Write In And Win!

Now's the time to share your thoughts with Boating World. Got some comments on an article? A great boating story? We want to hear from you! Write to us at editor@boatingworld.com, or c/o Boating World, 2100 Powers Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA, 30339, and if your letter is published in the June issue as "Letter of the Month," we¹ll send you West Marine's Compact Waterproof Box Speakers (retail value: $99.99). Designed for marine use, these speakers are magnetically shielded so they can be mounted anywhere on your boat without interfering with your vessel's electronics or compass readings. For further information on West Marine's Compact Waterproof Box Speakers, and for the entire lineup of West Marine products, visit www.westmarine.com.

Jimmy, Bruce and I all began reeling in our lines. Bruce was reeling with as much enthusiasm and drive as if he were working a bilge pump trying to save a sinking boat - alas, with only an empty hook. As the other two lines came in, we saw a dolphin dancing on its tail about 40 yards out. The revelation struck us like thunder, as we all suddenly realized that the fish had crossed all three lines, setting the stage for some intense excitement. Obviously, the fish had darted back and forth across the stern, triggering the false multi-hit frenzy and a major tangling of line and tackle on the two poles.

We both reeled in our own lines as much as we could before the tangled ball of line and tackle reached the tip of our poles. There was no untangling this nest of knotted line, and yet the fish was still out there only 30 yards away. The dolphin was out there on my line, and now he was dancing more than ever as we contemplated what to do. You can't imagine all the yelling of ideas and suggestions, or the number of hands tugging and fingering the knotted ball of line trying to free up this ridiculous mess.

Finally, I decided we weren't going to get this fish in by reeling, so I gave my pole to Bruce and went after it barehanded. I curled my line around my right hand and then cut it with the side cutters in my left - thereby freeing myself and the fish from the pole, the knotted ball of tackle, and the onboard fury. "Hey," I suddenly thought to myself, "Who's driving the boat?"

This realization went away as quickly as it occurred, however, because I was forced to turn my attention back to the task at hand. While I pulled the fish in with my left hand, I kept curling the line around my right hand, yanking every time the fish tail-walked. When I finally got the fish close enough to the side of the boat, Bruce put the net to his tail and scooped him into the boat. Whew! It was an incredible experience for the entire crew.

ROBERT LUONGO
Port St. Lucie, FL 

Being an avid boater, it's always a sad day when I have to cover my boat for the winter. One particular fall, I decided to leave my 19-foot MFG in the water until early December. As luck would be, it was the dreariest, coldest and windiest day of the season when I finally asked my wife to meet me at the Ship Bottom boat ramp to haul the boat. Arriving at the ramp, I backed the trailer into the water, placed the boat on the trailer and pulled out into the parking lot.

Stepping from my truck, I walked around to see if the boat was resting evenly on the rollers. Upon my return, my wife asked, "Did you put the strap on the boat?" Shivering and wet, I told her "no," and explained we were just going over the causeway back to the house. Besides, I reasoned, my hands were too frozen to do anything else. In response, she asked, "Are you sure?" To which I replied, "Trust me." We then proceeded up Central Avenue to the 28th Street traffic light. When the light turned green, I mashed the gas to make a left, and we suddenly heard a thunderous "thud."  Turning and looking behind us, we were greeted by the unwelcome spectacle of an empty trailer and our 19-foot boat sitting in the middle of the boulevard. With smoldering eyes, my wife looked at me and asked, "What do we do now? Wait for the tide to come in?" 

Reader Joe Lucarelli's Trust Me IV

With the assistance of a few good Samaritans, though, we managed to load the boat back onto the trailer. Although I was smiling at my own accomplishment, my wife had only two slightly incredulous words to say in reply: "Trust you?" We've now been married 27 years and still enjoy the good times we have on the water and chuckle at some of those things she won't let me forget. Over the years, I've gotten both my captain's and master's licenses. I now teach boating safety courses and preach to my students to always check everything once and then check again when trailering. To this day, we still tell this story when our friends inquire about how we arrived at the name for our current boat - a Chris-Craft 302 Crowne named the Trust Me IV.

JOE LUCARELLI
Hillsborough, NJ

Lattitude Attitude 

Having spent 33 years of my life as a public school teacher, I'm always interested in ways to impart skills to our young people. And thus, I read with great interest Randy Scott's February ¹08 "Family Time" article (" Learning Basic Navigation").

In the "Navigational Charts" section, Mr. Scott gets into a discussion of latitude and longitude and how to locate each on a navigational chart. He says, "the chart has a gridwork of lines that correlate to the numbers of latitude and longitude." So far, so good! However, he goes on to say that, "The lines running north and south are latitude, while the ones going east and west are called longitude." He further states, "As an aid to remember which way latitude and longitude run, you could show them that by changing the first two letters of 'latitude' they get 'altitude.' Altitude is measured up and down, which is also how latitude lines run." I believe that the opposite is true. The latitude lines go east and west while the longitude lines run north and south. Latitude does refer to distance north and south, but it's measured from the chart lines that run east and west. Longitude, on the other hand, does refer to distance east and west but the measurement is from the chart lines that run north and south. We know that the equator runs east/west on a chart and is labeled 0° latitude.

Measurements above the Equator would be north latitude and measurements below, south latitude. Longitude runs east or west of the prime meridian, an imaginary north/south line that runs through Greenwich, England. The prime meridian is labeled 0° longitude. On a related note, the world's various time zones are also measured east or west from the prime meridian.

MARTIN KELLY
Van Hornesville, NY

Contributing Editor Randy Scott responds: Good job. You passed the test! Unfortunately I, the author, got a failing grade on this one. You're right, the chart lines running north and south are longitude, while the ones going east and west are called latitude. However, when measuring latitude, the training aid mentioned in the article still applies. It should have read: "You could show them that by changing the first two letters of 'latitude' they get 'altitude.' Altitude is measured up and down, which is also how latitude lines delineate distance north and south." 

An Expensive Hobby 

My first boat was proudly purchased in May of 2006. It was (and still is) a very nice 24- foot Cobia. I loved the boat so much, in fact, that I bought a $35,000 boat slip and a $400,000 condo to go with it. Upon delivery of my new boat to my new slip that was located at my new condo, I decided that I may need some lessons. Soooooo I invested in some lessons. Lesson one covered how to dock said-boat in said-boat slip so as to not dent said-boat or said-boat slip. Upon learning this, I immediately wanted to try boat docking myself. I quickly discovered that I was very good at not denting my boat or the slip. Alas, the 33-foot Searay Sundancer docked just behind me somehow got in my way as I was backing into my slip. First day of lessons was $100 per hour for instruction, not to mention $8000 in damage to the Searay .... Anyways, I love your magazine, but boating can be an expensive hobby with condos, boat slips and insurance premiums on damage done to other boats all thrown into the mix.

JOHN PROBERT
 Summit, NJ