Ocean Navigator - Ocean Navigator

05 Apr

Cool your alternator

Ocean NavigatorUncategorized

Heat is the greatest enemy of all things electrical, and your alternator is no exception. Alternators come equipped with cooling fans, either internal or external, but with a tightly enclosed engine compartment, high ambient temperature means an even hotter alternator. One way to keep your alternator cool is to build a simple fiberglass shroud that, when fed by a fan and ducting, will supply cool air to the alternator. The classic equation of heat transfer: Q=UAdT simply indicates that the amount of heat transferred per unit area increases directly with the difference in temperature. Cooler air from outside of the…

05 Apr

Plastic vs. powder coated head

Ocean NavigatorUncategorized

To the editor: A couple of comments about the recent piece by Peter Stoops on recoating a head (Powder coating tames the head, Issue #191). It is nice to know more about powder coating, a process I have been curious about, and I can think of many applications, but I would wish to challenge its use on a head for a number of reasons. Firstly, I would suggest that on his vessel, he make an executive decision to have every male, no matter how unmanly they may feel, sit down for all deliveries. Splatter is real even if aim…

05 Apr

Dodge Morgan: First American non-stop circumnavigator

Ocean NavigatorUncategorized

Dodge Morgan, former Air Force fighter pilot, working journalist and successful entrepreneur, first dreamed of sailing solo non-stop around the world in the 1960s. Morgan spent a couple of years living aboard his 36-foot schooner, Coaster, and sailing from New England, through the Panama Canal to Alaska. Having achieved financial independence by selling his electronics company for a reported $35 million, at the age of 52 Morgan found himself ready to tackle his dream. Up until Morgan’s effort in 1985, there had been no American sailors who had completed a non-stop single-handed passage around the world. Morgan wanted to sail…

04 Apr

Halifax Nova Scotia high frequency weather and fax broadcast cease

Ocean NavigatorUncategorized

Canadian Forces MetOc (Meteorology and Oceanography) Halifax ceased high frequency weather and fax broadcasts on Sept. 2, 2010. According to Senior Staff Officer Lt. Darryl Williams, “Canadian naval vessels are no longer using it because they receive weather information by other means. There are no plans to re-instate the HF weather and fax broadcast unless required for urgent military operational needs. The Canadian Coast Guard publication Radio Aids to Marine Navigation has been updated to reflect the status of the Canadian Forces Fleet Weather Broadcast.” Ocean Voyager’s 2011 Ocean Almanac reported this station as being active which we regret was…

04 Apr

A salute to the fallen crew of Quest

Ocean NavigatorUncategorized

My hands clenched the steering wheel as the radio announcer’s voice broke news of the execution of Scott and Jean Adam, Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay on Feb. 22 by Somali pirates about 100 miles south of the Yemeni coast. The U.S. Navy had descended on the scene, trying to prevent Quest from approaching the Somali coast, where assistance would have been all but impossible. A scuffle, an act of desperation by the pirates, or maybe a last-ditch effort by the crew to repel the attackers, we will never know for sure. A group of high school sophomores, eager to…

01 Jan

There's no place like Peter's in Azores

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

Mariners who have visited the Azores over the years have undoubt-edly stumbled into the islands' world-famous gathering place for travelers: Café Sport. Opened by Henrique Azevedo in 1918, this harbor-front café and bar has been welcoming tuna fishermen, whalers, boaters, and yachtsmen to Horta, on the island of Faial, for the past 80 years. Today it is run by the new patriarch, Henrique's 72-year-old son Jose Azevedo (called Peter by those who know him, a nickname apparently given by a passing Dutch seaman when Jose "was just a tadpole"). Peter celebrates his own milestone this year50 years of continuous service…

01 Jan

Now you'll know when to throttle back

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

Now you'll know when to throttle back your Atomic Four to avoid a ticket. Whistler Corporation, based in Chelmsford, Mass., has just announced the release of its 1490 Marine Radar and Laser Detector. The new product offers 360° of detection of all radar and laser guns. To simplify detector use, it is equipped with visibility displays which provide text messages when signals are detected. Karen McVeigh, Whistler marketing manager, commented on the product: "With the expanding use of radar guns by water authorities, we've received an increasing amount of requests from powerboat owners to create a product specifically geared to…

01 Jan

CrossPac' to depart for Sydney in 2003

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

A new short-handed race that will run between San Francisco and Sydney, Australia, via Hawaii will be held in 2003. Appropriately called the CrossPac, the 6,500-nm race will depart the Golden Gate Yacht Club during the summer of 2003. Participants will be sailing either single- or double-handed in boats up to 60 feet in length. (The race committee is still considering allowing multihulls.) Organized by Californian Alan Hebert, the race is being coordinated and sponsored in San Francisco by the Golden Gate Yacht Club, in Hawaii by the Waikiki Yacht Club and the Hawaii Yacht Club, and in Sydney by…

01 Jan

Voyager's gold

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

Over the centuries, alchemists devoted their lives to converting lead into gold. Had they asked any sailor they would have been told that their fortunes would be better assured by finding a way to convert sea water into drinking water. An adequate supply of water is the most critical supply for any voyage lasting more than a few hours. The amount of water available often defines the difference between a pleasure cruise and a survival exercise. Most pleasure boats depend on periodic replenishment of water storage tanks. This process works well for voyages of short duration or, with stringent control…

01 Jan

Vikings' succeed in epic crossing

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

The crew of modern-day Vikings who were attempting to recreate Leif Ericson's historic expedition from Greenland to mainland Canada this past summer successfully crossed the Davis and Hudson straits, effectively proving that the trip could have been accomplished in such a boat. Before the first big crossing, the crew of the open 54-foot wooden knarr Snorri had been holed up in a fjord, awaiting fine weather, before a weather-routing specialist spotted a break. "The weather windows are pretty darn short in this area of the world, so when I saw this scenario coming up I said, go, go, go!" explained…