Which frequencies could you use to contact the USCG on your SSB in an emergency?
Send your answer to cruisingcompass@bwsailing.com. The winner, selected randomly from correct answers, will receive a Blue Water Sailing hat.
Thanks to last week’s winner, Ed Baker, for the correct answer to the question: “You are sailing back to shore for happy hour, you spot the 81 ft lighthouse at the harbor entrance as you stand nine ft above the waterline. How far from the lighthouse (and happy hour) are you?”
The standard formula for calculating the distance to horizon is the square root of the height of the lighthouse above the horizon times a constant (9’x1.23=11.07 miles) plus the square root of the height of the viewer above the horizon times a constant (3’x1.23=3.69 miles) for a distance of approximately 14 miles. Whether you are using tables or an equation to solve this, the multiplier constant, 1.23 in this instance, may vary depending on accounting for refraction.
