Uncategorized - Ocean Navigator

30 Jun

Ocean NavigatorUncategorized

Finding the perfect boat is a personal journey, one which can take you months or even years and many miles before the right one shows up. For me the search took me around the world, when I realized that what I wanted couldn’t be found in North America. A love of the solid seaworthiness and beefy good looks that comes with the North Sea Trawler design led me to the Netherlands where I found my boat. After engaging a naval architect to design the perfect expedition yacht, I decided to find one ready to go. My search took me to…

30 Jun

Respecting Paradise

Ocean NavigatorUncategorized

Author’s note: I first started to write this story at the request of one of my Marquesan friends who hoped to make the cruising community more aware of the issues I outline here. But I want to make it clear that I do not think the problem is very widespread. In general I think voyagers are responsible and respectful of the places we visit, but it only takes one or two instances of disrespect on the part of sailors for local attitudes to change. You’ll find the stuff of dreams at Hanamoenoa. The golden sand of its beach is so…

24 May

Overfishing and voyagers

Ocean NavigatorUncategorized

While not every ocean voyager also is avidly into fishing from his or her boat, many voyagers do harvest fish from the sea and so the issue of fishing and overfishing is one that naturally concerns them. And even for those voyagers that don’t, as lovers of the ocean environment, they also have an interest in seeing it remain robust. So, this post “Overfishing, Conservation, Sustainability, and Farmed Fish” by Coty Perry, who runs the website Anglers.com, on the issue of overfishing and some of its causes and possible solutions is worth a read by anyone interested in the health…

03 May

Ocean NavigatorUncategorizedmaritime industry, maritime news, Ocean Navigator, Professional Mariner, Training Resources Maritime Institute

Maritime Publishing of San Diego has acquired the parent company of Ocean Navigator and its companion publication, Professional Mariner. The sale included both of Navigator Publishing’s print magazines and their respective websites, newsletters and email marketing products. The agreement, which closed in mid-March, has Ocean Navigator and Professional Mariner joining Maritime Publishing’s two other magazine titles: Pacific Maritime and Fishermen’s News. Maritime Publishing previously acquired those publications from Philips Publishing Group of Seattle. Both magazines, which ceased publication early in the COVID-19 pandemic, are set to re-launch this spring. Abrams, an experienced mariner, will serve as publisher for the new…

03 May

Ocean NavigatorUncategorizedEver Given, Evergreen Marine, marine safety, mariners, maritime accidents, maritime news, Suez Canal

For some voyaging sailors, a night at sea in gale conditions is a piece of cake next to the challenge of maneuvering a single-screw, no-bow thruster voyaging sailboat in the tight confines of a crowded harbor with a crosswind and a current running. Voyagers who are skittish about their vessel handling skills can take some solace in the fact that even the pros make mistakes — sometimes big ones. A case in point is the March 23, 2021, accident that left the 1,312-foot, 20,124-TEU container ship Ever Given, owned by Evergreen Marine and one of the world’s largest commercial vessels,…

03 May

Don’t scrimp when it comes to the crimp

Ocean NavigatorUncategorized

I’m often asked by my power voyaging clients, “What do I need to know about making good crimp connections?” Fortunately, not very much. Material selection High quality solderless or “crimp” connectors start with high quality materials. When a connector is manufactured, a die stamps it repeatedly. This helps to cut and form the metal, but it also work-hardens it. Work-hardened metal is brittle and difficult to form. As a result, it is not preferable for crimping. Annealing returns the copper to a softer, more malleable state. The barrel portion of a quality connector appears seamless. This is because it is…

03 May

Special Section: Marine Electronics

Ocean NavigatorUncategorized

If you are planning an offshore cruise under sail, you need access to as much vessel data as possible in one single place. A multifunction chartplotter display is the nerve center of the modern offshore cruising vessel, bringing together chart navigation, radio communication and a variety of other inputs onto one screen to inform you of the overall performance of the craft while underway and at anchor. Before committing yourself to a particular model of chartplotter, you need to consider several factors: vessel size, deck layout, planned location of monitor installation and of course, your own specific needs and tastes.…

03 May

Protecting your boat from overcharging

Rebecca ChildressUncategorized

Earlier this year, I finally upgraded from lead acid batteries to lithium iron phosphate (LiFePo4) batteries on my Valiant 40, Brick House. I’d researched for at least a year and South Africa, with its great tech base and good exchange rate, was the place to do it. Lithium batteries favor the inclusion of a battery management system (BMS) in most applications on boats. The BMS ensures that the battery is not over or undercharged, and that it doesn’t overheat, freeze, or have to deal with oversized currents. Most people understand that a lithium battery BMS is the brains of the…

22 Apr

Ocean NavigatorOcean Voyaging, UncategorizedAIS data, David Burch, electronic chart, ENC, Ever Given, grounding, shiphandling, Starpath Navigation, Suez Canal, vessel handling, video reenactment

David Burch of Starpath Navigation examines the March 23, 2021 grounding of the 1,300-foot container ship Ever Given at 0700 local time at kilometer-marker 151 in the Suez Canal. Burch performs this reenactment with AIS data and an ENC chart of the canal using the free, donation-supported navigation and weather routing program from France called qtVlm, available at www.meltemus.com/index.php/en. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQzomgjdtI0

14 Apr

Bluewater Gear: From the mountains to the sea

Ocean NavigatorUncategorized

Originally from Scotland, David Irvine has lived and worked in the Netherlands, Dubai and Malaysia before transitioning to working remotely from his boat Ursa, a 1977 Valiant 40. David has been inseparable from the outdoors since a very early age, discovering a love for hiking and mountains in his teens. He has since climbed in many of the great ranges, including the Himalaya, Andes, Rockies and Alaska. A relative newcomer to boating, he completed a number of sailing courses and boating vacations in the Mediterranean before going to Malaysia to experience the Andaman Sea and obtain his RYA Yachtmaster certification. Starting…