From the Captain of the Port

As we (probably) all make New Year’s resolutions to go on a diet, we keep getting reminded that we are getting heavier as we get older. No matter where we turn, someone is telling us that we are getting fat and need to be thinner! Guess what? So are our boats! Yes, as boats get older, they get heavier and that has a lot to do about being less “sea-kindly” and more “tender” as they get older…

So, after a couple of seasons with my new 4-stroke 3.5hp engine (had to drop down to 3.5hp or face putting 80 pounds on the transom where formerly 40 pounds of 5hp had ridden), the engine just wasn’t as friendly to an all-outdoor environment as the old 2-stroke was. Happily, my mechanic was able to address – and explain – what the changes from 2-stroke to 4-stroke means. This column is about that. The Old 2-Stroke engine…

By Vincent Pica Commodore, First District, Southern Region (D1SR) United States Coast Guard Auxiliary When people write about keeping our waterways clean, the focus is largely on the things we drop in the water. So, what about the things we bring out there, like our copper-oxide bottom paint? This column is about that.   Painting with Poison Yes, if you really think about it, we paint the bottoms of our boats with poison. Intentionally. We’re trying to…

By Vincent Pica Commodore, First District, Southern Region (D1SR) United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Let’s finish up on the Lights and Shapes section of the Rules and be armed with the knowledge of what the merchant sea captain is saying to us… What Does Rule 28 Say? Rule 28 is about the Shapes and Lights that a vessel “constrained by her draft” uses to proclaim that she is drawing pretty much all the water there is –…

A couple of weeks ago, I laid out the groundwork for this next set of Rules, which are considerably more “intense” in their application of these so-called “Lights and Shapes.” Why? Because they have to do primarily with commerce over the open seas where the lifeblood of the U.S. and the world economies still flow. Despite our high-tech economy and reliance on the airline industry for transport, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reports that 90%…

By Vincent Pica Commodore, First District, Southern Region (D1SR) United States Coast Guard Auxiliary You may remember that we’ve written about boat handling in foggy conditions. Why is that? Well, if anybody has noticed how thick the fog can be, it bears deep understanding of what to do – and not do – when so enveloped. Within our series on the COLREGs, this column is more scholarly. In short, if there isn’t a Rule for it, it…

By Vincent Pica Commodore, First District, Southern Region (D1SR) United States Coast Guard Auxiliary We’re going to build on the last column with more detail on Rules 13, 14 and 15. Let’s start with Overtaking, where even a sailboat is the give-way vessel to a powered vessel.   Overview There are only three conditions of vessels meeting on the waters – head-on, crossing or overtaking situations. The Rules govern how the skippers are to interact with each…

It has been over 14 years since we approached the “COLREGs” in a systematic way, from stem to stern. This column (re)starts that. Every boater has (hopefully) heard of the rule of “red, right, return,” meaning to keep the red buoys on your right when returning from sea. What many don’t realize is that this old chestnut is one of many that represent the embedded knowledge of centuries of seafaring know formally as the “International Regulations for…

By Vincent Pica Commodore, First District, Southern Region (D1SR) United States Coast Guard Auxiliary All of us are familiar with registering our vessels with the State Department of Motor Vehicles. Like a car, DMV wants to know her horse-power, 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…

By Vincent Pica Commodore, First District, Southern Region (D1SR) United States Coast Guard Auxiliary In the days that followed September 11, 2001, those words kept running through my head. What could I do that would be more concrete than writing a check to the Red Cross? While many Americans turned to volunteerism in order to put their hearts, hands and minds to work, I was faced with two realities – at nearly 48, I wasn’t exactly what…