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    • CURRENT LOCAL NOTICES TO MARINERS

      Here are the latest Local Notices to Mariners and NAV ALERTS that are relevant to ICW cruising in Districts 5, 7 and 8, the OBX, AICW, OWW, Keys, GIWW and adjacent waters. Open each LNM link for the USCG notice and a chart for each location. Listed north to south to north. NAV ALERTS will also be posted on our Homepage.

      For previous Local Notices, go to the Specific State or Region on our Homepage

       

      Week 22/26

      LNM: GIWW MM:110.7, Boca Ciega Bay Daybeacon 13A Set TRUB

      LNM: Off GIWW-East, Jourdan River Channel Daybeacon 9 Missing

      LNM: GIWW-East MM:168.5, Pensacola-Mobile Daybeacon 51 Offstation

      LNM: GIWW MM:110.7, Boca Ciega Bay Daybeacon 13A Destroyed

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:523.2, Aransas-Corpus Christi Bay Cutoff Channel Daybeacon 2 Offstation

      LNM: AIWW MM:464.8, Fort Sumter Range Front Light Extinguished

      LNM: Off WW, Davis Reef Light 14 Extinguished

      LNM: AIWW MM:1,158.2, Cotton Key Light 81 Missing

      LNM: St. Johns River MM:17.5, Long Branch Range Rear Light Extinguished

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:629.8, Port Mansfield Channel Buoy 25 Missing

      LNM: Off GIWW-West MM:629.8, Port Mansfield Channel Buoy 21 Missing

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:631.0, Land Cut-Arroyo Colorado Light 79 Destroyed

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:628.7, Land Cut-Arroyo Colorado Daybeacon 71 Missing

      LNM: Off GIWW-East MM:182.3, Bayou Grande Daybeacon 5 Destroyed

      LNM: AIWW MM:245.9, Camp Lejeune Closed to Navigation

      LNM: AIWW-Hawk Channel MM:1,242.2, Key West Main Extinguished

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:631.0, Land Cut-Arroyo Colorado Daybeacon 80 Set TRUB

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:629.8, Port Mansfield Channel Daybeacon 27 Set TRUB

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:650.8, Harlingen-Port Isabel Daybeacon 25 Set TRUB

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:652.9, Harlingen-Port Isabel Daybeacon 33 Set TRUB

      LNM: Off WW, Horseshoe West Channel Daybeacon 2 Leaning

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:742.1, St Johns River Entrance Lighted Buoy 3 Offstation

      LNM: Off GIWW-East MM:103.9, Bayou Casotte Channel Light 1 Set TRUB

      LNM: Off GIWW-East MM:103.9, Bayou Casotte Channel Light 3 Set TRUB

      LNM: GIWW-East MM:96.2, Round Island South Channel Light 5 Set TRLB

      LNM: Off , Palacios Channel Light 44 Missing

      LNM: Off GIWW-West MM:464.8, Palacios Channel Daybeacon 12 Missing

      USACE: LNM: OWW MM 39, Diving Operations at St Lucie Lock & Dam June 1-2, 2026 INTERMITTENT CLOSURES

      USACE: LNM: OWW MM 39, Diving Operations at Port Mayaca Lock & Dam May 29, 2026 INTERMITTENT CLOSURES

      LNM: Off WW, NWS Tropical Atlantic Marine Weather Briefing – Thursday, May 28, 2026 15:00

      LNM: Off WW, Occohannock Creek Warning Light A Missing

      LNM: Off WW, Corpus Christi Cut A West Range Front Light Missing

      LNM: Off WW, Wassaw Sound Buoy 9 Extinguished

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:650.8, Harlingen-Port Isabel Daybeacon 25 Off Station

      LNM: Off , Barney Slough Channel Buoy 12 Temporarily Discontinued

      LNM: Off , Barney Slough Channel Lighted Buoy 14 Temporarily Discontinued

      LNM: Off , Barney Slough Channel Buoy 12A Temporarily Discontinued

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:652.9, Harlingen-Port Isabel Daybeacon 33 Off Station

      USACE: LNM: OWW MM 39, Diving Operations at Port Mayaca Lock & Dam TODAY – INTERMITTENT CLOSURES

      LNM: Off GIWW-West MM:541.5, Corpus Christi Channel Light 44 Missing

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:676.2, Turtle River Lighted Buoy 3 Offstation

      LNM: AIWW MM:868.4, Mosquito Lagoon Daybeacon 46 Partially Submerged

      LNM: AIWW MM:1,118.7, Cutter Bank Daybeacon 12 Missing

      LNM: AIWW MM:868.4, Mosquito Lagoon Daybeacon 47 Partially Submerged

      LNM: Off GIWW-West MM:658.4, Solomons Lump Light Changed

      LNM: AIWW MM:839.4, Ponce De Leon Cut Light 1 Missing

      LNM: Off WW, Nandua Creek Channel Buoy 9 Missing

      LNM: Off WW, Nandua Creek Channel Buoy 8 Missing

      LNM: AIWW MM:1,054.0, Hillsboro Inlet Entrance Daybeacon 5 Missing

      LNM: GIWW-East MM:203.9, Santa Rosa Sound Buoy 113 Offstation

      LNM: Off GIWW, Capri Pass Light 3 Missing

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:539.1, Corpus Christi Bay Buoy 44 Missing

      LNM: Off AIWW-DismalSwamp, Naval Ordnance Lighted Buoy T Extinguished

      LNM: Off AIWW, Oregon Inlet Lighted Buoy 13 Relocated

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:1,179.6, Duck Key Inlet Channel Daybeacon 7 Destroyed

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:1,179.6, Duck Key Inlet Channel Daybeacon 6 Destroyed

      LNM: Off WW, Deep Creek Light 7 Destroyed

      LNM: Off WW, Chickahominy River Channel Buoy 21 Adrift

      LNM: Off WW, Cross Florida Greenway Light 19 Extinguished

      LNM: Off GIWW-East MM:103.9, Bayou Casotte Channel Light 3 Leaning

      LNM: GIWW-East MM:217.0, Santa Rosa Sound Buoy 54 Offstation

      LNM: GIWW-East MM:217.4, Santa Rosa Sound Buoy 51 Offstation

      LNM: Off GIWW-East MM:103.9, Bayou Casotte Channel Light 1 Damaged

      LNM: Off GIWW, Egmont Channel Lighted Buoy 10 Extinguished

       

      Week 21/26

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:895.4, Canaveral Barge Canal Daybeacon 6 Set TRUB

      LNM: Off WW, Nassawadox Creek Danger Buoy K Offstation

      LNM: AIWW MM:557.0, Skull Creek Daybeacon 20 Set TRLB

      LNM: Off GIWW-West, Shoreline Ten Wreck Lighted Buoy WR2 Off Station

      LNM: Off WW, NWS Tropical Atlantic Marine Weather Briefing -Sunday, May 24, 2026 15:30

      LNM: Off WW, Davis Reef Light 14 Extinguished

      LNM: AIWW MM:961.8, Indian River (South Section) Daybeacon 174 Destroyed

      LNM: AIWW MM:557.0, Skull Creek Daybeacon 20 Destroyed

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:895.4, Canaveral Barge Canal Daybeacon 6 Destroyed

      LNM: Off GIWW-East MM:282.4, Beatty Bayou Channel Daybeacon 1 Destroyed

      LNM: Off GIWW-East MM:182.6, Bayou Grande Entrance Light 1 Destroyed

      LNM: Off GIWW-East MM:355.4, ST GEORGE ISLAND LIGHTED BUOY 6 Destroyed

      LNM: Off GIWW-West MM:629.8, Port Mansfield Channel Daybeacon 33 Destroyed

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:471.4, Port O’Connor Channel Buoy 2 Missing

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:562.0, Corpus Christi Baffin Bay Daybeacon 69 Destroyed

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:629.7, Port Mansfield Channel Junction Light PM Destroyed

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:563.7, Corpus Christi Baffin Bay Light 75 Destroyed

      LNM: Off GIWW-West MM:667.3, Laguna Madre Channel Light 9 Set TRLB

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:629.7, Port Mansfield Channel Junction Light PM Set TRLB

      LNM: Off AIWW, St Marys Entrance Lighted Buoy 4 Offstation

      LNM: Off WW, NWS Tropical Atlantic Marine Weather Briefing for Thursday, MAY 21, 2026 17:45

      LNM: Off GIWW-East, Dog River Channel Daybeacon 5 Destroyed

      LNM: AIWW MM:841.4, Ponce De Leon Cut Daybeacon 8 Damaged

      LNM: AIWW MM:382.9, Little River-Winyah Bay Light 53 Set TRLB

      LNM: Off GIWW-East MM:71.9, Gulfport Ship Channel Light 47 Missing

      LNM: Off , New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway Daybeacon 128 Shoaling

      LNM: Off GIWW, Port Manatee Channel Inbound Range Rear Light is Dim

      LNM: Off GIWW, Big Bend Channel Light 4 Extinguished

      LNM: Off GIWW-West MM:629.7, Port Mansfield Channel Daybeacon 32 Destroyed

      LNM: Off OWW MM:61.4, Lake Okeechobee (Rt 2) Daybeacon 94 Missing

      LNM: OWW MM:39.3, Lake Okeechobee (Rt 2) Light 2 Missing

      LNM: Off GIWW-West MM:541.5, Corpus Christi Channel Light 44 Destroyed

      LNM: GIWW-East MM:173.2, Pensacola-Mobile Buoy 21 Offstation

      LNM: GIWW-East MM:173.4, Pensacola-Mobile Buoy 19 Offstation

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:628.4, Land Cut-Arroyo Colorado Daybeacon 70 Offstation

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:470.9, Folly River Buoy 4 Offstation

      LNM: Off GIWW MM:74.4, New Pass Channel Daybeacon 9 Set TRUB

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:468.0, Hog Island Reach Channel Lighted Buoy 42 Offstation

      LNM: AIWW MM:329.6, Cape Fear River – Little River Buoy 76 Relocated

      LNM: AIWW MM:330.4, Cape Fear River – Little River Buoy 80A Relocated

      LNM: AIWW MM:330.5, Cape Fear River – Little River Buoy 81 Relocated

      LNM: AIWW MM:329.7, Cape Fear River – Little River Light 77 Relocated

      LNM: AIWW MM:326.7, Cape Fear River – Little River Warning Daybeacon Relocated

      LNM: AIWW MM:329.7, Cape Fear River – Little River Light 77 Changed

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:227.7, Bogue Inlet Lighted Buoy 1 Relocated

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:227.7, Bogue Inlet Lighted Buoy 2 Relocated

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:227.8, Bogue Inlet Lighted Buoy 3 Relocated

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:227.8, Bogue Inlet Buoy 4 Relocated

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:227.8, Bogue Inlet Buoy 5 Relocated

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:228.0, Bogue Inlet Lighted Buoy 6 Relocated

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:228.1, Bogue Inlet Lighted Buoy 7 Relocated

      LNM: OWW MM 94 Ortona Diving Operations May 20-21, Caloosahatchee River, FL

      LNM: Off GIWW-West MM:667.3, Laguna Madre Channel Light 9 Missing

      LNM: GIWW-West MM:668.5, Brownsville Channel Light 30 Extinguished

      LNM: Off GIWW-West, Matagorda Ship Channel Light 59 Damaged

      LNM: Off GIWW, Egmont Channel Lighted Buoy 3 Extinguished

      LNM: AIWW MM:382.9, Little River-Winyah Bay Light 53 Missing

      LNM: Off GIWW-East MM:163.7, Perdido Pass Buoy 9 Offstation

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:431.6, Five Fathom Creek Daybeacon 14 Damaged

      LNM: AIWW MM:731.9, Gunnison Cut Light 53 Missing

      LNM: AIWW MM:572.8, Walls Cut Light 44 Damaged

      LNM: Off AIWW MM:432.5, Five Fathom Creek Daybeacon 12 Damaged

      LNM: Off WW, Mulberry Creek Light 1 Destroyed

      LNM: Off WW, Chickahominy River Channel Buoy 21 Offstation

       

      Week 20/26

      LNM: Off WW, Crystal River Entrance Daybeacon 7 Missing

      LNM: GIWW MM:129.8, The Narrows Daybeacon 38 Destroyed

      LNM: Off WW, NWS Tropical Atlantic Marine Weather Briefing for Thursday, MAY 17, 2026 20:45

       

      Week 39/23

      LNM: Alt ICW MM 7, Long Term Deep Creek Bridge Replacement, Dismal Swamp Canal, NC

      For previous Local Notices, go to the Specific State or Region on our Homepage

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    • LTM Additions So Far Today: Today (Sun, May 31)

      0 New LTM\’s Added Today. Note this post is updated hourly so check back as the day progresses for the lastest and updated information.

      SELECT LTM Area:

      SELECT Format:
       

      0 ALL Areas LTM\’s Added on 2026-05-31

      ALL Areas List for 2026-05-31 (0 Found)

      No LTM on 2026-05-31

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    • Southeast Marine Fuel Best Prices as of May 27

      This week’s lowest current marina fuel prices as of May 27
              Diesel Range: $4.69 to $7.30 Lowest @ Wacca Wache Marina in (South Carolina)
              Gas Range: $4.57 to $5.99 Lowest @ Centerville Waterway Marina in (Virginia to North Carolina)
      Remember to always call the marina to verify the current price since prices may change at any time. Also please let us know if you find a marina’s fuel price has changed via the Submit News link.

      SELECT Fuel Type:
      SELECT Format:
      Lowest Diesel Price in Each Region

      Fuel Price Report Brought to you by:

      Ft. Pierce City Marina
      Ft. Pierce City Marina specializes in overnight dockage and 22 hour fueling.

      Lowest Diesel Prices Anywhere

      All Regions (Price Range $4.69 to $7.90)

      $4.69 Wacca Wache Marina (05/26)
      $4.85 Freeport Marina (05/26)
      $4.89 Dudley’s Marina (05/26)

      Lowest By Region

      Virginia to North Carolina (Price Range $5.20 to $6.07)

      North Carolina (Price Range $4.89 to $6.97)

      South Carolina (Price Range $4.69 to $7.30)

      $4.69 Wacca Wache Marina (05/26)
      $4.85 Freeport Marina (05/26)
      $4.99 Myrtle Beach Yacht Club (05/26)

      Georgia (Price Range $4.99 to $6.25)

      Eastern Florida (Price Range $4.91 to $7.30)

      $4.91 Port Consolidated (05/26)
      $5.09 Anchor Petroleum (05/26)
      $5.25 LukFuel (05/26)

      St Johns River (Price Range $5.15 to $7.90)

      Florida Keys (Price Range $5.20 to $7.20)

      Western Florida (Price Range $4.27 to $7.60)

      $4.27 Shields Marina (05/26)
      $5.19 Sea Hag Marina (05/26)
      $5.29 Twin Rivers Marina (05/26)

      Okeechobee (Price Range $5.54 to $6.41)

      $5.54 Gulf Harbour Marina (05/18)
      $6.41 Sunset Bay Marina (05/26)

      Northern Gulf (Price Range $5.39 to $6.24)

      Texas (Price Range $5.37 to $5.37)

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    • NHC: TROPICAL STORM CHARTS AND UPDATES

      The National Hurricane Center chart below updates automatically and shows the latest storm positions. Click the chart for the full NHC report. While port conditions are primarily for commercial mariners, they give a strong indication of the Coast Guard’s appraisal of the storm’s severity.

      Categories:
      • Category 1: winds between 74 m.p.h. and 95 m.p.h.
      • Category 2: winds between 96 m.p.h. and 110. m.p.h.
      • Category 3: winds between 111 m.p.h. and 129 m.p.h.
      • Category 4: winds between 130 m.p.h. and 156 m.p.h.
      • Category 5: winds of 157 m.p.h. or greater.
      Hurricane Season Port Condition Definitions

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    • May 31, 2026by:   Curtis Hoff No Comments 26.9291,-82.06339999

      Independence Day Celebration, July 4 – Fishermen’s Village, Punta Gorda, FL


       View In Chartview

      Fisherman's Village Marina and Resort, Punta Gorda, FL

      There is always plenty to do around Charlotte Harbor. While berthed at Fishermen’s Village Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, you are certain to enjoy visiting Western Florida’s beautiful Charlotte Harbor/Peace River.

       

      Kathy Burnam
      Special Events & Community Relations

      941.639.8721

      kburnam@fishermensvillage.com

      www.fishermensvillage.com

      Click Here To View the Western Florida Cruisers Net Marina Directory Listing For Fishermen’s Village

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Fishermen’s Village

       

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    • May 31, 2026by:   Curtis Hoff No Comments 26.0732,-80.15129999

      How AI could help save lives this hurricane season – SunSentinel


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      https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/05/30/how-ai-could-help-save-lives-this-hurricane-season

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    • May 31, 2026by:   Curtis Hoff No Comments

      ANTIFOULING. THE DICTIONARY SAYS THERE’S ONE MEANING, BUT LET’S BE CREATIVE – Janice Anne Wheeler, Sparring With Mother Nature

       
         
       
      Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more

      Welcome back aboard !!— I hope you enjoy this crazy-ass-world dry-humor change of pace. I had a blast creating it! ~J

      If you just dove into our very engaging little community, please read SPARS & SPARRING, .….it introduces my wonders and my wanders. & THANK YOU!

      ANTIFOULING. THE DICTIONARY SAYS THERE’S ONE MEANING, BUT LET’S BE CREATIVE

      Some days I wish I could douse the stuff on humans I come across, hypothetically, of course…just to make them a tad less foul

       
      		 
      		 
      		 
       

      READ IN APP

       

      “ANTIFOULING?” I repeated, full wrinkle between the brows. Another Marine Industry term that made me go hmmm. “Bottom paint,” was the explanation with just the briefest indication of impatience for we raised-on-land folks. “BIOCIDE??” I croaked, “Dual-biocide?” The tree-hugger** side of me was appalled, jaw a tad slack. When it comes to eliminating pests; it’s only the truly dangerous or invasive that I tend to terminate (spiders!); the balance can simply go elsewhere, wander on and play their role.

      According to Merriam-Webster: antifouling adjective an·​ti·​foul·​ing ˌan-tē-ˈfau̇-liŋ ˌan-tī- intended to prevent fouling of underwater structures (such as the bottoms of ships), first used in 1853. For you with inclination, find vast information on the history of antifouling tactics compiled by US Naval Institute. They claim knowledge of compositions and methods as early as 600BCE. Fouling has always been a problem.

      Two common options, main ingredient is Copper. VIVID Blue is for our hard-bottom inflatable dinghy.

      ANTIFOULING Paint is used to mediate (not eliminate) the stunning quantity and assortment of marine creatures and plants that are in our seas and can attach themselves to the bottom of a boat at a rate nothing less than astonishing. (Do you remember looking at pond water under the microscope as a schoolkid and being amazed at what was moving?) Live entities whiz around on the tides, are tossed by the wind or simply wander. If these organisms come into contact with STEADFAST’s ample bottom they attach with tenacity that ranges from barely to barnacles. MUST READ about the strength of Barnacle Cement! Six to ten times the strength of anything man has ever made. Mother Nature proves herself once again.

      Prior to ever having to scrape that intriguing assortment of life off the nearly two thousand square feet below waterline, in mask and fins, with a two-inch putty knife, I would have showed a distinct aversion to such a product. Now, it’s more of a me-against-the-sea perspective; a steadfast reminder that we are all SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE and will continue to do so; I want to live on and in the water regardless of the unseen entities joining me! Bottom paint is effective and imperfect; it does deter attachment and growth. Vessels without any sort of antifouling can become both ungainly and uncontrollable in a matter of months, according to the Navy article cited above.

      Trinidad Green! Hopefully we’ll get to that namesake! Note the STEADFAST mini-me on the forward deck.

      After exploring the practical side of ANTIFOULING, my writer’s brain paddled up a far different creek and thought, well, the world seems to have a bit of foul in it, not just those freeloaders stuck to my bottom. Can antifouling become a thing? A term used for gentle retaliation when someone treats you badly? Instead of confrontation, breathe deeply and imagine treating said individual with a dose of anti-foul.

      Is there anyone you have come across that might need a coat? What if we could expose someone nasty or unwanted to anti-foul? They could become the opposite of foul! How delightful! Caring. Helpful. Reliable. Truthful. Welcoming. Friendly.

      Personally, I would anti-foul the young woman at the Dairy Queen who told my soft-serve craving sailor that she was “cleaning the ‘effing floor” and was much too busy to fulfill his order. He was the only customer; how appropriate (and satisfying!) would it have been to whip out a container of anti-foul and give her a little squirt?! Maybe our newly conceived antifoul-for-people should even be a standard color—that gorgeous dark greenish-blue— so the public can see which individuals needed a bit of redirection. Anti-fouling is hard to remove, as it should be. We could design a little holster for our Antifoul Applicator so it’s at our fingertips should the need arise. We could provide it to Police officers…presumably they come across even more foul folks than the rest of us. What a peaceful solution. Like fairy dust.

      Perhaps your last I-don’t-actually-care-what-you-want-and-hope-you’re-not-expecting-it-soon server would have improved with a small portion of anti-foul? Or another customer service ‘team member’ who, when asked for something as complicated as paint stir sticks stomped away, found a few and proceeded to toss them angrily on the counter because I had the audacity to ask. She desperately needed a quick coat of anti-foul. I wish I had thought of this sooner! Sprinkle at will and the world is a more pleasant place.

      How about litterbugs!? Ugh. That is a ridiculous, harmful habit. They definitely need a dash of anti-foul. And the convenience store rushers who cut in and cut over and cut lines, wouldn’t dream of holding the door. Just a little dash of anti-foul? I think so. Some of those traditional, basic, classic manners are a lost art.

      STEADFAST requires three gallons of Antifouling per coat, two coats; the current retail is $409 per gallon or $135 per quart. I have never understood the math on how a quart could possibly cost that much and conclude that Manufacturers seem rather foul in their scheme that if you need a smaller quantity, (it’s not an outlying idea), you should be punished monetarily. Or perhaps they don’t realize there are four quarts in a gallon not three as their multiplication might suggest and that their product does not somehow garner a third more value simply when placed in a far more convenient and less wasteful container. A foul deal, indeed.

      As I transfer these particular thoughts (no harm no foul) from brain to keyboard I’m feeling a weight of negativity, (…remember these weekly works often develop a life of their own). It strikes me that, right now, the most foul individuals in my world are those who simply DO NOT DO WHAT THEY SAY THEY ARE GOING TO DO. Tasks range from minimal to truly impactful. I see the size of the commitment as irrelevant. If people don’t follow through and hold up their end of the bargain, they become foul. A perfect time for our little holster.

      Perhaps some things cannot be fixed with anti-foul, or can they? If we keep the bad stuff from sticking and the unwanted from traveling along with us…that could come in damn handy. Anti-foul rocks.

      I do know that there are far more folks in my broad and irregular circle who DON’T need anti-foul than those who do. There’s no better news than that.

      Until next week when we will ACTUALLY introduce you to our Bronze Age! ~J

      Share SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE

      ** Tree-hugger to me is not political, I simply feel that our natural worlds need protection. I don’t vote along party lines, but for the representer that seems best.

         
      Finally done with the boots! Toes are antifouled for perpetuity.

      You know what to do, please, so that next time I need a pair of Caterpillar workboots—(we all know there will be a next time because I own a wooden boat), then I will be able to simply ask my sponsor Caterpillar and we’ll discuss their generosity here on SPARRING and life will continue to be grand. Oh come on! A girl can dream! Anti-foul Applicators and NYSE sponsors. Might as well go big and BE NICE. Thanks for staying aboard!

      FIRST, CHUCKLE A LITTLE. THEN, RE-STACK THIS POST & ROCK YOUR DAY!

      Thanks. You rocked mine. A little sarcasm can be a great thing.

         
      After five days of rain, the front passed. Glory glory.

       

       

      I so appreciate your support of my work. Have a wonderful week!

         
       
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      © 2026 Janice Anne Wheeler
      Living aboard Sailing Yacht STEADFAST again soon!
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    • May 31, 2026by:   Curtis Hoff No Comments 26.0732,-80.15129999

      Lightning risk is about to ramp up in Florida. Here’s how to stay safe. – SunSentinel


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      https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/05/27/lightning-risk-is-about-to-ramp-up-in-florida-heres-how-to-stay-safe/

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    • May 31, 2026by:   Curtis Hoff No Comments 26.0732,-80.15129999

      Hurricane season 2026: Florida officials share safety tips ahead of June 1 start – SunSentinel


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      https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/05/26/hurricane-season-2026-florida-officials-share-safety-tips-ahead-of-june-1-star

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    • May 31, 2026by:   Curtis Hoff No Comments

      BoatUS Foundation State-Approved Boating Course Now Approved in 15 New States

      BoatUS

      BoatUS is the leading advocate for boating safety in the US and A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR. 

       

      Media Contact: 
      Alisha Sheth
      BoatUS Foundation PR Manager
      alisha@boatus.com 

      BoatUS Foundation Expands Free State-Approved Boating Safety Course to 15 Additional States 

      Online safety course helps boaters meet requirements and build confidence before heading out on the water 

      SPRINGFIELD, Va. – May 27, 2026 – The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water today announced its free state-approved boating safety course has been approved in 15 additional states, giving more recreational boaters access to essential education on safe and legal operation of boats. The course will cover important rules regarding navigation, safety equipment, emergency preparedness, and environmental stewardship.  

      Boaters in Arizona, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia now have a convenient free online course option that meets their state-specific boating education requirements. 

      “Expanding into 15 additional states means more boaters can access boater safety education at no cost,” said Lynne O’Hearn, BoatUS Foundation program manager. “We believe cost should never be a barrier to learning how to boat safely, and these new state-approved courses help ensure more people have the education they need before they leave the dock.” 

      Designed for completion in two to four hours, the self-paced course offers five interactive lessons that immerse students in a virtual boating experience, guiding them through different destinations while tracking progress. The curriculum is supported by dynamic, video-based learning and concludes with a 60-question final exam with unlimited retake opportunities and can be completed at the student’s own pace. Upon successful completion, most states issue a printable certificate that can be used immediately, though requirements and validity may vary by state.  

      To take a state-approved free boating safety course in your state, please visit https://boatus.org/free-courses/free-boating-safety-course/.  

      For more information about BoatUS Foundation’s additional free boating courses, visit https://boatus.org/free-courses/  

       

      ### 

       

      About BoatUS Foundation:  

      The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is a national leader promoting safe, clean and responsible boating. Funded primarily by donations from the more than 740,000 members of Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), the nonprofit provides innovative educational outreach directly to boaters and anglers with the aim of reducing accidents and fatalities, increasing stewardship of America’s waterways, and keeping boating safe for all. A range of safe and clean boating courses – including the nation’s only free online boating safety course – can be found at BoatUS.org. The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is a four-star charity, the highest rating awarded by Charity Navigator. 

       

       

       

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    • May 31, 2026by:   Curtis Hoff No Comments

      LTM Additions: Yesterday (Sat, May 30)

      5 New LTM\’s Added Yesterday

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    • May 30, 2026by:   Curtis Hoff No Comments

      How I Rediscovered the ‘Lost Harbor of Christopher Columbus’ – Loose Cannon

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      How I Rediscovered the ‘Lost Harbor of Christopher Columbus’

      Modern Science Had Misplaced ‘Port Jackson’ in the Dominican Republic

       
      		 
      		 
      		 
       

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      Port Jackson as it appears today.

      Poring through historical records was an essential first step, but properly researching an anchorage required a boat with a depthsounder. CocoKite, the 28-footer I had hired, lacked a sounder, so I brought a nifty portable model, which transformed the tourist boat into a proper research vessel to probe the coastal waters of the Dominican Republic.

      Before becoming a marine journalist, I had toiled for 20 years as a newspaper reporter and editor, a profession wired for a perverse combination of public service and personal poverty. I am also a history buff and a lifelong sailor, specializing in the Bahamas and Greater Antilles. My investigation into a forgotten seaport had the potential to help cruisers move down island more comfortably and safely—maybe even save someone’s life.

      This professional trinity—journalist, history buff, sailor—was knocking along in tandem, as CocoKite thundered westward, parallel to the North Coast of the Samana Peninsula. At the key moment, native guide Francisco Paulino, a fisherman from a local fishing family centered our 28-footer between reefs breaking about 300 feet apart. Paulino pulled back the throttles and slipped the old outboards into neutral.

      As we drifted and exhaust fumes rolled over the boat, I dipped the end of a pole into the water, enabling the attached transducer to transmit data to the handheld sonar display, which read 27. Twenty-seven feet was deep enough for a Navy frigate to pass through! Paulino throttled up and into Port Jackson we went.

      As he nosed the center console across the placid harbor, the seabed deepened to 40 feet before it became shallow again. We approached to within a couple hundred feet of post-card pretty Jackson Beach, which was shaded by coconut palms. The sounder read 20 feet, a good spot to drop the hook.

         
      A view from inside the anchorage, facing east toward Point Jackson.

      Like Leonard Nimoy narrating a low-brow TV documentary, I declared our ragtag expedition a success. The CocoKite crew had rediscovered what I half jokingly had dubbed “the lost harbor of Christopher Columbus.”

      I wondered how many passagemakers might have taken refuge in Port Jackson’s protected basin were its existence better known? Though Jackson is a familiar destination for tour operators ferrying vacationing foreigners to its secluded beach, thousands of cruisers sailed by over the decades, never knowing that shelter was nearby.

      A friend of mine had investigated these waters decades ago. Bruce Van Sant is the quirky gringo author who wrote “A Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South: The Thorny Path to Windward,” in the 1980s, a decade after the stalwart cruisers of the 1970s began transiting Dominican waters en route from Florida to Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles. Van Sant’s book discussed the gnarly nature of Dominican waters in great detail.

      The North Coast of the Domincan Republic has one of the world’s great hurricane holes at Luperon Bay, which is 88 nautical miles west of Port Jackson. The next decent refuge is 60 nautical miles east of Jackson and up into Samaná Bay. Various anchorages between Luperon and Samaná Bay are open to the north, exposed to thousands of miles of fetch over the North Atlantic Ocean.

      When storms from as far away as the Azores send rollers into these semi-protected places, they become death traps for small craft. Those lonesome waters east of Luperon comprise the thorniest leg of the “thorny path” Van Sant wrote about. Bereft of good shelter, eastbound boats face relentlessly contrary trade winds, with waves and current also on the nose.

      Christopher Columbus experienced danger in this region, having lost his flagship Santa Maria on a reef off the northern coast of Hispaniola. And yet he must have been feeling that his luck was changing when his remaining ships, Niña and Pinta, made way eastward from Luperon, benefitting from a favorable—and extremely rare—westerly breeze. The year was 1493, and the first Columbus expedition was just a few days from heading back to Spain.

      Lookouts atop the rigging spied an island between two headlands against a rising mountain range. The low island capped a mass of coral reefs indicated by breaking waves. What caught the attention of these experienced seamen was the inky blue basin between the island and the beach, and the fact that a wide avenue of dark water indicated a five-fathom entrance.

         
      A late 19th century map showed Cayo Yaqueson or Jackson, while retaining Columbus’ name for the place: Puerto Sacro.

      It was deep and wide enough for a squadron of Spain’s biggest ships. Columbus named the harbor Puerto Santo, the Sacred Port, but he did not take his ships inside. Disinclined to squander his westerly breeze, Columbus piloted his little fleet right past the harbor, cracking along at eight knots.

      Two centuries later, French pirates were thick as thieves around Hispaniola. They used the Samaná Peninsula as a place of rendezvous. Mostly they used the great bay on the south side of the peninsula as their base, but they would have been aware of the sheltered anchorage on the north side.

      The participant in an 1840s social experiment involving transplanted former American slaves, a man named Jackson called the Columbus island after himself. The port became Port Jackson; the headland on its east side, Point Jackson, and the high hills behind, Jackson Mountain. Eventually, this port was used for commerce, shipping out coconuts and copra. Port Jackson was also an ideal place for ships to take on drinking water, from a gin-clear, spring-fed pool on the beach, which could be seen from the deck of CocoKite.

      Now, about that island: While Cayo Jackson is referenced in historical records, it’s no longer present in Port Jackson.

      Like mythological Atlantis, it sunk beneath the waves. That event occurred on August 4, 1946, when an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale hit Samaná, spawning a 12- to 16-foot tsunami that inundated lowlands. More than 2,500 people were killed.

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      Fifty-two acres of rock and scrubby foliage became a shallow reef sunk three to five feet under. No one told the cartographers, however. Cayo Jackson can still be found on tourist maps, government charts and derivative products from C-Map, Navionics and NV Charts, 80 years after its disappearance.

         
         
      A visiting tourist stands on ground that was once three feet above the waterline, that underwater mass shown in the middle of the top photo.

      Van Sant told me about the time he went looking for Port Jackson. Charts and U.S. Navy Sailing Directions placed it behind a protective island, but Van Sant didn’t find the anchorage nor could anyone else because they were all looking for the island first. Another impediment was the fact that waters in the vicinity were poorly charted. With reefs all around, exploration without local knowledge was risky.

      So, because of a longstanding charting error, modern science managed to misplace one of the first harbors in the New World documented by Europeans.

      The loss is unfortunate because even with the island gone, Port Jackson still makes a pretty good anchorage, although my East Coast friends may be skeptical. They wonder how you can have all-around protection without being surrounded by land. The truth is, Port Jackson was never as good as Luperon Bay, which is surrounded not just by land but high ground.

      Cayo a No-No

         

      Even before the sinking of Cayo Jackson, the island was so low-lying that it never offered protection from north winds, only from ocean swells. But today, those swells break over a 52-acre reef that sits behind two miles of shallows ranging from just a few feet to 20 feet deep before the drop-off. Unlike their East Coast brethren, voyagers from the South Pacific appreciate this kind of shelter, many having anchored within the coral-ringed atolls of the South Seas.

      Reef anchorages are better-than-nothing options for cruisers. To bolster that assertion, I ran it by weather router Chris Parker of Marine Weather Center in Lakeland, Florida. Parker said that as the water gets shallow, there is friction with the bottom, so waves get steep and then break. That dissipates a lot of the wave energy, so the waves are not as steep in the anchorage.

         

      Patrick Florens, owner of CocoKite Tours, is a Frenchman who went native long ago. He was aboard his party barge the day we steered a course to Port Jackson. I asked Florens to begin our approach from Las Ballenas (Whale Rocks in English), which stand prominently about five miles to the east of the entrance. U.S. government sailing directions from 1918 and 1954 recommend using this prominent feature as a starting approach.

      I told Florens that I wanted to test the accuracy of these directions. I learned they are not so useful anymore. As already mentioned, the principal point of reference is an island that is not there anymore. Old U.S. Government sailing directions also suggest taking bearings to a white patch on a cliffside. That wasn’t going to work either, because the white patch was gone. probably overgrown with foliage.

      We decided to forgo the Navy way. Instead, Paulino took us his way instead. We then documented the approach from the east by taking soundings and recording GPS coordinates. That worked fine for the eastern approach.

      The charts, as flawed as they are, suggest a second approach to the anchorage from the west with a controlling depth of 10 feet. But Paulino knew a different way and took CocoKite into deep water beyond the reefs. His route was indirect and difficult to explain. I asked if we could try to find the pass suggested by the charts, but by then it was too late. A hex nut had worked its way off the steering linkage, and the bolt fell into the water. The emergency repair was a bit sketchy, and we lost our appetite for exploration. Maybe next time, we all agreed.

         
      This river empties out into the anchorage, which would have made Port Jackson an ideal place for ships to take on water.

      As unlikely as it may seem, my quest to find Port Jackson began because the Dominican government opened a new highway along the Atlantic side of the Samaná Peninsula back in 2009. Driving on the Mountain Road a few years ago, I indulged my curiosity about the Dominican island with the Scots-Irish name.

      I pulled the car over roughly abeam the GPS coordinates for Cayo Jackson, took a short hike, and there it was—not!

      Instead, a greenish shape shimmered just below the surface. And so my mission began.

      Columbus gets a bad rap nowadays, but I cannot help but appreciate him as the first European to take note of Porto Santo. His “discovery” happened on January 12, 1493, 462 years before I was born, on that same date. I like to think of the story of Port Jackson as a birthday gift paid forward by the Great Navigator himself.

         
      Patrick Florens and his mate Paulino.

      FOR A LESS PERSONAL ACCOUNT

      LOOSE CANNON covers hard news, technical issues and nautical history. Sometimes he tries to be funny. Subscribe for free to support the work. If you’ve been reading for a while—and you like it—consider upgrading to paid.

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    • May 29, 2026by:   Curtis Hoff No Comments

      Catalina Yachts Auction Includes Nine Boats, Sail and Power – Loose Cannon

      Cruisers Net publishes Loose Cannon articles with Captain Swanson’s permission in hopes that mariners with saltwater in their veins will subscribe. $7 per month or $56 for the year; you may cancel at any time.

         
       
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      Catalina Yachts Auction Includes Nine Boats, Sail and Power

      Butler Family Liquidating All Contents of Closed Florida Factory

       
      		 
      		 
      		 
       

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      The True North 39 hull and deck could fetch $30,000, for what finished would be worth $1 million, according to Ken Fickett, builder of Great Harbour trawlers.

      The Catalina 22 has been in continuous production for decades with as many as 18,000 sold. Next month, possibly the final three ever made will sell to the highest bidder. Plus, a third that could be assembled from separate hull and deck parts that will be for sale during the same auction.

      The 22 was the first boat produced by Catalina Yachts when the company was founded in 1970 by Frank Butler, quickly followed by the Catalina 27. Catalina of Largo, Florida, was shut down in October when the man who had purchased the company from the Butler estate could no longer make payroll.

      Beginning at 10 a.m. on June 9, the bones of Catalina Yachts will be offered piecemeal to the highest bidders. That includes nine boats in various stages of completion, one of them nearly finished. Three more that could be assembled by joining hull and deck parts and another three are hull-only.

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      The auction will include molds and other tooling for the entire Catalina line. Even so, don’t expect the auction to be a huge money-maker for the seller, according to someone who intends to be there, Florida boatbuilder Ken Fickett, inveterate auction-goer and collector of boat molds.

      Ficket, president of Mirage Manufacturing in Gainesville, predicted that the entire auction might net $250,000, but could go higher depending on the stock of materials such as fiberglass, resin and electrical cables—the commodities of boatbuilding.

      Besides the 22s—lately fetching around $40,000 new—there is a 316, two 356s and a 426 with bonded hulls and decks. A 386 and 426 could be assembled from existing hull and deck parts. There are three additional sailboats hull-only.

      Of the substantially assembled boats, two are True North powercraft, 34- and 39-foot models. There is also a True North 39 hull-only.

      Bay Area Auction Services is conducting the four-day auction, which also includes all of Catalina’s tools, equipment and materials left in stock. The auction benefits the owner of the factory property, which was retained by Butler family entities, even as the business itself was sold in May 2025 to a North Carolina boatbuilder.

      At the moment the auction house website is displaying 336 photos of Catalina items, but owner Greg Farner said that as the auction date nears he expects that total to grow to a “couple thousand.”

      “We’ll be out there next week to get the actual live Internet bidding catalog up,” Farner said. “So we’ll have multiple pictures of each of these models. It should be up by the end of next week.”

      Farner pointed out that the sailboats all lack masts, rigging and sails, and none of the vessels have engines. “And that’s another, 100 to 150 grand depending on the size of the boat,” he said.

      Farner also said that all the upfront legal work has been done to ensure that auction buyers are undisputed owners of property they buy—the process has taken into account any previous customer payments made for the boats in question.

      Gallery

      A selection of what may eventually total nearly 2,000 photographs.

      A 22 Revival?

      Eulogies for the Catalina 22 might be premature, Boatbuilder Fickett said, noting that some enterprising builder might snap up everything it takes to resume production. “You could get all the rights to the 22, all the molds to set yourself up in the Catalina 22 business, and if you spent $50,000, you might be overspending,” he said.

      In general, the partially built fleet is worth just “pennies on the dollar,” Fickett said. Which could be a trap for the amateur builder who sees the auction as an opportunity.

      “Here’s the problem: If the boats don’t have 100 percent of their fiberglass pieces, now you’ve got to construct those pieces on a one-time basis, and that’s a huge pain in the ass,” he said. “It wouldn’t be much for me to figure that out, but Joe Blow might struggle with it.”

      One strategy might be to buy one of the unfinished boats and the corresponding molds, Fickett said, suggesting that a quarter-million-dollars worth of tooling could be had for, say, $30,000.

      Sad Goodbye

      For some of the longtime Catalina workers, the auction will seem like a funeral, dashing any hopes of a corporate comeback. “It’s a shame that they are letting the company go. We loved working there, even though our pay wasn’t that good,” Lisa Cayce said. “We were all family.”

       

      Catalina Yachts Owner Evicted from Factory

       
      ·
      		 
      October 24, 2025
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      LOOSE CANNON covers hard news, technical issues and nautical history. Sometimes he tries to be funny. Subscribe for free to support the work. If you’ve been reading for a while—and you like it—consider upgrading to paid.

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