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Down East A Maritime History of Maine by Lincoln P. Paine While Hank and Jan Taft's Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast, which has recently been republished by Curtis Rindlaub, provided the cruising sailor with a regional bible of useful information on anchorages, hot showers, and provisioning, Down East, A Maritime History of Maine, can fill in as the cultural companion to such a cruise. Lincoln Paine, whose previous book Ships of the World,was published in 1998 by Houghton Mifflin, has produced another engaging volume of history and reference. Down East includes a description of the coastal economy, particularly how…
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From Ocean Navigator #99 July/August 1999 To the editor: Thank you for summarizing the services of the Maritime Health Services Division of Global Medical Systems, Inc. (MHS), in the recent story by William Boyd on telemedicine ("Doctor on Call," Issue No. 97, Ocean Voyager). There are just a few points that I wish to mention. In the text, MHS is referred to as a subsidiary of AEA International. As of June 1998 MHS has been independent of AEA International but has maintained full access to the services of this leading provider of international medical assistance. Dr. Brown and I now…
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Jan
Long before the advent of electronics and high tech wind measuring devices, a qualitative wind estimating method called the Beaufort Scale of Wind Forces was used. It was invented by an early English navigator by the name of Francis Beaufort (1774 to 1857) who wanted to correlate ships' log reports of wind speed with the ensuing action taken by the ships' skippers to set the proper amount of sail on the square riggers. Too little sail and the ship was not combat ready; too much sail and the ship risked having its sticks blown out. His scale ranged from 1…
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This is a texbook; it says so in the introduction, which was written by American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) instructor and curriculum designer Ed Sherman, who uses the book in his seminars. That the book is endorsed by such an august body is promotion enough, but the book is also easy to read and enjoyable (for those who find beauty in the order of things). The author guides the reader from the very beginning with Ohm's Law (with enthusiastic salvos: "I believe you will find electricity to be fun.") and an introduction to basic circuitry. He then builds upon…