With this blog I'm going a little bit out on a limb and I hope it is not a big mistake. Has anyone not seen one of those beautiful pictures of CBI and our sailboats on the Charles River with the Boston skyline behind? Recently some sailing friends showed me a great picture of CBI from an American Airlines advertisement. It made me want to come to Boston, and I'm here every day! It's an image which has become iconic to Boston - as it should be. CBI is a Boston original -the first community sailing program in the nation and the largest too. Volunteerism and community are the core values which drive our organization .We serve thousands of children with outreach to inner city neighborhoods, and hundreds of individuals with disabilities through our Universal Access Program. At the core, CBI's programs use sailing as a vehicle to bigger and better goals as articulated in our mission statement. See our mission statement here. http://www.community-boating.org/about-us/mission
As is often the case when we see a great image of CBI in a commercial advertisement there is a little voice inside that says, "Hey! that's us!" And almost immediately after, "That company should support CBI some how. After all they are in fact using us to help market their business!". Regardless of how sensible that sentiment might appear to us it apparently doesn't hold a lot of water in the corporate world. Many corporations have used the picture of CBI for their own marketing purposes. And we are still waiting for them to send CBI a little something for the holidays.
So my friends wrote a note to American Airlines suggesting that a little corporate support might be a good idea. If I were a large corporation like American Airlines I would want to associate myself with a fine organization like CBI, especially when CBI has such a highly visible and iconic image. Well maybe not. Since I have a pretty big soft spot in my heart for CBI I thought the tone of American Airlines response to us was mean. AA explained that they purchased the image from a reputable third-party online vendor and claimed that using the CBI image was not an attempt to convey to viewers that AA sponsors, endorses or is affiliated with CBI. They conclude "As such, American also declines Community Boating, Inc's request to contribute to it's organization. This letter is sent without waiving any of American Airlines rights or remedies all of which are expressly reserved."
Ouch! I think they missed the point. Maybe they are just not nice? maybe they just woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning? We teach kids to sail. We charge a buck. We teach individuals with disabilities to sail. We charge a buck. We're a pretty nice organization. They ought to support us. They could do worse.
So here's my idea. Forward this blog onto friends and let's all just pull at their heart strings a little and see if we can interest American Airlines in "Sailing for All' especially for children and individuals with disabilities. I'm sure once they think on it for a moment they'll recognize a pretty good idea. American Airlines - you can contact me directly at charlie@community-boating.org. Look forward to hearing from you soon.
Charlie
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Hurricane Earl and the 1-2-3 rule.
Hurricane Earl is looking like a nice visit to the Carolina's is in order. And then maybe a little romp up our way. Fortunately I have no experience sailing in, around, or about a hurricane. I will be content to keep it that way and I believe this is a widely and wisely accepted course of action for most folks. However, if you sail enough distance over enough time, you will probably come in contact with situations that should be avoided, a hurricane being the most obvious and extreme example. So have you heard of the 1-2-3 rule? Sailors have lots of little rules, saynings, and kernals of wisdom to keep them from getting themselves into trouble. The 1-2-3 rule helps you avoid bumping into a hurricane. Since that seems like a good idea I am sharing it with you here.
1 - 100 miles / 24 hour forecast
2 - 200 miles / 48 hour forecast
3 - 300 mile / 72 hour forecast
How to apply the rule: 1) Look at the 24 hour forecast for the track of the hurricane. Stay 100 miles away from the track. 2) Look at the 48 hour forecast for the track of the hurricane. Stay 200 miles away from the track. And last but not least 3) Look at the 72 hour forecast for the track of the hurricane. Stay 300 miles away from that track. This is a little bit simplified so check out this web site for more information.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/205500.shtml?basin
Charlie
1 - 100 miles / 24 hour forecast
2 - 200 miles / 48 hour forecast
3 - 300 mile / 72 hour forecast
How to apply the rule: 1) Look at the 24 hour forecast for the track of the hurricane. Stay 100 miles away from the track. 2) Look at the 48 hour forecast for the track of the hurricane. Stay 200 miles away from the track. And last but not least 3) Look at the 72 hour forecast for the track of the hurricane. Stay 300 miles away from that track. This is a little bit simplified so check out this web site for more information.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/205500.shtml?basin
Charlie
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Check Out Next Issue of Basin Breeze for Information About the Fall Season, Great Weather Book, Dock Project, Sail a Twelve Meter in Newport.
Keep your eyes peeled for the next Basin Breeze newsletter. We'll be posting information about the fall season.
Here is an outstanding book about weather designed to give you the basic tools of forecasting with a focus on sailors, mariners, and aviators. Might come in handy as a big hurricane is just starting to barrel it's way up the east coast. Should pass us us on Thursday.
Weather Predicting Simplified by Michael William Carr, published by International Marine.
CBI has chartered the classic 12 meter yacht Weatherly, on Sept 19 in Newport RI. We've got 14 crew spaces available. The cost is $200 per person. This is truly a unique sailing experience you shouldn't miss. I know I won't. Sign up at the front desk before all the spots are taken.
Next Tuesday, September 14, construction work begins in earnest on the front office. For 14 days showers will be offline and we'll have portable toilets available.
Charlie
Here is an outstanding book about weather designed to give you the basic tools of forecasting with a focus on sailors, mariners, and aviators. Might come in handy as a big hurricane is just starting to barrel it's way up the east coast. Should pass us us on Thursday.
Weather Predicting Simplified by Michael William Carr, published by International Marine.
CBI has chartered the classic 12 meter yacht Weatherly, on Sept 19 in Newport RI. We've got 14 crew spaces available. The cost is $200 per person. This is truly a unique sailing experience you shouldn't miss. I know I won't. Sign up at the front desk before all the spots are taken.
Next Tuesday, September 14, construction work begins in earnest on the front office. For 14 days showers will be offline and we'll have portable toilets available.
Charlie
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Kids Sail The Stars" and Racing Under the Stars on Block Island Sound.
I recently sailed in two sailboat races which I will remember for a long time. The first was CBI's "Kid's Sail the Stars". As a guest "star" I was paired up with two junior sailors and charged with offering as much support, advice, and wisdom as I could to help them get around the race course as well as possible. I was not allowed to steer, trim or otherwise physically put my hands to the task. Neither of the juniors I was sailing with had raced before. We sailed 4 races. What I enjoyed most about the experience was that while our finishes were generally near the back of the fleet, their enthusiasm was at the top of the fleet. Half way through the evening, one of them just blurted out, "This is so cool. I love this". What I percieved was that they both had great instincts, and a fearless love of trying to make the sailboat move faster. They loved being on the water. I don't think they will find themselves near the back of the fleet too much longer.
The second race was the Ida Lewis Long Distance Race. We started at 1:00 PM last Friday and finished a bit after 12 noon on Saturday. Generally light winds prevailed and the wind forcast was only about 50% correct (what a surprise). We sailed well, made good decisions, and finished near the top of the fleet. But what a night. Clear clear skies. A brilliant sunset. Light from the moon glistening on the water. The moon set early in the morning and the milky way came out in all it's splendor. Sunrise was like one more encore of a virtuoso performance. Through out a sailboat race you are constantly focusing on VMG (velocity made good), proper sail trim, having the right sails up for the wind conditions, and keeping your focus positive even when things go wrong. You fill in the gaps with good food and a brief nap (if you're lucky).Working together in a single minded effort with your crewmates ties the whole experience together. It does my heart good to know that CBI opens the door to sailing for so many, especially kids. I know that the two juniors I sailed with will one day find themselves sailing, maybe racing, under the moon away from land. I hope they will remember their experiences here at CBI. I also hope that they will adopt an attitude of giving back to others, having received much themselves. Then I'll know that CBI did what it's supposed to do.
Charlie
The second race was the Ida Lewis Long Distance Race. We started at 1:00 PM last Friday and finished a bit after 12 noon on Saturday. Generally light winds prevailed and the wind forcast was only about 50% correct (what a surprise). We sailed well, made good decisions, and finished near the top of the fleet. But what a night. Clear clear skies. A brilliant sunset. Light from the moon glistening on the water. The moon set early in the morning and the milky way came out in all it's splendor. Sunrise was like one more encore of a virtuoso performance. Through out a sailboat race you are constantly focusing on VMG (velocity made good), proper sail trim, having the right sails up for the wind conditions, and keeping your focus positive even when things go wrong. You fill in the gaps with good food and a brief nap (if you're lucky).Working together in a single minded effort with your crewmates ties the whole experience together. It does my heart good to know that CBI opens the door to sailing for so many, especially kids. I know that the two juniors I sailed with will one day find themselves sailing, maybe racing, under the moon away from land. I hope they will remember their experiences here at CBI. I also hope that they will adopt an attitude of giving back to others, having received much themselves. Then I'll know that CBI did what it's supposed to do.
Charlie
Monday, August 23, 2010
"Go Sailing Young Man/Woman, Go Sailing"
This morning I listened to a talk show on NPR. The topic was about 20 something's - the phenomenon that more young adults are living at home longer, becoming fully independent later in life, and delaying casting off their last dockline and setting sail on their own. I've no idea if this is a good thing or not. I think maybe not. Social scientists have started studying these young adults, comparing them to past generations and will let us know what the data suggests soon. I'm hoping that they will discover that leaving the nest (mooring) sooner rather than later is a better way to go about life. I also hope that they take a look at kids who sail and discover that sailing fosters the qualities of independence which make for strong, individuals and young adults who are likely to leave home sooner rather than later. Maybe a whole generation will hear the words "go sailing young man/woman, go sailing" much as the generation after the Civil War heard the phrase made famous by Horace Greeley, "Go west young man, go west".
I realize that this blog entry treads very close to waxing philosophical. For this I ask for your indulgence. Also I want you to know that CBI's IT department is working night and day on upgrading this blog so comments can be submitted and we can start having dialog. I'm worried about this. I'm concerned that my blog honeymoon is about to be over. Ah well, time to cast off the dockline.....
Charlie
I realize that this blog entry treads very close to waxing philosophical. For this I ask for your indulgence. Also I want you to know that CBI's IT department is working night and day on upgrading this blog so comments can be submitted and we can start having dialog. I'm worried about this. I'm concerned that my blog honeymoon is about to be over. Ah well, time to cast off the dockline.....
Charlie
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Guest Blog -Irving Itzkan Explains Some Sailing Terminology
I am pleased to have Irving Itzkan write today's blog. If any of you have ever been fortunate enough to have Irv as your instructor then you will understand my enthusiasm. A life long sailor, volunteer and instructor at CBI, Irv also dabbled, on the side I think, in physics having held research positions at MIT and Harvard, just to name the two I am familiar with. Regardless of Irv's interests outside of sailing I am thrilled to have Irv offer today's blog which I'm sure you'll find interesting. Thank you Irv!-c
Sailing Terms
In my sailing classes at Community Boating, many students are often fascinated by those sailing terms that are completely new to them and some want to know their origin. The one that seems strangest is “boom vang”, the tackle that keeps the boom from riding up, and I usually have to repeat it and even spell it. I explain, using the very old joke, that the boom did not get its name from the sound it makes when it hits your head, (slipping in an oblique cautionary note), but is actually Dutch for “tree” (in German, “baum”), and that “vang” comes from the same Germanic root as “fang” and the root means “to grab” hence “boom grabber”. The device was originally used on the aftermost fore-and-aft sail on large ships which is called a spanker. The spanker is stretched between two spars, the lower one is called the boom and the upper one is called the gaff. The original vang was attached from the end of the gaff on the spanker to the rail, and its purpose was to act as a preventer to keep the gaff from accidentally gybeing (crossing over to the other side of the ship) and causing the sail to “hourglass”, that is, to have the boom on one side and the gaff on the other.
“Painter”, the line attached to the bow of a small boat, always seems strange because of its English meaning of “artist”. However it comes from the old French “pendoir” (modern French “pendre”) which means something which hangs, as in pendulum or depend. The pendoir was a line that was hung from the stern of a ship at anchor to enable the crew of arriving small boats to grab it and tie up, and from this a line which ties up a small boat became a painter.
The origin of starboard and port is always of interest. In the early days of sail, ships were steered with a steering board, which was mounted on the right side of the ship, and that side of the ship became the steering board, or starboard side. Then, in order not to have to unship the heavy steering board, ships were always parked with the unencumbered, that is the left side, towards the port. A board to facilitate the off-loading and on-loading of cargo, called the lading board, was then rigged on the left side, and that side of the ship became the lading board, or larboard side. However larboard and starboard sounded too much alike, and created dangerous confusion, especially when shouted orders competed with strong winds howling in the rigging. So “larboard” was changed to “port”, since it was the side of the ship towards the port.
Irv Itzkan
Sailing Terms
In my sailing classes at Community Boating, many students are often fascinated by those sailing terms that are completely new to them and some want to know their origin. The one that seems strangest is “boom vang”, the tackle that keeps the boom from riding up, and I usually have to repeat it and even spell it. I explain, using the very old joke, that the boom did not get its name from the sound it makes when it hits your head, (slipping in an oblique cautionary note), but is actually Dutch for “tree” (in German, “baum”), and that “vang” comes from the same Germanic root as “fang” and the root means “to grab” hence “boom grabber”. The device was originally used on the aftermost fore-and-aft sail on large ships which is called a spanker. The spanker is stretched between two spars, the lower one is called the boom and the upper one is called the gaff. The original vang was attached from the end of the gaff on the spanker to the rail, and its purpose was to act as a preventer to keep the gaff from accidentally gybeing (crossing over to the other side of the ship) and causing the sail to “hourglass”, that is, to have the boom on one side and the gaff on the other.
“Painter”, the line attached to the bow of a small boat, always seems strange because of its English meaning of “artist”. However it comes from the old French “pendoir” (modern French “pendre”) which means something which hangs, as in pendulum or depend. The pendoir was a line that was hung from the stern of a ship at anchor to enable the crew of arriving small boats to grab it and tie up, and from this a line which ties up a small boat became a painter.
The origin of starboard and port is always of interest. In the early days of sail, ships were steered with a steering board, which was mounted on the right side of the ship, and that side of the ship became the steering board, or starboard side. Then, in order not to have to unship the heavy steering board, ships were always parked with the unencumbered, that is the left side, towards the port. A board to facilitate the off-loading and on-loading of cargo, called the lading board, was then rigged on the left side, and that side of the ship became the lading board, or larboard side. However larboard and starboard sounded too much alike, and created dangerous confusion, especially when shouted orders competed with strong winds howling in the rigging. So “larboard” was changed to “port”, since it was the side of the ship towards the port.
Irv Itzkan
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Dock Construction Project - Show Time! Best Weather Web Sites
After almost 7 years we finally get to stop talking about the "new docks" and see project move forward for real. Here are the most important dates effecting our sailing operations this fall..
August 23 420s decommissioning and storage begins. Plastic docks returned to "Head of the Charles" with our thanks. Hauling and storage of keel boat, mercuries, launches begins.
Sept. 7 High Performance dock closed. Lasers and Windsurfers decommissioninfgand storage begins.
Sept. 7 Front Office construction begins. Office closed. We will access the dock next to the building and set up a makeshift office in the mainbay. This last 3 weeks.
Oct. 4 Demolition and piling removal begins at high performance dock.
Oct 11 Last day of 2010 sailing season.
Once the fall gets here I feel a little down when mention of the last day of the sailing season is made. Not this year. This year October 11, our last day of the sailing season, feels more like a well anticipated birthday with a special present long hoped for. The dock we stand on today have given us every last measure of it's engineered life, then a bit more, then quite a bit more, and finally, through some force of nature not fully understood by science, the 2010 sailing season. If one can feel gratitude for an inanimate object then our dock is a good candidate for that. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to thank those who built it many decades ago. It has served thousands very well. I hope folks 50 years hence will think kindly towards the efforts of CBI , the DCR, The Esplanade Association, The Solomon Fund, and the many supporters of the project.
Best weather web sites For those of you who missed Isaac Pato's weather talk "Extreme Weather Forecasting for Sailors" here are the best weather web sites you should know about.
www.spc.noaa.gov -easy to use graphics, easy to check every day
www.wunderground.com -excellent non-government weather website, has the best free radar data on the web
http://adds.avia/onweather.gov -best free satallite data
www.twisterdata.com -medium and long range models
http://rapidrefresh.noaa.gov -Thunderstorm models
http://en.wikipedia.org -good starting point to answer your questions.
Charlie
August 23 420s decommissioning and storage begins. Plastic docks returned to "Head of the Charles" with our thanks. Hauling and storage of keel boat, mercuries, launches begins.
Sept. 7 High Performance dock closed. Lasers and Windsurfers decommissioninfgand storage begins.
Sept. 7 Front Office construction begins. Office closed. We will access the dock next to the building and set up a makeshift office in the mainbay. This last 3 weeks.
Oct. 4 Demolition and piling removal begins at high performance dock.
Oct 11 Last day of 2010 sailing season.
Once the fall gets here I feel a little down when mention of the last day of the sailing season is made. Not this year. This year October 11, our last day of the sailing season, feels more like a well anticipated birthday with a special present long hoped for. The dock we stand on today have given us every last measure of it's engineered life, then a bit more, then quite a bit more, and finally, through some force of nature not fully understood by science, the 2010 sailing season. If one can feel gratitude for an inanimate object then our dock is a good candidate for that. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to thank those who built it many decades ago. It has served thousands very well. I hope folks 50 years hence will think kindly towards the efforts of CBI , the DCR, The Esplanade Association, The Solomon Fund, and the many supporters of the project.
Best weather web sites For those of you who missed Isaac Pato's weather talk "Extreme Weather Forecasting for Sailors" here are the best weather web sites you should know about.
www.spc.noaa.gov -easy to use graphics, easy to check every day
www.wunderground.com -excellent non-government weather website, has the best free radar data on the web
http://adds.avia/onweather.gov -best free satallite data
www.twisterdata.com -medium and long range models
http://rapidrefresh.noaa.gov -Thunderstorm models
http://en.wikipedia.org -good starting point to answer your questions.
Charlie
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