Enjoying the last boating days of summer
Ahoy.
Most of you will
be reading this column on your extra day off from work while
enjoying the Labor Day weekend that signals the end of the summer
season. This summer has been great for boating with mild
temperatures, only a few hurricane swells reaching our waters and a
moderate wind blowing in the afternoons for the rag boaters, I mean
sailboat sailors.
Notice the reference sailboat sailors? Keep in mind that using the
reference sailors does not automatically signify someone on a
sailboat being powered only by the wind upon the sails. According to
Webster’s Dictionary a sailor is defined as a person who makes his
living by sailing, member of a ship’s crew, a traveler, a seaman, a
traveler by water, or a stiff straw hat with a low flat crown and a
straight circular brim. The last reference is very curious.
Try not to confuse sailor with sailer -- the “er” changes the
reference to vessels having specified sailing qualities, a very loose
definition. To complicate the matter further, sailing is a term to be
used more generally than I usually hear in the harbors I visit on the
Pacific Coast. Sailing is the technical skill of managing a ship, the
method of determining the course to be followed, riding in a
sailboat, or a departure from a port. So, the next time you head out
to sea begin by telling your shipmates that you are all sailors
sailing on a sailer.
Let me sail back from this nomenclature tangent that steered me
off course and note that this weekend is one of the busiest boating
weekends, along with the Fourth of July. I am very interested in
hearing how you spent your weekend boating this year, and I am asking
you to send me a note with the details of where you went, any special
activities and any mishaps you may have encountered.
We are fortunate to live in a global location that allows boating
to continue basically year-round with only a few winter time
sou-westers causing the need to seek shelter. I have ridden out a few
storms in my past and I have been ripped off mooring cans by
unexpected storm systems that have changed course. Times like that
your anchor watch schedule, even while on a mooring can, pays off and
saves the ship. Normally anchor watch is a boring job where you are
fighting to stay awake while you watch the clock to wake up the next
watch keeper on the schedule. I usually try to enjoy the wee hours of
the morning watch by scheduling myselfwith the best hours or telling
the newbie to take an extra hour on watch since he’s already awake.
I schedule a lot more for the vessel deliveries than I do for the
recreational voyages. When you have a delivery the estimation of time
for the trip legs are important. I am planning for next week’s yacht
delivery to Alameda in the San Francisco Bay. It may take 27 hours of
actual running time from Newport to Alameda with this yacht, but you
also have to calculate in any fuel stops, because if you hit late in
a harbor the fuel dock might be closed forcing you to wait until the
next morning. For a recreational cruise that sounds great -- time to
hit the town, but with a professional delivery, that means extra pay
for the crewmembers and lost hours you could be back home. Lately
more and more cruisers and professional skippers are acquiring my
services to help plan their routes, and who knows what this can lead
into the future when boats are remote controlled by the Internet and
I can be skippering your yacht from the computer in my living room.
Tip of the week is check your vessel to see if you any have any
SOSpenders brand lifejackets onboard that have been recalled by SOS
Corporation. About 7,200 automatic lifejackets that use the Hammar
model MA1 manual/automatic inflators may have been loaded incorrectly
preventing the inflation necessary for floatation.
The Coast Guard mentions that only 5% or less of owners have
registered their vests, however, almost 60% of SOS’s recalled vests
have already been returned. The lifejackets were sold by West Marine
from March 5 through Aug. 13, and the vests are identified by the
yellow Hammar MA1 Manual/Automatic Inflator Cap.
Boaters are advised to stop using the vest immediately. For
additional information, contact SOSpenders customer service
department at (800) 858-5876 or see their website at
www.sospenders.com/recall.html. Safe Voyages.
* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating and harbor columnist.
Send him your harbor and marine-related thoughts and story
suggestions via e-mail to Mike@BoathouseTV.com or BoathouseTV.com.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.