– Association of Bahamas Marinas
While in the Bahamas, be sure to visit our sponsors: Staniel Cay Yacht Club and Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club.
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While in the Bahamas, be sure to visit our sponsors: Staniel Cay Yacht Club and Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club.
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Key Lime Sailing Club, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, always has very special offers for their visitors! Key Lime Sailing Club is a unique slice of KEYS ENJOYMENT…give it a try and let us hear about your experience.
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Watermakers reverse osmosis desalination equipment of Fort Lauderdale was developed by Joe Hocher, who also founded Staniel Cay Yacht Club, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR.
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Cruisers’ Net Newsletter for this week has just been emailed via Constant Contact.
If you want to view the newsletter but are not signed up to receive them automatically, you can view it at https://conta.cc/3XHU0zb or see it below.
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I personally use Kanberra products on my boat
and can attest to their effectiveness.
Elizabeth City sits at the southern terminus of the Dismal Swamp Canal and has the well-earned reputation of being a transient-friendly town with free dockage for 72 hours.
A longtime CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, historic Edenton always has an exciting calendar of events and places to visit! Edenton is at the mouth of the Chowan River on the northwest shore of Albemarle Sound.
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Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Edenton Harbor City Docks
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.
When all else fails, try journalism. Dear Readers, The past 30 days have seen Loose Cannon running on all cylinders. Gosh, I hardly know where to start. Two adult men ordered me to “cease and desist” in connection with my reporting on the downfall of Catalina Yachts (and the character who briefly owned the company). You’ve got to read the Q&A via text with “boatbuilder extraordinaire” Michael Reardon, if you haven’t already. What a hoot! It’s as if saying cease and desist was like some kind of magic spell to banish a demon. Abracadabra! Be Gone! Reardon wanted me to stop, but he couldn’t stop himself from talking. This is a trait common among fast-talkers who really do think they are the smartest person in the room. (Journalism may not pay, but it does teach you some things.) At one point, Reardon called me “negative-news man.” Then, there’s the latest on Wally Moran, another piece of work who now resides in an ICE detainment facility in Louisiana, where he is plotting to blackmail his way to freedom. This information came through a sketchy fellow Canadian, a YouTube sailor named Michael Potts, who recorded a phone call from Moran then posted it on his Patreon channel after telling Moran he wouldn’t—“you have my word.” Those two dudes deserve each other. After my story, Potts sent me an AI definition of copyright infringement because I posted a portion of his video of him talking to Moran over the phone. I replied to him with an AI definition of “Fair Use,” the exception to copyright laws that pretty much summed up my use of his back-stab video. While were on the topic of threats, I thought I’d share a nasty message Moran left for me a few years ago. In less “negative” .news, Loose Cannon covered two new nautically themed books with author Q&As. One was with Steve Thomas on the occasion of the re-release of “The Last Navigator.” Another was with James Evenson, author of the most excellent “Be the Captain: A Field Manual.” A Coast Guard Safety Bulletin on the Sea-Doo Switch fully corroborated Loose Cannon’s reporting on this flawed jetski-pontoon boat hybrid. Finding the answer to why these things were flipping over forward on deceleration began a year ago with my Google query: “How much does a gallon of water weigh?” These a just a few of the 22 stories published here since mid-October, by me or some of my outstanding writer-friends. Substack RulesSubstack is a wonderful platform for me. It handles the business end of this enterprise and keeps track of all kinds of stuff. I don’t force anyone to subscribe by putting any of my latest work behind a paywall, but I was curious how many of my free subscribers had been with me for three years—aka since the “early days.” Substack counted 1,905, more than 500 of whom were very active over the past month for email opens and web views of Loose Cannon stories. Consider this a pitch to those 500. Obviously, you like the product. No one else is publishing these kinds of stories. My business model assumes my free people are fair-minded, well intentioned and will eventually upgrade to paid. Consider this a passive-aggressive reminder. A satisfying number of you have already upgraded to paid. Thank you all. But it sure would be nice to have more people fully on board because, in the parlance of my youth, I am working my ass off. Feliz Navidad, PapiMeanwhile, I recently announced having recruited a single commercial sponsor—a boutique tequila brand. Another way you can support the Loose Cannon newsroom is to travel to the Bellagave sales website and buy a couple bottles just in time for Feliz Navidad. For free shipping, use the promo code LCFREESHIP (which saves you $19.95). LOOSE CANNON is a reader-supported publication. Support the work. Upgrade to become a paid subscriber. © 2025 |
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reminds all cruisers about Manatee Awareness Month.
| Nov. 12, 2025
Go slow and look below for manatees on the move November is Manatee Awareness Month, highlighting a time when Florida’s manatees are starting their seasonal movements to warmer waters around the state. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is sharing the reminder that Floridians and visitors should be extra mindful this time of year to watch for manatees when on the water. “Manatees are highly dependent on safe and reliable warm-water sites to survive the winter,” said Michelle Pasawicz, FWC Manatee Management Program Coordinator. “As water temperatures drop below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, Florida’s manatees seek refuge at springs, power plant discharge areas and other warm water sites where they’ll spend the winter until temperatures rise again in spring.” Despite their large size as adults, manatees can be tough to spot in the water. Going out on a boat or personal watercraft? You can better see manatees by wearing polarized glasses, going slow and abiding by all manatee protection zones. During colder months, seasonal manatee zones require boaters and personal watercraft users to reduce speed in or avoid certain areas to prevent collisions that can injure or kill manatees. Manatee protection zones are marked by waterway signs; maps of these zones are available online at MyFWC.com/MPZ. Boat strikes are a major threat to Florida manatees and FWC law enforcement officers patrol state waters, informing boaters of seasonal manatee speed zones and taking appropriate enforcement actions when necessary. Boaters and personal watercraft users are reminded to comply with the regulatory signs on waterways. When viewing groups of manatees at warm-water sites, it is important to give them space. Disturbing manatees at these sites can cause them to swim out of protected areas and into potentially life-threatening cold water. Manatees are a protected species, and it is illegal to harass, feed, disturb or harm them. If you see an injured, distressed, sick or dead manatee, report it to the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) so that trained responders can assist. Do not try to physically handle an injured or sick manatee yourself, which can cause more harm to the animal and potentially put you at risk of serious injury. Educational resources for waterway users and other interested members of the public are available at MyFWC.com/Manatee. The Viewing Guidelines page on this website provides helpful tips on how to respectfully observe manatees, additional guidelines for boat and personal watercraft operators, and information on what you can do to help with manatee conservation. For those looking to support the FWC’s manatee research, rescue and management efforts, you can purchase a Florida manatee license plate or donate $5 to receive a collectable FWC manatee decal. Both are available from your local Tax Collector’s office. |
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Tropics Tranquil; Warm And Dry For A While
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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.
Special Events & Community Relations
941.639.8721
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
The Cruisers Net team is deeply saddened to announce that our editor, Larry Dorminy, has passed away.
Larry was a long-time member of the Cruisers Net team and will be sorely missed. He was passionate about boaters and making sure they had the most up-to-date information. Larry was beloved by the cruising community that he had dedicated his retirement years to supporting.
Here is a link to his obituary: https://www.meyersfh.com/obituaries/wendell-dorminy
Cruisers’ Net Newsletter for this week has just been emailed via Constant Contact.
If you want to view the newsletter but are not signed up to receive them automatically, you can view it at https://conta.cc/4i0mtK3 or see it below.
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Notice received from the USCG regarding the Trident Swim in Charleston, SC, this Sunday, November 16, 10 am to 1 pm.
Passing for awareness that The Charleston Trident Swim will take place on Sunday, November 16, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. The 4.1-mile swim will begin at the Charleston Maritime Center, proceed around the Battery, and conclude at Brittlebank Park pier and dock. All vessel traffic is advised to transit with caution in the vicinity of the event. Concerned vessel traffic can contact the official event patrol via VHF-FM Channel 16. For questions or concerns regarding this MSIB, please contact the Sector Charleston 24-hour Command Center at (833) 453-1261.
Come swim around Charleston and help us “never leave a man behind”. The Charleston Trident Swim course is approximately four (4.1) miles, although it includes a tidal assist for approximately one-third of that swim. This is a fundraiser that supports the Navy SEAL Foundation (NSF), a 501(c)(3) with a coveted four-star rating by Charity Navigator. 100% of the net proceeds will go directly to support the mission of the NSF.
While $2000 is the ideal fundraising goal per swimmer, the majority of swimmers raise over that amount, many raise much more. If you continue on with registration, we ask that you bring the same fundraising commitment as you would be taking the slot of a swimmer who has every intention of meeting or vastly exceeding that goal. If you’re registering just to set a PR or check off a bucket list item, this may not be the swim for you. Please remember,
THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A SWIM.

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.
When all else fails, try journalism. ‘Be the Captain’ Excerpt: Lying to a Sea AnchorFirst, Have One. Second, Deploy It Correctly
This excerpt from the newly released book, “Be the Captain,” is the second of two parts. The first, appearing earlier this week, was a Q&A with author James Evenson entitled “New Manual Like ‘Chapman’ But With Attitude. There’s a moment no sailor wants to face: the moment when you’re not just battling a storm, you’re crippled. No engine. No rudder. No way to steer. You’ve exhausted every tactic, and now it’s survival time. That’s when the sea anchor comes out. A sea anchor isn’t about comfort; it’s about survival. It holds the bow into the waves when nothing else can. It buys you time. It prevents your boat from being rolled by breaking seas. And if you think you’ll never need one, let me tell you the story that taught me otherwise. The Day My Boat Split in HalfI thought I knew storms. I thought I knew what my boat could take. Then one night off Hawaii, I learned what it means to lose everything. We were pushing hard, trying to stay ahead of a weather system on a passage from Fanning Island, Kiribati, to Kona, Hawaii. The forecast gave us a window. The Pacific Ocean had other plans. The seas built to around 30 feet, and sometime after midnight, I felt it: that sickening moment when the boat lifts clear into the air and then drops. When we hit the water, there wasn’t just a crack. There was a loud, awful ripping sound. Instantly, I knew something was seriously wrong. I grabbed a light, crawled into the hull, and saw the moon reflecting off the water inside the boat. My catamaran was splitting apart beneath me. I looked at my girlfriend, Kim, and said, “Babe, this is bad. I’m not sure how to fix this.” She inspected it herself. “Can’t we just tie it together with ropes?” My first reaction was to say, “No way, that’ll never…” Then I said, “Wait a minute… that might actually work.” For the next three hours, I went into the water four times, lashing lines around the hulls in every possible way. We rigged blocks, Dyneema, anchor rode, and anything we had. It looked like a spiderweb from hell, but somehow it held together until morning. The one thing that saved our asses, and nearly killed me in the process, was the sea anchor. The first time I deployed the sea anchor, it swung the bow into the seas, stopping the breaking waves from hitting us broadside. The relief we felt in that moment. I can still feel it today. It turned the worst imaginable situation into something survivable. Waves stopped crashing over us. Water stopped pouring into the hull. Then, the damned thing collapsed. The anchor was undersized for the boat, and I paid the price for that mistake. I had to haul in 400 feet of soaking-wet, half-inch, 8-plait line, untangle it, and redeploy. I did that four times before my body gave out. I couldn’t lift it anymore. But still, that anchor held when nothing else could. You’ll probably never need a sea anchor. But if you ever do, it will become the most essential piece of equipment on your boat. I now keep one in my aft lazarette, appropriately sized. It’s one of those items you hope collects dust forever. And if that day comes, it’s the only thing that matters. How To Deploy a Sea Anchor CorrectlyA sea anchor isn’t just something you throw over the side and hope for the best. It must be set up deliberately, with serious attention to load, angle, scope, and chafe. Start by attaching it to your strongest forward cleats, ideally through a dedicated bridle. This distributes the force evenly and keeps the bow locked onto the waves. A heavy-duty swivel is essential. Without one, the rope will twist under load and collapse the chute. If that happens, you’re not pulling in a 100-pound sail; you’re dragging thousands of pounds of seawater over hundreds of feet of line. It’s brutal, exhausting, and dangerous. Scope is everything. You want the parachute to settle fully submerged in the second wave ahead of your bow, creating a complete wave trough between the boat and the anchor. When set correctly, you’ll see the dynamic clearly: The rode taut over the trough, completely out of the water, disappearing cleanly into the face of the next wave. Even at night, you can usually see it. That’s how you know it’s stable, loaded, and holding. You’ll need a significant line length, around 400–600 feet. The best setup is a single length of 8-plait anchor line, pre-rigged for this purpose. But realistically, most cruisers don’t carry that. If you need to join multiple lines to achieve adequate scope, use a Zeppelin bend (see 3E). Avoid using bowlines, as they can chafe and cause loss of the anchor. If a chain is used, ensure the rope-to-chain connection is extremely secure. The loads here are not theoretical; they’re survival-level. Use the longest, strongest lines you have and protect them from chafe. Stretch is beneficial but not mandatory. Survival is the priority. Depending on your boat and the sea state, you may experiment with angled deployment. Instead of running the bridle directly forward, split it between forward and midship cleats. This cants the bow slightly off the wind and widens the slick behind the anchor. Some sailors believe this helps flatten breaking waves and calm the sea between the chute and the boat. While I haven’t personally tested this, it makes sense to me. Chafe is your biggest enemy. Add protection at contact points. Monitor constantly. Storm after storm, lost sea anchors result from chafe. If the bridle parts, you’re suddenly a cork in a washing machine, and the next wave might not wait for you to recover. Sea Anchor Vs. Drogue: Know the Difference
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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Elizabeth City sits at the southern terminus of the Dismal Swamp Canal and has the well-earned reputation of being a transient-friendly town with free dockage for 72 hours.
I personally use Kanberra products on my boat
and can attest to their effectiveness.
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