altendorff.co.uk

Routing 2b of 7 : Routing planning and optimisation an extra brain as well as a pair of hands…

Russ — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:27:50 +0000

In my previous posting I listed those systems which were clearly aimed at the racing sailor. This is not meant to be a drawback – it depends what your objectives are as a sailor as well as your capability and skill level. They very accomplished pieces of software and provide at the very least a source of information to the cruising sailor about the higher art of race tactics, tuning and performance.

The next group are NOT inferior to the the first (TableA) in any way - but I feel that they are less likely to be underutilised by the normal

.......Click Routing 2b of 7 : Routing planning and optimisation an extra brain as well as a pair of hands… .... to continue reading

Routing 2a of 7 : Routing planning and optimisation an extra brain as well as a pair of hands…

Russ — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:51:24 +0000

For the experienced sailor – and the world’s best sailors and navigators all use sophisticated routing and route planning software – this software is a critical source of information , while for the less experienced (like me) it is an education as well.

In the course of this research I have corresponded and talked with a number of the developers of this type of software, and I have been impressed not only by their sailing credentials, and their skill at software development, but also at the care with which they have struggled to meet

.......Click Routing 2a of 7 : Routing planning and optimisation an extra brain as well as a pair of hands… .... to continue reading

Routing 1 of 7 : Planes, cars, boats and autopilots…

Russ — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:55:27 +0000

I have been reflecting on the ever increasing complexity and sophistication of electronics in general, and computer software in particular, in use on the average cruising yacht. It appears that the more we have the more we want and expect. In line with more functionality we also expect better reliability!

There appears to be a small but growing trend to move away from dedicated electronics with embedded software on board – like the dedicated Raymarine or Furuno chart plotters, to consumer electronics – laptops and even smart phones. If you look at some of the conversations on the forums

.......Click Routing 1 of 7 : Planes, cars, boats and autopilots… .... to continue reading

Update your Wiley Almanac – great, but could it be better?

Russ — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:15:57 +0000

If you are an English Channel sailor and you haven’t already downloaded the Wiley Almanac application then I highly recommend you do so straight away! The application is based on the Adobe AIR technology so it will work on most laptops and PC’s with very little fuss. The Wiley Nautical Almanac is a free being supported by some reasonable and relevant advertising. It contains a comprehensive directory of harbour, tidal and weather data for cruising sailors. You can refer to the almanac while off line and it currently covers the South and

.......Click Update your Wiley Almanac – great, but could it be better? .... to continue reading

What’s your Magnetic Variation – the compass not you !

Russ — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:14:26 +0000

Sitting at home staring out at the rain on a wet and windy Sunday in East Sussex while planning our trip to the Channel Islands this summer, it occurred to me that I dont really pay that much attention to magnetic variation since the variation is so small that it normally doesnt make much of a difference especially when you factor in all the other ways in which either my navigation, my estimation or the various real vagaries of wind, tide and so on affect a course and an eventual landfall. I guess it would make a real difference on

.......Click What’s your Magnetic Variation – the compass not you ! .... to continue reading

World Cruising Wiki…

Russ — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:41:46 +0000

I have written about the excellent Active Captain project before, but I have recently discovered the World Cruising Wiki which seems to be a tremendous use of wiki technology to collate the wisdom of cruisers from around the globe. Active Captain is focused on collating local navigation and pilotage information from its registered skippers but also on bringing this knowledge to your smart phone – an endeavour that is still bleeding edge – but will eventually be perfectly acceptable and reliable…. As smart phones get better, and GSM or CDMA

.......Click World Cruising Wiki… .... to continue reading

Let SeeSnake take you round the bend !

Russ — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:15:18 +0000

The Wireless Ridgid Seesnake Micro Inspection Camera System display is clear, even in moderately bright light and, since there is no focus adjustment to fiddle with, you just point and shoot. You can use this to see under the boat even while in the water! …imagine you’ve snagged another fishing net or stray rope – using this handy device you can at least see what the problem is before you don the scuba gear… or look under the engine mounting to see where that leak is cominig from… The Wireless Camera comes with a distal video camera

.......Click Let SeeSnake take you round the bend ! .... to continue reading

Starry, starry night, paint your iPhone blue and grey…

Russ — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:52:17 +0000

Mastering even the rudiments of astro navigation is still an ambition for me. Its one of those skills that really must be learned through practice – especially practice at sea.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Practical celestial navigation usually requires a marine chronometer to measure time, a sextant to measure the angles, an almanac giving schedules of the coordinates of celestial objects, a set of sight reduction tables to help perform the height and azimuth computations, and a chart of the region. With sight reduction tables, the only math required is addition and subtraction.

The Starpath

.......Click Starry, starry night, paint your iPhone blue and grey… .... to continue reading

7 days sailing just to cross the garbage in the North Pacific

Russ — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:42:09 +0000

Capt. Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation first discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — an endless floating waste of plastic trash. Now he’s drawing attention to the growing, choking problem of plastic debris in our seas.

While competing in the Transpac 1997 veteran seafarer Charles Moore came across what some have since deemed the world’s largest “landfill” — actually a huge water-bound swath of floating plastic garbage the size of two Texases. Trapped in an enormous slow whirlpool called the Pacific Gyre , a

.......Click 7 days sailing just to cross the garbage in the North Pacific .... to continue reading

“How to” videos online….

Russ — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:19:02 +0000

You will be well aware of the many videos of various quality that are available on YouTube and on Google Video . The following sites are also of the community building type – but also contain instructional videos, and are worth a look too.

SplashVision is a social utility catering to a lifestyle for people who live, work and play in and around the water! The emphasis is on media which connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use

.......Click “How to” videos online…. .... to continue reading