Sailboat – Capital Boater

Embracing Electronic Navigation Charts: A New Era

March 15, 2026 / boating, navigation

It’s kinda sad but technology has made us move along from good old-fashioned paper charts. I loved navigating on them, drawing lines, measuring distances, computing headings. Alas, the Government office that is in charge of this nostalgic way of seafaring navigation has decided to replace all the charts with Electronic Navigation Charts, ENC’s. They are […]

Embracing Electronic Navigation Charts: A New Era Read Post »

boating navigationBoating, Powerboat, Sailboat

Understanding Different Light Emissions

March 15, 2026 / boating, power boating, sailboat, sailing

If it were only so simple as to say a light flashes. But then we would only have one type of light and there may be more than one item that needs to be identified. Different types of light emissions, let’s say characteristics, allow for many more identifiers to be used. The descriptors are pretty

Understanding Different Light Emissions Read Post »

boating power boating sailboat sailingBoating, Powerboat, Sailboat

Prop Walk

October 15, 2025 / boat docking, boating, power boating, sailboat

Most sail boats and many powerboats with a single inboard will ‘suffer’ from Prop Walk. A phenomenon whereby the use of reverse gear at a slow speed will drive the stern of the boat to port if the prop is right handed. Prop Walk can be beneficial or a hindrance when docking. If pulling up

Prop Walk Read Post »

boat docking boating power boating sailboatBoating, Powerboat, Sailboat

Heaving to

September 11, 2025 / boating, sailboat, sailing

Heaving to is a very powerful tool to have in your bag of tricks as a sailor. It’s a very quick and effective way to stop the boat in the water and ride out a storm, fix broken parts, rest, or even just stop for a lunch break. The maneuver is simple in theory and

Heaving to Read Post »

boating sailboat sailingBoating, Sailboat

How a sail works

August 12, 2025 / sail shape, sailboat, sailing

One of the first things we teach sailing students is how a sail works. It’s physics- Bernoulli’s principle. High pressure moves to Low pressure, it’s that basic. We can harness the vector of movement and use part of that vector to power the boat forwards. The fastest point of sail is across the wind, on

How a sail works Read Post »

sail shape sailboat sailingSailboat

Basic Sail Twist

August 11, 2025 / sail shape, sailboat, sailing

Most novice sailors don’t think about sail twist, they just know that pulling in the sheets makes you go faster and letting them out slows you down. In low wind situations we need to get the most power out of our sail so we try to make it rounder, with more draft so it will

Basic Sail Twist Read Post »

sail shape sailboat sailingSailboat

Essential Boat Safety: Signaling Distress Effectively

August 2, 2025 / boating, motorboat instruction, power boating, sailboat

One of the eight required items to check for on a boat is a means of signaling a distress. An orange flag with a black circle and black square will suffice for daytime, but at night you need a bright light source. Pyrotechnics are the answer as they can produce thick smoke in the daytime

Essential Boat Safety: Signaling Distress Effectively Read Post »

boating motorboat instruction power boating sailboatBoating, Powerboat, Sailboat

Starboard, Larboard, and Port

July 28, 2025 / boating, sailboat

In other words, right, left and left again. The origins of the nautical names for left and right hail from having the steering gear on the right hand side of the boat, hence the star-board nomenclature. Back in the day, they called the left hand side ‘Larboard’, but it was confusing to hear in times

Starboard, Larboard, and Port Read Post »

boating sailboatBoating, Sailboat

The Potomac River flows backwards

July 18, 2025

One of the first things I discuss with my students on the Potomac River is the fact that the body of water runs towards the ocean, except twice a day. The tides that affect the Atlantic Ocean affect the Chesapeake Bay, which in turn connects to the Potomac River which results in a twice daily

The Potomac River flows backwards Read Post »

Boating, Powerboat, Sailboat

How Cardinal Marks Indicate Safe Water Directions

July 14, 2025 / cardinal marks, IALA buoyage, safe water

Cardinal marks are navigational aids used in maritime pilotage to indicate the position of a hazard and the direction of safe water. They are named after the cardinal points of the compass (North, East, South, and West) and use specific colors, topmarks, and light patterns to convey information about the surrounding waters. Key features of cardinal marks:

How Cardinal Marks Indicate Safe Water Directions Read Post »

cardinal marks IALA buoyage safe waterBoating, Powerboat, Sailboat