Special: East Coast Alerts by Mel Neale February 3, 2012
Contributed by Tom Neale - This blog has been viewed 16 times and there are 0 comments
Posted: February 03, 2012
SUBJ: SAFETY BROADCAST NOTICE TO MARINERS
CANCEL BROADCAST AT 080501Z FEB 2011
SEC NC BNM 079-12
NC - ATLANTIC INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY - NEUSE RIVER TO MYRTLE GROVE
SOUND - SAFETY ZONE
1. THE COAST GUARD IS ESTABLISHING A TEMPORARY SAFETY ZONE ON THE ATLANTIC INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY (AICW) ADJACENT TO MARINE CORPS BASE (MCB) CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, WHICH ENCOMPASSES THE NAVIGABLE WATERS OF THE AICW BETWEEN MILE HAMMOCK BAY AND THE ONSLOW SWING BRIDGE IN SUPPORT OF MILITARY TRAINING OPERATIONS ON FEBRUARY 6TH AND 7TH 2012. THIS ACTION IS NECESSARY TO PROVIDE FOR THE SAFETY OF MARINERS ON ...... Read More

East Coast Alerts by Mel Neale February 2, 2012
Contributed by Tom Neale - This blog has been viewed 28 times and there are 0 comments
Posted: February 02, 2012
New in this East Coast Alerts:
Lat/Long positions derived from Google Earth will be given for significant places in the Alerts, such as bridge locations. These will be in italics, and in the following format: xx°xx'xx.xx"N or W. Where a Lat/Long position is copied from a USCG Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) or from the Light Lists, it will be in whatever format the Coast Guard has used which varies between districts and LNM and Light List writers, and will be in plain text, rather than italics. Some positions are approximate. We do not provide this information for navigational ...... Read More

Hose Handling
Contributed by Tom Neale - This blog has been viewed 22 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: February 02, 2012
Dealing with hose problems on your boat can be a bloody, angering, frustrating disaster. They clog up, they leak where they shouldn’t, they leak where they should, they won’t come off when you need them to and they do come off when you don’t need them to. Hoses are a big deal on a boat.
If your hose is clogged it could be from some piece of trash sucked in from overboard, a piece of trash which went down the sink drain, soap and grease or whatever. Usually these clogs are a fairly straight-forward fix. A clog from a sink, shower or scupper drain can often be fixed with t...... Read More

Tom’s Tips on Hose Clamps
Contributed by Tom Neale - This blog has been viewed 21 times and there are 0 comments
Posted: February 02, 2012
1. Although hose clamps are set up for use with a straight slot screwdriver, they can also be torqued with a socket wrench.
2. Have a socket wrench, of the correct size, handy when you go to work. The screwdriver may be faster and may require less clearance, but sometimes the socket wrench will do a better job more easily.
3. Avoid over-tightening a hose clamp. There’s a tendency to do this when the connection is seeping. If the clamp isn’t tight enough, usually it takes only a little extra torque. If you tighten too much you’ll deform and maybe break the clamp and poss...... Read More

Winter almost over?
Contributed by SChaconas - This blog has been viewed 42 times and there are 0 comments
Posted: February 01, 2012
Back from the big Richmond Fishing Expo! It was awesome to see and talk to so many. The Gamma booth was packed with anglers comparing their line against GAMMA. The demo was really simple. Wrap line you use around a wooden dowel, tie a knot about 8 inches away and wrap the other end around a leather glove and pull until it breaks. They tried Gamma to see and feel the difference. Distinguishing anglers went straight to Susquehanna Bait and Tackle’s booth and bought Gamma line!
My “10 Ways to Fish a Senko” tank demos went well and several of my techniques are new for everyone, a...... Read More

Natural Wonders Abound
Contributed by kismet - This blog has been viewed 31 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: February 01, 2012
By Jim Favors
Lake Powell offers a great opportunity for boaters who might enjoy more variety in their cruising activities; and with over 1,960 miles of shoreline there is plenty of area to interest this type of boater. During our short, 12-day visit, it seems we were only able to scratch the surface. Prior to making our plans to cruise Lake Powell we only knew of one place on the lake that we definitely wanted to see, Rainbow Bridge National Monument, a natural wonder. The remainder of the schedule was wide open and up for deviations or revisions.

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Feel Free is Back in the Pacific
Contributed by Feel Free - This blog has been viewed 70 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: February 01, 2012
By Liz Tosoni
Las Perlas
Islands Panama
We sometimes feel guilty leaving Feel Free on her own on the hard, for months on end. Like nervous parents, we watch and wince every time she is lifted out of the water, placed on land; and every time she is lifted again and dropped back into the water, we breathe a sigh of relief. Its unnatural for a boat to be sitting on the hard earth, out of her element, like a beached whale waiting to be rescued. But its one of those things that Tom and I have learned to live with.
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Alligators
Contributed by Tom Neale - This blog has been viewed 81 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: January 19, 2012
Several years ago we were heading north in early May after a winter in the Bahamas. We anchored in Bull Creek one evening, a favorite spot. This creek stretches away from the Intracoastal Waterway channel, where it follows the great Waccamaw River in South Carolina, and seductively disappears from view around a bend of dense trees. It was wide enough to anchor, but we could see old trees along the shore, their carcasses extending far out into the water. Occasionally a snag drifted down on the current, protruding from the water, giving a telltale sign of a large log or even an entire tree undern...... Read More

Toms Tips On Keeping an Eye Peeled
Contributed by Tom Neale - This blog has been viewed 63 times and there are 0 comments
Posted: January 19, 2012
1. Don’t take for granted that police, big brother, fire and rescue, the town council or whomever is watching out for you on the ICW.
2. Much of it is still remote and those areas that aren’t remote often have creatures to which you may be unaccustomed in your home neighborhood.
3. If you’re exploring ashore in a remote wilderness-like area, have with you some sort of legal "weapon," such as, for example, an oar or a strong boathook (although I don’t mean to imply that I know that either of these would discourage an aggressive gator). Use it carefully and...... Read More

East Coast Alerts by Mel Neale January 19, 2012
Contributed by Tom Neale - This blog has been viewed 50 times and there are 0 comments
Posted: January 19, 2012
Attention Snowbirds:
Figure Eight Island Bridge Closure:
Mariners are advised that the Figure Eight Swing Bridge, at AIWW mile 278.1, across the North Carolina Cut, in Scotts Hill NC, will be maintained in the closed-to-navigation position from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 to facilitate urgent gear replacement (with a backup date on Wednesday, February 8, 2012). The available vertical clearance in the closed-to-navigation position is approximately 20 feet, above MHW. Also, the vertical clearance in this location is limited to 85 feet, above MHW, by the nearby ove...... Read More

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