Nautical Trivia - About Port and Starboard
Port and starboard are shipboard terms for left and right, respectively.

In Old England, the starboard was the steering paddle or rudder, and ships were always steered from the right side on the stern of the vessel.

Back then, larboard referred to the left side, the side on which the ship was loaded. So why was larboard eventually dropped in favor of port? Shouted over the noise of the wind and the waves, larboard and starboard sounded too much alike, and confusing those two could cause a ship wreck.

Since the word port meant the opening in the "left" side of the ship from which cargo was unloaded, sailors eventually started using the term to refer to that side of the ship.

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Between the Sheets - A Salt and Battery
- By Richard Benscoter
Can you count on your batteries? Here are a couple of tips that will help you know if the battery power you need will be there when you need it.

1. The next time you plan to start your engines, unplug your boat from the shore power 30 to 40 minutes beforehand. If your engine then starts smartly, this will give you some confidence that if you shut off your engine away from the dock it will start when needed.

If the engine starter turns noticeably slower than when plugged into shore power; you most likely need new batteries

2. If you're planning a long cruise or a weekend raft-up, before you go, spend a whole weekend at the dock unplugged from the shore power. This will not only give you a good indication as to whether your battery banks and on-board systems will support your unplugged adventures, but it will also be a revealing experience.

Adding toys can cause power issues. The addition of inverters to run TVs, computers, phone chargers. etc. can also sometimes shorten the life of your battery bank. This is because when your boat was built, the battery bank was sized for the electrical requirements on board at the time.

All batteries regardless of the type have a time where they are no longer functional and need replaced, this time depends on many variables and can differ for the same type of batteries. When you decide to replace your batteries, find an expert at your local marine store to walk you through all the options available to you for your individual needs.

Lastly, always check with the battery manufacturer's recommendations before servicing or working on your boat's batteries. - See you on the water!

Editor's Note: Richard Benscoter is a long time avid sailor. He's a member of the Silver Gate Yacht Club and owner of the Mariners Woodshop. If you have a sailing question for Richard, send e-mail to richard@BlueSkyNews.com.

About Taking Your Boat Out to See the Red Bull Air Race
As you probably know, the Red Bull Air Race is returning to San Diego on May 9th and 10th

With over 120,000 fans attending over race weekend in 2008, this year's race looks to be bigger and better than ever.

The excitement kicks off the week of May 5 with various Red Bull Air Race concerts, parties and special events leading up to Race Day. The 2009 six-city worldwide tour kicked off in Abu Dhabi, UAE on April 17 and 18.

In this issue, we'd like to repeat the things you'll need to know if you're thinking about taking your boat out for a front row seat.

The biggest change we know of this year is on Thursday, May 7th. The safety box will close at 9:30 a.m. but will open again at 11:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. at which time they will begin to clear the box and shut it down from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. This is due to the afternoon Padre game during which the planes cannot fly near the stadium.

Second, as one Coast Guard officer once said, there are few rules about drifting, but there are plenty of rules about anchoring.

According to Coast Guard LCDR Drew Cheney, Navigation Rules (33 U.S.C. 2001-2038) state, "Any vessel shall, if the circumstances of the case admit, avoid anchoring in a narrow channel." This includes anchoring in such a way that the vessel swinging on the anchor line/chain enters the channel while at anchor. Basically the only time a vessel should "drop the hook" in a channel is as a last resort to prevent a collision.

For a special event such as the Red Bull Air Race World Series where the channel is blocked by a safety zone and each side would potentially be a spectator gathering area, vessels still should not anchor in the channel. Besides being contrary to the Navigation Rules, if a vessel were to anchor in the channel and had problems weighing anchor when the safety zone was secured the vessel could potentially be a hazard to navigation. Therefore, it is prudent to follow the Navigation Rules, special event or not.

That being said vessels can congregate outside the safety zone in the channel while the safety zone is in effect, but would have to hold station by means other that anchoring. For areas outside the channel: The anchorage regulations for San Diego Bay state, "Vessels anchoring in San Diego Harbor shall leave a free passage for other craft and shall not obstruct the approaches to the wharves in the harbor."

So this is a long-winded way of saying that you can anchor as long as you are not blocking a dock or access to a dock; are outside the safety zone and not in the navigation channel.

San Diego will host the second (and only U.S.) stop of this year's World Championship, with the third stop taking place in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on June 13 and 14 just across the river from Detroit, MI.

Qualifying will take place on Saturday, May 9, and Race Day will take place on Sunday, May 10. The Red Bull Air Race World Championship has revamped its already successful race format in the 2009 season as part of its quest to perfect scoring and spectator enjoyment. The new format features a Qualifying Day with all pilots racing to be one of the ten fastest to take them directly through to the Top 12 session on Race Day.

For the first time ever, Qualifying will also be a race for one championship point which will be awarded to the pilot with the best time in Qualifying. The new format will also be adopted to accommodate the largest field expansion ever in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship - from 12 pilots in 2008 to 15 in 2009.

Information in this newsletter is subject to last minute change, so visit www.redbullairrace.com to see the latest bay closing times and a map of the race course.