Soundings is the news and feature publication for recreational boaters. Award-winning coverage of the people, issues, events -- and the fun -- of recreational boating. Check out our generous boats-for-sale section and our gunkholing destinations.
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. — J.K. Rowling What is it that makes a boat perfect? This time last year I was in the midst of surveys and final paperwork, keenly excited about the Cape Dory 28 Flybridge I was about to buy. I had done my homework and was convinced this particular boat was as close to ideal as my budget would allow. And I wasn’t wrong. A shakeout run from Annapolis, Maryland, to Essex, Connecticut, gave me a chance to see what she could do — I was very happy with my handsome little yacht. I got her off the dock a few more times and enjoyed staying aboard for much of the summer, but fall arrived all too soon, as…
Words can’t explain the love and support dogs happily give us [“Salty Dogs,” Underway, June]. MaxPaw (right) is our rescued pride and joy. Most of my clients here in south Louisiana ask for him and want him to attend meetings and events. I can’t agree more with the statement of Will Rogers. I will follow Max wherever he goes. Having grown up on the North Carolina coast and Pamlico Sound in the 1980s and spending the past 19 years on the Gulf Coast, it’s been great to connect with the boating community through Soundings. David Mauney New Iberia, Louisiana I do not care for dogs. However, after reading Mary South’s Underway, I am smiling. I like the way she turns a yarn. She has a talent to turn this grumpy,…
BAD BEACHING When a 27-foot sailboat lost its rudder off California’s Santa Cruz Island in May, the solo sailor made a soft landing on a sandy beach. Trouble is, the island is part of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. This prompted a response from the Coast Guard and environmental agencies to ensure there was no pollution. The sailor was rescued, and the boat was towed away without incident. The latest yacht from Paul Mann Custom Boats launched this spring. The 60-foot Caught Up is a 41.5-knot, twostateroom, two-head, cold-molded Carolina sportfisherman built for a Florida couple with plans to “travel great distances and fish often,” says company owner Paul Mann. Powered by twin 1,550-hp MAN diesels, the convertible fishboat includes a walk-in pantry and laundry/storage area, as well as…
Test your knowledge with these Coast Guard license exam prep questions from the National Captain’s Institute captains.com 1. INTERNATIONAL RULES: When two power-driven vessels are passing clear of each other, starboard to starboard, each shall: A. proceed B. sound 2 short blasts C. give appropriate sound signals D. none of the above 2. INTERNATIONAL RULES: In fog, a vessel constrained by draft sounds: A. 1 prolonged and 2 short blasts B. 2 prolonged blasts C. 5 short blasts D. any of the above 3. INTERNATIONAL RULES: A stand-on vessel in a crossing situation should hold course and speed until: A. the give-way vessel can no longer avert collision by her actions alone B. the stand-on vessel can no longer avert collision by her actions alone C. contact is made with…
Four men who ventured 300 miles off Colombia’s west coast in a 23-foot skiff to fish were set adrift when their boat’s engine failed. When a ship spotted the boat in the central Pacific two months later, only one of the fishermen remained. The crew of the 618-foot bulk carrier Nikkei Verde found 29-year-old Colombian Javier Eduardo Olaya on April 26 in a lightly traveled expanse of the Pacific 2,150 miles southeast of Hilo, Hawaii. “The Pacific is vast and inherently dangerous,” says Lt. Cmdr. John MacKinnon, of the Coast Guard’s 14th District in Honolulu, in a statement. “This mariner had great fortitude and is very fortunate the crew of the Nikkei Verde happened upon him, as the area he was in is not heavily trafficked.” The Coast Guard says…
A team of scientists and investigators have found the voyage data recorder from El Faro, the cargo ship that sank during Hurricane Joaquin last fall with all 33 hands on board. Using undersea robotic vehicles, the team — from the National Transportation Safety Board, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Coast Guard and ship owner Tote Services — found the data recorder in 15,000 feet of water, 41 miles northeast of Acklins and Crooked islands in the Bahamas, the NTSB says in a statement. “Finding an object about the size of a basketball almost three miles under the surface of the sea is a remarkable achievement,” says NTSB chairman Christopher A. Hart. The VDR was still attached to El Faro’s mast, which the ROVs found on the sea floor several hundred meters…
