Feb 13, 2020
Since the days of the astrolabe, sailors have looked to the skies to determine the weather. If only those ancient mariners had Sirius XM service, the whole thing might have been a lot simpler.
Fortunately, we do and SXM has the weather for boaters delivered fresh to your chart plotter instantaneously. No complex calculus required.
SiriusXM Marine is graphical weather and fishing info for boaters. SiriusXM Marine service is available in the continental United States, southern Canada and coastal waters. The area on this map is an approximation of the satellite coverage area. The service is provided via satellite, important since it is not cell or Internet dependent, which is limited in range.
map provided by Sirius XM
To get started, you need only get the antenna that matches your plotter – B&G, Garmin etc. These range $650 – 1,200, available from dealers. Once installed, you can choose from three levels of service, which offer increasing capability and information. As well marine subscribers get a discount on SXM’s music service to better rock the boat! For seasonal boaters, the service can be paused for up to six months.
In use, the Marine Service provides detailed weather features including waver height, direction and frequency, wind direction and velocity, cloud top covering, lightning strike location, sea surface temperature and much more. Sirius XM sources the information from a host of sources including NORAD.
Learn more here.
We all love boats and nothing can break us up! So, what better way to spend our time than looking at interesting boats and going aboard in a virtual ride or tour. We have asked our friends at various dealers and manufacturers to help us assemble a one-stop online resource to experience some of the most interesting boats on the market today. Where the CY Team has done a review, we connect you to that expert viewpoint. Our Virtual Show will continue to grow so visit frequently and check it out. If you can’t go boating, you can almost experience the thrill via your screen. Not quite the same, but we hope you enjoy our fine tour collection.
Whole new ball game…
By the Canadian Yachting Editors
By Katherine Stone
In the past two issues we have been doing an overview of the right-of-way rules. In the first, we did a review of Section A of Part 2, in the second we did a review of the definitions. This issue, we will look at Section B of Part 2, General Limitations, which is essentially limitations applying to boats that have right of way according to Section A.
By Craig Ritchie
