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Cruising Life
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Feds Approve 3 New Offshore Wind Farms

Here’s a new report from gCaptain about the Biden Administration finalizing plans for three new wind farms  off Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. We don’t know yet how these will affect cruising and fishing in those areas: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has finalized three offshore Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in federal waters off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, which could potentially support between four and eight gigawatts of energy production. The three WEAs total approximately 356,550 acres. The first, known as WEA (A-2), is 101,767 acres and located 26 nautical miles (nm) from Delaware Bay. The…

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How To Stay Cool During Heat Wave: BoatUS

Here’s some timely advice from BoatUS about how to protect yourself from the record-breaking heat while you’re boating this summer: ANNAPOLIS, Md., July 24, 2023 – As the country continues to bake under record high temperatures, boaters often head to the water for respite. However, some may be unprepared for what it takes to withstand a high-heat day. Here are five tips from the nonprofit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water that can help ensure everyone’s safety as temperatures climb. 1. Create shade. Direct sunlight can make the air feel 10- to 15 degrees warmer. Reduce the time…

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Heat Wave Threatens Florida’s Coral Reefs

CNN —  A sudden marine heat wave off the coast of Florida has surprised scientists and sent water temperatures soaring to unprecedented highs, threatening one of the most severe coral bleaching events the state has ever seen. Sea surface temperatures around Florida have reached the highest levels on record since satellites began collecting ocean data. And the warming is happening much earlier than normal – yet another example of ocean heat being amplified by the human-caused climate crisis and the extreme weather it brings. “We didn’t expect this heating to happen so early in the year and to be so extreme,”…

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Ocean Heatwaves Will Get Worse: NOAA

Half the oceans of the world may register heatwaves by September, according to a new NOAA forecast. Here’s the NOAA report: As scientists around the world sound the alarm about record sea surface temperatures, a new experimental NOAA forecast system predicts that half of the global oceans may experience marine heatwave conditions by the end of summer. The surface temperatures of about 40% of the global oceans are already high enough to meet the criteria for a marine heatwave — a period of persistent anomalously warm ocean temperatures — which can have significant impacts on marine life as well as…

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7 Tips for Safe Coastal Navigation

Here are seven tips about how to prepare for your next cruise, even before you leave home, from Skipper Tips. Pour yourself a cup of coffee, or whatever, pull out your paper charts (oh, you think your GPS will work all the time?), and get ready for a safe cruise. 1. Mark Shoals and Set the Alarm! Use a dark blue pencil to mark any shoal within one to two miles of your sailing tracks. Set your depth sounder alarm to trigger when you sail within a mile or so of any of these shoals. This will give you more…

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How To Stay Safe on the Fourth: BoatUS

Here’s some great advice from BoatUS about how to stay safe while enjoying the Fourth on your boat: ANNAPOLIS, Md. June 26, 2023 – Lakes, launch ramps and harbors will again be crowded on the boating season’s traditional peak holiday period surrounding the July Fourth holiday. As the number of boats, personal watercraft and paddlecraft goes up, boaters should no look further than recently released annual U.S. Coast Guard statistics for some lessons on how to keep everyone aboard safe during this busy time of the year, especially for on-water fireworks shows. According to data from the recently released 2022…

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Arctic Summer Ice: Going, Going, Gone

CNN— The Arctic could be free of sea ice roughly a decade earlier than projected, scientists warn – another clear sign the climate crisis is happening faster than expected as the world continues to pump out planet-heating pollution. A new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications found Arctic sea ice could disappear completely during the month of September as early as the 2030s. Even if the world makes significant cuts to planet-heating pollution today, the Arctic could still see summers free of sea ice by the 2050s, scientists reported. The researchers analyzed changes from 1979 to 2019, comparing different…

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A Docking Tip from the Pros

Here’s a tip that will help you dock easily and safely from Skipper Tips. Give this some practice on your own boat: You turn your boat toward the slip, but a gust of wind sets you downwind. How can you use your engine to pivot the boat faster and get her into the slip before it’s too late? Use this little-known boat docking secret from the pros. When I taught at the Chapman School of Seamanship, the US Coast Guard required that we teach emergency docking on both single- and twin-screw (propeller) vessels. Quite a challenge on a vessel with…

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Near-Normal Hurricane Season: NOAA

Here’s the latest from NOAA for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season: NOAA forecasters with the Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, predict near-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic this year. NOAA’s outlook for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, which goes from June 1 to November 30, predicts a 40% chance of a near-normal season, a 30% chance of an above-normal season and a 30% chance of a below-normal season. NOAA is forecasting a range of 12 to 17 total named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those, 5 to 9 could become hurricanes (winds…

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How To Trim Your Boat

Here’s some basic advice about how to trim your boat for its best and safest performance, from America’s Boating Club. You probably already know this, but a reminder every once in a while never hurts. Read on: Knowing how to trim your boat (or adjust the angle of your bow) can improve your boat’s performance in the water. Most boats handle best when running on their lines, or parallel with their at-rest waterline. A slight bow-up trim increases a planing hull’s efficiency, but don’t overdo it. Excessive bow-up trim increases slamming in a chop and reduces your forward visibility. A…

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