by Captain Barry Natale The ancient Greek historian Thucydides allegedly said, “A collision at sea can ruin your entire day.” Debate continues about the actual origin of this sardonic idiom but most readily agree to its accuracy. At the very least, your day will be ruined if your vessel attempts to occupy the same latitude and longitude of another vessel at the very same time. So how do we go about preventing such a circumstance if we have the benefit of a high-tech marine Radar? Rule 7 of the International and Inland Navigation Rules establish that a vessel with operational Radar “shall” use it to determine if risk of collision exists; the mariner has no choice here. However, as an alternative to the dying art...

Part 1: Bermuda, June, 2016 After racing 635 miles in 104 hours and 25 minutes both Verissimo, an Alden 63, and Metoluis, a Frers 84, were dueling as they approached the finish.  These were two magnificient classic racing yachts reminiscent of what comes to mind when one thinks of the Newport to Bermuda race. Metoluis tried to pass two times and succeeded on the third attempt.  Verissimo tacked at the last moment crossing the finish line at 1:45 AM to claim line honors by 12 seconds in the Cruising division.  An exuberant Owner, Chris Cannon, he ordered a round of Bermuda’s signature drink, “Dark N Stormys”, for all hands.  This was Chris’ fifth Bermuda race and first in which they grabbed line honors.  A bit...

Part 2: 2018 Newport Bermuda Race We continue to follow Chris Cannon as he prepares for the 2018 Newport Bermuda race.  This is the second update on his preparations. Here he considers the crew for this race. Although it was an off year for the Bermuda race, 2017 was not a year to rest on his laurels, so Cannon decided to test Verissmo and his crew by participating in the Marblehead Halifax Ocean Race (MHOR) in July and the Conanicut Yacht Club Around the Island Race around Conanicut Island in Narraganset Bay in September.  Indeed, they were on a roll! Verissimo took best corrected time in the ORR Class 2 in the MHOR (Landfall Navigation is one of the sponsors for this race) and 1st...

Part 3: 2018 Newport Bermuda Race Getting the Boat Ready Chris Cannon, the owner of Verissimo, has finalized his crew for the 2018 Newport Bermuda race.  She is ready to splash in early May and begin serious practice with the crew. Chris and his crew had a good deal of success in 2017, competing in some significant races including Marblehead to Halifax and Conanicut Yacht Club Around The Island race, taking a first In Class in each by the way. By late fall Verissimo was on the hard at the Newport Shipyard getting some needed maintenance.  As she is turning 20 this year, it was time to evaluate equipment and take a hard look at all systems. When it comes to evaluating what needs to...

Part 4: 2018 Newport Bermuda Race Safety Requirements When first asked about the most important things about participating in the Newport Bermuda Race (NBR), Chris Cannon said:” Safety is goal #1!  Boat speed is next, solid navigation, and making memories.”  We soon realized that safety preparation is a daunting task. The NBR publishes sixteen pages of detailed safety requirements.  These requirements are not a replacement, but a supplement to requirements of the US Coast Guard, the Racing Rules of Sailing, the rules of various Class Associations and all applicable racing rules. The NBR is very specific about who bears the responsibility for the safety of the crew and vessel.  As owner of Verissmo and retired business owner, Chris Cannon, takes this responsibility very seriously.  After...

  Part 5: 2018 Part Newport Bermuda Race Weather and Navigation Finally, we are at the point where the Chris Cannon’s 63’ Alden Verissimo is in the water.  The first shake down cruise off Newport was successful, the crew has begun to get acclimated to the improvements completed over the past winter and everyone is looking forward to the start on June 15.  Now comes the most important element of the race prep, the strategy.  The initial steps began several months ago reviewing the navigational equipment including electronics. By now instrumentation including water temp sensors, GPS, AIS, Chart plotters, barometer, VHF, and Sat phone have been calibrated and synchronized.  The shakedown cruise in early May did not indicate any issues with the current equipment. It...

Part 7: Newport Bermuda Race 2018 The Finish! As we watched Verissmo, and her owner Chris Cannon, leave the dock in Jamestown, the weather had cleared but the wind was very light.  Most of the crew had been aboard in 2016 when they took line honors in their class and second on corrected time.  So this year's expectations were high to match or improve upon their previous performance The 2018 NBR would not be as kind to Verissmo and crew finishing 4th in their class! This year's race gave an advantage to the smaller boats that perform better in light air. Heading for the Start! Chris Muesler, a journalist covering the race, summed it up best: "They call it the rubber band. ... in 2018...

On February 25th, 2019 the Chicago Yacht Club publicly released their report on the fatal crew overboard accident that occurred during the 2018 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. The report was put together by a diverse group of sailing and safety experts. The eight-member Safety Enhancement Committee, established by CYC after the accident, developed the report. The members included the chairs of U.S. Sailing’s Safety at Sea and U.S. Sailing’s Offshore Committees, as well as individuals with extensive high-profile offshore racing and regatta management experience from the America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, Transpac, and Races to Mackinac. In addition, CYC worked closely with the U.S Coast Guard. They provided an overview of the incident and recommendations to help avoid a similar situation in the...

Many of us receive and even read the USCG's Local Notice to Mariners. Most people tend to just glance over what is presented. This is especially true of  notices were there is a request for comments from the public. Below is an example of a request for public comment that was recently hiding in plain site. If you have, currently use or anticipate using controlling depth information from paper charts, click on the link below with your comments. The link takes you to a NOAA comment page just reference the title in your comments. LOCAL NOTICE TO MARINERS District: 1 Week: 04/19 COASTAL WATERS FROM EASTPORT, MAINE TO SHREWSBURY, NEW JERSEY NOAA ELECTRONIC NAVIGATIONAL CHART (ENC) FOR NAVIGATION IN U.S. WATER NOAA recommends that mariners...