To the editorCongratulations on publishing your recent Power Voyaging section, and especially Earl Hinz's piece on preventing power voyagers from rolling ("Roll stabilization," Issue No. 93, Nov./Dec. 1998). Unfortunately, the author perpetuates some misconceptions about paravane-type stabilizers introduced by the…
A group of computer hackers recently gained access to the U.S. Government's GPS control unit, causing a stir in military circles and calling into question the proposed government plan to have GPS as the only source of electronic navigation. Although…
Twenty years ago, when only a handful of sailing ships were still plying the waters of the U.S. coasts as floating museums, no one could have anticipated that the sail training industry would someday have a startling renaissance. Only a…
The editors of Ocean Navigator should be embarrassed for publishing the recent article on the ESAE system of direct sight reduction ("Ultimate Celestial?" Issue No. 77). True, the title does contain a question mark, but the text uncritically hawks an…
The 1990s saw the blossoming of satellite TV, first for homeowners and later for mariners, with products like KVH Industries' stabilized antenna TracVision and Sea Tel's MSV 2000 satellite antennas that allow sailors to watch satellite television while at sea.…
Tom and Nancy Zydler have voyaged the world on their engineless yawl Mollymawk since 1975 - reaching Greenland, the Faeroes, Galapagos, Caribbean, and the North and South Atlantic. And they stopped in to see the editorial team of Ocean Navigator…
To the editor: A mobility handicap can make many things a challenge, even when staying on land. For a sailor, however, this issue becomes even more difficult. I know this firsthand, as I was involved in a car accident in…
To the editor: For two years I cruised the Caribbean, using both hard-hull and inflatable dinghies. The biggest reason I prefer an inflatable dinghy is not mentioned in the article "Tender choices" by Earl Hinz (Issue 103, January/February 2000): ease…
To the editor: I would like to offer a more seaman-like solution than pasting up paper to screen your handsome new offices from the sun (Chartroom Chatter, Issue 119, Jan.⁄Feb. 2002). I had a similar problem several years ago with…
In the last 110 years that detailed records have been kept, the Caribbean has never experienced a tropical cyclone like Lenny. There have been two other late-season tropical storms that, like Lenny, followed a northeastward path across the Caribbean, one…
To the editor: We sympathize with Brad Kaufman's recent indignant letter ("Voyagers' actions raise sailor's ire," Issue No. 102, November/December 1999) regarding our article about our "near sinking experience" ("Almost sunk," Issue No. 100, September/October 1999). We were frustrated too,…
Thirty sailors from three different watches toiled and scurried about to perform what we in the 21st century boating world call a jibe, a maneuver accomplished in modern-day sailing with a flick on the tiller or turn of the wheel.…
TRASH TRACKING REGULATIONS get tougher. New Coast Guard rules requiring many mariners to keep meticulous records of garbage handling aboard ship are causing headaches for vessel operators around the country. "It's ridiculous to think that every bit of trash has…
All inland waters with weak tidal flow, narrow rivers or landlocked areas can experience wild fluctuations of water levels associated with sudden changes of barometric pressure and prolonged winds from one direction. On the East Coast of the U. S.…
