Memorial day weekend will is the first big boating weekend of the season. I’m going to be helping the new owners of this 1991, 55′ Californian Cockpit Motoryacht take their boat through the locks in Seattle to a yacht club outing in Port Ludlow, WA. We’re meeting tomorrow for an orientation.
While underway on Wednesday, both chart plotters in use puked twice. The I found the following:
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) issued a Marine Information Note advising the maritime community that availability of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs) may be adversely affected during the current increase in sunspot activity. The predicted peak in such activity is occurring now, but may last through 2015.
Yachting is reporting:
And the Hits Just Keep on Coming
More than a million Navionics marine apps have been downloaded from the Apple store.
Navionics reports that more than a million copies of its apps for boaters and outdoor enthusiasts have been downloaded from the Apple store.
The Navionics apps include features for planning and real-time routing, access to community data and updates, geo-referenced articles, social media links, weather, optional overlays, and more.
The complete Yachting post is here.
(Ed. note: now if Navionics would just add a decent night screen, they would have a run away number one on their hands)
US News is reporting:
WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board voted to recommend to states that they lower the blood-alcohol content that constitutes drunken driving.
Currently, all 50 states have set a BAC level of .08, reflecting the percentage of alcohol, by volume, in the blood. If a driver is found to have a BAC level of .08 or above, he or she is subject to arrest and prosecution.
The NTSB recommends dropping that to a BAC level of .05.
The complete US News post by Tom Costello is here.
(Commercial operation of vessels has traditionally been 1/2 of the driving limit)
I know our experts will weigh in.
(Thanks to John Chessell for the link.)
SanJuanJournal is reporting:
Essay contest: get on the Scenic Byway bus — for free
Is there value in having a bus running daily on San Juan Island in the summertime? If so, where would you go and what would you do?
The answers to those questions could win you a free pass onboard the Scenic Byway Explorer Bus this summer.
Winners of San Juan Island Scenic Byway Partnership’s essay contest will each receive a free summer pass onboard the Explorer Bus, which will run daily, beginning May 17, through Sept. 15. Free passes will be given to the best four essayists, as determined by members of the Partnership.
Contestants can enter by submitting an essay of no more than 250 words to the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce, at, sjiscenicbyway@gmail.com. Contest deadline is June 3.
The complete SanJuanJournal post is here.
OpenCPN is released under the GPLV2 license. The executable program and its source code are available for immediate, free, and unlimited download from sourceforge.net.
Updates:
As a successor to OpenCPN Version 3.0, OpenCPN Version 3.2 contains a many new features and enhanced functions. Among them are:
- Complete update of user Options dialogs and context menus, incorporating modern graphics and uniform styles.
- Significantly enhanced navigation instrument input and output options, including extensive network connection capabilities supporting TCP, UDP, and GPSD data sources.
- New User Interface theme support, with OpenCPN traditional as well as two new low profile themes.
- Enhanced clipboard support, including interfaces to external KML data sources.
- Enhanced Tide and Current dataset support, including modern fully binary datasets.
- Various improvements in the display and tracking of AIS data targets.
- Automatic Great Circle route generation options.
- Significant enhancement of the Dashboard PlugIn, including new user interface options and a variety of stylish, new instruments.
- Improved sound system support for linux hosts.
- Major update to embedded Users Manual.
- Measurably improved performance and reliability over all supported platforms.
Platforms
* Windows XP, Vista and 7
* Linux, BSD, Solaris
* Macintosh OSX
Thanks to Capt. Pat Hoyland-Smith for the image via facebook.
Here’s the 40′ 1968 Monk. We’re tied up to the pier at the Hoquiam Shipyard, REALLY
Sometimes the risk isn’t worth the reward. I’m headed home.
After looking at the boat and it’s ability to make a 850 nm off shore passage I’ve decided I’m not the one to make this journey.
I feel for the owner, as he’s been trying to get this boat south for six months. He’s planning on living aboard and taking it our occasionally.
A few of the issues were: battery charging, leaking genset exhaust, questionable planks, and all those windows.
I only charged him for my out of pocket expenses.
