navigation Archives - Smart Boating

Lights

Lights are critically important to getting around after dark. And in the boating navigation world, it’s hard to imagine lights that provide more value than those housed in lighthouses. Theses lights, placed atop high towers, serve as informational beacons to mariners, helping them to avoid fixed objects from islands to shoal waters. The lights have different characteristics from the strength of the lens to the pulse timing patterns. Lighthouses have been around since the beginning of our country, guaranteeing safe passage of trading partners. Today, local lighthouses continue to assure safe passage of boats both commercial and pleasure. Be sure [...]

March 28th, 2024|

Yellow Flag

Last weekend, while enjoying the entertainment at Mile Marker One on the Annisquam, I got into a conversation about the perils of passing under the Blynman Bridge. My new-found boater friend had recently had bad luck transiting the passage way due to three contributing factors. One, the tide was turning, which caused a series of tall, flat, waves to build up under the bridge. Two, she allowed too many passengers to congregate in the bow, which precluded the boat’s ability to climb, as opposed to plow, through waves. Three, she misjudged the timing of boats intent on coming up river [...]

August 7th, 2019|

Skinny Water

Recently I was talking to a relative about a recent GPS purchase. He was very excited about his new electronic addition and the ability to pilot his boat with added confidence through all sorts of weather. As we conversed, the focus drifted to dangers lying close to the the buoys that marked safe passage. Over the past few weeks, we had both noticed the impact of the off-season in a variety of places, from the entrance to Manchester Harbor to the middle of the Annisquam river to the Essex river inlet from Ipswich Bay. Over the winter, abrupt water depth [...]

June 23rd, 2019|

Smart Boating 189 – Boating Apps

This show features a sampling of interesting current boating apps.

December 21st, 2017|

Online Navigation Course

Navigational skills are useful regardless of whether you’re piloting on a river, lake, or ocean. However, for many boaters, it’s not convenient to attend a classroom-based course. Recently the BoatUS Foundation and the US Coast Guard Auxiliary created a solution, an online course titled Modern Marine Navigation. The course provides participants with the opportunity apply their new navigational knowledge to a series of online voyages. Some key topics include pre-planning; fixing a boat’s position; laying out courses; plotting positions; measuring distances; and obtaining tide information. More information on this valuable online course is available at BoatUS.org/navigation.

March 13th, 2016|