Table of Contents

Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Chart and Publication SecretsA Navigator’s Most Trusted CompanionChart Tints and ColoringFlat Beach, High Cliffs, or Soaring Peaks?How to Interpret Water Depths and Seabed CharacteristicsHeight Measurements for Safe PassageSymbols That Shout “Danger!” and “Beware!”Solve the Mystery of Aid-to-Navigation SymbolsRanges Lead You to SafetyThe Five Secrets for Visualizing Any Aid to NavigationChart Notes: Nuggets of Hidden GoldAre Your Charts Up-to-Date?Free Code-Breaker for 36,000 Mariners' FriendsFree Cruising Guides to Take You Anywhere 2. Chart Plotting and Preparation Skipper’s Navigation Tools Quick-and-Easy Review of Latitude and LongitudeHow to Choose the Chart Scale You NeedBox-Plot Your PositionHow to Convert Minutes, Seconds or Degrees to MilesTrue versus Magnetic Directions and Two Ways to Find VariationCheck Your Steering Compass in Three Easy StepsBulletproof Your Charts for Longer LifePaper Chartlets for Cockpit EaseComplete 90% of Your Navigation by AnnotationSave Time with Custom Distance Scales Invaluable Copilot: The Navigator’s Log 3. Easy Calculations and AdjustmentsLightning Fast Arrival Time EstimatesHow to Make a Speed Graph in Three Easy StepsNavigation Solutions in Less than Five SecondsHarness the Power of the 3-Minute RuleHow to Select and Calibrate a New CompassHow to Choose and Adjust Marine BinocularsHow to Adjust a Sextant in Three StepsHow to Adjust Your Radar for the Best Picture 4. Piloting Tips and TechniquesDR Plotting and the Boat-Trackline ConnectionHow to Become Piloting Sequence SavvyHow to Determine When You Will Make LandfallSecrets of the Most Accurate LOP on EarthA Simple Solution to Running-Fix ConfusionLongshore Piloting When Landfall Iis in DoubtHow to Avoid Hazards with Danger BearingsHow to Clear Hazards without Plotting on a ChartDepth Contour SecretsMagic Boat Markers for Distance OffMake a GPS Grid Highway to Avoid DangersHow to Plot a GPS Position in Lless than 5 Seconds Sail a Tacking Cone to a Windward DestinationICW Secrets: Channel Jogs and Marker Silhouettes 5. Tides, Currents, and LeewayHow to Predict Tides Anywhere in the WorldThe Secret to Understanding Tidal CurrentsTap the Magic of the 50-90-100 Rule Slack Intervals: Nature's Gift to MarinersHow to Measure the Effect of Current in Three Easy StepsHow to Cross the Gulf Stream or Any Other Ocean CurrentHow to Correct for Leeway Wind Drift 6. Bridges, Night Passages, and Other Tricky Navigation SituationsCracking the Mystery of Bridge LightingUse the Secret of “Triple Timing” to Verify a Lighted ATONHow to Use S.T.O.P. for Easy OrientationRange Sector Strategy SecretsRed Sectors Give Instant Danger Bearings 7. Avoiding Collision by Eye or RadarBearing Drift: A First Sign that Danger ExistsUse Sectoring to Track a Crossing or Overtaking Vessel Caught in a Ship’s Blind SpotHow to Identify Motionless Contacts on Your RadarAvoiding Collisions the E.A.S.A. WayHow to Cross behind a Stern-Towing TugIdentify Vessels Towing Barges Alongside or Pushing Them AheadQuick Guide for Sailboat-to-Sailboat SituationsHow to Become Sound Signal SavvyHow to Use the Three Factors of the LookoutRadar Scope Plotting 8. Diesel Engine Maintenance and Powerboat SeamanshipA Simple User’s Guide to Inboard Diesel Engine MaintenanceHow to Manually Shut Down a Diesel EngineHow to Stop a Runaway EngineFighting Engineroom Fires by Remote ControlStay Safe When Hooking Up Shore PowerWake Control and Emergency Wake BreakingDecisions to Make Before Running an InletHow to Make a Fuel Consumption Graph 9. Sailboat Seamanship The Sailing Skipper’s Eight-Component Inspection Clearing Up the Mystery of Apparent WindHow to Determine Wind Forces How to Shape the Mainsail, a Sailboat’s Main Propulsion UnitHow to Shape Headsails for Power or SpeedThree Easy Steps for Heavy Weather ControlHow to Remove a Jammed Sheet from a WinchHow to Sail Home if the Steering FailsHow to Prevent an Accidental JibeHow to Short Tack in a Narrow Channel 10.Docking SeamanshipSingle-Screw Boat-Handling SecretsTwin-Screw Boat-Handling SecretsDocking and Undocking with One Spring Line Working into a Slip under Main or HeadsailHow to Parallel Park between Two BoatsHow to Warp a Boat around a Pier or PilingHow to Dock a Twin-Screw Boat with One Working Engine 11.Anchoring and Marlinspike SeamanshipHow to Choose the Right Anchors for Your BoatChoose the Proper Anchor Rode for SafetyHorizontal Loading: The Secret to Drag PreventionThe Five-Factor Guide to a Secure AnchorageHow to Increase an Anchor’s Holding PowerHow to Rig a Two-Anchor Mooring SystemSecrets to Anchoring under PowerAnchoring under Mainsail or HeadsailHow to Use Casting Kedges for UngroundingHow to Make a Snubber Bridle for an All-Chain RodeThe Five Kings of Marlinspike Seamanship 12. Weather and Water WisdomA Mariner’s Most Essential Weather PredictorUsing a Weather Pattern LogWeather Information Resources for MarinersHow to Predict Wind Shifts in Low-Pressure SystemsMeeting a Line SquallLightning Timing and Protective StrategiesHow to Predict Wave Heights for CruisingSwell SecretsHow to Use Terrain Effect in Cruise Planning 13. Preventing and Handling EmergenciesFuel-Fire Prevention TechniquesGalley Stove Safety Secrets Overboard Recovery and Reality ChecksUse N.O.W. and Keep Crewmembers Alive and WellHandle Flooding Emergencies with M.A.T.E.How to Use Your Engine as a Dewatering PumpOther Strategies for Staying Afloat when DamagedSigns of Hypothermia and Cold-Water ShockSkipper’s Immersion Survival and Treatments Guide Appendix I. Useful Tables Appendix II. Additional Concepts and Formulas Bibliography Index

About the Author

John Jamieson (Port St. Lucie, FL) spent 23 years in the Coast Guard as an enlisted navigator, instructor, search and rescue coxswain, and ships conning officer. He has taught seamanship and navigation for the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy and has trained hundreds of students in these arts both ashore and afloat. As Senior Assistant Controller at the Rescue Coordination Center in Long Beach California, he coordinated air-and-sea search-and-rescue missions from the border of California and Oregon to the Yucatan Peninsula, out to 1,000 nautical miles offshore. Jamieson holds master and mate licenses for both power and sail and is a nationally certified sailing instructor. He recently directed the seamanship and chart navigation department at the internationally renowned Charles F. Chapman School of Seamanship in Stuart, Florida. He has sailed single-handed for 13 years and has delivered sailing vessels along the U.S. East Coast. This is his first book.