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From the Boathouse: Trading the waves for the wheel

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Ahoy!

Let’s start with a nautical question for the salty dogs and the landlubbers.

Who knows how the phrase “batten down the hatches” originated in the nautical world? I have heard the phrase used when a weather system is moving in, and not just from boaters.

Well, a really long time ago, on wooden sailing ships, canvas was used to cover cargo holds and hatches during a storm or rough seas. The sailors would use wooden strips called battens to secure the canvas in place. Thus, the command to “batten down the hatches” could be heard across the decks.

We still sort of batten down the hatches nowadays, but with fabric covers that snap or zipper or tie down to protect dinghies, deck gear and other items on a boat, and not just in preparation for storms but for protection from the sun and the elements.

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Steering a different course, let me mention that I am autocross racing in a Subaru BRZ until the Lake Arrowhead Yacht Club’s summer sailboat racing begins in June. Last weekend, the SCCA autocross racing was at Crows Landing, which hosted about 200 racers.

The course was long and challenging, but the digital temperature gauge in the car was showing 107 degrees on the track. Our team did well, and the cars performed well, apart from wearing out the tires.

That race was a perfect lead-in to this weekend, when the team heads 430 statute miles, or 374 nautical miles, south to the 2015 Tire Rack SCCA San Diego Championship Tour. This will be a three-day event that will test the driver and car to the limits.

The championship event usually hosts over 275 drivers, and the cars will range from the off-the-street stock class to custom-built, non-street-legal race machines. Luckily for us, our sponsor, EDGE Motorworks, is bringing its motorhome down for us to use at the races. Nice to be able to get out of the weather, relax in air conditioning and have your own private head.

I will let you know how well I performed against some of the nation’s best autocross drivers next week. As we say on the boats, speed kills, so slow down and watch your wake. And as we say in car racing, save the speed for the track and not the roadways.

Tip of the week: Fill out a float plan and leave it with someone reliable before you cruise offshore. The plan will be needed if you don’t return home or show up at your destination. Remember, it is a big ocean, and you are nothing more than a dot on the horizon. The float plan narrows down the search area and provides the necessary information to conduct a proper search by sea and land.

Some private towing companies like Vessel Assist/BoatU.S. allow their members to call in a float plan that the dispatchers will monitor. Also, the Coast Guard offers a form at uscgboating.org/recreational-boaters/floating-plan.php. Scroll down to click on the PDF fillable form. And BoatU.S. has a form at boatus.com/seaworthy/FloatPlan.pdf.

Include the people onboard and emergency phone numbers, vessel make, length and colors, trip expectations — such as going from point A to point B or cruising off Newport’s coast looking for whales — and onshore vehicle information. This would include something like, “These cars are parked at this marina.”

Leave this information with someone whom you will call upon trip completion. Or, if you don’t call, then the Coast Guard or Harbor Department can be notified.

On my long-range trips, I leave a float plan with a few people as backup, and I have check-in points when I communicate to a person who in turn notifies the plan holders of the updates. This narrows the search area and helps alleviate the anxiety of loved ones shoreside, especially when the boater is crossing to Hawaii or running coastal in rough weather.

The vehicle information is helpful because sometimes boaters wander on the way home, and if the cars are missing but the boat is in the slip, then searching the ocean is not necessary.

As always, just keep an eye to the weather for any changes. Please be boat smart and boat safe. Lastly, please boat responsibly and look behind you before you turn the wheel at the helm.

The original boating program, “Boathouse TV & Radio Shows,” has stretched from coast to coast for more than two decades. See the details at https://www.boathousetv.com, https://www.facebook.com/boathouseradio and https://www.twitter.com/boathouseradio.

Safe voyages!

MIKE WHITEHEAD is a boating columnist for the Daily Pilot. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to mike@boathousetv.com or go to https://www.boathousetv.com.

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