Sailing Hither and Thither

It seems early for the terns to be back. Why do I think they're back early? Is it that as I get older time passes quicker? Maybe this years apparent early arrival of the terns signifies an early summer? And just like that the weather went from winter to summer. Hog Island Shoals Light with Prudence Island in the background. May, 2017. Photo by Captain Bill Podzon. Sailing Hither and Thither. Walking on a sidewalk one morning a month or so ago mine eyes espied a guy with his soul sucked into a smartphone as he drove a car. "People are getting better at texting (or performing a number of other things with their smartphone) and driving." I thought. "I can't fathom how they do it..." BAM!! In mid thought I turn around and see that the car had plowed into a London Planetree. The driver stepped out of the car swaying a little bit with his eyes still glued to the smartphone, continuing whatever the London Planetree had f...

The 20/20 Rule

Winter Sunday sailing, visible from Perrotti Park and other points on the waterfront, provided that the weather lies within the 20/20 rule. What is the 20/20 rule for winter Sunday sailing? Winter Sunday sailing in Newport Harbor on February 19, 2017. Photo by Captain Bill Podzon. Sailing Hither and Thither. If the wind is less than 20 knots and the temp is above 20F then YES SAILING. If the wind is greater than 20 knots, or the temp is lower than 20F, then NO SAILING. The 20/20 rule for Sunday winter sailing. Fair Winds Captain Bill

The Sun in August- At Latitude 41.?

Q- In lieu of a working GPS reciever, how can I find my latitude? A- The angle of Polaris (The North Star) to the horizon. Q- In lieu of a sextant, how can I measure that angle? A- Construct a rudimentary protractor... A2- Oh my goodness, I have a chart! Yes, with a bit of crude triangulation and, well, heh, I see my chart is measured down to seconds, not decimal minutes. And, it is still daylight, making it very difficult (impossible) to see any stars (Polaris) aside from the sun. Looking at the paper chart (old school yet it STILL WORKS), I can now start anew (my old Garmin GPS 72 from 2006--16 years old--may have finally given up the ghost or maybe I can fix it, oh the digressions, the wormholes). The Sun in August- at Latitude 41 30' 41". And oh, why not the Longitude (also measured using the paper chart) which is 71 19' 18". The Sun, umpteen times bigger than Planet Earth, isn't much dif...

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All photos and text copyright Captain Bill Podzon.