News & Events
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I never was good at navigating!
Third Annual WRCC Chesapeake Rendezvous will begin at 1100 on Tuesday, June 22, at Zahniser's Yachting Center in Solomons, MD. Hamburgers, hot dogs, rolls, condiments, paper plates and utensils will be provided, at a cost of $4.00 per person. Each person or couple is asked to bring a covered dish, salad or dessert.
- 1200 - Barbecue & Lunch at Zahniser's picnic tent
- 1400-1700 Swim at Zahniser's pool, walk the town, visit boats or just relax. Games of Rummicube or Mexican Train might happen.
- 1700 - Happy Hour with live folk music by Some Old Hippie
- 1830-Dinner at Zahniser's restaurant (optional, at own expense).
- Dockage Fees: Sun-Thurs - $2.00/ft; Fri & Sat - $2.25/ft per night plus $6 for 30 AMP or $12.00 for 30-30 or 50 AMP.
- Cancellations made within 48 hours of the reservation will be charged a $25 per day cancellation fee. "Same Day" cancellations will be charged full dockage.
- Upon arrival in Solomons Harbor, with the marina in sight, call the marina on VHF channel 09. At that time, the Dockmaster will give each vessel docking instructions.
- If arriving after 5:00 pm, please call in the afternoon for a dockage assignment; they will put reserved signs out for an "after hours arrival."
- The marina has a 10:00 pm Quiet Hour.
- Zahniser's has 9 mooring balls, $35, first come first served.
Peter's cell: 410-310-1091
The marina will hold 10 slips for us until April 27; slips may be available after that date, but cannot be guaranteed. Call Zahniser's to make your own reservation as part of the WRCC group and give a deposit. There's plenty of room to anchor out if you prefer. If you plan to attend, please email Peter at K3PKC@yahoo.com. Look forward to seeing you!
Amendment to the Sportfishing Regulations in the Bahamas:
Nick Wardle writes, "For the avoidance of doubt and misrepresentation, spear fishing regulations have NOT been changed from what they have been for many years. You have always required your Fishing Permit to be endorsed to allow spear fishing, but Customs, when issuing the permits, appear to have been unaware of that requirement, so ignorance was bliss. You could and still can, of course, only use hand-propelled/aimed Hawaiian Sling or pole spear (with or without rubber band to propel) - spear guns have always been illegal. The regulation reads "unless otherwise authorised by the respective permit".
Update from Nick: (11-16-07) "They have relaxed the conch so you can now have six aboard at any time; also ten crawfish, but that depends on you having your fishing permit endorsed to allow spearfishing. That has always been the case, with no changes - Customs mostly did not bother to even ask, when you cleared in, but I believe they now do. It's not clear about demersal fish (60lb or 20 fish, as one grouper could be over 60lb!)
When we have more clarification, we'll announce it on the net."
You may download the Amended (Oct. 2007) Press Release (pdf file - requires Acrobat) explaining the new changes here.
DIY GPS Position Encoder: Sam, N4UAU, suggests using the "TinyTrak3" as an inexpensive way to transmit your position, connected between a serial GPS and your radio transmitter. You can purchase PCB, case and all parts, cables and assemble it yourself. Click image for details.
CQ100 Virtual Radio: Read Terry's, K1LCH article about a new way to receive the Waterway Net over the Internet using VOIP technology. This could be of great help when you are traveling without your rig, or when propagation is poor. ARTICLE
Waterway Net Annual Picnic to be held Sunday, Nov. 15th, 2009
The 11th Annual Waterway Radio & Cruising Club picnic will be held in Melbourne, FL at Wickham Park. Above is a photo of the pavilion, while immediately below is a map showing where the pavilion is located. Note that the pavilion is located in the park, not right off Wickham Road as was the case in the past few years. Below that is an area map showing where in Melbourne the park is located, with interstate exits numbered.
There will also be a ham radio/marine flea market just before the picnic, so bring your "stuff".
(Our thanks to Lona, KN4RB for managing the Picnic.)
The flea market starts at 1100 ET, with the picnic set to begin an hour later at 1200 ET.
Hope to see everyone there! - N4UMS
(more picnic info from the latest Scuttlebutt, below the maps)
Provisioning: Please bring a covered dinner dish to share. The following will be provided: soft drinks, water, beer, ice, paper plates, cups, napkins and utensils. Drinks in cans are permitted, but no glass bottles.
Cost: We are trying to keep costs down. We will be asking a small, per person donation of $3.00 to cover expenses.
Call in frequency to request assistance in finding the picnic site is 146.55 MHz simplex. Cell phone 321-537-3167 will also be monitored to provide information.
Land Cruisers: Please make reservations for a campsite by calling 321-255-4307 during the daytime. If there are at least 8 campsites reserved, you will receive a 25% discount of $5 per day. Please advise them that you are with the WRCC. Discounted daily fees plus taxes, electricity and water are about $16. If there are not at least 8 campsites reserved, you will have to pay an additional $5 per day when you arrive. Ask for a campsite on Loop A. Please have your Visa or MasterCard ready. You will receive a confirmation letter in the mail.
Arriving by Boat: Transportation will be provided for WRCC members on boats at marinas or anchored at the Dragon on the east side of the ICW or at the Eau Gallie Library on the west side of the ICW. Contact Ned Buck, W4KS, for pickup at 321-725-1591 or Email: nbuck@palmnet.net.
Arriving by Car: The pavilion is located At Wickham Park. Turn East off Wickham Road onto Parkway Drive, and then left into Wickham Park. Turn right after entering Wickham Park and follow the road around until you reach Pavilion #4 or the Sam Fuller Jr. Pavilion. This is the site of the original Wickham Park Picnics.
Driving Directions to Wickham Park Picnic:
From I-95 South Bound:
Take Wickham Road, Exit 191. Turn left on Wickham Road East for about 8 miles. Turn left onto Parkway Drive at the next traffic light after passing Brevard Community College. Turn left into the entrance of Wickham Park, then right after the entrance and follow the road until you reach Pavilion #4.
From I-95 North Bound:
Take second Melbourne exit, Exit 183 (Rte. 518). At third light turn north (left) onto Wickham Road. Turn right at traffic light on Parkway Drive. Turn left into the entrance of Wickham Park, then right after the entrance and follow the road until you reach Pavilion #4.
Motels:
Near I-95 Exit 180 on US Highway 192
Holiday Inn Express, 321-724-2050 Days Inn, 321-724-2051 Hampton Inn, 321-956-6200
Budget Inn, 321-724-5450 Howard Johnson, 321-768-8439
Near I-95 Exit 191 on Wickham Road
Holiday Inn, 321-255-0077 La Quinta Inn, 321-242-9400
Free Charting Software: For those of you who like to plot positions at home (or on your boat), there is available a free computer program, "Chart Navigator" by Maptech. This program is very useful for planning purposes, even plotting routes and waypoints for transfer to a GPS. I use it from time to time just to plot friends positions and to keep up with them during their voyage.
Also free, are the charts! I believe most NOAA charts are available for download from the Maptech site. Maptech keeps their files up-to-date and offers the latest version of each chart. If you are interested, I'd download the program and a set of charts before Maptech changes their mind! - N4UMS
Update (2-24-2007): It's Official! Morse Code Requirement Has Been Dropped! -- As of Friday, February 23, the requirement to know Morse code has been dropped. That's when the 5 WPM Morse code requirement disappeared from the Amateur Radio Service Part 97 rules in accordance with the FCC's Report and Order. See ARRL site for more information.
ARRL charts showing new Ham frequencies. These are .pdf files and require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. They can be printed from the same program. Choose either the color version or the B/W version.
Coast Guard to discontinue use of *CG: The U.S.C.G. has announced that they are asking all cell phone providers to stop allowing the sequence, *CG to be used to contact the Coast Guard. 911 will still be allowed as a secondary option, but VHF radio is highly recommended. Using VHF makes more sense anyway: if there are other boaters in your vicinity that can offer help, they're not going to know you have a problem if you use your cell phone! Also, using marine VHF gives the rescuers a chance to triangulate your position, saving valuable time in an emergency.
Weather Reporters Guide - Marti, KF4TRG has published her Weather Reporters Guide for Net reporters and any other interested parties. The Guide is in pdf format (Acrobat Reader required) and can be downloaded HERE.
Marinas with Wi-Fi Service. Listings of marinas that offer Wi-Fi service around the world.
For WRCC shirts, pins and burgees, check our new WRCC Store page .
Note: Membership in Boat U.S. increased from $19 to $25 on Jan. 1, 2006. WRCC members can get a 50% discount by using our group ID number when applying. The number is published in the current Scuttlebutt.
New U.S.C.G. SSB Emergency Hailing Frequencies
Florida Antenna Statutes and FCC ruling pertaining to amateur radio (pdf file)
New National Weather Service Offshore & Highseas Times for HF
Voice broadcasts of National Weather Service marine forecasts from NMN Chesapeake, VA and NMG New Orleans, LA were modified on June 15, 2005 to accommodate a greater range of products and reduce mutual interference between these and other stations.
NMG/NMN HF voice starting times were: 0330, 0500, 0930, 1130, 1600, 1730, 2200, 2230 UTC
NMG/NMN HF voice starting times are changing to: 0330, 0515, 0930, 1115, 1530, 1715, 2130, 2315 UTC
Frequencies for these stations are:
Chesapeake (NMN) 4426, 6501, 8764, 13089, 17314 kHz (USB)
New Orleans (NMG) 4316, 8502, 12788kHz (USB)
List of possible NASA Space Shuttle listening frequencies.
To check for any upcoming launches, try this NASA site.
Latest News On Bahamian Cruising Fees (12/09/2003) - According to
Noonsite.com, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism released the following information:
"The Bahamas has given due consideration to the concerns of the boating
community and has decided, as an interim measure, that, with effect from December 1, 2003, the current Fees of $150 for boats up to 35 feet in length and $300 for boats over 35 feet, shall be valid for two entries during any
90 day period."
"In the long-term, The Bahamas Government is considering an annual fee
structure and will continue the dialogue with both the domestic and international boating community to determine how such a policy can best be implemented."
According to the Noonsight article, the intent is to allow an additional entry into the Bahamas at no charge as long as it occurs within 90
days of the original issue of the Cruising Permit.