Soundings

quiz

1. INTERNATIONAL RULES: Lights on a vessel shall be ON from: A. One half hour before sunset B. Sunrise to sunset C. One hour after sunrise D. Sunset to sunrise 2. INTERNATIONAL RULES: If you sight red and green lights side-by-side and white lights above them, dead ahead, what action would you take? A. Watch his bearing carefully to see if it changes B. Sound whistle signals and turn to port C. Sound whistle signals and turn to starboard D. Sound whistle signal to see what action to take 3. INTERNATIONAL RULES: A vessel showing green over white lights is: A. Trolling B. Fishing C. Dredging D. Surveying 4. INLAND RULES: In addition to sidelights and sternlight, a pilot vessel underway shall exhibit, when engaged in pilotage duty: A. Red over white lights B. Green over white lights C. White over red lights D. Red over white over red…

members only

The summer-evening Severn River is smooth as glass, although the sky is its precise opposite, layered and looming with moisture laden, tropical clouds. In the distance over the Chesapeake Bay, rain is sheeting down, but it’s no matter for the guests aboard the Hinckley Talaria 44 Miss B Haven. They fly upriver past the U.S. Naval Academy, then back down into Annapolis Harbor for a star turn through “Ego Alley.” Ensconced in the cockpit, drinks in hand and worries elsewhere, they are enjoying the lively stories of Marianna “M” Belz, who brings them refills as needed. The surroundings are plush, and they are comfortable in the knowledge that David Strange, the boat’s captain, has everything well in hand. Rain, thunder or sopping wet cushions are someone else’s problem. They’re in an…

the iconic aquamatic

In 1958, the American boat designer and engineer Jim Wynne teamed up with the Danish boatbuilder Ole Botved to make the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean with outboard motors. Piloting one of Botved’s Coronet cruisers, equipped with a pair of 50-hp engines, the two made it from Copenhagen to New York in 11 days. And they weren’t done making history. Wynne and Botved teamed up again, this time along with fellow engineer Charles Strang and Swedish engine maker Volvo Penta, to change the face of recreational boating with the Aquamatic. Strang was an MIT graduate who wanted to combine a marinized car engine and a trimmable, outboard-style drive unit. Boats could run the higher-horsepower inboard engines without using running gear, and the transom would be clean, with no cutout and no…