On August 29, 2011, an American, WW-II USCG hero, largely forgotten by all but US Coast Guard Forces, passed away at 90 years old. This column celebrates him and what we still work for, even to this day. SabotageMost outeaster’s, as well as many other…
Posts tagged as “Vincent Pica”
As of June 1, hurricane season is upon us. Almost without exception, we get the tail, shoulder or rump of one or two of the dozen or so that form up in the Atlantic between the Caribbean and Africa and bring so much destruction and…
I’ve been getting a fair amount of NOAA warnings about low-lying fog. No surprise with the generally mild winter we’ve had (I guess that means we’ll have a blizzard next week!) For those of a more scientific-bent, fog that forms when water is warmer than…
On September 28, 2022, the USCG Office of Investigations & Analysis (CG-INV) released Marine Safety Advisory 01-22 titled, “Maritime Distress Communication Devices,” which is available on their Safety Alert internet site. In it, they detail what devices the USCG is listening to in real time,…
I am oft reminded of this expression and it goes back to Biblical days – when there were fewer people and even fewer boats. If each generation wants to hand over these creeks and bays to their children and grandkids in the condition that we…
We’ve written a lot of about ethanol in marine environments for some important reasons – it is “hydrophilic”.This means it loves water and absorbs it in greater quantities than conventional gasoline [read: not good for engines]). Also, it is a strong solvent – older resin-based…
Not too long ago, a friend of mine fell overboard – while boarding a boat at the dock! Sound crazy? Not really – the “victim” wasn’t wearing proper shoes… he stepped on the gunwales and not into the boat… and the wake of a passing…
When I teach seamanship classes, I eventually get around to the fact that the sea is a dangerous and hostile place – but, if prepared, you can increase your odds dramatically if you view yourself as an astronaut on a far away planet. Help is…
Not too long ago, a friend of mine fell overboard – while boarding a boat at the dock! Sound crazy? Not really – the “victim” wasn’t wearing proper shoes… he stepped on the gunwales and not into the boat… and the wake of a passing…
Before reading the weekly tide tables as gospel, let’s take a moment to review a few essentials. First, don’t mistake precision with accuracy. What??? Just because we can predict the tides to the second as far into the future as you could imagine (after all,…