Later this month, Justin Smith is embarking on a very ambitious journey to raise money for a worthy cause. Justin, age 12, will be sailing his 8-foot Optimist across the Long Island Sound singlehanded, and he is seeking donors to help fund a project to restore the Sound’s ecosystem.

“I really like sailing, and during the summer I primarily sail in the Long Island Sound,” says Justin, who lives in Muttontown, a village in the Town of Oyster Bay, NY. “I thought it would be a great idea to help clean and protect the Long Island Sound – where I go sailing, other people enjoy many activities and an entire ecosystem of fish, animals and plants live – so that it stays nice and clean. The money I raise will be used, in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to support a ‘bioextraction’ project in New York’s Bronx River, whose waters flow into Long Island Sound.”

I was on the phone with my friend Carl the other day. He is a boat broker in Connecticut and we talk often. Generally, after we exhaust all of our stories of last weekend’s antics, our conversations default to work – boat sales and magazines. I often tell Carl about the right kind of buyers and sales approach for his boats and he gives me editorial advice. In our conversation, Carl suggested that I write an article about a recent cruise that I’d been on. ‘Because people like to read about stuff like that,” he offered. “You know, they want to read about the things they like to do.” Of course they do, Carl.

All of us are familiar with registering our vessels with the State Department of Motor Vehicles. Like a car, DMV wants to know her horsepower, fuel type (gas or diesel) and the Hull Identification Number, or HIN#. This is the on-the-water equivalent of a car’s VIN#. You are required to display on each side of the bow the state registration numbers, followed by the expiration sticker itself. But is your boat eligible for documenting with the USCG and, if so, should you? 

When Anne Hannan called me and asked if I would write a monthly column for WindCheck, I thought it would be fun to write about a variety of things going on around Long Island Sound. When my wife heard about it, she said, “Great. They’ve given you a soapbox to stand on.”

I therefore make the promise that I will do my best not to pontificate. I will, however, offer my personal thoughts on a variety of topics — that’s what an editorial column is all about. All of you readers may not agree with my point of view on everything, so I urge you to write in if you have a differing point of view. Discussion, and even disagreement, are a healthy thing for our sport. Look at what Scuttlebutt has created. 

New England Science & Sailing (NESS), a US Sailing-certified community sailing center in Stonington, CT that also teaches marine science and adventure water sports to students from age 4 to adult, is fortunate to have Mistral Dodson and Michael Smith on staff. Mistral and Mike have strong backgrounds in outdoor education and have been with NESS since its inception in 2008. She is the Marine Science and Adventure Sports Program Director and he’s a Marine Science Program Director.

“I grew up on a boat,” says Mistral, a native of Canada. “My dad, Derick Dodson, built a boat the year before I was born. When I was eight, we cruised all the way from Maine to the Caribbean. I lived aboard for two years and was home schooled by my parents. Then we sold our boat and moved to Australia.” 

Nearly every weekend, I make it a point to get out for a sail. By myself or with others, I always enjoy time at the helm of my own boat. It’s comfortable and easy. When I was younger, I used to sail on lots of other people’s boats (from Lightnings to J/35s to big cruisy things) and the experience of learning about new boats and meeting new people was a big part of what I loved about sailing. But, as I got older, I’d met a lot of people and sailed on lots of boats, so my boating schedule became simple – sail on my own boat when I wanted, with whom I wanted…comfortable and easy.

Celestial Navigation 101 – Sailors Always Knew…

Going back centuries, journals of seafarers are peppered with language indicating that they knew the Earth was round. “In the offing” meant, and means today, the waters you can see from where you are to the horizon. “Ahoy, captain, vessel off the starboard bow! Hull down, sir!” might yell the lookout from the crow’s nest aloft. This meant that all he could see from his vantage point were the sails – the ship’s hull was still below the horizon. So, “round has been around” (pun intended) for thousands of years. 

By Margaret Williams

Published by Cornell Maritime Press 160 pages paperback $12.99

Originally published in 1991, The Boater’s Weather Guide by Margaret Williams is now available in a revised and expanded second edition from Cornell Maritime Press, a division of Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. The concise text comprises two parts. Part I, Forces that Shape Our Weather, covers high and low pressure systems, heating and cooling, the planet’s wind system, temperature and humidity, types of clouds, cyclones and anticyclones, air masses, and fronts and storms.