Using common sense and some green boating strategies, it’s possible to enjoy the pleasures of boating without feeling guilty that you’re screwing up the environment.  In case you were out sailing and haven’t noticed, there is a green movement going on and maybe this time it will be here to stay.  Some of us were around in the 60’s and 70’s when there was a push for environmental awareness but it really never made the mainstream.

Besides being fashionable it now makes economic sense  for the short and long term to invest in our future by utilizing green strategies. The following is a list that will get you on your way towards greener boating.

1. Keep up with regular engine maintenance and you can boost engine efficiency by about 4 percent and reduce fuel consumption.
2. Watch out for worn spark plugs. A misfiring spark plug can reduce an engine’s fuel efficiency by as much as 30 percent.
3. Replacing a clogged air filter could improve your gas mileage by as much as 10 percent.
4. When your boat is moored at the docks do you leave the air conditioning on to prevent mold and mildew?  Turn the air conditioning off and use a device such as the Stor-Dry Air Dryer.
5. Avoid the use of finishes, adhesives, and compositions that may give off toxins into the environment.
6. When using bottom paint for your boat try a high-copper modified epoxy paint or one of the newly formulated no-copper alternative such as Interlux Pacifica and Pettit Vivid Free. Both utilize a zinc pyrithione biocide.
7. For washing dishes, clothing or bathing try using Sun Shower Soap.  I’ve found it to be very effective and it is environmentally friendly.
8. Have you ever started washing your boat and watched the runoff empty into the water?  There are several environmentally friendly products available for cleaning your boat including the Simple Green Family of cleaning products such as Simple Green Marine and Simple Green All Purpose Cleaner.
9. Use solar panels to supplement some of your electrical needs.
10. Replace your power boat with a sail boat.  Enough said!

I’ve added this great hurricane tracking map to the site today.  We are having a fairly active season and I thought it would be helpful to my fellow sailors to have a resource for keeping a watchful eye.  We have already secured the boat once for Tropical Storm Faye and looks like we may prepare for Tropical Storm Hanna.  Enjoy this coming Labor Day weekend and stay safe!

We have passed Memorial Day Weekend and there are is a lot of boat traffic now. Just a quick reminder to my fellow Florida sailboat enthusiasts to check your boat thoroughly before an afternoon or weekend sail for potential safety issues. This week a news release came out of the Bahamas:

Four people are confirmed dead aboard a capsized sailboat found off the Bahamas during the weekend.

The Coast Guard told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel its planes were searching for an overdue sailboat out of Fort Lauderdale when it spotted the overturned hull Sunday.

A nearby civilian dive boat went to the scene and discovered the victims in and around the boat.

The local Coast Guard Auxillary will come out and do a vessel safety check for free and make recommendations if needed. Contact your local auxillary or check out the Vessel Safety check website for more information.

I hate that I am breaking my silence with a tribute to a fellow sailor and friend. Jeff Gibson touched many lives through his students at the university as well as the folks that he sailed with. He was an avid sailor, sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge with all.

I am a true believer that through out life each person we meet leaves a little bit of themselves with us. One of my fondest memories of Jeff was crewing with him on a night race several years ago. We didn’t win the race but our discussions on sailing and life will forever be etched in my mind. It ’s with great sadness that I say good bye to an accomplished sailor and wonderful person. More tributes to Jeff Gibson.

Have you seen The Spot? This appeals not only to the tech side of me but the practical side as well. With a push of the button this device uses a GPS satellite network to send out a preprogrammed message. It interfaces with Google Maps and can be used to send out your positions while you are under way. This would be a great tool for putting family and friends at ease while you are cruising.

The SPOT can send messages with three levels of urgency to your choice of up to ten email addresses and/or mobile phones. And, since the SPOT has a built-in GPS, your messages are tagged with your precise position, allowing the recipients to quickly identify your position on Google Earth. The three levels of urgency (OK, HELP, and 911) allow you to choose whether to tell everyone you’re OK, or to request help from friends, or in more serious conditions, from your local 911 resources like the Highway Patrol and Coast Guard.

Retail cost is $149.00 and $99.00 annual fee for unlimited use. At this price it is an easy decision to add this to your safety arsenal.

You know how some cultures will name a year after a dog or monkey? I’m naming this year the year of sailboat maintenance. I have several nagging maintenance issues to deal with. My fresh water pump for one. It had decided to stop running a couple of weeks ago and it is close to the top of the list for repairs. Trying to go off for any length of time with the kids would quickly turn into a nightmare without water to wash things. I suppose we could resort to a bucket over the side though.

The good thing about the pump not working is now my galley faucet does not leak. I spent 30 minutes one afternoon trying to figure out how to get to the washer and from the schematics available it should have been rather easy. I guess I gave up too quickly but after putting kids’ Christmas presents together over the holidays my patience had run out.

I am also adding to the maintenance list fixing a very slight leak in one of the hatches. I don’t anticipate this to be too difficult but often a 1 hour repair turns into a 4 hour one. I would also like to add a second bilge pump. Redundancy is good when it comes to bilge pumps. Of course there is always working on the teak, and cleaning the bilge, and maintaining the stainless deck hardware. Should I go on? You get the idea. It should turn into a year of scraped knuckles, reading and rereading Don Casey’s Sailboat Maintenance Manual, buying multiple sailboat parts and hardware, and enjoying the satisfaction of a job well done.

Happy New Year my sailing friends. Have a prosperous, healthy, and productive 2008!

We’re hoping for a quick sail this afternoon. Although there are times I miss the change of seasons it’s great to have 70 degree weather in December, Merry Christmas!

My top ten list for reasons to sail - as if I needed it!

1. Peace and quiet.
2. Harnessing natural energy. Using the wind to get from one place to another. It’s cool!
3. Great camaraderie. You just can’t beat hanging around with fellow sailors.
4. Being close to the water.
5. The solitude. It may be fleeting, but none the less, it is enjoyable when you find it.
6. Sharing something that’s meaningful to me with my family and friends.
7. To lose myself. This is time I can take for myself and family and get out of the daily rat race.
8. A recreational pursuit that has low environmental impact.
9. Teach my children (and sometimes myself) that it truly is the journey that matters not just the destination.
10. To realize my dream of someday sailing to far off lands.

As we continued to head North, one thunderstorm came through and we were caught in the tail-end of the storm. It wasn’t too bad, a little bit of rain and a lot of wind. We reefed the mainsail and took in part of the jib to reduce our sail area. My wife and kids went below in the cabin and I was left to steer and manage things on deck. It was actually quite enjoyable. The bimini protected me somewhat from the rain and it was in the high 80’s so it wasn’t too uncomfortable.

I was coming to the realization that we were not going to make our destination during the daylight hours. Our options were to continue on or to find an anchorage and resume in the morning. We chose to continue, although I was a little apprehensive trying to navigate in the dark not having traveled these waters before. We had also been told it can be challenging coming into the St. Augustine Municipal Marina if the tides were not slack. We realized that before our next excursion we would purchase a spotlight to help us identify markers that were not lit. This was probably the biggest challenge to completing our journey that evening.

We arrived around 8:00 pm. The marina allowed us to tie-up at the end of the docks until morning. It turned out to be fairly easy to pull into our slip in the morning but I was glad to be maneuvering in the light. The marina staff were great and very helpful.

As mentioned before we left two hours later than intended. We had a south west wind which would mean we would be sailing on a broad reach. Not perfect but much better than trying to sail directly into the wind. For those not familiar with the Intracoastal Waterway(ICW), it is an inland waterway that parallels the Eastern and Gulf coastline of the United States consisting of natural inlets, bays, and man-made canals. Most of the ICW that we traveled that is navigatable by sailboat is a channel that varied in depth from 7-15 feet and widths of 50-300 feet wide. Traveling outside of this channel is an invitation for running aground quickly. Tacking on the ICW in this area would be a tedious task at best.

One of the interesting aspects about traveling on the intracoastal is that you will meet different kinds of boat traffic. Both pleasure and commercial share the waterway. I use the word “share” loosely! We had little room to get by when we encountered this barge. Don’t sailboats have the right of way?!

Along this route we encountered two draw bridges and several other bridges that we were able to pass under with no problem. There were houses on either side of the waterway for much of the day. Once we were North of Palm Coast, Florida the channel deepened and widened and there were fewer buildings. This part of the ICW was more enjoyable for me because I enjoyed the more natural views of this area and less boat traffic.