORTS REVIEWS 
on www.great-lakes-sailing.com.

The first is on Humber Bay on Lake Ontario: http://www.great-lakes-sailing.com/humber_bay.html

The second is on Etobicoke/Long Branch, also on Lake Ontario: http://www.great-lakes-sailing.com/etobicoke_ontario.html

This completes the listing of ports, marinas, yacht clubs and various services across the Toronto waterfront. Like all the other 100+ ports reviews, free to access, download or print.

Hypothermia - A Silent Killer

Most people have a low appreciation for just how debilitating cold water can be.

The United States Coast Guard has this guideline, called the 50/50/50 Rule. "If you spend more than 50 minutes in 50oF water, you have only a 50% chance of surviving".

The Canadian Coast Guard, based on their studies, have what they refer to as the 1-10-1 Rule. You have 1 minute to get your breathing under control (a gasp will cause you to inhale 1 liter of water!), 10 minutes of useable fine motor control (think fingers to operate a flashlight or flare) and 1 hour before hypothermia sets in.

Water will wick heat away from your body 25 times faster than air, so, if possible, pull yourself up onto an overturned hull or dinghy. Avoid exerting yourself or worse - believing you can swim to that seemingly close shoreline. Float quietly or, if with others, form a huddle to preserve body heat. Have a water-activated strobe light on your lifejacket.

Inflatable pdf's are comfortable but a full-body pdf will provides additional insulation in the water, slowing the loss of body heat.

There are pockets on good lifejackets so why not use them. Carry a watchcap to minimize heat loss from your head and 1 or 2 pocket flares.

Fifty minutes goes by really fast.