With the revisions of H. Fleming, to whom I owe many thanks. This series of texts describes how to carry out a familiarisation inspection of a sailboat. The first text describes how to inspect three of the nine fundamental components of a sailboat: the hull, the engine and the rigging....
You arrive in the Caribbean and finally reach the marina where you’ve hired a yacht. Once the administrative formalities have been completed, you are taken to the docks and then onto the yacht. The first few minutes are exhilarating! You chat to your friends and dream about the week ahead!...
I came across two videos on the Sailing Zingaro channel that describe relatively well the desirable characteristics of an offshore sailboat. The comments seem well-founded enough for me to say that these are two good reference videos. In particular, the impact of the hull shape on the boat’s maneuverability, the...
Setting the scene A ship leaves New York, USA, bound for Brest, France. Assuming it takes the shortest route, what will be its departure course? If it is sailing at 15 knots, how long will it take to reach Brest? The coordinates of the two ports are known (below). City...
Last season took its toll on one end of a mooring line on Jean-du-Sud. A repair was in order. I took advantage of the repair to make a short video on how to repair it. I show how to tie a backsplice and a crown knot. I’ll show you how...
This short text describes two particular cases of navigation lights that have come to my attention in recent days. Both are in situations of reduced visibility, or at night. I found the examples interesting because they reveal parts of the navigation lights conventions that are less well known. Three red...
Navigation is about getting from point A to point B in a safe and fun manner. 8 fundamental concepts of arithmetic are required to do so. Read them here.
Here are ten techniques to compute tidal windows. Some of them are useful in practice, others are useful for exams. Read the section that suits your needs.
