Newsday -- Sailing Over the Bounding 'Net

By Bill Bleyer, Staff Writer

Now Spivak, a 36-year-old self-employed computer consultant from Bellmore, does a lot of his boating in cyberspace and, with winter approaching, he suggests that cyber-boating is a good way to stay involved.

He's discovered there's enough information on powerboating, sailing fishing, scuba diving, water skiing, canoeing and every other facet of things nautical to keep him busy all year long. A member of the United States Power Squadrons, Spivak has set up an electronic mailing list and a web page for the boating education and safety group.

Meanwhile, he said, he still spends a couple of hours every day surfing through the Internet to see what other boaters and boating companies have on their minds. There's so much information out there, it's unbelievable, the diversity and the depth, says Spivak, owner of SBA.NET.WEB, an Internet and Web consulting firm and a full-time computer consultant for 10 years after a stint as an accountant.

Spivak came across the Rec.Boats newsgroup early this year, and realized the wealth of information available to boaters with a PC. I was doing what they call surfing - looking for information that tickled my fancy, explains Spivak, who take a laptop out on his 19-foot runabout from time to time to work on Web pages. I came across Rec.Boats and started to read it and contribute to it and sort of got hooked.

Rec.Boats has a lot of information, a lot of nonsense. You learn to pick and choose what your read, he said. There are about 1,000 postings or follow-up messages per month. If you have a problem, you can post it and you'll get answers back from other boaters, and more traditional sources.

The Coast Guard is on there and provides information, he said. BOAT/U.S. (the Boat Owners Association of the United States) is on there with its press releases and they'll answer your questions.

There are lots of different groups, he said: For sailboaters there is a Laser Club - every type of sailboat has a club - and they're all now getting mailing lists or web pages created. There's constantly questions about Bayliners, everybody's first boat. I put questions on there having to do with trailers and what they're worth and a problem I was having with my engine.

Over the following months, Spivak, who's active in the South Shore Power Squadron and the organization's district and national committees, witnessed the explosion of web pages on the World Wide Web. I saw what was going on and that and being a member of the U.S. Power Squadrons clicked. I said to myself, 'I want to get more into the web.'

Las summer, he set up a Power Squadron mailing list, only open to organization members, and it now has 200 subscribers. But the Power Squadron web page, which features an interactive boating safety quiz and list of boating safety courses offered, is open to all.

Spivak spends about three hours a day on his computer and spends $18 a month for the service he uses to get on line.

He gets more than 60 transmissions a day from various boating mailing lists he's joined such as Yacht-L, which is about sailing; Navigation, which is about non-electronic navigation; Cruising; Blue-water cruising; and GPS (?Global Positioning System electronic navigation systems).

Since he started pursuing Rec.Boats, the volume has soared and the general newsgroup has split off more specialized subgroups such as Rec.Boats.Racing and Rec.Boats.Building, about racing boats and building boats. So now Spivak scrolls through newsgroup entries dealing with how to treat teak or Chris-Craft boats. He checks up-to-date weather maps on the Web at sites such as http://thunder.met.fsu.edu/~nws-/buoy/ before heading out his boat.

Knowing where to look is the hardest thing, says Spivak, who relies on search programs or web page referral lists to get to his electronic destinations. Still, he says, You spend most of your time trying to find stuff.

Charting Your Course

You just need to know how to find the information. Here are some of the computer resources for boaters identified by Wayne Spivak of Bellmore who goes boating frequently on Great South Bay and in Cyberspace.

The Navigation Mailing List -- Discussions about non-electronic navigation. Send E-mail to majordomo@ronin.com in the following format:
subscribe navigation
Topics include history of navigation, sextant errors, lunar & land navigation, piloting formulas.

The Cruising Mailing List -- Tips on trips. Send E-mail to majordomo@ronin.com in the following format:
subscribe cruising
Recent topic: crew wanted for trip down East Coast.

Marine-L Mailing List -- Topics for professional mariners.
Send E-mail to listserver@ccgc.tc.gc.ca in the following format:
subscribe marine-l

Searoom-L Mailing List -- For fans of sea novelist Patrick O'Brian.
Send E-mail to listserv@netcom.com in the following format:
subscribe searoom-l

Rec.Boats.Building -- Boat building topics such as fresh water tanks and engine rebuilding.

Rec.Boats.Paddle -- Canoeing, kayaking, rafting.

Rec.Boats.Racing -- What it sounds like. Topics include simulation software, adjusting start times for current, trailer storage.

Alt.Fishing -- Catch the BIG one. Topics include: Underwater humps, bass fishing, crappie vs. rockfish, fishing in Wyoming! Does smoking affect fishing, a survey.

Sci.Geo.Meteorology -- Weather and meteorology topics such as sling psychrometer instrument, Dew point info, Tropical cyclone weekly summary, Hamaker’s Theory of Global Warming.

Sci..Geo.Satellite-Nav -- GPS and Loran navigation topics including how do cropdusters get 3 foot accuracy?, declination, U.K. digital maps, Garmin GPS source code wanted.

Alt.Sailing.ASA -- American Sailing Assocation.

Alt.Sports.Kayak -- All about kayaking.

Rec.Scuba -- Scuba diving.

Bit.Listserv.Scuba-l -- More scuba diving.

Rec.Sport.Waterskiiing -- Just the way it sounds. Topics include learning to barefoot, wakeboard tricks.

Agencies United States Coast Guard -
http://www.webcom.com/~d13www/
United States Coast Guard Navigation Center -
http://www.navcen.uscg.mil/
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
For weather maps and other weather details --
http://www.noaa.gov/
National Weather Service / Florida State University. To get current weather buoy data. --
http://thunder.met.fsu.edu/~nws/buoy/
Federal Communications Commission - http://www.fcc.gov/

Associations/Non-profit groups

United States Power Squadrons -
http://www.ronin.com/USPS/
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary - http://131.230.57.1/
American Water Ski Association - http://waterski.net/
Intrepid Air and Space Museum -
http://www.westnet.com/intrepid/

Retailers:

Bennett Marine Video, Bob Marriott's Flyfishing Store, Firefly T- Shirts, Fishermans Tackle Shop, Nautical Computing, West Marine;
All located at: http://www.gsn.com/bin/fishing.exe?/sports/stores.htm&graphics&guest
Data Boat Plans International Limited -
http://www.databoat.com/

Manufacturers:

Aloha Pontoon Boats, Boston Whaler, Donzi Marine, Proline Boats; All located at:
http://www.gsn.com/bin/fishing.exe?/sports/boating/boats/brochures.htm&graphics&guest
Information Resources:
Marine Marketplace - A boating yellow pages.
http://www.boatnet.com/boatnet/market/marketop.html
The Waterfront - Another boating yellow pages.
http://www.webpress.net/jef/Waterfront/
Both these Web pages list brokers, marinas, retailers, manufacturers, cruising locations, etc.

Sailing

The Sailing Source - http://www.paw.com/sail/
Posey Yacht Design Computer Sailing Simulators -
http://www.win.net/~torresen/posey.htm
Mark Rothsteins Sailing Page - http://community.bellcore.com/mbr/sailing-page.html
Mariner's Net -
http://www.aztec.com/pub/aztec/mariner/
Aladdin Sailing Index Page -
http://www.aladdin.co.uk/sihe/