Pentagon Sailing Club - Nautical Links

Nautical Links

Chesapeake Bay Charter Boats:

Annapolis Bay Charters Annapolis Bay Charters (ABC) is the company that PSC has used for the past several years to charter boats on the Chesapeake Bay for training and social sailing. ABC has a good sized fleet of newer large boats and is located at the Port Annapolis Marina in Annapolis.

Sailing History:

National Sailing Hall of Fame The National Sailing Hall of Fame & Museum is a not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to preserving the history of of sailing and its impact on our culture, honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to American sailing, inspiring and encouraging sailing development and providing a landmark for sailing enthusiasts. The National Sailing Hall of Fame's permanent facility will be built on the Southeast side of the City Dock in Annapolis.

Navigation Links

New, Cool, and Free!!! NOAA's New On-Line Chart Viewer All of NOAA’s 1,000-plus U.S. coastal and Great Lakes nautical charts are viewable here on-line. Each chart is up-to-date with the most recent Notices to Mariners. Use these on-line charts as a ready reference or planning tool.

Navigation Rules US Coast Guard Navigation Center Navigation Rules page with links to read online, download, or order, the latest Navigation Rules

NavRules for Windows NavRules is a training program for learning the "rules of the road". These rules include the internationally recognized Collision Regulations, or COLREGS, as well as the US Inland Rules.

Chart No. 1 Nautical Chart Symbols, Abbreviations and Terms. Review online or download.

U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center The latest and greatest on safe navigation from the United States Coast Guard. This site includes Local Notice to Mariners (see the 5^th District for the Chesapeake Bay).

Office of the Coast Survey, National Ocean Service Information about and where to get nautical charts. Also includes a new Critical Chart Corrections service which provides access to chart updates that have been published in United States Coast Guard (USCG) Local Notice to Mariners (LNM), National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) Notice to Mariners (NM) and Canadian Coast Guard Notice to Mariners (CNM). Enter your chart number and get a compiled list of all changes!

Coast Pilot 3 Coast Pilot 3 covers the Atlantic coast from Sandy Hook to Cape Henry, including the New Jersey Coast, Delaware Bay, Philadelphia, the Delaware - Maryland - Virginia coast, and the Chesapeake Bay. Read online or download.

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency NGA, formerly the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), includes the old Defense Mapping Agency. Some good stuff here including their Maritime Safety Information and an on line version of The American Practical Navigator (Bowditch) .

MAPTECH MapServer It's the largest online mapping resource for topographic maps and charts for land, sea, and air. Browse, view, print, and email the maps and charts for free.

Maryland Moveable Bridges - Maryland provides this chart of all moveable bridges with clearances, operator phone numbers and opening times!

Chesapeake Bay Pound Net Sites - Pound nets (Those dreaded "Fish Traps") in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay must be registered with the Department of Natural Resources. These pages will assist you in locating all currently registered pound net sites.

Marine Weather Links

Sea Nettle Map of the Chesapeake Bay - Not exactly weather, but it could be just as important. Stinging sea nettles seasonally infest the Chesapeake Bay. Knowing where and when to expect these pests could help you better plan your activities on the bay. This NOAA web site gives a map of where you might expect to encounter these pests.

Station TPLM2 - Thomas Point, MD - What's happening on the Bay RIGHT NOW? This site provides near real time weather data from Thomas Point Light.

Chesapeake Bay/Coastal Marine Forecasts (just click on the area you want) What to wear, what to wear?

Intellicast.Com - A great site to get graphical forecasts. What are the winds going to be like Saturday?

Tide and Current Links

Tide and Current Predictor for Annapolis Suggested by Rick Baker. Thanks, Rick.

Tide Tables from the National Ocean Service of NOAA This site has all the tables. Thanks again to Rick Baker.

Tidal CURRENT Tables from the National Ocean Service of NOAA This site has all the tables, but click here for the Maryland stations.

Saltwatertides.com Another good source for tides, plus moon, and sun predictions for the Gulf Coast, US East Coast and US West Coast. Suggested by Duane Covino. Thanks, Duane.

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneYear.php for the sunrise/sunset, moonrise/moonset, and twilight times (including nautical twilight beginning and ending times) from the U.S. Naval Observatory. Thanks again to Duane Covino.

Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Center U.S. Navy weather site with lots of information.

Communications Links

Federal Communications Commission Ship Radio Stations This page contains information on radios that may be used aboard a ship, which ship radio stations must be licensed by the FCC, and how to use your marine VHF radio.

Federal Communications Commission Marine VHF Radio Channels (.pdf version)

Safe Boating Links

Boat Safe Boating Courses, Tips, Safety, and Contests Lots o' good stuff on Safe Boating including on-line Boating Safety Certification and Coastal Navigation Courses (a fee is charged for the Boating Safety certification and for the navigation course, but much of the material can be reviewed on-line at no charge).

United States Power Squadron I know, I know, we are sailors. But this is a terrific organization dedicated to boating safety and education. It costs very little to join after you take their certified Basic Boating Safety course, and one of the great benefits of membership is the breadth of classes they offer, such as Piloting, Weather, Boat Systems, etc---all greatly expanded versions of our Winter Training Program classes. Suggested by Judy Manning. Thanks, Judy.

BOAT/US On-Line Boating Safety Course This one is free and is fulfills the mandatory boating safety education requirements in many states.

Knot Tying Animation Links

http://www.animatedknots.com Grog's Knots... In my opinion the new truly best animation for the boating knots. Click on the "Picture Index" in the Boating Section. If the link takes you first to the Grogono Family web site, click on Animated Knots at the top of the page and then click on the "Picture Index" in the Boating Section.

http://www.42ndbrighton.org.uk/?page=knots The next best animation for the BOWLINE, FIGURE 8, and ROLLING HITCH are from the Boy Scout page (42nd Brighton Scouting Group (UK)).

http://www.sacdelta.com/safety/knots/ The next, next best animation for the BOWLINE, ROLLING HITCH, Tying to a horn CLEAT, and Simple STOPPER KNOTS are at Shooting Star's Marlinespike page.

Sailing Clubs and Organizations

U. S. Naval Sailing Association (USNSA) PSC is affiliated with USNSA, an organization committed to recreational sail training.

American Sailing Association The Pentagon Sailing Club offers a full range of American Sailing Association (ASA) courses.

United States Sailing Association (US Sailing) We are also affiliated with US Sailing, the National Governing Body For The Sport Of Sailing.

Annapolis Naval Sailing Association (ANSA) Our sister club in Annapolis.

Daingerfield Island Sailing Club A Potomac River sailing club with focus on racing.

Command Seamanship Navigation Training Squadron (CSNTS) Naval Academy Sailing. They run a great training program for volunteers in return for those volunteers helping teach midshipmen to sail. You could be an Assistant Officer in Charge on a Navy 44 for one of the three week Summer training cruises. Click here to see the Winter Training Program slides on Communications, Navigation, etc.

Other Links

WomanShip The sailing school for women.

Woman's Boating Links A BOAT/US page with sites devoted to woman and boating.

Sail Magazine I wonder what took them so long to get on line.

Cruising World Magazine If you are too cheap to buy it.

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This page updated February 10, 2013