Grog's Boating Knots Index

Grog's Boating Knots Index: "The nautical knots used when berthing a large vessel, docking your yacht, tying up dinghy painters, and managing sails are all aimed at safety and reliability. The emphasis for boating knots is on reliability matched with the ability to untie each knot fairly easily."

Sea Orbiter: Around the World in 730 Days

Is this normal? I mean...have I been missing these most amazing creations every year or are we witnessing a nautical renaissance in boat design this year?

"The Sea Orbiter is a 170-foot vessel that looks like an airplane wing set on its side, designed to drift around the earth while bored scientists inside study fish, plankton, and the ecology of the underwater world while getting on each other's nerves. Powered by nothing but sea currents and blown by the wind, the slow-moving ship will take two years to circumnavigate the earth, giving the scientists plenty of time to figure out what's happening in the underwater world in which two-thirds of this odd-looking craft is submerged.

Showing interest in the ship are NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), which are both quite familiar with sending people to sit inside isolated tin cans for months or years on end in the name of research. While this is pretty much vaporware so far with just a scale model in existence, the ship's designer, French architect Jacques Rougerie, plans to actually build this gigantic buoy and set sail sometime soon. Bon voyage. – Charlie White"

My First Picture Book of Boating Words

Happy Black Friday, but seriously my friends...Avoid the mall...shop online.: "This little book is a perfect way to teach small children about boats and subjects common to the water. Your child will bring it to you over and over again to look at the pictures and learn about boats."

Invasive snails close Capitol - and Happy Thanksgiving.

Now this is a headline that caught my eye! Probably because I only read the first four words and think - Sci fi screenplay with giant snails chasing screaming people out of the capitol building: Don't loose your stuffing...Turns out its just your average foreign species upsetting the balance of nature story...and it affects boaters. Just an eight of an inch!?! Darn those pesky mudsnails!

By the way, did you know Ancient Romans used snail slime as an early form of roll on deodorant? But first the news from Capitol Lake.

Invasive snails close Capitol Lake boating.

"Scientists have confirmed that Capitol Lake in Olympia is infested with aquatic invasive New Zealand mudsnails.

The state Department of General Administration, which manages the 260-acre lake, has closed all three boat-launch areas.

Measuring an eighth of an inch, New Zealand mudsnails also have been detected in freshwater canals on the Long Beach Peninsula and in the lower portion of the Columbia River. They can live in either fresh or brackish water and can reproduce asexually, said Allen Pleus, state Department of Fish and Wildlife aquatic invasive species coordinator."

Snail Fact to impress your friends and family around the supper table tonight.

1. The largest land snail ever found was 15 inches long and weighed 2 pounds!

2. Snails' bodies produce a thick slime. Because of this slime, they can crawl across the edge of a razor and not get hurt.

3. Some snails have been known to live up to 15 years.

4. Snails are hermaphrodites which means that they have both male and female reproductive organs.

5. Snails have six vagina's, two of which are located in their mouth.

6. Snails usually travel in irregular paths, often traveling in a circle.

7. Snails reply mainly on their sense of touch and smell when finding food because they have very poor eyesight.

8. Snails cannot hear.

9. Snails can retract one or both of their tentacles at a time.

10. Snails are the armored cousins of the slug.

11. Because of the suction created by their slime, a snail can crawl upside down.

12. Snails are nocturnal animals which means they are more active at night.

13. Garden Snails mainly eat garden plants and vegetables, but they will also eat decaying plants and soil.

14. The fastest snails are the speckled garden snails which can move up to 55 yards per hour compared 23 inches per hour of most other land snails.

15. Ancient Romans use snail slime as an early form of roll on deodorant.

16. Garden snails hibernate during the winter and live on their stored fat.

17. Garden snails breathe with lungs.

18. Garden snails evolved from sea snails that had anal sex with giant land slugs about 600 million years ago.

19. The garden snail is cooked and eaten as a delicacy called escargot

20. May 24th is National Escargot Day

The Bluefin Tuna in Peril: Scientific American

I'm embarrassed to admit, I never realized the Blue Fin was a warm-blooded fish!

"All tuna are not alike. The canned tuna fish in sandwiches and salads comes from either skipjack, a meter-long species that is caught in prodigious quantities around the world and served as “light meat tuna,” or albacore, another small fish that is marketed as “white meat tuna.” The yellowfin and the bigeye tuna are larger species that are also heavily fished, but neither makes for particularly wonderful sushi, and they are usually served grilled. But the bluefin tuna, a giant among fishes, is the premier choice for sushi and sashimi and has become the most desirable food fish in the world. As such, it has vaulted to the top of another, more insidious list: it is probably the most endangered of all large fish species. Heedless overfishing is steadily pushing the bluefin toward extinction, and the species may soon disappear unless entrepreneurial fish farmers can learn how to breed the tuna in captivity."
Reaching a maximum known weight close to three quarters of a ton and a length of four meters, the bluefin is a massive hunk of superheated muscle that cleaves the water by flicking its scimitar-shaped tail. Whereas most of the approximately 20,000 fish species are cold-blooded, possessing a body temperature the same as that of the water in which they swim, the bluefin is one of the few warm-blooded fishes. During a dive to one kilometer below the surface, where the ambient water temperature can be five degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit), the bluefin can maintain a body temperature of 27 degrees C (81 degrees F), close to that of a mammal. The bluefin is also among the fastest of all fishes, capable of speeds up to 80 kilometers per hour and able to migrate across entire oceans. It is such a marvelous swimmer that when scientists in the 1990s endeavored to build a mechanical fish, they used the species as a model, designing a robot with a tapered, bullet-shaped body and a rigid, quarter-moon tail fin [see “An Efficient Swimming Machine,” by Michael S. Triantafyllou and George S. Triantafyllou; Scientific American, March 1995]. The researchers found that the tail’s efficiency lay in the interaction of the vortices created by its rapid flexing, but the hydrodynamics of their electronic models did not even come close to that of a true bluefin. “The more sophisticated our robotic-tuna designs become,” the Triantafyllou brothers wrote, “the more admiration we have for the flesh-and-blood model.”

iPhone Knot Guide

"Need to tie a knot? Knot Guide will teach you the ropes!

Knot Guide NOW includes the following 78 knots, 66 of which are unique:

Alpine Butterfly on a Bight, Adjustable Bend, Adjustable Loop, Anchor Bend, Arbor Knot, Ashley's Stopper, Bachmann Hitch, Blake's Hitch, Blood Knot, Bowline, Bowline on a Bight, Braid Knot, Buntline Hitch, Carrick Bend, Clinch Knot, Clove Hitch, Clove Hitch on a Bight, Constrictor, Countryman's Knot, Cow Hitch, Diagonal Lashing, Double Figure Eight Loop, Double Fisherman's, Double Overhand Stopper, Double Sheet Bend, Double Surgeon's Loop, Figure Eight Follow Through, Figure Eight Knot, Figure Eight Loop, Fisherman's Bend, Flemish Flake, Gasket Coil, Girth Hitch, Highwayman's Hitch, Honda Knot, Hunter's Bend, Improved Clinch Knot, Klemheist Knot, Lariat, Lark's Head, Lumberman's Knot, Monkey Fist, Mooring Hitch, Munter Hitch, Nail Knot, Overhand Knot, Oysterman's Stopper, Palomar Knot, Perfection Loop, Prusik Knot, Rapala, Reef Knot, Rigger's Bend, Rolling Hitch, Rosendahl Bend, Rosendahl Loop, Round Lashing, Running Bowline, Running Knot, San Diego Jam Knot, Sheepshank, Sheet Bend, Slip, Square, Square Lashing, Stevedore, Surgeon's Knot, Tautline Hitch, Timber Hitch, Trucker's Hitch (1), Trucker's Hitch (2), Turk's Head 3L5B, Turle Knot, Two Half Hitches, Uni Knot, Yosemite Bowline, Zeppelin Bend, Zeppelin Loop

14 CATEGORIES include:
Bends, Binding Knots, Climbing Knots, Decorative Knots, Fishing Knots, Hitches (End), Hitches (Middle), Lashings, Loops (Fixed), Loops (Slip), Rope Care, Sailing Knots, Shortenings, Stopper Knots

FEATURES:
* Clear, colorful photographs
* Browse search by category or knot name
* From the 'Knot Categories' screen, select a knot category (description and photo included for each category)
* Next, select a specific knot from your chosen category (description and photo included for each specific knot)
* Swipe the images to move forward or backward through the visual steps.
* Save your favorite knots for easy access
* 'Knot Lingo' screen covers basic terms for knot tying.

People of all walks of life since ancient times have found knots both fascinating and essential. Knots are used in sailing, climbing, tree trimming, jewelry making, and everyday tasks such as hitching a load to your vehicle.
Whether you are a novice or you have experience with tying knots, Knot Guide will assist you!"

Hundreds Of Icebergs Sailing Towards New Zealand - Science News - redOrbit

Hundreds Of Icebergs Sailing Towards New Zealand - Science News - redOrbit: "Over one hundred Antarctic icebergs are moving towards New Zealand in an extraordinary happening that has raised a shipping warning, officials announced Monday.

An Australian Antarctic Division glaciologist stated that the bergs, pinpointed by satellites, have floated past the Auckland Islands, and are 280 miles northeast of the Island.

Scientist Neal Young noted that the icebergs, including some that are 650 feet in width, were in a large group, which implies that there could be more."

Telltails, tufts, indicators, flappers, woolies

"The telltales make the trimming of the sails and the steering of the boat easier. You shouldn't stick too many telltales on your sails - when sailing, the amount of information streaming in exceeds the capacity of the crew, so keep it as simple as possible. In this article we explain which telltales are essential and sufficient at the same time. We recommend not to have more telltales than that. The telltales in the leech should be made of a rather strong nylon strip. Normally they are already installed by your sailmaker. The telltales in the luff should be of woolen yarjavascript:void(0)n glued onto the sail with a colorful sticky-back"

Oracle / BMW Montage

Woman braves five metre-high waves to save her nine puppies after her boat falls victim to a vicious storm | Mail Online

"A British woman stranded in a storm off the Turkish coast abandoned ship and swam 75 metres to the shore in a bid to save her nine puppies.

Laura Hughes, 28, a strong swimmer, balanced a milk crate containing the animals on her head and managed to save herself and all her puppies despite braving waves reaching five metres high.

Following a terrible mid-afternoon storm on October 21, Laura's 14.5metre boat 'Csavargo' had been pushed around the Turkish coast by powerful gale force winds, leaving her close to the Greek island of Rhodes."

mental_floss Blog » The Nautical Roots of 9 Common Phrases

The Nautical Roots of 9 Common Phrases: "The Vikings, Columbus, the Pilgrims … they all arrived here by ship. So it stands to reason that some of the phrases we use today were born on the high seas. While sources differ on the roots of many sayings, others have a clear path to the days of sailing across the ocean. Here’s a look at 9 family-friendly phrases that likely came from the mouths of sailors."

Britons row 5,000 miles to cross Pacific

"Friday the 13th was the luckiest day of the year for two British adventurers who passed under the Golden Gate Bridge on Friday morning after rowing a 23-foot-long boat more than 5,000 miles across the Pacific from Japan.

The voyage took 189 days - more than six months - on a boat made of Kevlar and propelled only by muscle power. The two men were stalked by whales, tossed by storms, ran low on food and sometimes despaired. They did not sight land until Thursday, when the dim silhouette of Point Reyes appeared on the horizon.

'A once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing,' said Mick Dawson, 45, the skipper.

Why did they do it?"

"It hasn't been done before," said Chris Martin, 28, Dawson's rowing partner. The voyage apparently is the first unaided and unescorted transpacific voyage in a rowing boat.

Yacht designer Bob Perry

"Yacht designer Bob Perry is the mind behind some of the most popular and enduring cruising boats sailing on Puget Sound and waters worldwide, from Tayanas to Valiants, Babas to Nordics. Credited for starting the “performance cruising” movement that merged sailing speed with offshore cruising, Perry, 63, also designs custom yachts and has won numerous awards for his work. Three Sheets Northwest caught up with the prolific designer, who’s based in Port Susan, about an hour north of Seattle, before he headed off for the annual Perry Design Rendezvous in Port Ludlow."

WWII 'Samurai subs' found

These subs were designed to launch fighter float planes, we took the idea and designed missile launches from the sea. "Japanese submarine technology was so advanced at the end of World War II that Russian scientists wanted to get their hands on five seized boats, but a squadron of clandestine American submariners secretly sailed them out of Japan and brought them to Pearl Harbor.
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The subs would eventually be scuttled five miles off O'ahu and all but forgotten. But yesterday's announcement that two of them had been discovered in waters 3,000 feet deep pulled 91-year-old, retired Navy Cmdr. Allen Burdett 'Buck' Catlin back to a time of global gamesmanship when Japan's wartime innovations in submarine warfare were discovered only after its defeat.

Three of the roughly 400-foot, 'Sen-Toku' class Japanese submarines could carry at least two fighter bombers each. Even submerged, they could sail 1 1/2 times around the planet without refueling."

Sailing Racing Rule 51 - Are Sails Ballast? | Harbour Exchange - Really Useful Stuff for Sailors

"Short answer is ‘YES’. Move a sail around to give a weight advantage on one side or another and it is ‘moveable ballast’. Clearly a sail that is in use is unlikely to be much use as ‘moveable ballast’ as most of the time the sails will be on the leeward side. So the answer is that any sail not in use should be stowed and left in its properly stowed position until racing has been completed.

New rule 51 states that sails that are not in use are ballast and hence can’t be moved. Aha! You say. In some ocean races, such as the VOR, sails are moved around, up to the windward side. So are they breaking the rules? The answer would be yes if they were bound by the standard racing rules, but with an event the size and stature of the VOR, they sometimes set their own rules and rule 51 has been re-written so that the un-used sails can be stored anywhere on the boat."

BMW Oracle won't Raise Sail in Valencia

I'm really following these shenanigans this year. What makes it more interesting is that the Beamer was built secretly right under my nose...where I play every other weekend. Now its down where I went to college...Two places I know well. Wish I was sailing in San Diego about now! Go team!

Two new developments this week in the ongoing America's Cup: Firstly, Alinghi seems to have come to a decision that Valencia isn't such a bad venue after all. Though they haven't made it official, it seems that Spain may host the 33rd America's Cup. This is, of course, the venue which most assumed would be chosen, but which the defender Alinghi had refused to consider publicly. It comes as no surprise that there are some legal strings attached to this decision, however.

The second development actually is a surprise: BMW Oracle's boat, BOR90 (aka DoGzilla), has been fit with a rigid airfoil instead of a sail. This 'wing' is nearly twice the size of the wing you'd find on a 747 aircraft, and is both the largest ever attempted on a boat, and the first to be used in the America's Cup. It's truly a surprising move by the BMW Oracle team, and the cause of much speculation on how it might perform in match-race conditions."

Pastor in Dutch Harbor is a "Fisher of Men"

"In remote Dutch Harbor Alaska, a fishing island 800 miles from Anchorage, Pastor John Honan has a dream. He hopes to convert the Elbow Room, one of the most notorious drinking establishments in North America, into a shelter for transient workers.

But as the New York Times explains, the story is more complicated than one man's altruistic notion. Honan has been helping aspiring fisherman since 1994, who are lured to Dutch Harbor by the possibility of large sums of quick cash through dangerous fishing expeditions."

Gig Harbor Joins Statewide Effort to Curb Storm Water Pollution : Gig Harbor : Gig Harbor Life

Gig Harbor Joins Statewide Effort to Curb Storm Water Pollution : Gig Harbor : Gig Harbor Life: "“Small changes in the behavior of ordinary people can make big improvements in our water quality and the overall health of the Sound,” Matthews said. “There are a lot of things people can do to make a difference.”

He mentioned four simple things most people can do to reduce pollution from entering our local streams and bays and, ultimately, Puget Sound.

“Take your car to a commercial carwash,” Matthews said. “Home carwash soaps and chemicals can kill fish and can be as toxic as some industrial wastewater.”

Fix car leaks promptly or put cardboard under the car to catch leaking fluids until the car can be repaired. Use compost instead of fertilizers or pesticides on lawns and gardens, Matthews added. And avoid using household products labeled “poison” or “danger.”

“And clean up after your pets,” Matthews said. “Right now, here in Gig Harbor we’re focusing on our Pet Waste Campaign. We’re mailing flyers to remind people to pick up your pet’s waste and put it in the trash"

By far my favorite boat shoe, bar none.

Dubarry of Ireland : Marine Deck-Shoes REGATTA: "A three-eye tie padded collar canoe front deck shoe made from a combination of water resistant nubuck, leather, and fabric. This premium deck shoe features the Dubarry cup sole which is stuck and stiched to the upper for added security."

Late-season sailing - the Seven Rules

"In more northerly climes, sunny skies and warmer than normal air temperatures often lure sailors onto the water quite late in the season.

This is a gorgeous time to sail, to enjoy the freshness of the air before the winter sets in seriously.

However, some dangers lurk at this time of year, the most important of which is the water temperature."

BMW ORACLE Racing

BMW ORACLE Racing: "Secret weapon revealed by BMW ORACLE Racing.
The latest development by the BMW ORACLE Racing team was unveiled today when an enormous wing was prepared to be wheeled out of the tent at the team base in San Diego.

The wing will be tested as an option to increase performance compared with a traditional soft sail rig as previously sea-trialed on the BOR 90, the 90-foot trimaran the team has built for the 33rd America’s Cup."

Rolex Middle Sea Race

"If your senses have been under siege at sea for an extended period, what better place to unwind than the Sacra Infermeria. Dating from 1574, the venue for the prize giving of the 30th Rolex Middle Sea Race was built by the Knights of St John as a hospital to care for its sick and injured brethren. The Royal Malta Yacht Club hosted its deserved guests in this medieval vault and divided up the spoils from a truly tremendous race.The prize giving ceremony at the end of this 606 nautical mile adventure is always emotional."

Basic Sailing "Right Away" Rules / Quiz School

Simple quiz application...happens to be a good sailing lesson in there if you think you're up for it! Thanks Sailing123!

Whales' Endangered Status in Danger

Every few years I get back up to Southeast Alaska on a seiner I fished on in my younger days. Last season we had a pod of 50 blues heading into the net, which we quickly avoided. The skipper said in 40 years, he'd never seen that many whales in one place. It truly was amazing.

I concur....

Whales' Endangered Status in Danger: "For the first time in a decade, the U.S. is reviewing the endangered status of the humpback whale, prompted by evidence that these acrobatic leviathans -- once hunted to near extinction -- appear to be thriving world-wide.

From fewer than 5,000 in the 1960s, humpbacks now number 60,000 or more. 'They appear to be coming back pretty strongly in most of the places we are studying,' says whale biologist Phillip Clapham at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle."

Dutch Teen Could Totally Break A Sailing Record If Her Country Were More Chill | SportScape Sidelines

Dutch Teen Could Totally Break A Sailing Record If Her Country would just chill: "Dude. For real, it must suck. It must totally suck to be this, like, crazy-awesome teen sailor who just wants to get in her boat and be alone. Alone for, like, however long it takes to sail around the friggin’ globe. Gawd! It’s not like she’s asking for a tattoo or whatever.

Nordic teens talk like that, right? It must be somewhat close.

Yacht offers big cut in fuel consumption

Yacht offers big cut in fuel consumption -- Courant.com: "Ferretti Group said its new 78-foot motor yacht is the largest zero-emission pleasure craft in the world. Powered by a hybrid (diesel-electric) propulsion system, the 'transplaning hull' claims to cut fuel consumption by 40 percent with a range of 1,000 miles.

Company vice president Andrea Frabetti said the boat can reach a top speed of 16 knots and run silently even with air-conditioning and all on-board appliances in use."

10 Ton Boat Sunk by Giant Jellyfish

10 Ton Boat Sunk by Giant Jellyfish: "The Diasan Shinsho-maru, a Japanese fishing vessel weighing in at over 10 tons, was sunk off of the coast of Japan when trying to haul in a number of giant jellyfish. The Japanese trawler was manned by three fisherman who were trying to capture a haul of Nomura's jellyfish. The boat capsized sending the three man crew into the water off of the coast of Chiba. All three men were successfully rescued by another fishing boat near by.

One of the largest species of jellyfish in existence today, the Nomura jellyfish can grow to have a diameter in excess of six and half a feet long (over 2 meters) and can weigh up to well over four hundred pounds (200 kg)."

3 boats involved in fire in Roche Harbor, Wash.

3 boats involved in fire in Roche Harbor, Wash.: "ROCHE HARBOR, Wash. -- The Coast Guard and Washington Ecology officials say three boats have been involved in a fire in the Roche Harbor Marina on San Juan Island and one is leaking gasoline.

Two of the boats ended up underwater while one was towed and secured. Apparently no one was aboard the boats at the time of Wednesday's fire.

Ecology spokeswoman Barbara MacGregor says one of the sunken vessels contains about 200 gallons of fuel and is leaking. The other contains about 30 gallons of fuel."

Maltese Falcon

Maltese Falcon: "The Maltese Falcon isn't a classic yacht, she's a new class of yacht. Her revolutionary sailing system - the Falcon Rig - sets a new milestone in yachting history: 3 self-standing and rotating masts hosting 15 sails for a total sail area of 2,400 square meters (25,791 ft square), handled by the ultimate in Perini Navi Sail Control for unrivalled performance with unmatched safety and manoeuvrability characteristics."

A Marine Biologist's Story

A Marine Biologist's Story: "Being a marine biologist isn't all playful dolphins and spectacular diving. It's driving an ATV up and down a beach littered with dead fish - and spending an hour pulling a 200 lb dead sea turtle high enough out of the water so that the stranding crew could find it in the morning, even though you can barely breathe. It's never being able to look at seafood the same way again. It's getting up at a god-awful hour to make it to your field site for sampling when the tide is at just the right height, where you can pull water from the ground but still count the crab burrows on the surface, then staying out there all day even though it's 100 degrees out with no clouds and you feel like you're being baked alive."

What is your favorite Sailing book?

"What is your favorite sailing book or books?
I'm looking for a good read.
Preferably a less common non-fiction.
Any suggestions?"

The Largest Ship in History Sets Sail for U.S.

"This past weekend the Royal Caribbean International cruise line made history by launching the world’s largest ship, the Oasis of the Seas, on it’s maiden voyage to it’s home port in Port Everglades, Florida. The Oasis of the Seas is reported to be five times the size of the Titanic. The 1,200 foot long ship that reportedly cost $1.5 billion to build, boasts twenty stories of luxury which includes twelve neighborhoods, sixteen passenger decks, 2,300 cabins that can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members, an open air arena, a skating rink, spas and fitness centers, pools, and a youth area.

The Oasis of the Seas left the Port of Turku on Friday. On 31 October, the ship stopped traffic on the Storebaelt Bridge in Denmark to make the ship cleared the bottom of the bridge. Captain William Wright of the Oasis of Seas order the ship’s telescopic smoke stacks lowered earlier that day to ensure a safe passing. The Danish government stopped the traffic as an extra precaution.

The Oasis of the Seas will make port today in Southampton, England before sailing to the U.S. The ship is due in Port Everglades, Florida on 20 November, 2009."

Tall ships arrive for weeklong nautical celebration

"Ahoy, maties! Fix your eyes on the sea, because the first of three tall ships arrives Sunday, Nov. 1, for a weeklong celebration of 19th century nautical history.

At 2 p.m., the Privateer Lynx tall ship is scheduled to dock in Oceanside Harbor for a weeklong stay. From 3 to 5 p.m., the ship will be open for dockside tours.

All week long, the Lynx will offer educational programs for local schoolchildren, but the big events are next weekend, when the city holds its third annual Tall Ship Festival."

Car sails across sea and into record books

"Battered, wet and tired — but triumphant. That’s how Peter Martin (38) said he felt after making maritime history by crossing the Irish Sea in a converted car.

Along with friends Carl McConkey, Rick Miles and Mark Farrell, the Bangor man arrived in Scotland on Saturday evening having set sail from Donaghadee Harbour in Sir Tristram.

During the summer, Mr Martin, a lecturer, adapted a Renault Laguna — which he bought for 100 — with foam and an outboard motor for the daring venture, after being inspired by the BBC’s Top Gear programme."

America's Cup challenger BMW Oracle Racing wins rudder judgment vs. Alinghi - ESPN

"SAN DIEGO -- America's Cup challenger BMW Oracle Racing won another favorable judgment in a New York court in its long, bitter legal fight with defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland.

In a ruling on a technical matter, Justice Shirley Kornreich of the New York State Supreme Court said Friday that the rudder of BMW Oracle Racing's 90-foot trimaran will be excluded when the boat's load waterline is measured."