An eight-minute podcast describing how to recognize lighthouses on nautical charts and read their descriptions. Good for sea kayakers looking to navigate in daylight or darkness.

Learning to read charts and recognize lighthouses is a valuable sea kayaking skill.

For visuals on lighthouse symbols and codes, download NOAA Chart 1, the index of symbols. Or download any NOAA chart and look for a lavendar exclamation point symbol. That’s a lighthouse. Next to to the symbol you will see a code.

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The inner shoreline areas of Massachusetts have a lot to offer the beginning sea kayaker looking for island destinations a reasonable distance from shore.

Here’s an introduction to Manchester’s Chubb Island and West Beach, the gateway to the Misery Islands.

To download a Google Map of the area showing about a dozen kayaking destinations off Manchester, go to Manchester, Ma. inshore fishing guide.

Although the map is targeted at striped bass kayak fishermen, kayakers will find the map useful for its descritpions of put-ins, hazard areas and shortcuts to waters further offshore.

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Vessels that are not in critical trouble but with problems they can survive often call TowBoat US for assistance. The calls are usually made on channel 16, which the Coast Guard monitors.

Listen in as a vessel near Portsmouth, New Hampshsire, gateway to the offshore Isles of Shoals, calls the commercial tow service TowBoat US for assistance. The local Coast Guard breaks in and takes command.

Key to the call are that the skipper is able to both identify his location by navigational aid, the bouy 2KR, and by gps latitude and longitude coordinates.

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A roughly five-minute podcast on a few particulars related to paddling at night, including the use of SOLAS tape, glosticks and a new compass designed specifically for night paddling.

If you’re more a reader than a listener, head on over to my blog, Sea Kayaking Dot Net,for a couple hundred posts on sea kayaking on topics ranging from safety and fitness to building your own boat and paddle.

Incidentally, with Boaters World in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, there are some very good deals out there in cyberspace on submersible vhf radios. Amazon retailers are selling Standard HX600s submersibles for $199.00.

There’s also some good deals on Icom M34 Submersibles.

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From Sea Kayaking Dot Net’s ever increasing collection of vhf radio audio files.

In this  recording, listen in as a powerboat off the New Hampshire Coast, near Rye and about 8 miles from the lovely offshore islands the Isles of Shoals, calls TowBoat US for assistance. He’s taking on water near the local bouy known as 2KR.

Because the call is being made on emergency channel 16, the Coast Guard at nearby Portsmouth breaks in.

What marine VHF radio users can learn from the audio is how the Coast Guard handles emergency and pan-pan calls on vhf radios. They want immediately to know where you are and what’s going on. Once they assess your situation, they’ll either come get you or will offer to call a tow service.

Incidentally, with Boaters World in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, there are some very good deals on submersible vhf radios. Amazon retailers are selling Standard HX600s submersibles for $199.00. There’s also some good deals on Icom M34 Submersibles.

For related content, see Sea Kayaking Dot Net

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