Untitled Document 
Great Tips for All Boaters
Reading the Weather
When venturing out on any body of water it is wise to always check the weather. But as we all know, the reports are not all that reliable for boaters. And most weather forecasts are for a very broad area and may not be specific to your cause.
So, it is a good idea to look for signs of bad weather coming.
The following are portions of an excerpt from Chapman’s Piloting:
First, identify the cloud form in the sky and note if they are increasing or decreasing in size, and if they are lowering or lifting. Thickening and lowering of a cloud layers is a sign of approaching bad weather.
On the other hand, when clouds show signs of evaporation, when holes or openings appear in the layer, or when altocumulus layers are frayed and indistinct at the edges, that is an indication of improving weather, or at least, a delay in oncoming foul weather.
Note the sequence of cloud forms over the past few hours. Cirrus clouds are usually the advance agents of approaching extra-tropical cyclone, especially if they are followed by a layer of cirrostratus.
Another trick used by pilots: if the wind is coming from the left of your
heading (port tack for sailors), you are heading for inclement weather. If
the wind is coming form the right of your heading (starboard tack for sailors),
you are going toward improved weather.
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Have problems launching your boat at the beach? Wheels digging into the sand? Tired of asking others to help you on the beach or the launching ramp? Or even if not struggling with a boat and you simply want to take the family to the beach, but there is so much stuff you have to lug down there?
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You are Approaching the Leeward Mark
(8th in a Series about Mark Roundings)
There are Five Musts to anticipate when entering the leeward mark rounding. They are:
1) Prepare
2) Remember the Inside Overlap Mark Rounding Rule
3) Watch for the Pinwheel Effect
4) Slow Down to Win
5) Enter Wide, Exit Close.
Last Month we showed you how our Hero could Slow Down to Win and Enter Wide
and Exit Close. So, let’s elaborate a bit more Entering Wide and Exiting Close.
The biggest mistake most folks make is heading right for the mark. This forces a wide exit from the mark. Now, anyone that rounded tight ahead of you is giving you dirty air. And anyone rounding tight behind you is up in clear air and can walk over you.
Take a look at Diagram 1. Boat A heads right for the mark. In doing so, he will not be able to exit the mark closely – boats
simply 
cannot
turn radically sharp enough to make a close exit rounding.
So, Boat A comes
out pretty wide. Boat B, on the other hand, steers for a point about two boat
lengths below the mark and steers the same course as Boat A, except he comes
out very close to the mark.
Boat B has just gained a big tactical advantage:
1) He is up in clean air and not bothered by the backwinding of Boat A
2) He has all options available – stay on course or tack off.
3) Has a good chance of rolling Boat A and giving him bad air.
Boat A could be in trouble because:
1) He no longer has options – he can only stay on the present course since
a tack would foul Boat B by tacking too close
2) Had another boat ahead of
Boat A had a close exit rounding, he would be in dirty air.
3) If item 2 were
the case, Boat B will soon roll over him and give him more bad air.
4) Even
if item 2 were not the case, Boat B may still be able to roll over him.
If you work at mark roundings and really perfect the art, you will almost
always pick up boats, positions and/or distance. Other than starts, this is
the best place on a race course to pass boats
.
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Are you tired of throwing money at your boat, and you still are in mid-fleet
or worse at times? Getting sick of the jib sheet jamming
on every third tack? Upset because every time you tack, you tack onto a header?
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Dear Captain Noah,
I recently decided to learn the French language, as I will be moving there soon and looking forward to sailing one of Phantom foiling boats.
My question is "House" in French, is feminine - "la maison", while "pencil" in French is masculine - "le crayon."
Having said that I pondered, "What gender is a computer?"
No one in my class seemed to know.
Stymied on Sex
Dear SOX,
That is definitely a poser. After receiving
your query, I polled a bunch of my readers to see what they thought. I split
the results by gender to decide whether "Computer" would a masculine or feminine
noun.
Here are the results for the Male Group, who deemed it is feminine, or la
computer, because:
- 1) No one but their creator understands their internal logic
- 2) The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else
- 3) Even te smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later review
- 4) As soon as you make a commitment to one, you constantly find yourself spending more money on accessories for it.
The Women's Group, however concluded the computers should be masculine, le computer, because:
- 1) In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on.
- 2) They have a lot of data but sill can't think for themselves.
- 3) They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time the ARE the problem.
- 4) As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer your could have gotten a better model!!
Capt. Noah
Thought of the Month: On your driver’s license what do bald men put in the box for “Hair Color?”
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Oh, NO! you have a tear in you trampoline!
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