Gone are the days when the bays and inshore ocean were free and uncrowded and, if you ran into a boat issue, you could hail a passerby for a friendly tow or hail the Coast Guard on your marine radio to pull you off a…
Posts tagged as “Capt. Eddy Smith (retired)”
If you are boating anywhere in the United States, you have encountered a bridge or two in your nautical career. It’s your “Approach” to them that makes all the difference when it comes to you, your vessel and your passenger’s safety. Just to clarify, each…
We love our country. We all do! You may love certain politicians.That’s your right. You are proud to project that we are Italian, Irish, Israeli, British, etc.? It’s great we live in a country where we can display how we feel as long as it…
So, you’re a new captain who just bought a new boat, did you? Or you’ve been boating for years and five guys at the local pub talked you into taking them fishing. Well, first let us fully understand the quandary here. It’s as simple as…
Did you ever see those old sailing adventure flicks where the British ship commander or the ranting Pirate captain gets the crew onboard to kneel and scrub the decks with fresh seawater and a ballast stone wrapped in a rag! They even had that scene…
Of late there have been a plethora of video postings on social media showing pleasure boats running various inlets in Florida and other states while confronting serious seas. Some of these postings are accompanied by infantile laughter and commentary. It seems as if those filming…
Bumpers, fenders, squishy protector thingies – Call ‘em whatever you want. The name makes no difference as long as everyone on your boat knows what you’re talking about when you suddenly need one. “Hey Jimmy! Hand me one of those white soft things with the…
You are going to get boarded. It’s not a question of “if” but “when”. If you have a boat and use it, it’s inevitable. Be educated concerning the multiple government enforcement agencies that have the right to ask to board your vessel. The “asking” part…
Charles Fredric Chapman 1881-1976 was the famous editor of Motor Boating Magazine for over 56 years and was an avid boater himself. In 1916 the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Roosevelt asked Chapman if he would create a manual for small boat handling. That…
It’s been a beautiful spring and now everyone is hankering to get their boats in the water. Shrink is being removed and the boat yards are full of mechanics and support workers scurrying about trying to keep impatient bosses at bay while the boss has…