The Dismal Swamp Route departs the southbound Waterway at MM 7.2 and northbound via the Pasquatank River. Our thanks to Sarah Hill for this invitation from Dismal Swamp Welcome Center, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR!
Good Morning!
Hope all is well! Passing along some fall images from the Dismal Swamp Canal & Dismal Swamp State Park- we’re starting to see some autumn colors pop up.
Happy to report from recent boaters, very little to no duckweed- no issues. Locks & drawbridges operating on normal schedule.
We’ve put together a few “Know before you go” DSC Boating tips on our website:
Just pass the canal on 10/29-30 /24. 6 feet of water and wonderful stop at the visitor center. A beautiful trip in a serein environment. No rag weeds. A first for us and I am glad we did it.
Pet owners, rejoice! Kanberra’s all-natural products help keep your home fresh and odor-free while being completely safe for your furry friends. You can enjoy a clean home without worrying about harmful chemicals around your pets.
Morningstar Marina at Golden Isles, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, lies along the southern reaches of the Frederica River, between Lanier and St. Simons Islands, south of the charted 9 foot bridge.
How these changes will affect Cruisers Net’s publication of Local Notices will be determined in the weeks ahead.
Notice: Changes to the USCG Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) and Light Lists The U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center announces upcoming changes to the Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) and the Light List, as part of our efforts to modernize and improve the accessibility, accuracy, and overall user experience for mariners and other stakeholders.
What Is Changing?
1. Transition From Paper Charts: In January 2025, NOAA will discontinue the production of all paper charts. In alignment with this change, the Coast Guard will transition from using NOAA Paper Chart Numbers and Editions/Dates for disseminating Marine Safety Information (MSI) to using Official Waterway Names.
2. How You Will Access LNMs and Light Lists: The LNM and Light List data will now be available in a geospatial format, which will allow you to visualize information interactively on a map/chart. You can use your mouse wheel or the +/- buttons in the upper left portion of the screen to zoom in or out and navigate to your desired area on the map/chart. Once the area is displayed, you can generate a PDF of the LNM or Light List for that specific area, which you can then save and/or print. Alternatively, you can use a fillable form on our website to select your waterway by name from the Light List and generate the LNM or Light List.
3. LNM and Light List Data Refresh Rate: LNM data will be refreshed every fifteen minutes. Light List data will be refreshed every 24 hours. This will give you a much more up-to- date operating picture, designed to enhance your efficiency and improve safety in your area of transit or planned routes.
4. Elimination of Weekly Files: Weekly LNMs, Weekly Light List Correction Files, Daily Discrepancy Files, and the Summary of Light List Changes will no longer be published to focus on providing the most up-to-date and accessible format. In the near future, we will also publish an Application Programming Interface (API) for interested parties to access the data externally.
Why Are These Changes Being Made? The modernization of MSI delivery is designed to improve the U.S. Coast Guard’s aid-to-navigation data management and dissemination capabilities. By providing frequent updates, geospatial visualization, and digital access, we hope to achieve our goals of: • Enhancing Maritime Safety: By delivering the most current and precise information, mariners can make better-informed decisions, reducing the risk of accidents and ensuring safer navigation. • Improving Accessibility: The shift to geospatial visualization makes it easier for all users, from commercial mariners to recreational boaters, to stay informed. • Increasing Efficiency: The integration of LNM and Light List data into a geospatial format to simplify the gathering of safety information and facilitate easy route planning. When Will These Changes Take Effect? The transition to the modernized LNM and Light List platform (the Navigation Center website) will be completed by Monday, October 21st. How to Access the New Features? Starting October 21st, 2024, you will be able to access the updated Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) and Light List through the NAVCEN website, with a User Guide available to assist you. While legacy versions of these products will no longer be produced or posted after October 31st, previously available versions will remain accessible for download indefinitely. Additionally, users can now generate updated LNMs in real time, with data refreshed every 15 minutes.
For any questions or assistance, please visit our Contact Us page, select ‘LNMs or Light Lists’ from the Subject dropdown, and submit your inquiry.
Thank you for your continued support as we work to enhance the safety and efficiency of maritime navigation.
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, October 16, 2024 – 4:40PM
City of Gulfport Update: A Message from Mayor Sam Henderson
FEMA Assistance and Debris Removal Updates for Gulfport Residents
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is providing direct assistance to residents impacted by Hurricane Helene. Assistance will be available daily, from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, at the Gulfport Public Library through Tuesday, October 22, including Sunday.
The City of Gulfport is actively working on debris removal. We ask for your patience, as it may take several months to complete the process. Our focus is on clearing construction materials first, followed by vegetative debris. Multiple passes will be required. Please place your debris near the roadside, away from power lines and other obstacles. Separate vegetative material, construction materials, garbage bags, appliances, and paint for easier collection. Regular sanitation and recycling routes have resumed their normal schedules.
At this stage, Gulfport is in the “Muck, Dry, and Wait” phase of recovery. While conditions may worsen before they improve, we will rebuild safer and stronger. For more information on what to do after storm damage, visit Pinellas County Storm Damage Guide.
The City encourages residents to stay informed through official channels as recovery efforts progress. Please visit https://mygulfport.us/ for updates and further information.
Stay safe, Gulfport!
###
City of Gulfport Florida | 2401 53rd Street South | Gulfport, FL 33707 US
Cruisers Net publishes Loose Cannon articles with Captain Swanson’s permission in hopes mariners with salt water in their veins will subscribe.. $7 a month or $56 for the year and you may cancel at anytime.
Cruisers Net publishes Loose Cannon articles with Captain Swanson’s permission in hopes mariners with salt water in their veins will subscribe.. $7 a month or $56 for the year and you may cancel at anytime.
Fishermen’s Village Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, is temporarily closed for clean up and recovery.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Punta Gorda, FL – Fishermen’s Village Mall, Resort and Marina is currently temporarily closed as we progress through cleanup and recovery efforts following hurricane Milton.
A Reopening date will be announced and released as information becomes available.
If you have any interest at all in boat building, or just messing about in boats, then this article is for you. Thank you Capt. Wheeler.
SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE ~~ latest addition! Settle back for your Sunday Morning Read. I’m so honored that you’re following along. Thank you.
Please enjoy the latest passages from STEADFAST. As of August 1st, 2024 we are undergoing extensive repair and refit and will be for several months. In boating terms we are hauled out “on the hard.” I plan to mix Sailing Stories with the challenges and intricacies of restoring a 90-year-old Sailing Yacht. I’m always open to suggestions as to content….please feel free to weigh in. Thank you. J
Boatbuilder Duncan Macfarlane has an old soul. Alive for just under four decades, he prefers music recorded prior to his birth and reveres vessels built long before that. His passion for wooden boats is so strong, in fact, that he’s made it his life’s work to bring them back to what they once were. Back to what they should be. Back to what their designers wanted them to be, and maybe, just maybe, one shade better. On his first day I said to him, “My father always told me, ‘Measure twice, cut once.’ Is that your Mantra?” He looked at me steadily and replied with just a touch of levity. “Oh no. We measure many times.”
In this photographic essay, Duncan fits the knee, (which you can see being shaped in the post MORE PRECIOUS COMMODITIES), recreates the stem, (or very front) of STEADFAST, and attaches the two together, preparing for installation. The new Purpleheart is a stark and startling contrast to the century-old materials it is replacing and supporting.
This is the knee, which attaches the stem to the forekeel, or bottom, of the vessel. What a contrast to the original oak. We want it to last another 90 years! The final photo is the view from inside.
Duncan trims our PRECIOUS COMMODITIES down to size prior to the final shaping of the larger new component, the stem.
Patterns were created from the removed damaged stem as well as from the original 1934 William Hand Jr. designs, which we obtained from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s collection.
The rectangular inlay is called a Dutchman and is used to eliminate an unwanted quality in the lumber. Everything Duncan does has that level of detail.
When the Purpleheart is cut, the color comes alive. I call this Duncan’s Purple World.
He spent hours lofting, which is laying out the plans to scale, and he spends more hours making sure the new fit is perfect, adjusting as he goes.
Tools of the trade range from the rudimentary to the advanced, and it is the attention to detail that will pay off in the end.
STEADFAST’S two new components are fit together for the first time and holes are drilled for the long custom bronze bolts that will hold them together. You can see the seam where the knee and the stem come together.
This precise work requires a bit of guidance, a bit of strength and a hell of a drill bit. The curve that you see here will eventually be what is commonly referred to as the bow.
The holes drilled are precisely the same size as the bronze bolts and it takes some brawn to pound them through the tough tropical hardwood. Tar seals the seam, and there is a ‘key’ (the small block of wood between the stem and the knee) ensuring that everything fits just as it should.
This may be the last week we can see outside from the inside. It is truly a disconcerting view.
The apparatus is in place to install the half-ton of meticulously recreated replacement components, giving STEADFAST back her shape. Progress indeed! Duncan is on the right, owner Steve Uhthoff is on the left.
The ancient art of shipbuilding is, like many ancient arts, becoming more and more rare, as are boatbuilders themselves. It was determined a few decades ago that other materials lasted longer and were far easier to maintain. Progress? That, of course, is a matter of opinion. Regardless, what an opportunity it is to see how complex, intricate, interdependent and STEADFAST vessels such as this one really are. Thanks for following along as we complete the painstaking and joyful repair and refit of our floating home. There are many more steps to come!!
Your input is appreciated and welcome! Love wooden boats? Build them? Never seen one? People certainly fall into all these categories. Like our Boatbuilder himself, STEADFAST most certainly has an old soul, in more ways than one.
*** I will always keep the articles I have written available for free to my readers. If you see value and possess the means, it’s great encouragement to have paid subscribers. If not, simply ‘liking,’ commenting, restacking and sharing these tales helps spread the word about me and what I have chosen to do. There should be someone on your email list that would be intrigued! Sharing is caring.
Most importantly, YOU, MY READERS, ARE TREMENDOUSLY APPRECIATED!
And lastly: our weekly sunrise. These can be seen on Facebook YACHTING STEADFAST each and every morning until 2025.
A Deadrise Workboat goes out at dawn in the last month of the Blue Crab Season here on the Chesapeake Bay. Miss STEADFAST is the two masts on the right, hauled out at Yacht Maintenance Co. in Cambridge, Maryland.
Be the first to comment!