COASTAL NAVIGATION, NARRAGANSETT BAY

This weekend is the annual spring regatta of the New York Yacht Club. Next weekend is the start of the Bermuda Race.

Navigation has changed, like everything around us. Does anyone even reference chart symbols anymore? Almost everything one needs is on a computer screen now. GPS has made old skills, well old. While I still marvel at the past and the history of navigation. GPS tells one instantly the effect of the Gulf Stream, as example. No more dipping for bucket of water over the side and taking the temperature; which might have told one whether or not one  was in the stream. But not until the next sun sight or star fix would one know what the effect of where one was; positive or negative. By then it was too late.

I included the photo of the retractable propeller designed in the 19th century just as a reminder that not so much has changed. Had the materials we have today been available to our predecessors, they would have reveled in the possibilities.

LOCAL NEWS

The Annapolis to Newport race starts on Friday. On saturday, I will spend the day in a swimming pool in my foul weather gear, part of the requirements for the transatlantic race. The NYYC spring regatta takes place on the weekend of June 10-12. Followed quickly by the “J” Class regatta; which should be a spectacle, a feast for the eyes. Plenty of time to pack my sea bag. Summer has finally come to the Northeast. The pace of life has accelerated, after a long difficult winter. The long days of sunlight make us forget so easily the cold and dark.