Seamanship Secrets

By (author) John Jamieson; By (author) Jamieson John
Short description/annotation

Sail- and powerboaters learn how to become better navigators and skippers.

Description

"Secrets'' is the modern Bowditch, written so clearly that navigation and seamanship will be comprehensible to anyone . . ."
--Dave and Jaja Martin,circumnavigators and authors of Into the Light: A Family''s Epic Journey

"It''s a great book. The prose is simple and clear . . ."
--John Vigor, author of The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat

"The nautical tips and techniques presented are encyclopedic, yet the clear explanations demystify the topics . . ."
--Don Launer, contributing editor for Good Old Boat magazine

"It is a fine piece of work and should be read by anyone contemplating coastal cruising or blue water voyages. It definitely deserves a place in the offshore yacht''s library . . ."
--Ted Brewer, yacht designer, author, and offshore racing and cruising sailor

Be a Better Skipper

In the night, wind, rain, fog, big seas, strong currents, or congested waters, when there’s no time for textbook seamanship solutions, what you need are shortcuts and techniques that work quickly and reliably every time.

Distilled from the vast accumulated lore of seamanship and navigation, here are the absolute essentials--185 techniques that work without fail in the pilothouse or the exposed cockpit or flying bridge of a shorthanded sail- or powerboat. John Jamieson shows you how to:

• Set up a clipboard chart table for cockpit use
• Avoid hazards with danger bearings or a GPS grid highway
• Estimate current speeds with the 50-90-100 rule
• Track other boats in poor visibility using radar plots and bearing drift
• Sail home without a rudder or get your twin-screw boat home on one working engine
• Dock or anchor under any conditions
• And much, much more

Even in this age of electronic navigation you need to know how to eyeball your boat through any situation. Each of the techniques in this cut-to-the-chase book has shown itself to be absolutely repeatable. It will work this time, the next time,and the time a er that, in conditions fair or foul.

Table of contents
Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Chart and Publication SecretsA Navigator’s Most Trusted CompanionChart Tints and ColoringFlat Beach, High Cliffs, or Soaring Peaks?How to Interpret Water Depths and Seabed CharacteristicsHeight Measurements for Safe PassageSymbols That Shout “Danger!” and “Beware!”Solve the Mystery of Aid-to-Navigation SymbolsRanges Lead You to SafetyThe Five Secrets for Visualizing Any Aid to NavigationChart Notes: Nuggets of Hidden GoldAre Your Charts Up-to-Date?Free Code-Breaker for 36,000 Mariners'' FriendsFree Cruising Guides to Take You Anywhere 2. Chart Plotting and Preparation Skipper’s Navigation Tools Quick-and-Easy Review of Latitude and LongitudeHow to Choose the Chart Scale You NeedBox-Plot Your PositionHow to Convert Minutes, Seconds or Degrees to MilesTrue versus Magnetic Directions and Two Ways to Find VariationCheck Your Steering Compass in Three Easy StepsBulletproof Your Charts for Longer LifePaper Chartlets for Cockpit EaseComplete 90% of Your Navigation by AnnotationSave Time with Custom Distance Scales Invaluable Copilot: The Navigator’s Log 3. Easy Calculations and AdjustmentsLightning Fast Arrival Time EstimatesHow to Make a Speed Graph in Three Easy StepsNavigation Solutions in Less than Five SecondsHarness the Power of the 3-Minute RuleHow to Select and Calibrate a New CompassHow to Choose and Adjust Marine BinocularsHow to Adjust a Sextant in Three StepsHow to Adjust Your Radar for the Best Picture 4. Piloting Tips and TechniquesDR Plotting and the Boat-Trackline ConnectionHow to Become Piloting Sequence SavvyHow to Determine When