I have written five texts describing the use of the electronic navigation applications: Navionics (Boating), C-MAP, OpenCPN, Savvy Navvy and SeaIQ. Each text examines hot to perform eight essential navigation tasks. Which one is best suited to your needs? The table below assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each. Criteria...
Note: the author benefited from a licence from the Canadian Hydrographic Service and from SEAiq to write this text. This text is the last of five on electronic navigation applications. It covers the use of the SEAiq – Pilot software. This software enables you to work with S-100 charts, the...
This is the third of five articles on the use of electronic navigation applications. It focuses on the C-MAP application. The other texts cover the use of OpenCPN, Savy Navy, Navionics and SEAiq. It focuses mainly on installations on tablets or cellular devices that are not connected to a sailboat’s...
This text is intended as an introduction to electronic navigational charts (ENCs). It covers how they are designed. This knowledge helps understanding how to use them and their limitations. It is an essential reading before using our introduction to electronic navigation applications. You can also read a similar text on...
This text is the first in a series of five on electronic navigation applications. It shows you how to perform the most important navigation tasks, i.e. how to: This first text covers the Navionics (Boating) application. The other texts cover OpenCPN, Savyy Navy, C-MAP and SEAiq respectively. Prior to reading...
This series of texts describes how to carry out a familiarisation inspection of a sailboat. The first text described how to think about inspecting three of the nine fundamental components of a sailboat: the hull, the engine and the rigging. The second text, this one, illustrates how I familiarised myself...
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!...
Officially entitled ” Captain, with restrictions, of a vessel of less than 60 gross tonnage “, the “Master 60” is a Canadian professional certificate issued under the Canada 2001 Shipping Act. It entitles the holder to engage in commercial sailing activities. It confers all the powers – and responsibilities –...
The techniques for adjusting standing rigging are as old as the history of sailing itself. Some consider it an art, while others prefer to leave it to the professionals. The prevailing view is that improper adjustment will slow the boat down and may even be dangerous. A few tips can...
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...
