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Articles by Robert Beringer
Renewing Your USCG Merchant Mariner Credential
If you are in possession of a USCG Merchant Mariner Credential (also known as a six-pack license) congratulations; it’s a great thing for boaters to have. With one, you’re able to take out paying customers for a guided fishing trip, a sunset cruise or a day of learning how to sail. And for chartering a boat in an exotic location, there’s nothing like handing over a current MMC for instant credibility.
Understand the Tides
It is said that if you want to understand the tides you must first know the moon. That big, beautiful orb that shines down upon us all is master of our oceans and must be fully appreciated before traveling safely on salty water. A moonlit night has always been particularly welcome on my boat; it illuminates the waters ahead and takes some of the anxiety out of a night passage, helping pass the time through the middle watch until dawn.
Sea Scouts: Finding Freedom Without Cell Phones Original
This boatload of Sea Scouts in the Florida Keys discovered that they can still have fun without electronic devices. When most people hear “Boy Scouts,” visions of tents, backpacks and spiffy brown uniforms usually come to mind. But as I learned recently, the organization is so much more than camping and building park benches. First off, the name has changed. As of this year, with the full inclusion of boys and girls ages 13 to 21, the organization is now known as Scouting America.
What's in a Sailboat's Name?
The Baptismal Rights of Boats - On Naming Your Sailboat So, what's in a name? Well, for a boat it's everything; those letters you see affixed to the hull are a long-time tradition of the sea and transform the average sailing vessel into a succinct expression of an owner's wit, passion, humor, sarcasm, love, or faith. The Heart Breaker racing in the 2025 BCYA Harbor Cup... were any hearts broken at the finish line? Photo by Ted Morgan In ancient times the sea was a dangerous and unpredictable place.
Islands in the Strait: Sailing Canada’s Gulf Isles
I called my brother Dan, who is my go-to guy for half-baked, far-flung sailing ideas. “The time is now,” I said, using an ominous voice. “Time for us to head north for some serious sailing adventure.” No, I was not talking about the San Juan Islands, that delightful archipelago in the far northwest corner of the contiguous United States. I wanted to cross the border, where the magic continues with Canada’s Gulf Islands.
How a Bundle of Twisted Fibers Became the Backbone of Civilization
By Tim Queeney (304pp, St. Martin’s Press, $27.00) In ancient times man responded to the urgent need for food, transportation, and trade by building all sorts of watercraft. After mastering the rivers and lakes his attention soon turned to journeys across oceans and the wealth these new lands represented. But all that unpleasant rowing—there had to be a better way. By attaching large sections of cloth to wooden spars he could harness the wind; and with a paddle at the stern he could steer.
The Dawn’s Peace
Quiet morning moments on a boat bestow a tranquil richness Issue 149: March/April 2023 Is there any doubt that the best place to be in the world is on a boat first thing in the morning? Listen: For a few seraphic moments all the world, but for the drift of the tide, is still. My eyes open with the gull’s first cry and I clumsily crawl out from the cramped aft cabin, careful not to hit my head on the low fiberglass overhead.
Sailor & Galley: How Baking Bread Saved My Voyage
I confess: Beyond boiling eggs or making coffee, I’ve never been much good in the galley. I cook when I have to, and tell guests that my forgettable meals are hot, will keep them alive, and…would anyone else like to cook? A trip through the Bahamas on my Catalina 34 changed all that. I’d bought the boat years before, after crewing on other people’s boats. Eventually, I found the 1992 Catalina 34 for sale: long waterline, large sail area, and lines leading aft for good singlehanding capability.
What to Read: Books or E-readers on Board?
Editor’s Note: Cruising sailors well know the joys of pulling into a marina or gathering space that dedicates a shelf or three to the nautical version of the lending library—even if that’s just a pile of books next to the laundry machines. It’s like beachcombing or treasure hunting, rooting through the titles. You just never know what you’ll find. But in these days of e-readers, one wonders how long the pulpy pleasure of the boatyard book swap will last?
Gatekeepers of the Waterway
Depending on where you sail, there are perhaps fewer people you’ll have more crucial interactions with than a bridge tender. They are the marine equivalent of a traffic cop, the solitary gatekeepers who grant us access to yearned-for open waters. Drawbridges are staffed 24/7/365, with bridge tenders perpetually on duty managing the smooth flow of traffic between vehicles and vessels.
Book Review: Graveyard of the Pacific: Shipwreck and Survival on America’s Deadliest Waterway
Graveyard of the Pacific: Shipwreck and Survival on America’s Deadliest Waterway by Randall Sullivan There are many North American inlets out there that at times can be difficult, even dangerous. I once entered Ft. Pierce on a spring ebb with an east wind as a thunderstorm approached. I thought I was going to die. When my knees stopped shaking I reflected, how could waves in the inlet be bigger than those outside of it? The answer, of course was that I picked a really bad time to go in.
An Agentic Familiarity: The Context of HIV/AIDS and Sexual Orientation for Older Canadians during the COVID-19 Pandemic
1. Introduction COVID-19 has often been described as the first pandemic in over a century. In fact, there have been others, including the Spanish Flu of 1918–1920 [1,2], tuberculosis in the late 19th century; polio in the 1950s; SARS in 2002; the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009–2010; and HIV/AIDS, first identified in the early 1980s and continuing as a major public health issue. These previous epidemics and pandemics exist as context for many of those now confronting COVID-19.
Healthcare
Dear Colleagues, By 2050, the older world's population is expected to double to nearly two billion (22% of the world's population). These demographic changes highlight the need to promote the health and well-being of older populations. However, two biopsychosocial phenomena stand out as potential major public health pandemics with major negative impact on the mental health of older adults: loneliness and stigma.
Beyond Mortality: The Social and Health Impacts of COVID-19 among Older (55+) BIPOC and LGBT Respondents in a Canada-Wide Survey
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Racing: Shooting the Tiger
So much goes into preparing for a big regatta: finding reliable crew, boat repairs and maintenance, practice, time, money. But often it’s the simplest things that make or break a great day on the racecourse, as I learned recently at St. Augustine Race Week. Normally I’m on the race committee boat for this event, snapping away on my Nikon. But as a change of pace, I signed up to crew on a friend’s Beneteau 361.
Riding the Replica Ship Santa María Down the Florida Coast
It’s probably the first world history lesson that U.S. kids get in elementary school: In 1492 America was “discovered” by Christopher Columbus in the Niña, Pinta, and the flagship Santa María. He was lost and would never set foot in America, but to his dying day believed that the indigenous people of the Bahamas, Caribbean, and Central America were residents of India.
Book Review: Empire of Ice and Stone, The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk
It is a tale oft told, a bright and promising voyage of brave young people who sail off to conquer terra incognita, well equipped and well led, only to be taught cruel and tragic lessons by the extreme regions of the planet. They fight to survive as equipment, supplies, health, and leadership fail. But keep reading, this one is different.
The Mighty Compass
Here’s to the humble magnetic compass, without a doubt the sailor’s most reliable instrument onboard. It’s always there for you and with the rarest of exceptions, always operational. Yes, I love my chartplotter, autopilot, radar and AIS. They help me be a safer and more competent navigator. However, they rely on electricity and geostationary satellites—which don’t always work.
Charter: Lake Tahoe
A sail on Lake Tahoe has been on my bucket list since the day I first laid eyes on it, and come hell or high water, I decided I was going to someday charter a boat there. North America’s largest and deepest alpine lake, Tahoe sits at 6,225ft above sea level and straddles the state boundaries of California and Nevada. It’s big, beautiful and cold, trailing only Lake Superior in depth and volume.
Cruising: Paying with Sand Dollars
The new system will enable banking services throughout the archipelago Photo courtesy of Adam Cort The next time you visit the Bahamas you may find that the people there are carrying a lot less cash. And that’s a good thing.
Book Review: High Latitude Sailing
To the experienced sailors out there who have read the addictive narratives of Cook, Ross, Amundsen, and Shackleton, and who have dreamed of their own voyage to extreme latitudes, your book has been written. In High Latitude Sailing, long-time mariners Jon Amtrup and Bob Shepton have collaborated to create an illustrated how-to manual for sailing the Arctic and Antarctic.
Exploring and promoting advance care planning among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) older adults living in non-metropolitan British Columbia
This qualitative Canadian study explores advance care planning among LGBTQ older adults living in non-metropolitan regions in the province of British Columbia. We examined the level of engagement in advance care planning (ACP) among LGBTQ persons and introduced a region-specific ACP Tool to our participants. Six focus groups were held with 32 participants with ages ranging from 55 to 84 years (M = 67.3 years).
Lessons From the White Continent
Photo by Jay Ruzesky Robert Beringer Land of Wondrous Cold: The Race to Discover Antarctica and Unlock the Secrets of Its Ice Gillen D’Arcy Wood Princeton University Press, 2020, 312 pages By the 1830s, Europeans were running out of new lands to discover. Improvements in navigation, ship building, and medical practices allowed world powers to venture farther afield, running their wooden ships pell-mell over vast swaths of the unmapped oceans, claiming new lands for their monarchs as they went.
A Cruise up Florida’s St. Johns River
The sun sets on a wide expanse of the St Johns River Photo by Shutterstock The chart showed 45ft of vertical clearance, and I knew the boat should be able to pass under the bridge. Still, there was that nagging voice in my head that wouldn’t let me be. “What if your air draft calculations were wrong?” it said.
Florida’s Ongoing Struggle with Non-Native Water Hyacinth
The Sunshine State continues controversial spraying of herbicides like glyphosate to combat the aquatic weed. Robert Beringer June 6, 2019 As rivers go in the United States, the St. Johns is a rarity. From its headwaters near Vero Beach to its mouth at the Atlantic Ocean 310-miles downstream, it is entirely confined within the borders of Florida and runs in the opposite direction of most large rivers, from south to north.
Bareboating on Puget Sound
Protected waters and a sensible itinerary make for a great family cruise Photo by Robert Beringer Depending on where you are, Puget Sound can look no bigger than a mountainous version of the Intracoastal Waterway. That’s what I thought when I first laid eyes on it from the lighthouse at Mukilteo Park on a sunny day last July. Then I went to the top of the iconic Space Needle in Seattle and nearly got the wind knocked out of me, staring incredulously at the immensity of this vast inland sea.
Experience: Knowing When Not to go Offshore
On my living room wall, I have a print by Canadian maritime artist John Stobart that I inherited from my father. Stobart specializes in the Age of Sail, and the print, “Decks Awash,” is of a square-rigged ship with a full press of sail, heeled over in a hell of a blow. It’s my favorite, and I enjoy it immensely. However, I was also always glad it wasn’t me on that deck, until a short while ago when all that changed.
The Seven Words You Can’t Put in a Boat Name
Sadly, my growing family has exceeded the capacity of our Catalina 34 and we are in the market for a larger boat. As the search continues we frequently discuss the possible choices over dinner and last night we touched on what we would name our new vessel. With so much to consider as we shop: the make, year, price, length, draft, engine, electronics, and sails, picking a name wasn’t something I’d considered yet.
Smith Island, The Chesapeake Bay, Is the Last Island Standing
From the marina in Deltaville, VA on the Rappahannock River, we pounded upwind on Ukiyo, our Catalina 34, through small craft advisory waves, a “noser” as it’s called here. We were bound for Reedville, Virginia on an oppressively humid day. But for a lone tanker heading north, the central Chesapeake was ours.
Troubled Waters on Tangier Island
Parks Marina, where Ukiyo, the author’s Catalina 34 docked, is the only marina in town. Marina owner and Tangier ambassador Milton Parks is typically the first person visiting cruisers meet on arrival at the island. If you ever want to visit Tangier Island, the first thing you need to know is that you won’t see it until you’re very close. As we approached from the west, I was nonplussed as we sailed along on Ukiyo, our Catalina 34.
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