Understanding Nautical Charts for Safety

News-Press has an article written by Joan and Wayne Church of the Cape Coral Power Squadron on how to read a nautical chart for safety:

On a road map it is easy to find where you are and to know what roads to take to get to your destination. However, when you look at a nautical chart, you see a scaled representative of the Earth portraying shapes, distances and directions. You must make your own roads.

A chart shows the nature and form of the coast, the general configuration of the sea bottom including water depths, dangers to navigation, locations and characteristics of man-made aids to navigation and other useful features.

The colors on charts are white, blue, tan and green. The white areas show safe courses to navigate. Blue means shallow water, so check the depths to make sure you do not run aground. Green means shallow water and land will be visible at low tide. Tan shows land and cannot be navigated. Numbers indicate the bottom depth or contours. These numbers are the depth in feet or fathoms. Some charts may also show meters.

Understanding and using the U.S. Aids to Navigation System is an important part of operating your boat safely. The system is a consistent way to mark the waters of the United States and its territories. The system serves the same function as the safety signals and signs used in driving.

• Red colors, red lights and even numbers indicate the right side of the channel as a boater enters from the open sea or heads upstream.

• Green colors, green light and odd numbers indicate the left side of the channel as the boater enters from the open sea or heads upstream.

• Red and green colors or lights indicate the preferred channel. If green is on top, the preferred channel is the right as a boater enters from the open sea. If red is on top, the preferred channel is to the left.

• Floating red markers called nuns are cone-shaped buoys marked with even numbers.

• Cans are green cylindrical-shaped buoys marked with odd numbers. Daymarks are signs attached to structures such as posts in the water.

• The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) runs parallel to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Manasquan, N.J. to Brownsville, Texas. Red, right returning also applies to the ICW markers.

• However, how do you know which way is returning? Going generally south on the ICW you would have a red right. There are some areas of the ICW such as the West Coast of Florida where you are actually going north. Still, if you are going from New Jersey to Texas, you are returning. Aids to navigation marking the ICW have some portion marked with yellow. Otherwise, the colors and numbers in buoys and daymarks and lights follow the same system as observed in all other waterways.

• The unique yellow triangles indicate aids should be passed by keeping them on the starboard side of the vessel. Yellow squares indicate aids should be passed by keeping them on the port side.

For more information contact the Cape Coral Power Squadron 549-9757.

Southampton Boat Show is Underway

Our Boatshed colleagues over in the UK have organized the weather, the fizz (champagne to us ex-colonists), the boat show banter and even the coveted wristbands of the week and all we need now is for you to join us! Stand C53 (their usual spot near the Honda engine stand and at the bottom of the bridge in the Holiday Inn section of the show).

Day 2 saw them finish off 300 bottles of champagne- they are trying to break last year's record of 1241! I know if JD, Doug & Laura and I were there, we would have a great time popping the corks with them and enjoying all the festivities!

The 2008 PSP Southampton Boat Show is blowing out 40 candles this year, and the celebrations kick off as the Show returns to Mayflower Park in September. In association with ITV Meridian, the Show takes place from September 12-21 and includes Europe's largest purpose built on-water marina. Last year the event featured 600 exhibitors.

The Show, which is the sixth largest consumer exhibition in the UK, is perfect for day trippers and boating, sailing or water sports enthusiasts alike. Whether visitors come to consider all the latest boating gear or simply discover a new hobby, this celebratory year will see over 135,000 people enjoy an array of activities on the water, and this year, National Boat Shows (NBS) is taking the Show back to its roots, honoring the heritage and history of the past 40 years.

Our colleagues over at Boatshed Guernsey are offering two of their lucky customers tickets with flights included!

Hampshire's Southampton is steeped in maritime history and is the country's premier cruise port with more luxury ships arriving and departing than from the rest of the UK put together.

The first docks in Southampton were built in 1838 and since then many great transatlantic liners, such as RMS Queen Mary, Aquitania and Queen Elizabeth have had Southampton as their home port.

YachtPals and our Boatshed San Diego Website has a great roundup.

September 11, 2001

Secrets of the Oldest Mega Yacht Builder

Turns out, the secret to their success is not spilling any secrets about their clients! Discretion is everything when dealing with the mega rich and their mega yachts.

CNN World Sport features an article on G.L. Watson & Co., -- the oldest yacht design company in the world. Established in 1873 by George Lennox Watson, they initially specialized in sailing yachts.

Some of their notable achievements include America’s Cup challengers Thistle, Valkyrie II, Valkyrie III and Shamrock II and the legendary Britannia remains the most successful racing yacht of all time.

CNN interviewed current owner, Dr. William Collier about the secrets to his firm's success, and he wasn't spilling any beans:

Collier can't tell me anything about the projects the company is working on, the people he's working for, or how much these ocean-going beasts cost to produce.

"We enter into very strict confidentiality agreements with our clients. We find it frustrating at times because we would like to approach people about doing a project because we have done a similar project - but we can't mention it.

"These guys can get into the press whenever they want. Unfortunately in the United Kingdom due to the nature of the press they have nothing to gain from having their personal property displayed for all to see," Collier told CNN.

2008 San Diego Yacht Club PC National

The Boatshed San Diego Team was out in full force this weekend at the San Diego Yacht Club's 76th Kettenburg Pacific Class National Championship off the coast of San Diego. JD Morris, Boatshed San Diego partner, had the privilege of serving on the Race Committee with a team of exceptional sailors.

The Pacific Class racing yacht, known as the PC, was the first successful wooden sailboat built for Southern California waters. Developed by the Kettenburg Boatworks in the 1920s, PCs were produced until the early 1950s.

Over the decades, these boats were enormously successful, winning many regattas and introducing many young sailors to the water and to the art and science of sailing.

While the largest of the fleets is in San Diego, there are smaller groups in Marina del Rey, Los Angeles and Washington State.

Of the 84 hull numbers assigned, all but 19 of these lovely vessels have been identified as never built, lost, destroyed, on the hard or still sailing!! Many have been totally restored to live another 77 years! Hull #8 *WINGS*, believed to be the oldest hull in existence, is now on display at the San Diego Maritime Museum.

The San Diego PC Fleet resides at the San Diego Yacht Club — home to multiple fleets, many of which race regularly. There are fleets of Lehman 12s, PCs, Stars, Etchells, and an adult Sabot fleet. There is also a model yacht fleet which races CR914s. Most of the larger boats race outside of San Diego Bay. The San Diego Yacht Club also features prominent member Dennis Conner, skipper in the America's Cup.

For more information, check out the PC FLeets Website

Come Join Us at San Diego Yachtfest 2008

The Boatshed San Diego team will be making their debut on the boat show circuit this coming September 11–14 at the Annual YachtFest ’08 held at Shelter Island Marina in San Diego, California.

More than $100 million worth of boats, yachts, super yachts, luxury cars, jewelry, aircraft and other accessories will be on hand at the Shelter Island Marina and the Island Palms Hotel.

It is considered the premier boutique yacht show on the West Coast and visitors will be able to go onboard and tour luxury vessels ranging from 65’ to more than 150’ in size.

YachtFest was founded to promote mega yachting in San Diego and attract more mega yachts to our area. For more information about the show, visit YachtFest’s site.


Boatshed San Diego has discount tickets available and are always happy to talk boats, call (888) 4CA-YACHT or (888) 422-9224 or visit our site at www.boatshedsandiego.com for details.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Mega Yacht Business is Booming in USA

The Baltimore Sun reports today that the yacht business is booming! Despite the pinch many are feeling due to high fuel prices, mega yachts are apparently selling well.

While half of the sales are coming from Americans, buyers from other parts of the world -- like the Middle East, Russia and South America are buying up the rest.

The owner of Trinity Yachts, the largest U.S. builder located in Gulfport, MS. and New Orleans, told the Associate Press that he could use more workers to keep up with the orders.