Local knowledge
- Thread starter Stratus3
- Start date
Places like this are often the best source of 'local knowledge'. It all depends on where you are, and where we are (not trying to be a smart-alic).
Yacht club bars are a good source of local knowledge. Bars where local sailors hang out also works. The marina social room and afternoon barbecues at the marina. Local boating stores. If you are headed somewhere, look at the hailing ports and find one that is near where you are headed. Are all good sources.
For the most part sailors are a friendly sort and will go out of their way to lend a hand.
For the most part sailors are a friendly sort and will go out of their way to lend a hand.
Depending on your area as others have stated fellow sailors in your marina, local to you sailing social clubs are a good source of info. As far as printed guides for local info check out Waterway Guide Waterway Guide | Cruising Guide, Fuel Pricing, Navigation Alerts and News for Boaters and Yacht Enthusiasts
and another printed source is Skipper Bobs Cruising Publications. Home | Skipper Bob Cruising Guides
and another printed source is Skipper Bobs Cruising Publications. Home | Skipper Bob Cruising Guides
When you are near your destination, try calling TowboatUS on the VHF. They have much local knowledge and are glad to help.
Good ideas so far.
Much "local knowledge" could also be impacted on just where you are talking about.
1. An inlet in Florida or NJ subject to shoaling can be seasonal and/or subject to weather events both recent or a short time ago or the entire ICW (i.e., Hurricane Sandy which changed everything for a looong time).
2. Rocks guarding specific entrances to specific coves - these are usually well covered in cruising guides, 'cuz rocks rarely move (i.e., southwestern BC and the PNW).
3. Racing is somewhat different. Many folks quite reasonably refuse to share 'cuz they want to keep improving themselves. Local knowledge helps on SF Bay; i.e., if your start is off Berkeley or NE Treasure Island upwind to the main Bay, there is a "regular" wind shift LIFT at Pt. Blount - I don't race there anymore, so I choose to share!
I moved from decades in SF to BC in 2016. I've found boaters of all kinds to be genuinely helpful All I ever did was tell them where I was planning to go, and there would be lots of help. Of course, I read the danged guides FIRST so I had a basic knowledge of what they were talking about. If YOU don't do that homework and research on your own first, you'll have no clue what they're talking about anyway!
I've been fortunate in finding new friends, many from this very forum, who have been helpful in buddy-boating to new-to-me places, and I've reciprocated when they came further north.
And then, once you've been wherever you're going, give back and share your wealth with others.
Much "local knowledge" could also be impacted on just where you are talking about.
1. An inlet in Florida or NJ subject to shoaling can be seasonal and/or subject to weather events both recent or a short time ago or the entire ICW (i.e., Hurricane Sandy which changed everything for a looong time).
2. Rocks guarding specific entrances to specific coves - these are usually well covered in cruising guides, 'cuz rocks rarely move (i.e., southwestern BC and the PNW).
3. Racing is somewhat different. Many folks quite reasonably refuse to share 'cuz they want to keep improving themselves. Local knowledge helps on SF Bay; i.e., if your start is off Berkeley or NE Treasure Island upwind to the main Bay, there is a "regular" wind shift LIFT at Pt. Blount - I don't race there anymore, so I choose to share!
I moved from decades in SF to BC in 2016. I've found boaters of all kinds to be genuinely helpful All I ever did was tell them where I was planning to go, and there would be lots of help. Of course, I read the danged guides FIRST so I had a basic knowledge of what they were talking about. If YOU don't do that homework and research on your own first, you'll have no clue what they're talking about anyway!
I've been fortunate in finding new friends, many from this very forum, who have been helpful in buddy-boating to new-to-me places, and I've reciprocated when they came further north.
And then, once you've been wherever you're going, give back and share your wealth with others.
An example of local knowledge would be this: In Florida if there is a Northerly wind of any significance you avoid going out into the Gulf Stream which flows North. The wind against current creates steep seas. Locals know that. Some northern friends who brought a 40 + foot fishing boat down to Florida didn't. When the buried the bow in a wave deep enough to inflate the life raft they learned. Now they have local knowledge on that subject. So local knowledge could be said to be learned from making mistakes - or by learning from someone else's mistakes.
What cruising guide are you looking at and what specific area within that guide are you looking for local knowledge on? There may be folk on this forum that can provide you the local knowledge you may be looking for.
dj
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,504
@Stratus3 looks like you are in the Pacific NW. Central Point is not near many large bodies of water that with passages or shoaling local knowledge is critical. So I have to ask, where are you seeking "Local Knowledge"? Coos Bay, fun sailing about the bay, watch for logging debris, Charleston and the BAR to the ocean are time sensitive. Do not attempt if the CG has closed the bar. You want a Green Flag. But I see you have been playing with several boats a small Mac 26 classic to bigger boats Beneteau 40 CC . This will be a factor. Which boat?
Cruising in the Gulf of Mexico around 2:00 AM we picked up a crab trap, we were motor sailing at the time and continued under sail and changed course for FT. Myers, FL. After an hour we got a torch and were able to see the trailing line and with a boat hook pulled the line in and cut it. Now without the drag of the trap and a favorable wind we were able to make the inlet for Ft. Myers at around 9:00 AM. as we had the wind on the nose we could not enter so we decided to move off the channel, drop anchor and call BoatUS for a tow. When we told them what was our predicament they responded that they had a retired Navy Diver aboard and that he could unwrap the line off the prop shaft without having to tow us into the inlet. When their boat got there they asked if we had ran aground that we were sitting right above a shallow and we responded that according to our depth meter we had at least 4 ft. under our keel. They approached and the diver went into the water just to verify the depth and he came back up and said he could not believe it that the shallow that had been there the previous week had disappeared. That is how quickly sands can shift in the area. It is usually the locals that can spot changes in the depth. I would not enter Sarasota Bay without first calling one of the Marinas as they would have the freshest information.
Our first year on the ICW we ran aground near a known trouble spot at almost low tide. We only had an hour of daylight left so we called for a tow. The tow operator said we were the fourth boat he had been called to that day, but that the others had been nearer the side of the channel. He then tied two lines to our bow cleats and tilted his props down so he could wash the sand from around our keel. Having pushed enough sand in an hour for our boat to float, we were easily free. However my guess was that the hump was now centered in the channel for unsuspecting boats the next day. If we ever travel the ICW, we listen to groundings ahead of us and use the braille system in that area.
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Local nowledge is what you need to know BFORE you need it, to keep you and your boat safe from harm. This would be in your head for ready reference. It is like experience- you gather it from any sorurce... people, books, magazines, but the best idea is at a local bar.
