Category: Navigation
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Recreational boaters often wonder about licensing, training, and what you need to buy or operate a boat. And the terminology over it can be confusing, and the rules and regulations differ by country. For private U.S. boaters in domestic waters operating their own vessels with family and friends on board, […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) It’s been said that the two happiest days in a boat owner’s life are the day they buy a new boat, and the day they sell it. I can’t say I agree that’s always true. True confession time: the last time I sold a boat, I was bawling like a […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) To sail successfully, you need to observe with great care. You need to identify what the wind and the water are telling you and then find a way to execute, to reach whatever goal you’ve set, be that simply making it home or winning a race. Diane Greene Sailors live […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Most beginning boaters have heard the “Red, Right, Returning” rule, which tells you how to pass certain markers to avoid the dangers they’re keeping you off of. It’s a handy rule, and easy to remember, and will serve you well sailing in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and any other […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) It’s hard to believe we’re already past the Fourth of July. It feels like we were just taking off the shrink wrap up in the cooler climes. But don’t despair, even though it may feel like summer is on the wane, there’s plenty of time left for some spectacular weekend […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) If you watch a weather report, on a national level, you’ll often see the meteorologist standing in front of the national map, waving their hands at the various red and blue curves with spikes and lumps on them. They’ll talk about “cold fronts” and “warm fronts,” and show them moving […]
Part I, of iNavX’s Multi-Part Weather Series by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Barometer, n.: An ingenious instrument which indicates what kind of weather we are having. Ambrose Bierce If you just look at a barometer once, it’s pretty much as satirist Ambrose Bierce described. The needle on the front of that old school brass barometer […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) It’s that time of year again, when everyone in the temperate zones is scrambling to get their boats in the water. By April, the most hard core folks are already out there boating in their foulies, but for the rest of us aiming for Memorial Day, it’s commissioning season. And […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Years ago, when I was shopping for my first set of foul weather gear after we got our first boat, I asked my wife if she’d like to go try some on too. “Absolutely not,” she said. “If we need foulies, I don’t want to be out there sailing.” We […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the U.S. and also has some of the nicest cruising and sailing waters on the east coast. It’s big – 200 miles from end to end, and thirty miles wide at its widest. Over 150 rivers and streams feed the Chesapeake watershed, […]
