Tag Archives: Planning

Dodging the Thin Spots

Posted on 27 Apr 2011 | Leave a comment

The US Army Corps of Engineers constantly surveys channels and inlets and after validating data, may publish depth surveys and waypoints long before they reach the NOS for chart inclusion and distribution. If you have a laptop and a charting program that allows you to load images and calibrate them as “charts” you can take advantage of this early data. Continue reading →

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A Changing Value Proposition

Posted on 24 Apr 2011 | Leave a comment

From 1977 to 1981 I did quite a bit of freelance writing for boating pubs, Cruising World, Sea, Seaworthy, to name a few. One of the articles I wrote was a value analysis of the US Coast Pilot (Region 5, as I recall). I did so after a letter to an editor decrying the horrendous price increase of 50 cents. When complete, the analysis showed the content had more than doubled since 1949 while the inflation adjusted price had increased only 50 percent.

Lately, we have been doing such an analysis on each pub we subscribe to as renewal dates arrive. We’d like to keep the mail forwarding service workload (and storage) requirements within reasonable bounds. What follows is such an analysis on a pub we’ve decided not to renew Continue reading →

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Emergencies and Crises — US & UK Citizen Support

Posted on 12 Apr 2011 | Leave a comment

With a number of the world’s littoral countries in everything from disarray to open warfare, it is useful for US & UK cruisers to know what the Department of State and Foreign & Commonwealth Office can and can’t do — before the fact.

“Emergencies and Crises” (US DOS)

“When things go wrong” (UK F&CO)

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An Interesting Parallel

Posted on 7 Apr 2011 | Leave a comment

Yesterday we pointed out the US MARAD’s interest in using “Marine Highways” to compensate for clogged mainland arteries. Today, the Seine-Nord Europe canal in France is being announced for the same purpose. This could be quite interesting if non-commercial traffic is allowed (as planned).

Announcement Translation (via Google): Continue reading →

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Roller-skating in a Buffalo Herd*

Posted on 6 Apr 2011 | Leave a comment

Given the relative size difference between cruising boats and merchant vessels, any help we can get understanding their operations helps.

Some of that can come from current affairs sources such as gCaptain and the US Coast Guard NavCen. And while “stay far away from the big guys” is generally Strategy One, tactically it can be difficult to employ if a major port or control zone or traffic lane are on the chart one is using.

I suggest it would be worth a bit of one’s time to jump over to the US Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) site and see what’s in the works.  Perhaps most importantly, the efforts to increase the use of merchant shipping to take the pressure off clogged near coastal highway systems. Especially interesting is Secretary LaHood’s newest report on Coasts and Waterways usage, America’s Marine Highway.

AIS looks even more attractive…

*with a nod to Roger Miller, 1936-1992

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Posted in 2011

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