7 Tips For Smooth Sailing

Summer is officially here, which means people up and down the country will be free for a week or two to pursue their hobbies and past times. Families may plan a trip on a barge, or a yachting expedition. To the experienced sailor, taking the boat out for a jaunt on the bay or the open ocean can be an extremely rewarding and liberating experience. For the journeyman sailor, yachting can quickly become stressful, even dangerous, if they fail to follow certain procedures. The following are seven tips that every sailor should follow in order to have a smooth trip out on the water.

Inspecting The Sail Boat

Many procedures need to be completed before the sailboat departs the dock, in order to ensure smooth sailing. Ensuring that everything on the sailboat is in working order is essential to having a trouble free time out on the water. Do not over load your boat, make sure all gauges are checked and the deck is washed and tidied. These are some of the many procedures you should follow before setting sail. Everything should be inspected, from the anchor to the navigation system, in order to guarantee that everything is in tip-top, ship shape before leaving port.

Learning On Other Sailing Trips

If an individual owns his/her sailboat, it is extremely likely that he or she has been sailing with proficient sailors before. It is very important to pitch in when necessary on someone else's sailboat. Not only will the captain appreciate it, but more importantly, one will learn a great deal more if they get their hands dirty when taking part in such duties as pulling in the anchor and lines to raising and lowering sails. It is a great way to expedite your learning and gain natural sea faring knowledge with experience.

Packing Carefully

Packing should be done a good deal before a sail is to take place. If packing is done 5 days before a sail, other necessities will continually be added over the next few days and it is less likely you will forget to pack the essentials. It is also important that the sailor only relies on him or herself to do all of the necessary packing, this way, the gear that is present on the boat is already known. Some important items to pack are toiletries and medication, documents, passports and currency, sunglasses with a lanyard, windproof jacket, deck shoes and lip balm.

Abiding By RYA Regulations

Merchant shipping regulations require that certain equipment is aboard every ship or craft that sails in the water. If a boat is boarded by the Coast Guard and the sailor is unprepared with this equipment, some hefty fines might be in order. The equipment required includes personal floatation devices for every individual, a fire extinguisher, and emergency flares. Not only will this equipment protect the sailor from getting a fine in case the Coast Guard boards, but it also is very useful if an emergency were to arise.

Checking Weather Forecasts

This may seem like a no-brainer, but checking weather forecasts can be instrumental in preventing rough waters. Checking the weather a few days in advance, then every day till sailing day will ensure fine weather and calm seas.

Charting A Course On Paper

Although technology now exists that allows a sailor to plot a course electronically, such as GPS tackers, it can be helpful to chart it on maps as well. In the case of electronic malfunctions, a paper map will help a sailor get to where he or she needs to go.

Beware Of Going Overboard

As always, one must always be careful of falling off the sailboat. Someone going overboard and the possibility of drowning is the most dangerous threat to all members of crew. Informing the crew/passengers of the dangers of walking on the edge or running on the boat can help prevent these accidents, as can a sturdy pair of slip proof deck shoes.
Smooth sailing need not be hard with these few simple tips, you can learn some of the bare essentials every day skipper should know. 

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Next Best Thing to Do When You Can’t Go Fishing

If you are a true fisherman at heart, you would like everything that has fishing in it. From suspicious looking birthday cakes styled on your favorite bass, your favorite car decal is the one with the big fish with googly eyes, the best Christmas presents you’ve ever received are gift coupons of your local tackle shop . You have apps on your iPhone that lets you play fishing games when you are unable to fish for some reason.  On days that are raining or snowing too hard for you to be fishing, you are stuck at home. You might not discard the idea of watching a few movies but romcoms and chick flicks are not your thing. You are an avid outdoorsman! 

Well, we have something for you.  We have made a list of the some fishing movies that you would thoroughly enjoy watching and you won’t mind being a couch potato for a while.

 1.     Jaws – One of the best ever fishing movies of all times. It is not all happy go lucky of course. Some scenes are frighteningly gory but then again- we are all ‘big tough men’!

 2.   The Perfect Storm – This is based on a true story.  Once the credit title roles, you would only wonder in awe… something like this did happen to someone indeed!

  3.   Big Fish - A touching father- son story.  Add in a bit of imagination of director Tim Burton- a 125minute worth a watch.

 4.    A River Runs Through It – Robert Redford proves his genius once again with this 1992 Oscar Winner film on fly fishing. One look at the poster and you would be drawn to the movie.  Brad Pitt is an added perk. You will know what women see in him.

5.     The Old Man and the Sea – We have all loved the book and Ernest Hemmingway.  The movies will only make you love the book more. 

 6.     Grumpy Old Men – This is serious fun. The film was shot in Minnesota and it was freezing. One of the actors actually had to be hospitalized- he caught pneumonia!

 7.    Grumpier Old Men- The sequel only gets better. A complete package that makes you forget that you are not fishing but sitting back home having some good laughs.

 8.     Moby Dick- Another good ol’ classic.  You had read the book long back as a kid? This is a good chance to just go through the story once again. 

 9.    Salmon Fishing In the Yemen – This recent release stars Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor. A movie of faith and hope- the main ingredients in fishing.

 10.   Baitshop – The name is a clue enough to make you want to watch this movie.  Great comedy and plenty of some realistic fishing. 

 11.  Man’s Favorite Sport – You will have to watch it to know how good and entertaining the movie actually is.

These movies are sure to keep you occupied for some time for sure. Yes, it is no way as good as fishing for sure but then again, if you can’t go fishing, at least you can have a good time on the couch. Hope you enjoyed the blog. Until next time.

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