Light Ship San Francisco thanks to the U.S. National Park Service.https://www.nps.gov/places/000/how-far-out-was-the-lightship.htm Sometimes one finds nuggets of info gold hidden in the dusty fine print of government publications. That’s why I’ll sift through texts like the Local Notice to Mariners that the Coast Guard publishes every week. Occasionally, I discover that some aid to navigation has […]
Consider the fender, that humble tube or globe of lightly inflated vinyl whose noble mission is to prevent dings and scratches to your boat’s hull. At Spinnaker, we mostly use them to separate our boats from the docks, tying them so that they dangle from the lifelines. A stroll along any marina will show boats […]
Transition from Paper to Electronic charts The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which publishes navigational charts for US waters, is making major changes. As announced in 2019, NOAA is phasing out the publication of traditional nautical charts. This process began in 2021, and is expected to be completed by January 2025. Significantly for South Bay […]
It’s often said about sailing in San Francisco Bay, “If you can sail in San Francisco Bay, you can sail anywhere.” Although an exaggeration, our bay is a challenging place to sail not only because of its strong wind and choppy water but also because of the actions of tides and currents. At Redwood City, […]
The Coast Guard places Aids to Navigation in waterways to help keep mariners safe. The marks denote the edges of waterways deep enough to navigate, alert mariners to where channels diverge, and provide reference points in safe water to help the navigator fix his or her position on a chart. The problem is that the […]
So let’s say you’re somewhere out on the bay in an area that might be getting a wee bit shallow. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a depth sounder right now? Well, you know what the kids would say… “There’s an app for that.” In fact, if you have a smart phone or any type […]