Friday, March 30, 2012

Amazing View of Ocean Currents

From a very young age we've all learned about ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream.  Ben Franklin was one of the early folks to write about it in detail.  For thousands of years sailors have been making their way about the planet using ocean currents to their advantage when ever possible.  Sailboat racers spend a lot of time, energy, and thought plotting the best way to cross the Gulf Stream on their way to Bermuda.  Finding that perfect spot to cross the steam often results in trophies and accolades at the the finish line.  So in prepartion for your next ocean voyage check out this video to get the most comprehensive and condensed view the our planet's ocean currents.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xusdWPuWAoU

Charlie

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Blogging, It's a Lifestyle

Last year on April 28 I started blogging.  I wrote a total of 42 posts. It was fun. I enjoyed doing it. It also was a pressure cooker!  Finding topics to write about. Finding words to express things well. Finding the right balance between light hearted and deeply serious...... and then  the followers...so intimidating to "have followers".  ..Well not really. Granted there were only a handful, and they were mostly folks I begged. (thank you) ..but still ..the ..pressure.. Now the truth and confession.  I ran out of gas. CBI went through a lot in the previous year getting the new piers built while pushing our programming onwards and upwards.  And I just ran out of gas.  Now anyone who knows me, knows that this new age of social media is dragging me along kicking and screaming.  However, now is now and then was then, and bloggin is a lifestyle, so today I sit before my computer, newly energized with the dawning 2012 sailing season before us, and a lot to write about.    CBI is an exciting place to be lately and it will be my goal to communicate to the entire world how incredible this place is.  So here's is some of the latest news. 

CBI has a new website.  We've tried to make the web site work better and present CBI with more pictures, more video, more fun, more excitement...in short more of everything that we think makes CBI so special.

In addition to our email newsletter we are using Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube.  You can expect to see more and more of our communication through these media.

CBI is adding two Sonars to out fleet. They'll be coming online in the next few months.

And about those pink bouys at the top of the Mercuries.....  Some of you may have noticed a shocking pink splash of color living at the top of our Mercury masts this spring.  This came out of experiments last year with various floats at the top of the  masts.  Our goal here is twofold. One, to minimize the number of capsized Mercuries that "turtle", turning fully upside-down and sticking their mast into the mud, and two,  increase visibility of our fleet. Anyone who has ever had to evacuate our entire fleet of sailboats from the river in advance of a summer thunderstorm  can appreciate improving our ability to identify our boats.   As is our usual method we are constantly testing ways to improve our programming and on-the-water safety.  Our hope is that the new bright floats at the top of the mast will serve this purpose. 

There's much more to report but I want to save that for my next postings. So stay tuned.  Finally, I want to express a big thank you to the many volunteers who have been helping in the shop this past winter and at work parties.  Thank you!

Opening Day : SATURDAY, MARCH 31 OPEN HOUSE

Cheers,

Charlie