Understanding GPS and principles of navigation will improve your outdoor experiences. Outdoor enthusiasts should understand the basic navigation principles that underlie the basis of modern GPS receivers. This knowledge will improve your results and ease of use. Once mariners started leaving sight of land, they have looked for ways to improve their navigational skills. Global […]
Concerns for Vessel Stability: What Recr...
Recreational boaters need to deal with the same stability issues experienced by commercial mariners. Addressing vessel stability will make your next trip safer. Stability problems are a major cause of vessel loss and crew death in the commercial fleet. Recreational boaters can learn from the experiences of their larger commercial cousins and operate their own […]
Beaufort Wind Force Scale: A Mariner’s T
The Beaufort Wind Force scale provides mariners with a useful tool for estimating both wind speed and anticipated sea state in universally understood terms. In the lyrics of Billy Joel’s Storm we hear of the Beaufort Scale, “We’ve got a low pressure system and a northeast breeze. We’ve got a falling barometer and rising seas. […]
Draft of Alaska Deep-Draft Arctic Port S...
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and US Army Corps of Engineers have released their draft report covering the first year of a three year study to enhance the deep-draft port system of Arctic Alaska. Port facilities in the north are minimal and range from simple gravel landings to extensive bulk mineral export […]
Handy Booklet Navigational Charts Availa...
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has developed and released a navigational tool aimed at the recreational boater. Known as BookletCharts, these nautical charts available for download and printing at home. Thousands of area charts from across the United States are available and Alaskan charts are well represented in the initiative. BookletCharts come as […]
Crowley Maritime Prevention and Response...
The Crowley tug Alert has been in the news with its dispatch to assist with the problems Shell Alaska has had with their drill unit Kulluk. Crowley Maritime’s Alert is a Prevention and Response Tug (PRT) under contract to the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. There have been three tugs built in the Alert Class of […]