Author Archives: lewisblevins

The tag boat skipper position is the last position you must pass in order to receive your certification in the coastal passage making course in the US Sailing program at Club Nautique. Basically, you must skipper a sailboat, with your very own hand-selected crew to sail along with you, but there will not be anContinue reading “Coastal Passage Making: Tag Boat Skipper…. Club Nautique”

We departed the Moss Landing Harbor and soon were upon the Moss Landing safe water mark. The fog had lifted sufficiently from the surface of the water but it was still overcast. We were en route to the harbor in Santa Cruz. After some time, the fog returned and we no longer had sight ofContinue reading “Coastal Passage Making: Skipper……. Club Nautique”

Prior to sailing as navigator on a CPM boat you should re-read the coastal navigation textbook. Revisit some of your homework problems. Go sailing and do some navigation on the water. I recommend that, if you have not already done so, complete your review of the Annapolis book of Seamanship and re-read the coastal passageContinue reading “Coastal Passage Making: Navigator ……Club Nautique”

I attended Skiron this evening so as to avail myself of an opportunity to evaluate the function of all navigation lights. Everything was in working order. Interior lights are also functional. The rigging and other above deck items will be inspected next. OK sailors…..what type of lines should I be using at the dock toContinue reading “Navigation Lights”

Joshua Slocum, the first man to complete a solo circumnavigation, reported that someone had steered his boat through a dark and stormy night while he was too sick to even stand up. Ernest Shackleton sensed a “helping presence” on his harrowing crossing of the south polar seas as did “Lucky” Lindbergh during the first soloContinue reading “Single-handled sailing from San Francisco to Kauai ……..guest blogger Michael Herz”

The junior navigator position, basically, is a hybrid position between navigator and crew. You will assist in sailing the vessel but also you are the assistant to the navigator. In advance of the journey, you will probably be asked to report the weather on a daily basis. You might be asked to draw up anchoringContinue reading “Coastal Passage Making: Junior Navigator…..Club Nautique”

The wind forecast looked great…… and it was just as predicted! How could I pass up an opportunity to sail??? It blew a steady 15 to 20 kn in the Bay with gusts averaging 25 kn; the highest I was able to read via the anemometer while out sailing today was 29 kn. I decideContinue reading “Sailing on the SF Bay 04/26/2020”

This superb book provides an excellent insight into tides. It’s a must read if you spend time on the water and especially if there are things you might be curious about.

I can’t tell you how exciting it is to be in the midst of final preparations for your first CPM adventure. The email chatter amongst the team started about nine days prior to departure. I didn’t find our skipper to be very engaged but I didn’t truly know what to expect. The navigator did notContinue reading “Coastal Passage Making: Crew Position….. Club Nautique”

As I mentioned earlier, CPM is a complex series of educational experiences where you work with others and gradually demonstrate a number of proficiencies and an ability to lead a crew of sailors as skipper of a sailboat. In this post I will try to help you understand the structure of the experiences so thatContinue reading “Structure of the Coastal Passage Making experience… Club Nautique”