The Mariner's Blog

Magnetic Variation vs Deviation: What Every Navigator Must Know
  • 30 oct 2026
  • Charles Hays
Magnetic Variation vs Deviation: What Every Navigator Must Know

Magnetic variation and magnetic deviation are both compass errors, but they come from two completely different sources: Magnetic Variation is cau...

Chile Flag vs Texas Flag: What Makes Them Look So Similar?
  • 29 oct 2026
  • Charles Hays
Chile vs Texas Flag: How to Tell Them Apart (and Why They Look So Alike)

  The Chile and Texas flags look alike because both put a single white star on blue beside white and red bars. They are not the same flag, and nei...

Right of Way Rules for Boating: A Practical COLREGs Guide for Recreational Boaters
  • 12 oct 2026
  • Maya Deiss
Right of Way Rules for Boating: A Practical COLREGs Guide for Recreational Boaters

On the water, no boat ever simply "has the right of way." The navigation rules assign one boat as the give-way vessel, which must act early to keep...

Courtesy Flag Etiquette: How to Fly Flags When Cruising the Bahamas and Caribbean
  • 9 oct 2026
  • Maya Deiss
Courtesy Flag Etiquette: How to Fly Flags When Cruising the Bahamas and Caribbean

A boat entering foreign waters announces itself with flags before anyone steps ashore. The sequence is simple: the yellow Q flag on arrival, the ho...

MLC 2006 Explained: Maritime Labour Convention Requirements for Shipowners
  • 9 oct 2026
  • Maya Deiss
MLC 2006 Explained: Maritime Labour Convention Requirements for Shipowners

The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC 2006) is the International Labour Organization's single rulebook for seafarers' working and living condit...

Best Marine Binoculars: What to Look for Before You Buy
  • 8 oct 2026
  • Maya Deiss
Best Marine Binoculars: What to Look for Before You Buy

Compass binoculars do two jobs at once: they magnify a distant object and show its magnetic bearing in the same view. Used properly, they give a na...

Ballast Water Management Convention: A Practical Compliance Guide for Ship Operators
  • 8 oct 2026
  • Maya Deiss
Ballast Water Management Convention: A Practical Compliance Guide for Ship Operators

The IMO Ballast Water Management Convention has been in force since 8 September 2017, and since 8 September 2024, every ship it covers should be me...

VHF Marine Radio Guide: FCC Licensing, MMSI, and Choosing the Right Radio
  • 7 oct 2026
  • Maya Deiss
VHF Marine Radio Guide: FCC Licensing, MMSI, and Choosing the Right Radio

A VHF marine radio is the one piece of safety equipment that reaches the Coast Guard, nearby vessels, bridges, and marinas with a single button. Tw...

Ship's Bell Meaning: The Watch System and What "8 Bells" Means
  • 7 oct 2026
  • Maya Deiss
Ship's Bell Meaning: The Watch System and What "8 Bells" Means

A ship's bell is struck every half hour to mark time through a watch. One bell sounds 30 minutes into a four-hour watch, two bells at the hour, and...

How to Use Navigation Dividers and Parallel Rulers to Plot a Course
  • 6 oct 2026
  • Maya Deiss
How to Use Navigation Dividers and Parallel Rulers to Plot a Course

Dividers and a parallel ruler are the two tools that turn a paper chart into a working plot. Dividers measure distance, the parallel ruler carries ...

Brass Ship Clocks: How to Choose a Marine Clock for a Boat or Home
  • 6 oct 2026
  • Maya Deiss
Brass Ship Clocks: How to Choose a Marine Clock for a Boat or Home

Choosing a marine clock comes down to four decisions: the movement inside, the finish outside, whether it should match a barometer, and where it wi...

How Often Should Nautical Charts Be Updated? A Quick Guide to Chart Currency
  • 5 oct 2026
  • Maya Deiss
How Often Should Nautical Charts Be Updated? A Quick Guide to Chart Currency

Nautical charts should be corrected every week and replaced whenever a new edition is published. Hydrographic offices issue Notices to Mariners wee...