March
7 - 13 |
- Recently, there have been some innovations in the area of chartplotting. Right now
up to 14 inch high resolution color plotters are gaining on popularity. However,
near future promises even better gadgets, incorporating LCDs - ones that will combine
radars and chartplotting with dual station feature. This will make it possible for
the helmsperson and the navigator (at the nav station) to use the system simultaneously.
Another new thing in this field is the possibility to download and save some
cartography from a master CD ROM. This way you won't be losing chart cartridges, and
will have only the charts you need in your chartplotter. Possibly the newest
advances in the chartplotting market are systems with Pentium processors, multi-gigabyte
HDs, lots of RAM, and DGPS - all in one... If you're interested in those, contact Northstar, Trimble or Leica. They not only use powerful
computer components, but also have raster cartography - which are charts that are NOAA
electronic copies: very reliable and detailed.
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- Mar. 7 - 13: 1999 Congressional Cup (M-MR) will take place in Long
Beach, CA, USA. It's organized by the Longbeach Yacht Club, and you can
email them for more info at lbyc@lbyc.org.
- Mar. 12 - 15: 1999 Shiseido Cup (W-470) will take place in Tokyo, Japan.
The event is organized by the Jyui Advertising Company, and you can contact
them at juyy-ad@kt.rim.or.jp.
- Mar. 7 - 12: Bacardi Cup (open for STAR class) will take place in Miami,
Florida, USA. For more information contact Coral Reef YC at phone #: 1 305
858 1733.
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- Giovanni Soldini (FILA) gets 24 hours bonus for his rescue of Isabelle Autissier - this
puts him in the overall lead in Class I of the Around Alone race. His only other
left competitor in this class - Marc Thiercelin - is expected to leave Falkland Islands on
Monday, March 8th. He was forced to divert from his course to Punta del Este, and
"land" in the Falklands after SOMEWHERE lost her mast. All other Class I
competitors have had to resign from the race after unfortunate accidents hit them (Josh
Hall - dismasted; Isabelle Autissier - capsized, boat (PRB) refused to right itself).
To read more about these and other fascinating stories of this race visit the
official Around Alone website.
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