Around The World Of Sailing

Water Level Update

Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Reference Point- Measurements in Inches

Difference from Chart Datum -7
Difference from last month -2
Difference from last year +2
Difference from long term average for January -20
Difference from Record High -53
Difference from Record Low +9
Forecast for 29 February 2004 0

Click for information on other lakes.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Olympic Classes Regatta USA leads 49er, 470 & Star. Joyon closes in.

News NZL's Oly team. John Bertrand thoughts.

Great Lakes Security cooperation. Water level effects. Clean up funds.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Miami OCR USA leads 49er (Waldow/Spaulding) and Star (Reynolds/Erickson). Iceboating Northwesterns

News Safety at Sea Quebec-St Malo. Iceboating. Surface weather charts

Great Lakes Great Lakes restoration. Water wars

Record Should Fall

At sea for 65 days Francis Joyon looks set to shatter the record for sailing around the world single handed. The current record is 93 days.

Joyon has less than 3000 miles to go, meaning that it's down to a question of how much he will break the record by, not if he will break it.

He does have a small hole in his port float. The hole is not considered a major deterrent.

His time of 310 hours from Cape Horn to the Equator was faster than the first two boats to break the Jules Verne record fully crewed.

Jean Luc Van Den Heede, the other potential French record breaker, is also fairing well. Sailing upwind VDH made 147 hours in the last 24 hours.

VDH is in the midst of the Indian Ocean on the way to the Cape of Good Hope. His lead over the current record is 19 days. He says, "Today is a great day. I’ve turned my charts over and can now see South Africa." He expects to be at the Cape of Good Hope within 2 weeks.

Linky Sailing News

Racing US leads 470 and Yngling at Olympic Classes regatta. Joyon's pace. Elvstrom

News New ATW events. Transat Race. Chosing a dinghy. Weather seminar.

Great Lakes Open water disposal. Mac bridge photos

Six Ports Trip Part IV

Six Ports Part

This week we take a hypothetical voyage on the historic S.S. Badger to it's home port in Michigan. Ludington has been a car ferry port for many years. Ferry boats have been visiting Ludington since 1897. After a brief gap in service, since 1992 Ludington has been Lake Michigan's premier ferry port.

Badger docks in Ludington

Ludington's maritime attractions inlcude the Badger, Ludington's uniquely shaped lighthouse and Big Sable Lighthouse to the north.

Big Sable's 3rd order Frensel Lenes

In 2003 the Badger celebrated it's 50th anniversary. It's easy to view the Badger as she docks and undocks. You can watch passengers load, cars be driven on and off the boat close up.

The pierhead light is distinctly shaped. It has a four sided structure that perhaps resembles the bow of a ship. It was desinged this way to disperse wave action and save wear and tear on the structure.

Ludington Light

To the north in Ludington State park is Big Sable lighthouse which has been showing it's fixed white light since 1867. From May to October volunteer keepers who say on site provide tours of the tower and the original keepers quarters.

Big Sable Light Station

White Pine Village a historic musuem south of Ludington has the original glass Frensel Lenses from both Big Sable and Ludington lights. There are also exhibits on other aspects of Ludington's maritime history.

The original lenes from Ludington's lighthouse

Hydration & Testing

This article looks at preparing for proper hydration and testing what is actually sufficient hydration.

No doubt drinking sufficient water is a key to day to day life, good performance in sailing situations and ultimately for survival.
I'll begin by offering this test: true or false you need to drink 8 eight ounce glasses of water per day? The majority of folks would answer yes to this.

A more accurate answer is nobody's sure how much water you need to take in. A recent study found no scientific evidence to support the 8 X 8 plan at least not for people in temperate climates, leading sedentary lives.

In circumstances such as "strenuous physical work or exercise, & especially in hot climates" the 8x8 consumption plan may not be enough. So, maybe you need not drink 64 ounces of water, but you may need to do so in situations like racing sailboats, or anytime you're sailing in warm summer weather. In warmer weather you can easily drink a gallon per day, which is 128 ounces.

The consequences of the 64 ounce per day goal for sailors can be seen in tankage requirements and containers. For instance a 9 person crew sailing the Chicago Mac race would require 576 ounces of water per day, 1728 ounces/13.5 gallons of water over the course of a 3 day race. This water would weigh 112 pounds. This is a lot of weight for weight conscious racing sailors. On the other hand a dehydrated crew will not perform up to snuff. A basic to track hydration level is to check your urine. Dark yellow urine can mean dehydration.

Interestingly, the Offshore Special regualations call for 2.4 gallons per 1000 miles. As the Mac is 333 miles this is 104 ounces of water.

In this age of the water bottle, and bottled water it shouldn't be hard to find containers for each person on a boat. Certainly a bottled water container can become an onboard water bottle. A more durable container is a bottle made of Nalegene plastic. These are widely available and cost under $ 10.00. Many come in a 32 ounce size. So, drinking 2 of these bottles a day should keep you properly hydrated.

The final phase of this might be to keep a 'water diary'. See how much water your body needs in certain situations. Use this to ensure you have enough water when you need it. Another source for how much water you should drink can be found here.

Colin Beashel - Who Is He?

Colin Beashel? Household name? Probably not even in the small world of sailing.

Later this year Beashel will represent Australia for the 6th time in the Star Class at the Athen's Olympics. That's every Olympic games since 1984.

In 1984 he was 11th, while in 1988 and 1992 he was 7th. In 1996 along with crew David Giles he won Bronze. 2000 sailing on home waters he finished 7th.

During this time he won the Star Worlds in 1998. He is currently ranked 11th in the Star Class and is comepting in the Miami Olympic Class regata.

Prior to this Olympic run he was main trimmer on Australia II when she ended the USA's America's Cup winning streak in 1983.

In February ATWOS will feature several articles on Olympic sailing looking at the boats used, the history, the venue in Athens and great Olympic sailors of the past. This year's Olympic regatta is from 14 to 28 August.

Strictly Sail This Weekend

Thursday at 11 AM Strictly Sail 2004 begins. Venue is Chicago's Navy Pier. Show hours are 11-8 Thursday and Friday, 10-8 on Saturday and 10-6 on Sunday.

You'll find Torresen Marine at Booth 341 (Store and Service) and booth 121 (Boat Sales Booth).

Addtionally there are a number of interesting folks presenting seminars such as historian Ted Karamanski on commerical sail in Chicago, Steve Mcgovern on diesel engine maintainence, and Hal Roth on sailing around the world.

This is first of several special events for Torresen Marine.

Batteries Part IV: Installation and Accessories

Once you've done things like determined whether you want a house or starting battery, lead acid or gel, and how much load you need to power you'll be ready to install batteries.

The ideal installation immobilizes batteries. This cuts down the possibility of acid spillage or connections loosened through movement. To achieve this start with a battery box. Then a strap will secure the battery and box in place. Don't be cheap on fastening these straps! Use good stainless fasteners.

You'll also want to make certain the cables that attach to your battery are appropriate. Check that the amperage load of your batteries does not exceed that of the cable. Remember in wire size a smaller gauge number such as 2 gauge, will handle more current than a bigger number.

Another area to check is terminals. Standard terminals are lead. Then you move up to tinned terminals which help resist corrosion. The top level for terminals is gold. Just as gold connectors give your audio and video system better performance, gold terminals are the best at conducting current to your batteries.

You should also make certain your battery terminals are capped. Plastic caps are available to prevent accidental short circuits.

Batteries should also be tested periodically. At Torresen Marine we remove 100's of batteries from boats at haul out. They are then tested with a load tester to see if they are still capable of handling their specified load. If they don't pass the test the advice is to replace them. Additionally batteries must be properly charged when they are not on the boat.

The on board electrical system is becoming increasingly complex. Items such as inverters, chargers, combiners, isolators, regulators and more can be added.

The Need for CPR

A sailor returning from Key West Race Week related the sad story of the Maryland sailor who died while practicing prior to the regatta. A heat attack ended this man's life at 45. Undeniably sad.

The second part of the story was the measures taken to revive him. This included CPR by fellow sailors. Unfortunately they were unable to revive the person. Efforts even included a sailor, who was EMT qualifed, jumping off another boat and swimming over to give aid.

Those who have read this column know that I have pushed all people to have CPR training.

One of the simplest arguments for learning CPR is that you can't predict when this life saving skill might be needed. The sad incident prior to Key West Race Week is another example of the random nature of then situations occur.

If you're back from Key West and don't know CPR I ask again that you contact your local Red Cross and get these skills!

One final point. CPR is administerd to people who aren't breathing and have no pulse. This means they are essentially dead! While CPR is no gurantee of life, not knowing CPR means a dead person will stay dead.

From Sailing Scuttlebutt

During Terra Nova Trading Key West 2004 Michael Hoey, sailing on
Chippewa, responded to a man in cardiac arrest. Unfortunately the man
passed away. Hoey believes that if he had access to an Automated External
Defibrillator (AED) this man's chances of surviving would have increased as
much as 90%. So, as of the March 5th Heineken Regatta, Chippewa & Equation
will have these units on board. Hoey invites any other yachts interested in
obtaining an AED to e-mail him for details. It's a very small investment. -
hoey66@aol.com

Linky Sailing News

Racing Big Star fleet @ Miami OCR. Biscayne Stars

News AC sign up

Great Lakes Locks close. Cruise ship coming.

Linky Sailing News

Key West Race Week Final Results Division 1, Divsion 2, Division 3, Division 4. Wrap up. Class winners.

Racing NZL Oly trails conclude. Geelong Week. Tornado NA's

News Orange II. Funding for Moloney. Miami Olympic Class. I'm sinking....or not
Great Lakes Ice coverage. Water protection law. Kent speaks

Key West Winners

CLASS WINNERS (9 races)

Swan 45 (8 boats)---RUSH (Reloaded), Thomas Stark, Newport, R.I. (4-2-2-4-1-2-4-5-1), 25 points.

Farr 40 (23)---1. Mean Machine, Peter de Ridder, The Netherlands (6-7-18-5-6-12-4-2-1), 61; 2. Barking Mad, James Richardson, Newport, R.I. (2-8-6-8-16-4-15-1-2), 62; 3. Riot, Marc Ewing, Northeast Harbor, Me. (18-12-3-6-11-3-3-5-4), 65; 4. Crocodile Rock, Alexandra Geremia/Scott Harris, Santa Barbara, Calif. (9-2-8-9-3-8-6-7-13-7), 66; 5. Warpath, Steve and Fred Howe, San Diego (10-6-7-1-1-19-9-8-12), 68.6.

Mumm 30 (13)---Turbo Duck, Bodo Von Der Wense, Annapolis (1-2-2-1-2-4-3-5-3), 23.

Melges 24 (58)---1. P&P Sailing Team, Philippe Ligot/Seb Col, France (1-(59)-1-2-1-6-7-3-2), 23; 2. Pegasus 492, Samuel (Shark) Kahn, Waikiki, H.I. (4-5-4-1-(14)-10-1-1-1), 27.

J/105 (29)---1. Zuni Bear, Richard Bergmann, San Diego (1-(19)-1-2-1-1-9-6-7), 28; 2. Masquerade, Tom Coates, San Francisco (3-(11)-4-6-3-6-1-4-1), 28 (Zuni Bear wins tiebreaker).

J/80 (20)---Warrior, Craig and Martha White, Ft. Worth, Tex. ((13)- 2-2-1-7-6-1-1-4), 24.

J/120 (7)---Oui B5, John Sylvia, San Francisco (1-(6)-5-1-2-5-4-3-1), 22.

Corsair 28R (10)---Bad Boys, Bob and Doug Harkrider, Augusta, Ga. (1-1-3-2-1-(5)-1-2-2), 13.

Corsair 24 (9)---Breaking Wind, Robert Remmers, Buda, Tex. ((10)-1-1-1-1-1-2-1-2), 10.

C&C 99 (11)---Trumpeter, Colin Andrews, Toronto (1-(4)-3-1-2-2-2-3-1), 14.

T-10 (8)---Liquor Box, Chuck Simon/Bill Buckles, Key West (1-2-3-1-1-3-1-1-(9)), 13.

PHRF 1 (9)---Chippewa (Swan 68), Clay Deutsch, Road Harbour, BVI (7-1-1-1-(8)-1-1-1-1), 14.

PHRF 2 (8)---Storm (R/P 43), Les Crouch, San Diego (1-2-1-1-4-5-1-1-(9)), 16.

IMS (6)---Talisman, Marco Birch, Newport, R.I. (DSQ-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1), 9.

PHRF 3 (8)---Raincloud (J/133), Mike Rose, Kemah, Tex. (1-1-(2)-1-1-1-2-1-1), 9.

PHRF 4 (10)---Tiburon (Melges 30), Michael Gray, New Orleans (1-(5)-1-1-2-1-1-2-3), 12.

PHRF 5 (12)---K2 (J/120), Luis Gonzalez, Mallets Bay, Vt. ((10)-2-1-2-4-1-2-3-3), 2.

PHRF 6 (14)---Bounder (Sydney 36), David Hudgel, Detroit (1-(5)-1-2-2-1-3-1-2), 13.

PHRF 7 (12)---Phaedra (Evelyn 32-2), Robert Patroni, Pensacola, Fla. ((7)-1-3-2-2-1-2-5-3), 19.

PHRF 8 (9)---So Far (Swan 48), Lawrence Hillman, Chicago ((9)-2-1-5-2-1-2-1-1), 15.

PHRF 9 (11)---Kelly (Beneteau 1st 10), Andrew Cheney, St. Petersburg, Fla. ((7)-3-1-5-6-2-1-1-2), 21.

PHRF 10 (7)---Phantom (B-25), Frank Silver, Kill Devil Hills, N.C. (1-(6)-1-2-4-2-3-1-1), 15.

PHRF 11 (12)---Circus (J/30), Team Circus, Chicago ((3)-2-3-2-3-3-1-3-1), 18.

Water Level Update

Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Reference Point- Measurements in Inches

Difference from Chart Datum -6
Difference from last month -1
Difference from last year +3
Difference from long term average for January -19
Difference from Record High -52
Difference from Record Low +10
Forecast for 23 February 2004 -1

Click for information on other lakes.

Linky Sailing News

Key West Race Week Division 1, Divsion 2, Division 3, Division 4. Winners already in PHRF 2, 3 & 4. J 105 is boat of the day. Friday showdowns in the Farr 40 and Melges 24 classes.

Racing NZL trials. No go for Cheyene.

News New tri launched. Boat of the year investigation.

Great Lakes Ship freed. Gov's great lakes plan. Michigan not #1 anymore. Ferry report

The Coast Guard Cutter Mackinac works to free the Edgar B. Speer
Phot by AMT2 Ryan Hickey

Snow Fall Falls Short

Yesterday morning @ 0542 my Weather Bug was beeping, which means a weather alert has been issued. Substance of the warning was that an Alberta Clipper was on the way. 5-12 inches of snow and 45 mph winds were expected.
By 1130 this prediction had dropped to 3-5 inches.

Muskegon ended up with 3.5 inches of snow on Wednesday. Depending on which prediction you use, this was as expected.

Still, I wondered did any place in Michigan get 12" of snow? According to weather spotter reports filed last night, Arcadia MI did receive 12" of snow. Nearer to Muskegon, Baldwin received 6 inches.

Why might a prediction be made and then so quickly changed? According to the Gaylord National Weather Service office, "Meteorologists consider many factors when predicting lake effect snow. Among them...wind direction is perhaps the most important in determining who will receive the heaviest snowfall. A wind direction change of just 20 degrees can have a big impact."

Was there a wind shift in Muskegon? Well, at 0300 it was ESE, then at 0500 SW. It stayed SW until 1500 when it went WSW. The two predictions I noted above, were during a period of steady SW wind. It's not clear to me if the wind was a factor in the prediction change or not.

Linky Sailing News

Key West Race Week Division 1, Divsion 2, Division 3, Division 4. Rosebud is boat of the Day. Team results. Dawn Riley

Racing Day 74 for VDH

News Bruce Schwab update. French Cup news

Great Lakes Learn about Muskegon's Ferry. .
Dredge spoils regulation

Rosebud in Muskegon Summer 2003

Six Ports Trip Part III

After looking at Muskegon and Milwaukee we'll have a peek at maritime tourism options in Manitowoc. This Wisconsin city is one of the ports for the SS Badger. Hypothetically we could travel north to 'Manty' via Greyhound for $22.00.

Manitowoc is home to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. One of the highlights of the museum is the SS Cobia a World War II submarine. Subs such as the Cobia were built in Manitowoc. Another exhibit is the 1911 steam engine from the Chief Wawatam once a Mackinac Straits Car Ferry. This coal fired engine was in use up to the 1980's. The 'Chief' lives on as a barge.
Boats from Burger Boat and Palmer Johnson highlight a Wisconsin built boat collection. Up to 1968 Manitowoc was home to a large shipbuilding concern.

North of Manitowoc in Two Rivers is the Historic Rogers Street Fishing Village.

Manitowoc also has one of the Great Lake's many lighthouses on it's north breakwater.

Next week we'll cross the lake to the Badger's home port- Ludington.

Key West after 2 days

This past weekend a 13 year old golfer got plenty of publicity for finishing 80th! At Key West Race Week a 14 year old sailor-already a world champion- is continuing to win races. Samuel Kahn's Melges 24 team won race 4 yesterday and leads the 58 boat class by 12 points. His father Phillipe is 2nd.

The Swan 45 class is led by Vim, owned by Craig Speck of Grand Rapids MI.

The Farr 40 class is as always competitive. There's a 2 way tie for first. Avoiding double digit finishes is something only two boats have managed.

No boat has won 4 of 4 races. PHRF 2 and PHRF 3 are led by boats with 3 wins in 4 races.

The first two days have seen moderate conditions, with Tuesday reported as shiftier conditions. Today should see light and shifty winds courtesy of a high pressure.

5 more races are scheduled over the next 3 days.

Linky Sailing News

Key West Race Week Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, Division 4. Boat of the day from Farr 40's. Photos.

Racing DN worlds

News Updated Nav Rules. ATW news. The 505 @ 50. Aussie Olympics. US Sailing clothes. Veteran mariner. On the ice

Great Lakes 56 hours, 1 foot for freighter. Water tax. Water regulation proposal

Batteries Part III: Determining Load

This articles looks at how to plan the loads a boat's electrical system will endure. First, you need to know the total amount of power needed. This will then tell you how much power your batteries must be capable of producing. Once you know that you can then look at charging methods.

You can figure loads by doing an electrical audit. This involves taking each item that is DC powered (from cabin lights to navigation instruments) what their draw is in amps and the amount of time they will run in a 24 hour period.

For instance an instrument system that draws 4 amps and is run 12 hours means it requires 48 amp hours of battery to rum. On a dawn to dusk summer delivery an auto pilot drawing 10 amps running for 18 hours will need 180 amp hours of battery. Even a cabin light can draw an amp. Spend some time in your bunk reading with the lights on for 3 hours and that's 3 amp hours.

Once you have gone through and gathered the numbers and done the math for all your DC devices you can then come up with a total amp hours required.

500 amp hours of load is not satisfied by 500 amp hours of battery capacity. In fact, since batteries should be drawn down to approximately 50% of their capacity, 500 amp hours of load actually would call for 1000 amp hours of battery.

Many typical sized batteries are 100 amp hours or under. A typical sailboat with cabin lights, electric bilge pumps, sailing instruments, and an outplot will have a load of around 150 amp hours. Using the 50% rule this goes up to 300, or at least 3 normal (such as Group 27) sized batteries. Addition of a radar that might need to be run for 18 hours can add 100's of amp hours, and multiple
batteries.

Other items such as laptop computers used for navigation or AC inverters used to run children's video games can further add to your boats load.

With all this information in hand you can evaluate your boat's alternator.

The alternator's capacity in amps should be 25% of that of the batteries. For instance in the example above a 150 amp hour load, which needs 300 amp hours of batteries would require a 75 amp alternator.

Obviously each boat's load is different, therefore so are battery requirements and alternator needs are too. Keep in mind that these are house battery requirements. For our purposes the starting battery is separate.

Next week our final article on batteries will consider installation, testing and items like straps and terminals.

Safety Series: Focus on Flashlights

The 10 essentials list and certain categories of the Offshore special regulations recommend carrying a flashlight. There are many instances from reading a chart to working on an engine where a flashlight is required. During this series we are always asking questions about what is the best way of making things safe.

As in an unreliable flashlight causing you to need to change a battery or bulb in the dark is useless.

Although flashlights are a simple and important technology they are not stagnant. Recently flashlights have switched from incandescent bulbs to LEDS (Light emitting diodes). Basically, LEDs are just tiny light bulbs, but unlike ordinary incandescent bulbs, they don't have a filament that will burn out, They are illuminated solely by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material. This means they last longer than incandescent bulbs, use less energy than standard bulbs, and produce a more natural lite.

Important flashlight features include bulb type and battery life.

One problem with LED lights is they don't work as well at distance. Many LED flash lights don't have reflectors so the light produced is diffuse. This could be an issue when shining tell tales on sails at nite or while looking for a person in the water.

Some of these features can be seen in comparing the Mini Mag Lite incandescent flash light and Princeton's Tec Attitude. According to one source the Mag Lite has a relative throw of 31.62 to the Tec's 10.95 . This means that the Mag Lite throws lite farther than the Tec. The mag lite shows an overall output of 5.8 to the Tec's 3.2.

The superior performance of the incandescent Mag Lite must be measured against the lower ultimate cost and longer life of the Princeton Tec. Both retail for around $ 11.00.

There are also flashlights that rely upon a technology that eliminated batteries altogether. An example can be seen at http://www.nightstar1.com/index.htm. While it doesn't require batteries it still must be recharged which means that it could stop at an in opportune time.

Looking into relative merits of flashlights may seem inane, but it pays to look at these simple and essential issues in advance rather than be caught out at the wrong time.

Linky Sailing News

Key West Race Week Division 1, Divsion 2, Division 3, Division 4. Phillipe Kahn's Melges 24 is boat of the day. Team results. Photos

Racing Cheyenne Code Yellow. Match Race ranks

News Last cup for Coutts?

Great Lakes Hovercraft ferries? More water biz?

Special Events Including Seminars

After a brief lull for the holidays Torresen Marine will begin ramping up for the 2004 sailing season. Between now and launch Torresen Marine will be involved in several special events.

First up is the annual Strictly Sail Chicago boat show. Torresen Marine will be at Navy Pier for this show with a booth highlighting sales, service and our ship's store as well as a presence at the Precision booth. Dates for this event are January 29th to February 1st.

Then it is off to Grand Rapids and the new DeVos Place from February 18th to 22nd for the Grand Rapids boat show.

March 12th through 14th will see our annual Spring Thaw Open House expanded to 3 days in celebration of the opening of our new retail facility.

The 14th will see our series of Sailing Seminars kick off. We'll be offering 4 seminars this year.

You can find more information on our special events page.

Featured Brokerage 1987 C&C 44

Hedon is the Queen of the Fleet. This yacht's hallmarks are interior elegance and meticulous engineering.

Upgrades include new instruments in 2000 and new upholstery in 2003.

Hedon has an extensive list of offshore cruising equipment including the anchoring equipment shown below.

The boat is stored in Whitehall Michigan.

Contact the Torresen Marine Sales Dept. for more information

Linky Sailing News

Key West Results Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, Division 4

Racing Key West Weather. NZL Oly trials

News Benefits of Cuben Fiber. Cheyenne waits

Great Lakes Cross lake ferry sked. More shipping season. The Great Lakes program. Moon photos

Van Liew Retires

Van Liew Retires from Southern Ocean to Launch Marketing & Project Management Corporation
Van Liew Ventures to Specialize in Promoting Products, People and Races

Charleston, SC (January 16, 2004) – After seven years of campaigning and racing in the Around Alone circuit, American Brad Van Liew has announced plans to retire from solo racing in the Southern Ocean. Logging nearly 100,000 miles on the water and more than 327 days alone at sea since setting his sights on the Around Alone race, Van Liew has achieved his goal of victory. The 2002 Around Alone class II champion has satisfied all his goals in this arena of the sport. He now wishes to employ the valuable lessons learned offshore and onshore with the launch of Van Liew Ventures, a new full service marketing company.

“Van Liew Ventures is an exciting new project that will allow me to blend my knowledge of the competitive sports world with my wife Meaghan’s expertise in event sponsorship and PR,” Van Liew said. “I’d like to think I’m leaving solo ocean racing in a Michael Jordan-fashion – at the top of my game. I set out to win my class of the Around Alone onboard Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America and I did that. Now Meaghan and I will use our collective experience to help others achieve their dreams.”

Van Liew Ventures and subsidiary Van Liew Communications will focus on assisting companies, race organizers and teams with a variety of tasks – including product development & marketing, sponsorship, public relations, race management, training, and non-profit fundraising. The company at inception can already boast a growing client list that reflects the breadth of the services they provide and confidence they can deliver. The intention is to accept only a small group of clients at any one time in order to provide a personal hands-on approach. Among Van Liew Venture’s clients:

South Carolina Maritime Heritage Foundation
Van Liew Ventures has been hired as a Director of this foundation, which owns an exciting education-based tall ship project and the Charleston to Bermuda race. The 140 foot classic tall ship replica is under construction in Charleston, South Carolina. Client services will include grassroots and corporate fundraising, PR support, special events, and development of educational components.

Raymarine
Van Liew Ventures is working at West Marine University and other upcoming events on promotion and sales of Raymarine’s comprehensive marine electronics. Services include product evaluation, client networking, spokesperson services and testimonial for advertising and PR. Raymarine was also a sponsor of Van Liew’s recent Around Alone victory aboard Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America.

Note: Torresen Marine is a Raymarine dealer and our service department can assist you in uprgrading your boat's electronic package.

Gryphon Solo Campaign
Van Liew Communications will handle the comprehensive marketing of this 5-Oceans entrant of 2006-7. Services will include development of promotional materials and sponsor acquisition. Van Liew Ventures will also be employed to fulfill training on offshore communication systems, weather analysis and race strategy.

Van Liew Ventures, Inc. is located in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, minutes from the popular Charleston waterfront. The Van Liews welcome the enthusiastic clients they will be working with now and in the future. Outside the office they manage a feisty daughter named Tate Magellan who is nearing the terrible twos.

Van Liew Ventures, Inc.
(843) 856-9974
PR@oceanracing.org

Race Officer Seminar

Saturday 27 March Muskegon Yacht Club will host a basic race managment seminar from 0800 to 1730. The goal of the seminar is to certify people with race committee experience as US Sailing Club Race officers. Certification is via a test at the end of the seminar.

The topics to be covered include: race committee objectives, competition formats, sailing instructions, race committee jobs, race committee equipment, race day preparations, setting the course, starts, during the race, finishing, post race responsibilities, and scoring.

The instructor will be Andrew Kiener from Chicago, IL. He is a Recognized Senior race officer, Certified Regional race officer, a US Sailing Race Management Instructor, and US Sailing Senior Judge.

You will need your own copy of the Racing Rules of Sailing [RRS]. You should, but it is not required for the seminar, have a copy of the most current US Sailing Race Management Handbook. Additionally, you will be asked to complete the set of study question prior to attending. Doing the study questions is a great aid in preparing for the test.

For additional information, please contact Peter Blacklock .

Water Level Update

Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Reference Point- Measurements in Inches

Difference from Chart Datum -6
Difference from last month -1
Difference from last year +2
Difference from long term average for January -18
Difference from Record High -51
Difference from Record Low +11
Forecast for 16 February 2004 -1

Click for information on other lakes.

Linky Sailing News

Racing NZL Olympic trials. Sail Melbourne lasers. Miam OCR entries. Cayard finishes last. Luaderdale Key West. VDH: 69 days to Leeuwin

News Basic 1st aid. Seamaster sailing. Corinthian Challenge. NZL OLY outlook

Great Lakes An icebreakers life. Pier fatality

Linky Sailing News

Racing Sail Melbourne. Lauderdale Key West Pix

News Nick Moloney author. Ainslie report. Macarthur's goal

Great Lakes Fishermen rescued. Wind power. Tall ships in 2006

In the ice at nite

Record Waypoints

The past week have seen both Francis Joyon and Jean Luc Van Den Heede pass important points on their respective round the world record attempts.

Joyon sailed solo past Cape Horn meaning he is now heading north on his home bound leg. He passed Cape Horn on Saturday, in a time of 49 days, 2 hours,
21 minutes.

Joyon at Cape Horn

He is still on a remarkable pace. Sailing solo he is just 3 days behind the pace set by the same boat when it circumnavigated with crew.

At Cape Horn Joyon was 13 days ahead of Michel Desjoyeaux's record. The French lone sailor has a good chance to finish in under 80 days. This was first done by Bruno Peyron and crew on Explorer in 1993.

Jean Luc Van Den Heede did not pass a point of land, but rather a point in time. On Friday VDH was on Day 64 at sea. This is longer than his previous attempts. Last year he dismasted on the 64th day. VDH is 18 days ahead of Phillipe Monnet's record and over 2 weeks ahead of last years pace.

This Friday he will pass Australia's Cape Leeuwin. He now projects his voyage time in the 120 to 130 day range.

While the French pair sails...Steve Fossett, Ellen Macarthur and
Olivier de Kersauson

Linky Sailing News

Racing Sail Melbourne Lasers

News Reasons not to race. Can Volvo team get done? Stupid boating

Great Lakes Winter worries. Icebreaking

Unidentified Tug/Barge on Muskegon Lake

Six Ports Trip Part II

We've boarded the Lake Express catamaran ferry and are virtually travelling to Milwaukee to see what maritime items of interest are there. We'll be tying up in the Port of Milwaukee. There are 16 berths for commerical vessels and 1,119 people work in the port area that receieve 200 ships per year, with the port ranking as the 100th busiest US port. You'll have a good chance to see domestic and international commerical shipping.

The Sullivan under sail

More importantly to sailors, Milwaukee is the home of the Denis Sullivan. The 137 foot three masted schooner is a replica operated by Pier Wisconsin. It's missions include education and scientific research. Currently the Sullivan has gone south for the winter and is conducting an Oceanography Field Study with University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.

The Sullivan is part of Pier Wisconsin which hopes by 2005 to have a major Milwaukee waterfront presence. Built on the municipal pier the facility will have theaters, classroom and exhibits.

The Sullivan's raffe sail

If you didn't learn to sail while in Muskegon at Torresen Marine's ASA certified sailing school, try the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center. Here you can learn to sail and take a ride as a passenger.

We'll look at another one of the six ports next week where you see things like tall ships and car ferries.

New Ground

Key West Race Week is sponsored by Terra Nova trading. It's always good to see sailing supported. Terra Nova actually means new ground.

How much new ground is being covered at this years race week? Well, the Swan 45 and C&C 99 are debuting as one designs. The latter has a version of the famous C&C toerail, but no asymetrical spinnaker. It rates 102 PHRF. Compare that to a C&C 32 that was once built with a rating of 168. This means the 99 is roughly a minute a mile faster or 5 hours quicker over the course of a Chicago Mac. 1984 was a good year for the old C&C 32. The difference in ratings works out to 3.3 seconds per year.

The Swan 45 carries one of sailing's prestige names. Swan built a 44 from 1975 to 1978 and a 47 from 1975 to 1989. The 44 rates 84, the 47 75. The Swan 45 debuting as a Key West one design has a PHRF # of -18. That's 102 & 93 seconds quicker than older models. That's a progress rate of about 3 to 6 seconds per year.

Not on the scratch list this year at Key West is the 1D 35. This offshore one design class debuted just a few years ago and had as many as 20 boats on the line. That figure is 0 this year.

In other areas of the world and other types of racing things like asymetrical spinnakers, canting keels and fast boats are seen. It doesn't look like a year of interesting boats, innovation, or new ground at Key West.

Of course boats are getting 3 seconds per year faster.....seems like it might be a good thing to see some canting keels to ratchet things up.

Prepare and Assess Health

This is part of a series of articles on the subject of sailing safety. These articles will attempt to combine different ideas on safety from sources such as the Red Cross, personal experience, computer programming and other outdoor pursuits.

The phrase assesing health comes from the KISSWPE survival list. Preperation is a step to be taken in just about any area of safety.

Should you enter a situation on the water where a person's health is in question there is a method you can use in assesing their health. Knowing this will help you be prepared to care for them.

This is part of a larger exam that would be given in a wilderness first aid setting. Certainly this one example would be one of only many things you would learn in a proper wilderness first aid course.

One way to assess a person's health is to check for alertness and orientation. If a person is awake and can tell you who they are, where they are and what time it is they are said to be AO*3. This is a normal condition.

If they can tell you who they are and where they are but not what time it is, they are AO*2.

If they know only their name it's AO*1.

The theory being that since your birth you've been told who you are. This should be something you know almost no matter what
the circumstance. Knowing where you are is second on the scale. Third is the time of day.

In order of importance the factors are: who they are, where they are and what time it is.

This is just one part of a thorough exam. Essentially the less they are able to answer, the worse their health may be.

Batteries Part II: Staring and House Batteries

This articles looks at starting and house batteries.

House batteries are expected to just about everything except start the engine. They provide the power for things such as lights, electronics, pumps etc.

When selecting batteries for house use you need a deep cycle battery. Inside the battery are fewer, thicker plates. These batteries can be run down and charged 1000's of times.

It's important to look at the number of amp hours when picking a house battery. The standard time measurement for amp hours is 20 hours.
If a battery is 100 amp hours, it will produce 5 amp hours for 20 hours or 10 amp hours for 10 hours, etc.

Starting batteries are special purpose batteries. They are made to provide a lot of power quickly. The figures are in the 100's of
amps for a period like 5 seconds. These batteries are not made to be deeply discharged as are house batteries.

A key # for starting batteries is cold cranking amps. This figure will show how many amps a battery can deliver for 30 seconds
at a temperature of 0 degrees F, until the voltage frops from 12 to 7.2 volts.

Requirements for starting batteries range from 70 amp hours/400 Cold Cranking amps for 1-3 cylinders to 120 amp hours and 660 cold cranking amps
for larger 3 and 4 cylinder engines. Since cranking an engine for 30 seconds is extremely abnormal, you really get more amps for a marine engine in good order.

There are also dual purpose batteries. For boats with minimal power needs, that recharge batteries frequently a pair of these can be a good choice.

For boats that are going to do extensive cruising or decide to become electronic intensive with refrigeration, computers, inverters etc., separate house and starting batteries are necessary.

Next week we'll look at auditing you boat's power needs and determining the battery requirements.

Real Sailors Luge

How do West Michigan sailors keep in shape for sailing? If you say lift weights, jog or do nothing, you're wrong. Real sailors luge!

This past weekend Torresen.com won the annual media Luge race at the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex. Torresen.com defeated teams from the world of public radio and daily newspapers. WGVU radio and the Muskegon Chronicle respectively. No TV people raced. I'm sure it had something to do with messing up hair..... In all there were 20 sliders.

Torresen.com sliders posted the top 2 times, giving them the 1st place trophy. Unsurprisingly, these sliders hailed from Muskegon's Bluffton neighborhood. Blufftonians consider themselves to have the highest concentration of lugers per square feet of anywhere.

Torresen.com's winning lugers

Now that winter has arrived in Muskegon, the Winter Sports complex will host several luging events. On Tuesday night there is a league- think of it as a bowling league except on ice. A minimum of 4 people are needed to form a team, as the best 4 times count. Teams certainly can be bigger. Awards are given for fastest man, fastest women etc.

Remember you read it here first - to luge is to cross train for sailing.

Key West Race Week Preview

Next Monday racing will begin at the annual Key West Race Week. Organized by Premeire Racing with Sponorship by Terra Nova 302 boats are entered. This is 15 more than 2003.

190 of those will sail on a one design basis. Large one design classes include: 58 Melges 24's, 29 J105's and 23 Farr 40's.

Making their one design debuts are the following boats: Swan 45, & C&C 99.

112 boats will sail in PHRF classes. These boats will range from Titan 12 rating at -112, to a quartet of J24's rating at 168, a difference of 280 seconds or neearly 3 minutes per mile.

Defending champions entered include: Crocodile Rock in the Farr 40, Blue Moon in the Melges 24, Zuni Bear J105 and Liquor Box T10.

Prior to race week the Lauderale Key West offshore race will be sailed. The fleet will work to avoid the reefs and use the Gulf Stream to best advantage.

Next week we'll provide links, information and analysis for those who can't go to the warm south and sail.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Sail Melborune. V 15 midwinters

News Real sailors luge . Key West. New Spirit of Canada. Team GB additions

Great Lakes Whose water?. Icebreaking starts aka Operation Taconite. Lake Huron lights

The 5 Poles

A few weeks ago I took the concept of time and ended up with 3 types. This week a look at the 5 poles of the earth and what they mean for navivation.

There are, of course, the North and South Geographic Poles. These are the point at which the Earth's axis of rotation meets the surface. They are located at 90 degrees north and south latitude. If you reach the north any direction you then travel is south. The reverse is true at the South Pole. When you see a bearing expressed as true north, it is pointing to the North Pole.

However, typically a compass points not to the geographic pole, but rather the magnetic pole. The magnetic pole the point where the geomagnetic field points vertically downwards, i.e. the dip is 90°. Unlike the geographic poles they are not fixed. The magnetic poles are constantly moving. In 2004 the North Magnetic Pole is located at 82.3 N Latitude 113.4 West Longitude, while the South Magnetic pole is moving north.

Since these poles are not in the same location there's a phenomenon known as magnetic variation that must be taken into account when using a compass. Typically you have the map/chart, which is oriented to the geographic north pole, and the compass which is oriented to the magnetic north pole. Then subtract east variation or add add westerly deviation to get the magnetic heading. The variation differs widely by location. It also changes as the magnetic poles move over time. You will see a variation figure printed on nautical charts.

For instance the current magnetic deviation for Muskegon is 4 degrees west. So a true course of North read magnetically as 4 degrees. In Charleston SC the deviation is 7 degrees east. A true course of north would be 353 degrees magnetic.

The third pole is The Geomagnetic North Pole It is the north end of the axis of the magnetosphere, the geomagnetic field that surrounds earth. Currently at latitude 78°30' North, 69° West the Geomagnetic Pole is significant to atmospheric scientists who study the effects of the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights.

Fourth we have The Northern Pole of Inaccessibility , located at 84°03' North, 174°51' West. This point is nearly 700 miles from land.

Finally, The North Celestial Pole is the point in the sky about which all the stars seen from the Northern Hemisphere rotate. The North Star, also called Polaris, is located almost exactly at this point in the sky.

When navigating you are concerned with the geographic and magnetic poles. When you need some trivia concern yourself with the others.

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Linky Sailing News

Racing Skiff results. 420 worlds. Joyon at Cape Horn. Levin Memorial

News Cheyenne code red. Ellen's plans. Tim Kent's story. Tim's lessons. Larso's C Cat

Great Lakes Water case. Detroit boat show. Security training. South Haven tall ship.

Joyon at the Horn

Linky Sailing News

Racing 420 worlds finals. 18 footers. VDH + 18 days. Joyon - under 80 days?
News US yachties of the year. Sailors and golfers link up. Speeding in Sydney

Great Lakes Water tax. Michigan public access

Surf On Joyon

Water Level Update

Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Reference Point- Measurements in Inches

Difference from Chart Datum -6
Difference from last month -1
Difference from last year +1
Difference from long term average for January -18
Difference from Record High -51
Difference from Record Low +11
Forecast for 9 February 2004 -1

Click for information on other lakes.

Readers Write: Mac Questions

I recently received the following email....

Dear sir or madam,

I am working on a book about a fictional yacht that is crewed by teenagers in the chiacgo-mac race and like some information on the race itself.

One how far is the mackinaw bridge from the island? Answer: 5 1/2 miles

Is there a harbor master on the island or how is the race judged? Answer: Results are determined on a handicap system. The current system is called Americap II. ]

At what time of day is the race traditionally started ? Answer: Saturday afternoon.

How is the rules for the race handled if a storm or conditions make sailing dangerous and is a boat out of the race if it puts into port during a storm?

Answer: These situations are handled by one of sailing's fundamental rules which reads "The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is hers alone." A lot of factors go into determining whether you continue to race including: Size of boat, experience of crew, desire to win etc.

Pulling into port during a storm would be covered under several other rules. Rule 41 reads, "A boat may receive outside help as provided for in rule 1. Otherwise, she shall not receive help except for an ill or injured crew member or, after a collision, from the crew of the other boat."

For instance if a boat has a person fall overboard another boat can rescue that person. On the other hand if a boat had problems with their rudder they could not sail into Muskegon, and have my company (Torresen Marine) fix it. They could anchor and fix the problem themselves.

Rule 47.1 reads, "A boat shall use only the equipment on board at her preparatory signal."

This means that if a boat developed a problem and they needed parts or pieces to make a repair they would have to come from on board the boat. They could not go ashore and buy even a single screw or nut.

A situation such as spending time at anchor due to a sea sick crew is legal, but would almost certainly give a boat no chance at winning the race.

Has the race ever in it's history ever been called off? Answer: Yes. During World War II the race was not held as many sporting events were cancelled. It has never been cancelled due to threatening weather etc. There have been years when the majority of the boats have not finished, but the race was still sailed. As stated above it's up to each boat to consider weather, and the attendant risk and then either does or does not race.

How long before the race would an owner have to register his boat to conform to the new rules? Answer: Depending on the type of boat he would need to have it measured for the Americap Handicap system in the months before the race. May would be a good date to start with registration, measurement, purchasing safety equipment and other preparations.

Linky Sailing News

Racing 18's in Sydney. DN West results

NewsB&Q trimarn launchedCheyenne status. Miami Olympic registration. The SA's . Ocean trash. Windspeed converter. Impellers

Great Lakes Winter work. Water case. Erie ferries. Iceboating death. Navtex. PJ news

Ellen MacArthur's next solo project was realised today with the launch of the new 75-foot trimaran in Sydney, Australia

Article 12: Cross Training & Base Layer

This is part of a series of articles on the subject of sailing safety. These articles will attempt to combine different ideas on safety from sources such as the Red Cross, personal experience, computer programming and other outdoor pursuits.

Cross training, be it lifting weights to improve your ability to grind a winch or gleaning techniques from other sports, is a fine way to up your safety factor while on the water. On the ten essentials list is insulation and we'll look outside of sailing to find good insulating clothing.

One of the best forms of insulation is thermal underwear made of fabrics such as polartec. A visit to the polartec website shows that Iditarod sled dog racers use polartec. No question, if it will handle the Iditarod it should handle going to sea warmth-wise.

The adage cotton kills applies to thermal underwear, aka the next to skin layer. Cotton neither breathes nor wicks. Fabrics such as Polartec do. It first wicks moisture away from the skin and then breathes, allowing it to escape. The outside of the fabric does the keeping warm part. It even provides a level of sun protection.

Patagonia is also well known for it's base layer products. They break their products into the following levels: silkweight, light weight, midweight and expedition. Another way to look at this is that silkweight wicks the fastest, light weight is for fair weather, midweight is the most versatile and expedition weight is for extreme conditions. Midweight would likely be appropriate for most sailing conditions, although Patagonia does reccomend expedition weight for water sports.

Taking the above principles: breathing/wicking and appropriate for the conditions you can then look at lines such as Musto, Gill etc.
for a set of thermals. They will typically have a couple of options for thermals. Non sailing outdoor outfitters such as REI, Patagonia and Cabelas, will usually have more options.

No matter the source, a set of thermal underwear is a key safety item. It's the first step in staying warm and dry. It will cut down on evaporative heat loss (aka sweating). It helps minimize convective heat loss (that is wind etc.) by trapping warm air next to the skin.

A set of thermals can be bought for $ 90 to $ 100 and should always be packed for sailing. As a bonus these can be used for skiing, or just taking a walk in the winter.

Wearing a good base layer will keep you warm and dry which can prevent a myriad of other safety and survival issues.

Records Chased in New Year

The New Year has seen record chasing sailors Jean Luc Van Den Hede and Francis Joyon continue ahead of record pace.

VDH started the New Year by spotting an iceberg and eating a New Year's meal of: "scallops in a cream sauce, potted guinea-fowl also in a cream sauce with chestnuts, my usual Camembert in a box and my final fresh grapefruit." VDH has sailed through a variery of conditions. Both heavy, " low pressure area, which didn’t generate much wind (40 knots)," and light , "a really bad night becalmed with some unreliable winds."

VDH is now between New Zealand and Australia heading west with a 15 day lead over record holder Phillipe Monnet.

Meanwhile Joyon is rocketing through the Southern Ocean heading east for Cape Horn. Joyon likens his trimaran to skis, "With the difference being normal skis are not 27 meters in length." He is not necessarily eager for lots of wind and tries to "avoid finding himself wedged in a zone where there is more than 50 knots of wind." Joyon is moving towards Cape Horn easily posting double digit speeds.

Linky Sailing News

Racing 420 Worlds. Lauderdale-Key West entries. 18 footers

News S&S is 75. Cheyenne Code Yellow

Great Lakes Shipping profits. Pier Wisconsin proposals. Current lakers

This image highlights streaks or tails of loose debris in the martian soil, which reveal the direction of prevailing winds... does this mean there were Martian sailors or more correctly Martian sand sailors?

Six Ports Trip Part I

This morning I attended a meeting regarding the impending ferry service between Milwaukee and Muskegon. This will be a good thing for both communities and those who travel. There'll be another option to cut the Great Lake Circle Tour in half.

The four cities with ferry service combine to make some tremendous travel opportunities. This series of articles will focus on some maritime travel possibilities in Muskegon (MKG), Milwaukee (MKE), Ludington (LDM), Manitowoc (MTW) and also Manistee and South Haven (OD1). These are either port cities for cross lake ferries or cities near the ports that have attractions of maritime interest.

We'll start in the Rowing Reporter's home city of Muskegon. The Lakeside neighborhood will serve as one end of Lake Express's cross lake ferry service. There are two maritime tourism opportunities in Muskegon.

The Milwaukee Clipper's new paint job

One is currently located just west of where the ferry will dock. At the former Grand Trunk Railroad dock is the Milwaukee Clipper a car ferry which once ran the MKG-MKE route. During the summer you can tour the Clipper and see its in progress restoration. The ship is part by part growing a new paint job. There is also a gift shop and musuem aboard the Clipper. Travellers will have a unique opportunity to step off the state of the art catamaran ferry and just a few blocks away see the ship that used to ply the same route they travelled.

If you continue on to the west you'll go past Muskegon's nationally recognized Pere Marquette beach and reach the World War II submarine Silversides berthed along the Muskegon Channel wall. Built in California, the Silversides is now a top Muskegon attraction. Individual tours are available through the spring and fall. Youth and scout groups can book group stays on the Silversides year round.

World War II sub Silversides

Near the Silversides there is also the Coast Guard Cutter Mclean originally built to enforce Prohibition. Needless to say there are many non nautical attractions in and around Muskegon. For instance you can shop for sailboats at Torresen Marine or visit the Hackley and Hume Historical Site.

Next week we will board the Lake Express catamaran ferry and virtually travel to Milwaukee to see what maritime activities the beer city has.

Batteries Part I

There are 3 main types of battery to choose from. These types will perform two general functions on board a boat- as starting
batteries and as house batteries. This first article will look at the different types of batteries, while next week's article will
look at the differences required in a house or starting battery.

The most familiar type of battery is the flooded cell type. These use an electrolyte in the form of acid and lead plates. A chemical
reaction produces electricity. They are a tried and true technology.

One result of their method is that they produce both hydrogen and oxygen which escape. Therefore they need to be watched and topped
off with water.

Generally these are the lowest cost option for batteries. They also accept over charging better than other types. On the other hand the corrosive battery acid can spill and cause damage, and they need to be maintained and charged when not in use.

Gel batteries are properly known as seal-value regulated batteries. They are a recombinant battery. This means that the hydrogen and oxygen produced by the battery stay in the battery.

The gel part of the battery is a chemical mixture that is put into the battery and then vacuum sealed in place. This prevents the spilling of acid.

Gel batteries are more expensive and not as tolerant to overcharging.

The third type of battery is AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat). AGM are also a sealed case, maintenance free battery. In these batteries
a glass mat sits between plates and absorbs the proper amount of electrolyte. This means there is not excess acid to spill.

AGM batteries can be installed at an angle, are more expensive and heavier than other types.

Typically both AGM and gel batteries charge quicker than flooded cells.

Each type has it's pro's and cons. You should pick one type and use it exclusively. Don't mix types. Each type has a way that
it charges best so types should not be mixed.

The next article will consider how to chose appropriate starting and house batteries.

Linky Sailing News

Racing 18 footers. 420 worlds

News NOOD announcement. Swan 45's @ KWRW. 4 days to launch of Ellen's tri . Jobson update. Barker on his own.

Great Lakes Ferry progress. Locks extension. Apostle Islands

Ellen Macarthur on board her new trimaran

Ah Winter

Wind, cold & snow. Ah winter.

West wind @ 14, 10 degrees. Combine those we have a °.

2.8" of snow yesterday, a total of 6 inches in 2 days.

Ah, winter...@ 1430 a blizzard warning was posted. Ever wonder exactly what a blizzard is? It's a violent winter storm, 3 hours or more in duration, with below freezing temps, wind laden snow, and under .6 miles of visibility.

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More PFD Regulations?

Word is out that the US Coast Guard and boating law administrators are seeking a rule that would mandate wearing PFD's on all boats under 20 feet. Support for this is not unanimous.

The resolutions reads: "Whereas, US Coast Guard statistics show that 76% of the drownings occur in boats under 20 feet and Whereas, data from PWCs demonstrate that, mandatory wearage significantly reduces the incidence of drowning, Now therefore, Be it resolved that NBSAC support the US Coast Guard and NASBLA adopting requirements for mandatory PFD wear while above deck and underway on vessels under 20 feet in length."

Some may be opposed due to a dislike for government regulations, this is essentially ideological.

Sailors may have a case for exemptions based on actual data. For instance of the 524 drownings only 8 occured on any type of sailboat. While sailboats may not need to be covered boats under 20 and maybe even 30 feet may need to be. They accounted for 433 drownings.

This may again come down to things like government's propensity for one size fits all rules and just how many if any deaths are deemed acceptable.

Linky Sailing News

Racing 18 footer photos. Yngling worlds. 420 worlds. Joyon still on pace. VDH + 15 days. Stanford wins Rose Bowl

News Ainslie too? TNZL? Big cat sails

Great Lakes PA ports. Great Lakes tonnage

December 2003 Weather Report

Muskegon closed out 2003 with the year's most above average month. Temperatures were 4.6 degrees above normal. This was .7 degrees warmer than August which was the 2nd warmest month relative to average temperature in Muskegon.

Muskegon had a Jekyll and Hyde year temperature-wise. The first 6 months were below the norm, while the last 6 were above the norm. For the year warmer than normal won out with temperatures .6 degrees above normal for 2003.

The warmest day in December was 50° on the 10th. A few days later on the 13th the monthly low of 15 degrees was recorded.

December precipitation and snow were lighter than normal. 1.56 inches of rain fell, which is 1.08 below normal. On the 10th .81 inches of rain fell, likely helped by the month's warmest temperatures.

Snowfall was particularly light with just 7.3 inches touching down. This is 30.8 inches below normal. Four inches of this fell on the 17th the most snow of any December day. This is better than last year's 2.5 inches.

Winds were above average. December's average wind was 11.0 knots which is .7 above the norm. Windiest day was the 21st at 22.4, least wind day was the 26th at 3.4 knots.

Muskegon's winter tendency towards clouds was on display with 17 cloudy days. There were also 8 clear days and 6 partly cloudy ones.

For the 4th year in a row Muskegon has warmer than normal temperatures. For the 2nd December in a row snow fall was skimpy, bad news for higher lake levels.

Locks to Stay Open- Good News?

This news is related to weather and water levels, and it's not an indicator of good news. The Soo Locks will be open an extra 10 days this shipping season. Instead of closing the 15th of January, they will shut down the 25th. The extra time will aid the steel industry as coal and iron ore can transit through the locks to assist in production.

However, the decision lets us know that the conditions on Lake Superior are pretty benign. Lake Superior, with the exception of its north coast, is ice free. If we look back to the winter of 1986 when water levels hit record highs the Lock area was at least 60% ice covered and in some places 100% covered.

For some the extra shipping time is good news. For those looking for a rise in lakes levels it's an indicator that we're headed in the other direction.

Water Level Update

Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Reference Point- Measurements in Inches

Difference from Chart Datum -6
Difference from last month -1
Difference from last year +1
Difference from long term average for December -18
Difference from Record High -51
Difference from Record Low +11
Forecast for 2 February 2004 -1

Click for information on other lakes.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Yngling worlds. Pitwater race. Last to Hobart.

News Peak at 2004. Richards MBE. GM IV update. Zincs. PFD Upkeep.

Great Lakes Photo Log Update. On . alert Locks extend season.

The Milwaukee Clipper displayed holiday lights.