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Around the World of Sailing

25 September  2002

Finish Line

Linky Sailing News

America's Cup teams continue to spar.  Solo sailor Alain Paris files a mid Atlantic report....The J 24 NA's were held in Cleveland....While on qualification for the Route De Rhum trimaran Bonduelle holed.

Water Level Update

Reference Point
Difference from Chart Datum +8
Difference from last month -3
Difference from last year +8
Difference from long term average for September -13
Difference from Record High -46
Difference from Record Low +18
Forecast for 20 October 2002 -2

Below you'll find water level info that pertains
to Lake Michigan and Huron.
For information on other lakes see:
http://huron.lre.usace.army.mil/levels/weekly.html

Rowing Reporter

The Rowing Reporter is a weekly column of commentary and
observations by Ike Stephenson, Marine Informationist. It
concentrates on the home waters of Around the World of
Sailing, Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake.
****************
Water Images

Online at
http://www.torresen.com/news/atwos/2002/se/0925/frw.htm is a
series of water images taken near the Muskegon Channel.
They were taken around 1600 Wednesday the 18th. The wind
was 15 knots from the SSW, air temperature was 69°, water
temp 64°.

They depict a breaking wave that then transforms to white
water. The wave hits the breakwater and is caught in mid
air droplet form. It then washes onto the breakwater deck.

 
***********
2002 Coastal Cleanup

Saturday morning volunteers manned the beaches of Lake
Michigan and other places. By all reports this years clean
up was a stellar one.

In Muskegon County it was the 11th year the cleanup has been
held. 10 locations/24 miles of beach were cleaned. 219
volunteers filled 100 trash bags with 1100 pounds of trash.

In Indiana 400 volunteers cleaned beaches. Beaches
included: Miller Beach in Gary, Indian Dunes State Park and
Washington Park Beach in Michigan City.

In Michigan's Ottawa County the focus was on Holland State
Park, Laketown and Tunnel Park beaches.

As is typical cleaners at all locations had to pick up
1000's of cigarette butts. Muskegon volunteers picked up
13,360 butts while an Ottawa county volunteer picked up 105
butts by herself. Cigarette butts can foul the environment
for up to 5 years before decomposing.

Most of the other items picked up such as 1930 balloons, 477
plastic beverage bottles, 140 shotgun wads, and 131 clothing
items can be attributed to recreational beach uses. This
includes beachgoers, picnicers, and festivals.

Unlike some pollution which can be attributed to abstract
and perhaps unaccountable industry the above items can be
traces back to ordinary individuals. Reducing the debris is
a function anyone can take on as a goal.

Unusual items found included a spendable $ 1.00 bill at Duck
Lake Park in Muskegon County, and a wallet at Holland's
Tunnel Park.

Putting the numbers in context most volunteers reported a
gradual improvement of the beaches. Many experienced
Muskegon county volunteers felt the beaches were at their
cleanest level ever.

You can participate on an ongoing basis by attempting to not
litter and by picking up items anytime you visit a beach.
You can also mark down Saturday, September 20, 2003, which is
the date of the next Coastal Cleanup!
**********
Lightkeepers Journal

While light keeping I bought a pair of books which contain
the journals of J. Arthur Hunter who served at Lake
Michigan's Little Sable light early in the 20th century.
From time to time I will share some of Hunter's experience.

September 25, 1906: "Mr C., Herbert and I cut off the top of
our boat house and moved it back from the lake where waves
are not likely to get to it."

This entry would indicate that 1906 was a high water year.
In recent memory we have had record highs in the mid 1980's
and record lows in the mid 1960's. The Little Sable light
keeper was likely experiencing typical variation.

Just north of Hunter's station at Big Sable light, water
levels have varied greatly. The light was 500 feet from the
water when built in 1867, while the water came within 4 feet
of the tower in 1986.

Historic water level data can be found at:
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/index.cfm?chn_id=1402 and
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/index.cfm?chn_id=1438
********
Fall Arrives

The 22nd was the Autumnal Equinox the last indicator that
fall is here. Others use Labor days as their marker for the
beginning of fall. Meteorologists group September, October
and November together as fall. By all measures fall is now
here.

One of the characteristics of fall is more variation in
weather. This morning temperatures dipped at low at 39.9
degrees, just 7 above the freezing mark. Yet earlier in the
month Muskegon had a high of 89°.

An excellent example of this variation was last Tuesday the
17th. That day the high temperature was 81°, while the low
was 48° a difference of 33. The high temperature was 3
degrees over the normal high for that day, while the low was
just 2 degrees under the normal. Just shows that such
swings are a true expectation of fall weather.
************
Words on Knots

Spotted in Christopher Caswell's excellent 'The Quotable
Sailor' was this quote: "A knot is never 'nearly right'; it
is either exactly right or it is hopelessly wrong, one or
the other; there is nothing in between." Clifford Ashley.

Ashley is a familiar name having authored 'The Ashley Book
of Knots'. He even devised a knot called Ashley's Stopper
knot which is illustrated at:
http://www.physics.helsinki.fi/~galambos/knot/stopper.html

Having listed Ashley's thought and his credentials, we may
now look at the saying 'If you can't tie good knots tie lots
of them' differently. Considering Ashley it would seem that
the familiar saying has as much chance of being correct as
does a heaving line tossed into the wind without benefit of
a monkey's fist!