LASC - Lake Arthur Sailing Club - Lake Arthur, Moraine State Park, Butler PA (Western PA)

Looking to Buy a Sailboat?
Winter is a good time to start shopping for a sailboat, not least because you're less likely to make an emotional decision and buy a boat too quick because it's warm and you can't wait to get out on the water! Winter's good for taking your time to research boats and really figure out what it is you want and need. Here are the <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/introductiontosailing/a/Best-Websites-For-Boats-For-Sale.htm">best websites</a> not only for finding available boats but also for learning about your options, equipment choices, and price ranges. Enjoy the photos and daydreams, and stay warm while you <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/typesofsailboats/a/How-To-Buy-A-Sailboat.htm">prepare</a> to seal a deal!...<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/b/2012/01/30/looking-to-buy-a-sailboat.htm">Read Full Post</a>

A Good Thriller Novel for Sailors
Those of us who sail in northern climes tend to read more in the winter when our boats are on the hard - and what better to read than books involving sailing? If you enjoy mystery novels and thrillers, you'll like "Circle of Bones" by Christine Kling (a liveaboard sailor-writer), which I just finished reading. It got me through a few cold winter nights while needing a Caribbean fix, with many good scenes aboard boats and a plot intricate enough for the most discriminating reader. <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/BestSailingBooks/fr/Circle-Of-Bones-By-Christine-Kling-Book-Review.htm">Check it out!</a>

Cold Weather Sailing
Are you sailing in an area of cold water or cold air? In both cases, the cold creates special hazards - even if don't expect to get wet. The Coast Guard Auxiliary recently issued a bulletin listing steps all boaters should take to ensure they stay safe on the water when it's cold. Check <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/SailingSafety/a/Cold-Water-Boating-Safety.htm">this list</a> to see if you might be overlooking something.

Sailing Game Apps?
<img class="alignnone" src="http://0.tqn.com/h/sailing/1/9/M/7/-/-/TallShipsgame.jpg" alt="Tall Ships Age of Sail" /> As part of my reviewing of <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/equipmentgear/a/Navigation-And-Boating-Apps.htm">apps created for sailors</a>, I've recently started looking at sailing games. To be honest, I haven't been very enthralled by any so far, but I'll keep checking them out! The app <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/SailingApps/a/Review-Of-Tall-Ships-Age-Of-Sail-App.htm">Tall Ships Age of Sail</a> has some interesting historical aspects and good physics as your maneuver your tall ship to fire your cannon at attacking ships. And <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/SailingApps/a/Review-Of-Sailboat-Championship-Pro-App-Game.htm">Sailboat Championship PRO</a> does a good job of representing tacks and gybes on different points of sail as you race different courses, but whether either will ultimately satisfy your gaming self probably depends more on your personality as a gamer than on your interest in sailing. I find another racing game, <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/SailingApps/a/Review-Of-3d-Sailing-Simulator-Regatta-App-Game.htm">3D Sailing Simulator Regatta</a>, more fun and closer to the racing experience. And <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/SailingApps/a/Review-Of-Little-Sailor-Sailing-Simulator-And-Racing-App.htm">Little Sailor</a> is better still - a realistic simulation and racing game. What do you think? Have you found a great sailing-oriented game app for your Apple or Android device? Please post a comment if so and I'll check it out!

Is the DSC on Your Boat's VHF Activated?
<img class="alignnone" src="http://0.tqn.com/h/sailing/1/9/t/-/-/-/VHFradioSmall.jpg" alt="VHF Radio" /> Lots of sailors have recently new VHF radios on their boats (or maybe you recently got one as a gift and anticipate installing it this spring) that have DSC capability - but they never get around to activating the DSC function, leaving that critical feature worthless. Digital Selective Calling, especially when your radio is connected to a GPS, can save your life in an emergency. Far too often, when a boater has to make a mayday radio call, the voice communication is weak or disrupted - or the skipper has to drop the mic to rescue someone or save the boat - and the Coast Guard never learns the boat's location, greatly delaying or preventing rescue. <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/equipmentgear/a/Digital-Selective-Calling-Dsc-For-Marine-Vhf-Radios.htm">Learn how to activate your radio's DSC</a> so that it takes only a simple push of a button to get help on its way in an emergency.

Dreaming of Cruising the Islands
<img class="alignnone" src="http://0.tqn.com/h/sailing/1/H/L/7/-/-/blogusvi.jpg" alt="USVI" /> Just back from St. John in the US Virgin Islands - and with the onset of frigid temperatures in New England I wish I was still there! As always I am convinced <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/sailingareasdestination/a/Sailing-Destination-U-S-Virgin-Islands.htm">St. John</a> is among the very best Caribbean cruising grounds, in my experience more beautiful and less crowded than the traditional BVI charter areas. The beaches and mountains are protected and pristine, the snorkeling like heaven, the water as good as it gets. Why not check out a <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/sailingareasdestination/a/chartercarib.htm">bareboat charter</a> and head down this winter?

Sailing Apps to Be Wary Of
<img class="alignnone" src="http://0.tqn.com/h/sailing/1/6/J/7/-/-/NauticalBooksApp.jpg" alt="Nautical Books app" /> After reviewing quite a lot of <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/equipmentgear/a/Navigation-And-Boating-Apps.htm">apps of interest to sailors</a>, I've noticed the trend of app developers who have essentially nothing new to offer themselves but who just repackage existing online content to make a profit from selling the app or advertising on the app. That's one of the reasons it's worthwhile reading reviews before downloading any app. Here are some examples. The <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/SailingApps/a/Review-Of-History-Of-Sailing-App.htm">History of Sailing app</a> primarily uses information from Wikipedia. <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/SailingApps/a/Review-Of-Marine-Weather-Right-Now-App.htm">Marine Weather Right Now</a> repackages weather information from a website that likely is not as accurate as the data you can get in your area from NWS or NOAA sites or the apps that use that data. And most egregious is <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/SailingApps/a/Review-Of-Nautical-Books-App.htm">Nautical Books</a>, which wants to sell you public domain books you can already get for free (read the review to see how).

More Reviews of More Boating Apps
Being stuck inside in unpleasant weather is a good time to check out weather apps for sailors and boaters. I've posted reviews of three weather products: <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/navigationseamanship/a/Review-Of-Marinecast-Weather-App-For-Boaters.htm">MarineCast</a>, <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/navigationseamanship/a/Review-Of-Wind-Noaa-App.htm">Wind NOAA</a>, and <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/SailingApps/a/Review-Of-Marine-Weather-Right-Now-App.htm">Marine Weather Right Now</a> - along with reasons why it can be dangerous to depend on one of these. Also newly reviewed are <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/navigationseamanship/a/Review-Of-Nautical-Chart-Symbols-App.htm">Nautical Chart Symbols</a> and two educational apps: <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/learntosail/a/Review-Of-Points-Of-Sail-App-And-Sailsim-App.htm">Points of Sail and SailSim</a>. Or follow <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/equipmentgear/a/Navigation-And-Boating-Apps.htm">this one link</a> for an entire collection of sailing and boating apps.

Volvo Ocean Race Documentary and Leg 2 Start
There's a great <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WqOsqvKARww#!">documentary video</a> up on YouTube now capturing the highlights of the Volvo Ocean Race first leg. Running 52 minutes, it's professionally made and includes great images of the boats at speed as well as dramatic scenes of the dismastings and holing causing three of the six boats to retire from the first leg. Watching this recap of the first leg is a good way to get ready for the second leg, which begins this Saturday with the in-port race in Cape Town, <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://new.livestream.com/volvooceanrace">broadcast live</a> on the web....<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/b/2011/12/07/volvo-ocean-race-documentary-and-leg-2-start.htm">Read Full Post</a>

Low-cost MX Mariner GPS Chartplotter Out in Beta for Android Devices
Good news for owners of Android smartphones and tablets: the <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://mxmariner.com/about">MX Mariner GPS chartplotter app</a> is now available in beta. This looks like a great live-navigation app for all boaters with GPS-enabled Android devices. For only $5.99, using free charts, the app offers a wealth of features and likely has more expensive competitors cringing. MX Mariner comes from the same folks who developed the <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://sailing.about.com/od/navigationseamanship/a/Review-Of-Opencpn-Navigational-Software.htm">free OpenCPN chartplotting software</a> for laptops - a terrific program developed by sailors and chock-full of great functions.