Now Germany’s largest city in area and population, Berlin is an emerging European destination – the second most populous city in the European Union. As a destination of rich history, museums and cultural events, it is yearning to rebuild and regain its position as one of the world’s premier cities.

Berlin is a hidden international gem of value for the adventurous traveler, featuring more than 20 five-star hotels, 78,000 hotel rooms (that’s 20,000 more than New York) and 11,000 restaurants and open-air cafés. The rate base for the five-star accommodation level is in the $175 range, including breakfast.

My stay was at the five-star Hotel Concorde, which opened in 2005. Its design was the result of a collaboration by internationally renowned architects in which each was assigned to design a premier room on each floor. Each completed room is an interpretation of its designer’s vision of cutting-edge interior design.

The Hotel Concorde’s 311 rooms are touted as the largest in Berlin; each offers approximately 500 square feet of contemporary space, including an oversized bath with Jacuzzi and a walk-in shower. There are 44 suites, each individually designed by a member of the internationally renowned architectural firm of Jan Kleihues. Strategically located in the heart of Berlin, the hotel is within walking distance of a plethora of shops and restaurants, as well as a boulevard much like Worth Avenue and Rodeo Drive.

Delta Airlines departed from New York’s JFK for an easy seven-hour flight to the modern Tegel International Airport. The processing of travelers was efficiently completed in less than 30 minutes so one could grab a Mercedes-Benz cab (more than 70 percent of Berlin taxis are Mercedes) for the 20-minute ride to downtown. With advance planning, Delta has encouraged travelers to make the journey with a round-trip coach seat in the range of $400 to $700 from JFK during the off-season.

Getting around Berlin is quite easy with an organized, clean subway and bus system. Purchase a three-, five- or seven-day pass and transport yourself from the west to the east sector of the city or the many communities, each with a unique personality. During my three-day visit, in which I walked most areas and was out until 3 or 4 in the morning, I never sensed any trepidation or fear from any place or person I encountered.

The city is impeccably clean, the people go out of their way to provide assistance, and it is the greenest metropolis in Germany. Thirty percent of land space is dedicated to public parks, and there are 112 miles of navigable waterways with a constant flow of ferries that allow visitors to pass under its 1,700 bridges and observe the historic architecture, landscapes, and nine castles from centuries past.

Berlin is the only European city with “more museums than rainy days.” The 175-museum collection allows you to pinpoint your interest, and most have diagrams and audio assistance in English. There also are the unique ones, such as the Sugar Museum and the Erotic Museum, that provide a fun alternative to standard historic fare.

It is said that on any given day in Berlin there are 1,500 events available for public consumption. Are you a film enthusiast? Then Berlinale, a 50-year-old festival held in late November and known worldwide as one of the industry’s top events, attracts 3,500 journalists from more than 80 countries.

With so much to do and see, planning is essential to make your visit worthwhile. My suggestion would be pick up a reference guide of the city at your favorite bookstore and develop a plan. I also would recommend making an investment in a personal guide.

The theme of my visit was “Hidden Berlin,” which took us to places off the beaten path. The Berlin government built more than 200 bunkers constructed in two phases, from 1933 to 1945 and from 1965 to 1993, to house a portion of the population during the constant bombing raids of World War II and the nuclear fears of the Cold War. This two-hour tour takes you to places very few people have seen. One may conjure visions of rat-infested filth, but these connecting chambers were as clean and organized as the streets above.

We entered through a nondescript doorway on the street side and exited through a similar door into a busy public area near a subway platform.

The tour guide brought history alive with a narrative of the facts of the construction and the horrors of time when, in six hours, many bombs fell from above on a city of 4.3 million people. You can experience true pitch-black and see a room filled with four levels of bunk beds for 48 people, as well as baby bassinets for two.

Another good side trip is to engage Bike Berlin and explore the Old Berlin Wall System on a bike. For about $20, you can be led by a knowledgeable guide who will track along a few-mile-long portion of the 29-mile, three-wall dead man’s zone barrier system that broke the country apart for 40 years. Stop at a section that was not removed and see how the German Democratic Republic created an impregnable system. Place your hand on the wall and feel the pain of this horrific chapter of Berlin history. You will come upon the only watchtower standing and open to explore. Günter Litwin was the first East German to be killed attempting to escape to freedom, and his brother is there every day to bring you inside and share Litwin’s passion and his people’s quest for freedom.

Engage Henrik Tidefjaerd, one of Berlin’s foremost personal guides, and have an experience created for your specific interests. From the dark underbelly of Berlin to the glitz and glamour of the high life, Tidefjaerd knows and has seen all that the mysterious city has to offer. He currently is appearing on the Travel Channel’s show on Berlin.

Tidefjaerd took us to a bombed-out, dark factory that was illuminated only by a dimly lit sign. We passed through the huge iron gate, open enough for one person to pass at a time. From there we walked along a cobblestone sidewalk wondering if doom lay ahead, only to turn the corner to discover one of Berlin’s hippest upscale dining establishments along the river – a beautifully renovated grand room seating 200-plus patrons in upscale style. We were entertained by an angelic harpist dressed in a sheer teddy on a platform high above ground level.

The room is surrounded by a collection of 15-by-15 beds in which groups lounge, dining and drinking in a decadent manner. The food was fine, and the service and atmosphere created a dining experience we will never forget.

A trip to Berlin would be lacking without a visit to the countryside less than 30 minutes from your hotel. We went to the Wannsee region, where we visited the Liebermann Villa and the House of the Wannsee Conference. It was a true contrast of experiences. The former villa of impressionist painter Max Liebermann will lift your soul and touch your heart. Walk two doors down to where Hitler’s top SS generals one afternoon laid the plan to exterminate Europe’s Jewish population over the following few years.

This haunted mansion is filled with an exhibit depicting how this 90-minute meeting – “followed by breakfast,” the written agenda said – would set into motion the darkest events of the last century. You will leave this place in search of a shower so you can feel clean of its monstrous spirits.

Berlin is changing daily; it is hip, historic, fun and a European experience that is ready to welcome Americans and the world. You could do seven to 10 days there for one-third of the cost of London and Paris and come away with more than you could imagine.

Time to Telecommute?

As gas prices and stress soar, more Emerald coast residents consider working from home

Most folks would agree: The morning commute to work in rush-hour traffic produces a pain specific to the posterior region. Now, with the price of gasoline continuing to climb, workers are feeling it in the pocketbook, too.

And the anguish is spreading.

“People concerned with the effects of gas prices were significantly less attentive on the job, less excited about going to work, less passionate and conscientious and more tense,” according to Florida State University College of Business Professor Wayne Hochwarter, who surveyed more than 800 full-time employees this spring when gas prices hovered at about $3.50 per gallon. “These people also reported more ‘blues’ on the job. Employees were simply unable to detach themselves from the stress caused by escalating gas prices as they walked through the doors at work.”

Looking for some relief? Maybe it’s time to leave the bumper-to-bumper traffic behind and steer your career along the Information Superhighway. If you’re tired of congested roadways, concerned about air quality and fed up with high prices at the pump, telecommuting could be your answer.

The Value of Virtual Venues
Even before fuel costs began to spike, workers and employers around the globe began embracing the telecommuting or “telework” phenomenon. “Telecommuting is second only to ‘casual days’ as the fastest-growing shift in traditional working patterns,” reports the American Telecommuting Association, which defines the practice broadly as “any method for working productively while away from the traditional office.”

In the three decades since the term “telecommute” was first coined, academia, state and federal governmental agencies and countless individuals have sampled and studied the work-at-home option for a broad spectrum of jobs and industries. “One of the most pleasant surprises about telecommuting is that it’s a win-win-win situation for the individual telecommuter, the employer, and society as a whole,” according to the ATA.

Notorious for its red tape and bureaucracy, the U.S. government reportedly has outpaced private employers for years in adopting telecommuting – by as much as a 3-to-1 margin in 2007.

On the state level, fully a decade ago, after conducting two three-year studies, Florida embraced telecommuting as an official option for its employees.

Working from home is a voluntary option for state employees with amenable jobs, says Anna B. Gray, manager of work-force development and benefits in the Florida Department of Management Services’ Division of Resource Management, which oversees the state personnel system. By law, “All agencies have to identify and maintain a list of positions appropriate for telecommuting,” Gray says.

“Initially the focus of the program was in terms of work-and-life-balance issues, and initially it was designed to be a recruitment or retention benefit,” Gray says.

“(Telecommuting) was an alternative work arrangement primarily to meet the needs of employees and to show some flexibility.”

During the most recent legislative session, the state’s program was on the agenda once again, and its mandates were tweaked.

“In today’s world the emphasis, of course, is now on energy savings and gas emissions and energy conservation,” Gray says.

In the earliest days of the state program, the logistics commanded much attention.

“At the very beginning, personal computer technology was still very new,” Gray says, “so there was a lot of emphasis devoted to how to set up a home office, what sort of technology and what type of dial-up technology and additional equipment was needed.”

“Nowadays, it’s so fluid because a good percentage of employees already own personal computers or have wi-fi access,” she says.

Couching a Career
Some of the nation’s most prominent employers have embraced telecommuting – and continue to expand their initiatives. For Elizabeth Beazley Corriveau of Santa Rosa Beach, the office is wherever she boots up her computer.

“I’m a little bit nomadic,” says the Walt Disney Co. scheduling manager, whose home office is 412 miles away from the Magic Kingdom. “I can work in Panera. I can work on my porch … when I look at telecommuting, the technology has advanced so far that your options are truly vast, with broadband connections, wireless cards, cell phones. I think that’s the amazing thing.”

Corriveau loves telecommuting.

“I absolutely do,” she says. “I love the fact that I have a very flexible work schedule. I usually work five hours in the daytime and then a few hours in the evening. I have a lot of reports I do, so that I can do at any time.”

There are challenges, of course.

“You have to be somebody who is extremely well disciplined to work from home, because you don’t have somebody standing over your shoulder,” she says.

“I think, one of the great things about my situation is that is has allowed me to continue to stay with the company even though I don’t specifically live in Orlando,” says Corriveau, who supervises a team of 40 exclusive telecommuters scattered across the country, all of whom apparently wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Life changes, and you may move to a different place, and a lot of the folks who work on my team have had children and have decided to opt out of the full-time work force. My entire team works part time. I actually have zero full-time people,” Corriveau says.

And, she has very little attrition, too.

“The only attrition I have is (when) I promote people … My team is actually one of the largest (at Disney) that is strictly telecommuting,” she says.

Corriveau didn’t start out as a telecommuter. About nine years into her tenure with Disney, she had mainly worked in marketing and public relations in Orlando for Disney Vacation Club and Disney Cruise Lines and a couple years as a recruiter for the Disney College Program.

“We were moving out of state to Washington, D.C., so I left the company,” she says.

Later, Corriveau found out through close business contacts that in its recruitment efforts, Disney was going to start experimenting with interviewing college students by telephone. In September 2005, she rejoined the company and started doing this new work as an Interview Partner.

“That’s when I started telecommuting,” she says. “We actually have all of the candidates’ application on file electronically. I started out doing telephone interviews” and working with scheduling the interviews,” she says.

“We actually just do phone interviews, so we call the candidate and do the interview on the phone with them. For a large percent of our candidates, they don’t interview in person,” Corriveau explains.

Last October, Corriveau was promoted to manager of her Interview Partners team, who she says live as far north as Boston, as far south as Orlando and as far west as Boise, Idaho. After the team conducts phone interviews, they transfer the data directly to Disney’s employment database.

Work Without the Watercooler
Now that she’s a veteran telecommuter, Corriveau has found the transition to telework requires more than a mere change of venue.

“There’s a different type of communication you develop remotely,” she says, noting that her team communicates heavily through e-mail, conference calls and instant messaging.

“There’s a different way of developing relationships because you don’t have that face-to-face interaction, and you’re not able to go down the hall and ask a question,” she says. For instance, facial expressions are “something you forgo and something that you learn to find a way around. Sometimes it is much easier for some people to relate in person than just over the phone or via e-mail.”

The reliance on technology makes effective communication skills all the more important, Corriveau contends.

“You have to be very honest. It’s almost better to over-communicate than under-communicate.”

For all the benefits of telecommuting, there is a downside with computer-based work, Corriveau admits.

“You’ve got to have a really good Internet connection,” she says. “If you don’t, that really puts a crimp in your day.”

Potential Benefits of Telecommuting

• Icreased performance
• Increased productivity (25 percent or more)
• Increased job satisfaction
• Reduced absenteeism
• Lower employee turnover rates (by up to 25 percent)
• Reduced energy consumption
• Reduced demand on our transportation system
• Helps with compliance for the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Empowers employees to operate at their full potential
• Employees have more control of their work environment
• Encourages flexible working hours, and potential savings in time and money
• Reduces the frequency and distance of commuting to work
• Potential savings in utilities, office rental and parking
• Reduces pollution
• Saves energy resources
• In an emergency when employees may not be able to get to the office, work can continue.

Source: “Telecommuting: A Guide for Managers and Employees Considering Telecommuting,” Florida Department of Management Services

The purpose of the mission had been to find a new route to Asia. Although the flotilla sailed down to the mouth of the Delaware River it did not find new passage to the Orient and returned to Denmark. Full story will continue next week.

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Sailing is the art of controlling a sailing vessel. By adjusting the rigging, rudder and dagger or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails (main and/or jib) in order to change the direPoints of sailction and speed of a boat. Mastery of the skill requires experience in varying wind and sea conditions, as well as knowledge concerning sailboats. If you are interested in Sailing charters in Destin area please go to http://sailing.destinspaces.com/index.html  and call Camille for details.
Today most people enjoy sailing as a recreational activity. Recreational sailing can be further divided into racing, cruising and “daysailing” or dinghy sailing.

Throughout history sailing has been instrumental in the development of civilization. The earliest representation of a ship under sail appears on an Egyptian vase from about 3500 BC.^[1] Advances in sailing technology from the 15th century onward enabled European explorers in Canada to make longer voyages into regions with extreme weather and climatic conditions. Improvements were made in the design of sails, masts and rigging, and navigational equipment became more sophisticated. Ships went further north, stayed longer on the Grand Banks and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and eventually began to explore the Pacific Northwest and the Western Arctic.^[2]

Introduction

A sailboat or sailing ship moves forward because of the reaction to the inertia of moving air on its sails. Since the dawn of history this vital technology has afforded mankind greater mobility and capacity for fishing, trade and warfare. From moving the stones of the great pyramids from Aswan to Giza to allowing man to migrate throughout Polynesia to Nelson’s defeat of the French and Spanish navies at the Battle of Trafalgar, mankind’s history has been intertwined with this seemingly simple technology. Great selection of sea skuners and sailing boats as well as boat cruises in Destin can be found at http://sailing.destinspaces.com

The physics of sailing

The energy that drives a sailboat is harnessed by manipulating the relative movement of wind and water speed: if there is no difference in movement, such as on a calm day or when the wind and water current are moving in the same direction, there is no energy to be extracted and the sailboat will not be able to do anything but drift. Where there is a difference in motion, then there is energy to be extracted at the interface, and the sailboat does this by placing the sail(s) in the air and the hull(s) in the water.

Sails are airfoils that work by using an airflow set up by the wind and the motion of the boat. The combination of the two is the apparent wind, which is the relative velocity of the wind relative to the boat’s motion. The sails generate lift using the air that flows around them. The air flowing at the sail surface is not the true wind.^[3]

The sail alone is not sufficient to drive the boat in any desired direction, as a sail by itself would only push a boat in the same direction as the wind. Sailboats overcome this by having another physical object below the water line. These include, a keel, centerboard, or some other form of underwater foil or even the hull itself (as in catamarans without centreboard or in a traditional proa). Thus, the physical portion of the boat which is below water can be regarded as functioning as a “second sail”. Having two surfaces against the wind and water enables the sailor to travel in almost any direction and to generate an additional source of lift from the water. The flow of water over the underwater hull portions creates a hydrodynamic force. The combination of the aerodynamic force from the sails and the hydrodynamic force from the underwater hull section allows motion in almost any direction, except straight into the wind. This can be likened, in simple terms, to squeezing a wet bar of soap with two hands which causes it to shoot out in a direction perpendicular to both opposing forces. Depending on the efficiency of the rig, the angle of travel relative to the true wind can be as little as 35 degrees to over 80 degrees. This angle is called tacking angle [1]. With a 35 degree tacking angle on either side of the wind, it is possible for a sailboat to sail directly over 290 degrees of the compass (360 – 2×35 = 290 degrees).

When sailing upwind, the sails, when correctly adjusted, will generate aerodynamic lift. When sailing downwind, the sails no longer generate aerodynamic lift and airflow is stalled, with the wind push on the sails giving drag only. As the boat is going downwind, the apparent wind is less than the true wind and this allied to the fact that the sails are not producing aerodynamic lift serves to limit the downwind speed.^[4]

When moving, the motion of the boat creates its own apparent wind Apparent wind is what is experienced onboard and is the wind that the boat is actually sailing by. Sailing into the wind causes the apparent wind to be greater than the true wind and the direction of the apparent wind will be forward^[5] of the true wind. Some extreme design boats are capable of traveling faster than the true windspeed.


Some non-traditional rigs purportedly capture energy from the wind in a much different fashion are capable of feats that traditional rigs are not, such as sailing directly into the wind. One such example is the wind turbine boat, also called the windmill boat[2], which uses a large windmill to extract energy from the wind, and a propeller to convert this energy to forward motion of the hull. This wind turbine rig is effectively a powerboat and not a sailing vessel.^[6] A similar design, called the autogiro boat, uses a wind turbine without the propellor, and functions in a manner similar to a normal sail[3].

Effects of wind shear

Wind shear affects sailboats in motion by presenting a different wind speed and direction at different heights along the mast. Sailmakers may introduce sail twist in the design of the sail, where the head of the sail is set at a different angle of attack from the foot of the sail in order to change the lift distribution with height. The effect of wind shear can be factored into the selection of twist in the sail design, but this can be difficult to predict since wind shear may vary widely in different weather conditions. Sailors may also adjust the trim of the sail to account for wind gradient, for example using a boom vang.^[7]

Basic sailing techniques

The article  defines several terms that identify a sailboat’s movement relative to the wind direction.

Sailing in front of Helsinki, Finland. 8mR Sagitta (Camper & Nicholson 1929), a true sailboat with no motor, lowers its mainsail after a training session before returning to its mooring with the foresail only.

Steering and turning

When steering a sailboat, the method for changing direction depends on the direction of the wind. Thus, all direction changes or turns are described by one of the following terms:

• Heading up (or luffing up) means steering so the wind is closer to coming from directly in front (or “on the bow”). Heading closer to the wind requires trimming the sails, pulling them towards the vessel’s center. Heading up so the wind is nearly or directly ahead causes sails to luff, to flutter without achieving lift. If the boat loses maneuverability because of this, it is said to be in irons.
• Tacking (or coming about), one of the basic turning techniques, requires bringing the bow of the boat through the wind so that the wind then comes across the opposite side of the boat, and the boat sails away on the opposite tack.
• Heading down, bearing off, bearing away, falling off and freeing off mean steering so the wind comes from closer to the vessel’s aft. This requires easing sails, letting them out away from the vessel’s center.
• Gybing or Jibing is the turning maneuver in which the boat heads down past the point where the wind crosses the vessel’s stern, which causes the sails and boom to swing to the opposite side, before the boat sails off on the opposite tack. The sail and boom can cross the centerline of the boat with significant speed, and misjudged gybing can easily capsize a small boat, harm inattentive crew, or damage the rig in a larger boat, especially in strong winds.
• An easy way to tell the difference between Gybing (Jibing) and Tacking, is by looking at what part of the boat crosses through ‘Irons’ (straight into the wind). If the front of the boat (the bow) crosses through the wind, you have completed a Tack, while if the back of the boat (the stern) crosses Irons, you will have Gybed (Jibed).

Trim

An important aspect of sailing is keeping the boat in “trim”. To achieve this a useful mnemonic (memory aid) is the phrase:

Can This Boat Sail Correctly?

This helps the crew to remember these essential points;

• Course to Steer – Turn the boat using the wheel or tiller to the desired course to steer. See points of sail. This may be a definite bearing (e.g steer 270 degrees), or towards a landmark, or at a desired angle to the apparent wind direction.
• Trim – This is the fore and aft balance of the boat. The aim is to adjust the moveable ballast (the crew!) forwards or backwards to achieve an ‘even keel’. On an upwind course in a small boat, the crew typically sit forward, when ‘running’ it is more efficient for the crew to sit to the rear of the boat. The position of the crew matters less as the size (and weight) of the boat increases.
• Balance – This is the port and starboard balance. The aim, once again is to adjust weight ‘inboard’ or ‘outboard’ to prevent excessive heeling.
• Sail – Trimming sails is a large topic. Simply put however, a sail should be pulled in until it fills with wind, but no further than the point where the front edge of the sail (the luff) is exactly in line with the wind.
• Centreboard – If a moveable centreboard is fitted, then it should be lowered when sailing “close to the wind” but can be raised up on downwind courses to reduce drag. The centreboard prevents lateral motion and allows the boat to sail upwind. A boat with no centreboard will instead have a permanent keel, some other form of underwater foil, or even the hull itself which serves the same purpose.

Together, these points are known as ‘The Five Essentials’ and constitute the central aspects of sailing. As far as dolphin cruises we reccomend this website for more info http://sailing.destinspaces.com

Running

A Thistle running downwind with a spinnaker.

Sailing the boat within roughly 30 degrees either side of dead downwind is called a run. This is the easiest point of sail in terms of comfort, but it can also be the most dangerous. When sailing upwind, it’s easy to stop the boat by heading into the wind; a sailor has no such easy out when running. Severe rolling is more likely as there is less rolling resistance provided by the sails, which are eased out. And loss of attention by the helmsman could lead the boat to gybe accidentally, causing injury to the boat or crew. (A preventer can be rigged to prevent damage from an accidental gybe.) Alternately, if there is a sudden increase in wind strength, the boat can round up very suddenly and heel excessively, often leading to a capsize in smaller boats. This is called broaching.

Reaching

When the boat is traveling approximately perpendicular to the wind, this is called reaching. A ‘beam’ reach is with the wind precisely at right angles to the boat, while a ‘close’ reach is halfway between beating and a beam reach, and a ‘broad’ reach is a little bit away from the wind.

For most modern sailboats, that is boats with triangular sails, reaching is the fastest way to travel. The direction of the wind is ideal for reaching because it will maximize the lift generated on the sails in the forward direction of the boat, giving the best boat speed. Also when reaching, the boat can be steered exactly in the direction that is most desirable, and the sails can be trimmed for that direction.

Reaching however may put the boat on a parallel course with the waves. When the waves are steep, it may be necessary to sail closer to the wind to avoid waves directly on the beam.

Sailing upwind

Using a series of close-hauled legs to beat a course upwind.

A basic rule of sailing is that it is not possible to sail directly into the wind—at least not for long. Generally speaking, a boat can sail 45 degrees off the wind. When a boat is sailing this close to the wind, it is close-hauled or beating (beating to weather).

Since a boat cannot sail directly into the wind, but the destination is often upwind, one can only get there by sailing close-hauled with the wind coming from the port side (the boat is on port tack), then tacking (turning the boat through the eye of the wind) and sailing with the wind coming from the starboard side (the boat is on starboard tack). By this method, it is possible to reach that destination directly upwind. The heavier the wind, the rougher the seas, thus boat movement can be more uncomfortable. This can feel like the boat is beating its hull into the waves, hence the term beating. For a yacht beating upwind to a mark at a distance upwind of one mile, it will cover a distance through the water of over 1.42 miles, if it can tack through an angle of 90 degrees. An old adage describes beating as sailing for twice^[8] the distance at half the speed and three times the discomfort.

How closely a boat can sail into the wind depends on the boat’s design, sail trim, the sea state, and the wind speed, since what the boat “sees” is the apparent wind, the vector sum of the actual wind and the negation of the boat’s own velocity. The apparent wind speed is what the anemometer on top of the mast shows. The apparent wind angle while sailing close hauled will be less than the true wind angle. A good, modern sloop can sail within 25 degrees of the apparent wind. An America’s Cup racing sloop can sail within 16 degrees—under ideal conditions. Those figures might translate into 45 degrees and 36 degrees relative to the actual wind, depending on boat speed.

Reducing sail

An important safety aspect of sailing is to adjust the amount of sail to suit the wind conditions. As the wind speed increases the crew should progressively reduce the amount of sail. On a small boat with only jib and mainsail this is done by furling the jib and by partially lowering the mainsail, a process called ‘reefing the main’.

Reefing means reducing the area of a sail without actually changing it for a smaller sail. Ideally reefing does not only result in a reduced sail area but also in a lower center of effort from the sails, reducing the heeling moment and keeping the boat more upright.

There are three common methods of reefing the mainsail:

• Slab reefing, which involves lowering the sail by about one-quarter to one-third of its luff length and tightening the lower part of the sail using an outhaul or a pre-loaded reef line through a cringle at the new clew, and hook through a cringle at the new tack.
• In-mast (or on-mast) roller-reefing. This method rolls the sail up around a vertical foil either inside a slot in the mast, or affixed to the outside of the mast. It requires a mainsail with either no battens, or newly-developed vertical battens.
• In-boom roller-reefing, with a horizontal foil inside the boom. This method allows for standard- or full-length horizontal battens.

Mainsail furling systems have become increasingly popular on cruising yachts as they can be operated shorthanded and from the cockpit in most cases, however, the sail can become jammed in the mast or boom slot if not operated correctly. Mainsail furling is almost never used while racing because it results in a less efficient sail profile. The classical slab-reefing method is the most widely used. Mainsail furling has an additional disadvantage in that its complicated gear may somewhat increase weight aloft. However, as the size of the boat increases, the benefits of mainsail roller furling increase dramatically.

An old saying goes, “The first time you think of reducing sail you should,”^{[citation needed]} and correspondingly, “When you think you are ready to take out a reef, have a cup of tea instead.”^{[citation needed]}

Sail trimming

A Contender dinghy on a reach.

As noted above, sail trimming is a large subject. Basic control of the mainsail consists of setting the sail so that it is at an optimum angle to the wind, (i.e. no flapping at the front, and tell tales flowing evenly off the rear of the sail).

Two or more sails are frequently combined to maximize the smooth flow of air. The sails are adjusted to create a smooth laminar flow over the sail surfaces. This is called the “slot effect”. The combined sails fit into an imaginary aerofoil outline, so that the most forward sails are more in line with the wind, whereas the more aft sails are more in line with the course followed. The combined efficiency of this sail plan is greater than the sum of each sail used in isolation.

More detailed aspects include specific control of the sail’s shape, e.g.:

• reefing, or reducing the sail area in stronger wind
• altering sail shape to make it flatter in high winds
• raking the mast when going upwind (to tilt the sail towards the rear, this being more stable)
• providing sail twist to cope with gusty conditions

Hull trim

Hull trim is the adjustment of a boat’s loading so as to change its fore-and-aft attitude in the water. In small boats, it is done by positioning the crew. In larger boats the weight of a person has less effect on the hull trim, but it can be adjusted by shifting gear, fuel, water, or supplies. Different hull trim efforts are required for different kinds of boats and different conditions. Here are just a few examples. In a lightweight racing dinghy like a Thistle, the hull should be kept level, on its designed water line for best performance in all conditions. In many small boats, weight too far aft can cause drag by submerging the transom, especially in light to moderate winds. Weight too far forward can cause the bow to dig into the waves. In heavy winds, a boat with its bow too low may capsize by pitching forward over its bow (pitch-pole) or dive under the waves (submarine). On a run in heavy winds, the forces on the sails tend to drive a boat’s bow down, so the crew weight is moved far aft.

Points of sail

The points of sail. A. In Irons (into the wind) B. Close Hauled C. Beam Reach D. Broad Reach E. Running

The points of sail are the most important parts of sail theory to remember. The wind, or no go zone, is about 45° either side of the true wind, for a racing hull and sail plan optimized for upwind work. More commonly and on cruising sailplans, the best angle achievable upwind is 50° to 55° to the true wind. A boat cannot sail directly into the wind; attempting to do so is called luffing. There are 5 main points of sail. In order from the edge of the no go zone to directly downwind they are:

• close haul (22° to the apparent wind)
• close reach (half way between close hauled and a beam reach)
• beam reach (90° to the apparent wind)
• broad reach (22.5° away from directly downwind sailing)
• running (directly downwind)

The sail trim (and, on smaller boats, centre board/dagger board position) on a boat is relative to the point of sail one is on: on a beam reach sails are half way out, on a run sails are all the way out, and close hauled sails are pulled in very tightly. A large proportion of the skill of sailing is in trimming the sails correctly for direction and strength of the wind.

Heeling

A boat leaning over to one side under wind pressure, is said to be ‘heeling’. When any large ship is listing heavily, perhaps due to damage, it can also said to be heeling. As a sailing boat heels over beyond a certain angle, it begins to sail less efficiently. Several forces can counteract this movement.

Boats heeling in front of Britannia Bridge in a round-Anglesey race 1998

• The buoyancy of that part of the hull which is being submerged tends to bring the boat upright.
• Raising the centreboard can paradoxically reduce heeling, because it increases leeway.
• A weighted keel, which can in larger boats be canted from side to side, provides additional force to right the boat.
• The crew may move onto the high (upwind) side of the boat, called hiking, changing the centre of gravity significantly in a small boat. They can trapeze if the boat is designed for this (see Dinghy sailing).
• The underwater shape of the hull relative to the sails can be designed to make the boat tend to turn upwind when it heels excessively: this reduces the force on the sails, and allows the boat to right itself. This is known as rounding up.
• The boat can be turned upwind to produce the same effect.
• Wind can be spilled from the sails by ‘sheeting out’, i.e. loosening the sail.
• The sail shape can be altered to reduce its efficiency e.g. tightening the downhaul (see list of nautical terms)
• The sail area can be reduced. This manoeuvre is known as Reefing.
• Lastly, as the boat rolls farther over, wind spills from the top of the sail and the angle of attack lessens the wind’s force.

Most of the above effects can be used to right a heeling boat and to keep the boat sailing efficiently: if however the boat heels beyond a certain point of stability, it can capsize. A boat is capsized when the tip of the mast is in the water. Yachts are traditionally divided into non-capsizable (which means that they have a heavy keel which in normal weather should stabilize the vessel) and non-drowning (which usually means that the vessel has a centerboard and even in normal circumstances can be capsized, but will not sink).

Sailing hulls and hull shapes

Musto Skiff

Sailing boats can have one, two, or three hulls. Boats with one hull are known as monohulls, while those with two or more are known as multihulls. Multihulls can be further subdivided into catamarans (two hulls), and trimarans (three hulls). A sailing boat is turned by a rudder, which itself is controlled by a tiller or a wheel, while at the same time adjusting the sheeting angle of the sails. Smaller sailing boats often have a stabilising, raisable, underwater fin called a centreboard (or daggerboard); larger sailing boats have a fixed (or sometimes canting) keel. As a general rule, the former are called dinghies, the latter keelboats. However, up until the adoption of the Racing Rules of Sailing, any vessel racing under sail was considered a yacht, be it a multi-masted ship-rigged vessel (such as a sailing frigate), a sailboard (more commonly referred to as a windsurfer) or remote-controlled boat, or anything in between. (see Dinghy sailing)

Multihulls use flotation and/or weight positioned away from the centre line of the sailboat to counter the force of the wind. This is in contrast to heavy ballast that can make up to ⅓ of the weight of a monohull sailboat. In the case of a standard catamaran there are two similarly sized and shaped slender hulls connected by beams, which are sometimes overlaid by a deck superstructure. Another catamaran variation is the proa. In the case of trimarans, which have an unballasted centre hull similar to a monohull, two relatively smaller amas are situated parallel to the centre hull to resist the sideways force of the wind. The advantage of multihulled sailboats is that they do not suffer the performance penalty of having to carry heavy ballast, and their relatively lesser draft reduces the amount of drag, caused by friction and inertia, when moving through the water.

Types of sails and layouts

Traditional sailing off the northern coast of Mozambique.

A traditional modern yacht is technically called a “Bermuda sloop” (sometimes a “Bermudan sloop”). A sloop is any boat that has a single mast and a headsail (generally a jib) in addition to the mainsail. The Bermuda designation refers to the fact that the sail, which has its forward edge (the “luff”) against the mast (the main sail), is a sail roughly triangular in shape. Additionally, Bermuda sloops only have a single sail behind the mast. Other types of sloops are gaff-rigged sloops and lateen sloops. Gaff-rigged sloops have quadrilateral mainsails with a gaff (a small boom) at their upper edge (the “head” of the sail). Gaff-rigged vessels may also have another sail, called a topsail, above the gaff. Lateen sloops have triangular sails with the upper edge attached to a gaff, and the lower edge attached to the boom, and the boom and gaff are attached to each other via some type of hinge. It is also possible for a sloop to be square rigged (having large square sails like a Napoleonic Wars-era ship of the line). Note that a “sloop of war,” in the naval sense, may well have more than one mast, and is not properly a sloop by the modern meaning.

If a boat has two masts, it may be a schooner, a ketch, or a yawl, if it is rigged fore-and-aft on all masts. A schooner may have any number of masts provided the second from the front is the tallest (called the “main mast”). In both a ketch and a yawl, the foremost mast is tallest, and thus the main mast, while the rear mast is shorter, and called the mizzen mast. The difference between a ketch and a yawl is that in a ketch, the mizzen mast is forward of the rudderpost (the axis of rotation for the rudder), while a yawl has its mizzen mast behind the rudderpost. In modern parlance, a brigantine is a vessel whose forward mast is rigged with square sails, while her after mast is rigged fore-and-aft. A brig is a vessel with two masts both rigged square.

As one gets into three or more masts the number of combinations rises and one gets barques, barquentines, and full-rigged ships.

A spinnaker is a large, full sail that is only used when sailing off wind either reaching or downwind, to catch the maximum amount of wind.

See also Sail and sail-plan.

Sailing terminology

Sailors use traditional nautical terms for the parts of or directions on a vessel; starboard (right), port (left), forward or fore (front), aft (rearward), bow (forward part of the hull), stern (aft part of the hull), beam (the widest part). Vertical spars are masts, horizontal spars are booms (if they can hit the sailor), gaffs (if they are too high to reach) or poles (if they cannot hit the sailor).

Rope and lines

Standing rigging (on the left) and running rigging (on the right), on a sailing boat.

Rope is the term used only for raw material; once a section of rope is designated for a particular purpose on a vessel, it generally is called a line, as in outhaul line or dock line. A very thick line is considered a cable. Lines that are attached to sails to control their shapes are called sheets, as in mainsheet If a rope is made of wire, it maintains its rope name as in ‘wire rope’ halyard.

Lines (generally steel cables) that support masts are stationary and are collectively known as a vessel’s standing rigging, and individually as shrouds or stays (the stay running forward from a mast to the bow is called the forestay or headstay).

Moveable lines that control sails or other equipment are known collectively as a vessel’s running rigging. Lines that raise sails are called halyards while those that strike them are called downhauls or cunninghams. Lines that adjust (trim) the sails are called sheets. These are often referred to using the name of the sail they control (such as main sheet, or jib sheet). Sail trim may also be controlled with smaller lines attached to the forward section of a boom; such a line is called a vang, or a kicker in the United Kingdom.

Lines used to tie a boat up when alongside are called docklines, docking cables or mooring warps.

Some lines are referred to as ropes: A bell rope (to ring the bell), a bolt rope (attached to the edge of a sail for extra strength), a foot rope (on old square riggers for the sailors to stand on while reefing or furling the sails), and a tiller rope (to temporarily hold the tiller and keep the boat on course). A rode is what keeps an anchor attached to the boat when the anchor is in use. It may be chain, rope, or a combination of the two.

Other terms

Sailboat on a mooring ball near Youngstown, NY

Walls are called bulkheads or ceilings, while the surfaces referred to as ceilings on land are called ‘overheads’. Floors are called ‘soles’ or decks. The toilet is traditionally called the ‘head’, the kitchen is the galley. Lines are rarely tied off, they are almost always ‘made fast’ or ‘belayed.’ Sails in different sail plans have unchanging names, however. For the naming of sails, see sail-plan.

Knots

Knots are among the most important things a sailor needs to know. Although only a few are required, the bowline in particular is essential. By also learning the clove hitch and “round turn and two half hitches,” one can easily cope with all of the knot requirements of a boat. A more complete grasp of knot-tying includes mastery of the following knots:

• bowline
• clove hitch
• round turn and two half hitches
• rolling hitch
• figure of eight
• reef knot
• sheet bend
• stopper knots

Additional knots are available List of knots

Even experienced sailors may forget their knots if they are not performed on a regular basis. Forgetting how to tie an important knot can damage a boat or cause injury.

• http://www.tollesburysc.co.uk/Knots/Knots_gallery.htm (Some of the important knots)

Sailing regulations

There are three basic rules for avoiding a collision at sea, but this is a simplification of a detailed set of regulations:

1. A yacht using sails as motive power on port tack^[9] gives way to one on starboard tack.^[10].
2. The more maneuverable vessel gives way to the less maneuverable vessel. It is generally assumed that this means that power ‘gives way’ to sail, but this is not always the case. It is prudent for a small sailing vessel to stay out of the way of large power driven ships by making an early and obvious alteration in course to signal both recognition of a potential collision situation and that avoiding action has been taken. It is mandatory, by port and harbour regulations, that sailing vessels shall stay clear of shipping in a buoyed channel.
3. If a collision is imminent both vessels must take avoiding action even if one vessel (this is the ‘stand-on’ vessel) would normally take no action. Not to do so, if there is an opportunity, may make the sailor the guilty party at an inquiry. The use of the term ‘right of way’ is borrowed from yacht racing environment, does not appear in internationally recognised rules for vessels not racing and is inappropriate to all other vessels and situations.

Power driven vessel A that is on a potential collision course crossing the port side of power driven vessel B must give way. Sailing boats with their sails set on the same side of the boat, require that^[11] the windward boat shall give way to the leeward boat.^[12] Vessel A overtaking vessel B normally must keep clear of them . Head on collisions are avoided by vessels both turning to Starboard.

If these rules are not followed in a yacht race, a protest may be called by one of the skippers. A hearing of protestor and protestee by the protest committee panel will decide who wins the rule breach.

However there are many other rules besides these, that are applicable and sailors are required to know these, which are fundamental boating safety rules including:

• The “rules of the road” or International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) set forth by the International Maritime Organization are particularly relevant to sailboats because they may be sharing the same body of water as powered vessels, who are bound by the COLREGS.
• The IALA International Association of Lighthouse Authorities standards for lateral marks, lights, signals, and buoyage and rules designed to support safe navigation.
• The SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) regulations place the obligations for safety on the owners and operators of any boat including sailboats. These regulations specify the safety equipment needed and emergency procedures to be used appropriate to the boat’s size and its sailing range.
• When racing, all sailing vessels must follow the Racing Rules of Sailing promulgated by the International Sailing Federation as well as any prescriptions (additional rules) given by the national governing body and organisation running the event. When a boat that is racing encounters one that is not, the racing boat must comply with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea with respect to the non-racing boat. It is the custom amongst sailors that a sailing boat cruising will not normally get in the way of a racing fleet. Similarly, all sailors give way to divers’ boats and fishers for reasons of safety & courtesy.

After sunset all boats racing are bound by the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) rather than the Racing Rules of Sailing.

Sailboat racing

U.S. Sailing team at the World Military Games Sailing Competition, December 2003

Sailboat racing ranges from single person dinghy racing to large boats with 10 or 20 crew and from small boats costing a few hundred dollars to multi-million dollar America’s Cup or Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race campaigns. The costs of participating in the high end large boat competitions make this type of sailing one of the most expensive sports in the world. However, there are relatively inexpensive ways to get involved in sailboat racing, such as at community sailing clubs, and in some relatively inexpensive dinghy and small catamaran classes. Additionally high schools and colleges may offer sailboat racing programs through the Interscholastic Sailing Association (in the USA) and the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (in the USA and some parts of Canada). Under these conditions, sailboat racing can be comparable to or less expensive than sports such as golf and skiing. Sailboat racing is one of the few sports in which people of all ages can regularly compete with and against each other.

Most sailboat racing is done in sheltered coastal or inland waters. However, in terms of endurance and risk to life, ocean races such as the Volvo Ocean Race, the solo VELUX 5 Oceans Race, and the non-stop solo Vendée Globe, rate as some of the most extreme and dangerous sporting events. Not only do participants compete for days with little rest, but an unexpected storm, a single equipment failure, or collision with an ice floe could result in the sailboat being disabled or sunk hundreds or thousands of miles from search and rescue.

The sport of Sailboat racing is governed by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), and the rules under which competitors race are the Racing Rules of Sailing, which can be found on the ISAF web site.
As well as these there is the “mini transats” in which very small craft and a solo sailer cross the Atlantic Ocean. The Vendee Globe is another race for larger boats.. Other races include the Fastnet race from Cowes, around the Fastnet rock just of the coast of Ireland and back again to the Plymouth. There is also the Sydney to Hobart race.

See also

• Sailboat
• Catboat and Sloop
• Catamaran
• Cruising (maritime)
• Day sailer
• Dinghy sailing
• Dinghy racing
• Ketch
• Land sailing
• List of nautical terms
• Marina
• Planing (sailing)
• Points of sail
• Sail
• Sail-plan
• Single-handed sailing
• Solar sail
• Trimaran
• Yachting
• Yacht charter
• Yacht racing
• History of ship transport

White settlers in Colonial America began conquering the East by the 1600s, but the territory to the west remained a great unknown. The Appalachian Mountains formed a natural barrier, neatly but unevenly, dividing the North American continent into East and West.
Lumbering south from Maine to Georgia, this mountain range provided protection to the American colonists from their enemies, the French in Canada and the American Indians to the west. But colonies in a new land tend to expand, and the growing population in the east yearned to see what lay across the hills that had defied crossing for so long.

After following migrating buffalo herds, American Indians had discovered the secret to crossing the mountains long ago – a natural gap in the range that provided easier access than at any other point along the line. (North of the gap, a wall of mountains blocks passage for more than 400 miles.) White explorers first found this gap in 1750 when Thomas Walker and his men came across it while seeking to stake out a land grant. That mission failed, but their discovery of what was soon named the Cumberland Gap had far greater consequences.

A group of about 30 men left Long Island in the Holston River of East Tennessee (then part of North Carolina) on March 10, 1773, charged with the task of marking a path from their starting point to a site in Kentucky that had been claimed by the Transylvania Land Company. Daniel Boone led this group, and later returned alone to explore further. In 1775, after a large portion of the Kentucky country was obtained from the Cherokee Indians under the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, Boone and his men finished marking what came to be known as the Wilderness Trail from Cumberland Gap into Kentucky.

The early trail was rough by any standard, sometimes a barely cleared path marked only by ax blazes on a tree. But immigration began immediately, and by the end of the Revolutionary War some 12,000 people had crossed into the new territory. Like a stream that cuts its own way through slow and steady force, the colonists crossed the gap in trickles, and then the trickle became a torrent. By 1792 the population was more than 100,000, and soon after, Kentucky was admitted to the Union.

Migration and commerce through the Cumberland Gap continued into the 19th century, but by the 1830s human ingenuity overcame the mountain barrier, and waterways provided passages to the West.


Today, visitors to this area, lush with rolling green forests and majestic views of mountains never far off, can get an idea of the pioneer life at Fort Boonesborough, where Boone and about 40 other settlers broke ground in 1775. The fort itself eventually consisted of a rectangle of about 26 one-story cabins with a two-story blockhouse at each corner. The settlers’ greatest concern was staking their own land claims, planting, hunting and exploring, but the fort provided a common meeting place as well as protection from raiding Indians. (The settlers’ greatest foe, however, was the Kentucky River, which frequently flooded and eventually drove them to higher ground.)

A row of cabins at the reconstructed fort shows just how primitive life could be for the settlers, but few comforts arrived slowly to soften the frontier life. Pioneer crafts and skills such as candlemaking, soapmaking and smithing now are demonstrated, and watching the tedious, time-consuming process of spinning and weaving will make you appreciate the fact that you can buy your clothes off the rack.

These Hills are Alive With Music

There’s blue grass, and then there’s bluegrass – and no one does bluegrass better than Kentuckians. The Kentucky Music Hall of Fame at Renfro Valley traces the fascinating evolution of local music traditions from its humble beginnings in the Appalachians to today’s glitzy country rock. The museum begins its story in the 1700s, when handmade instruments were passed along and the biggest stage probably was a front porch. Slave traditions infused an African color into the music, and the slaves’ banjer became the hills people’s banjo.

Famous sons and daughters of Kentucky are honored at the Hall of Fame, including Loretta Lynn, Patty Loveless, Ricky Skaggs, The Judds, The Osborne Brothers, Red Foley, Rosemary Clooney and the father of bluegrass himself, Bill Monroe. The museum has a strong educational program with music workshops, and you can even record your own CD in the Hall of Fame Studio.

Renfro Valley is celebrating 65 years of traditional country music and family comedy, and its claim to be Kentucky’s “country music capital” is disputed by none.

“This is what Branson (Mo.) should be like,” said one guest at the Friday-night Barn Dance after a dizzying 90-minute show featuring the most talented singers, players and comedians Kentucky has to offer. You’ll feel like you just saw a show at the Grand Ole Opry, but without the traffic or the hucksterism.

All the big names pass through here, and the coming months’ roster of performers includes such stellar names as Lynn, Loveless, Randy Travis, Larry Gatlin, Charley Pride, Ray Price, Exile, Ronnie McDowell, The Oak Ridge Boys, Merle Haggard and George Jones.

But it’s the in-house stable of performers that will wow you day in, day out. Regular shows include Front Porch Pickin’, Classic Country, Mountain Gospel Jubilee, Renfro Valley Gatherin’, Barn Dance and Jamboree, and are not to be missed. (And hearing Susan Tomes Laws belt out “Cattle Call” at the Friday-night Jamboree was worth the whole trip.)

The Renfro Valley experience also includes great meals, the BitterSweet Cabin Museum, shops, a full-service RV park and outside entertainment.

Hiking In the Appalachians


The Cumberland Gap area is well known to outdoors types, with miles of hiking trails and great river canoeing. The Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail in the Daniel Boone National Forest winds through a dense forest of hemlock, oak and dogwood guarded by enormous boulders and cliff overhangs, but keep alert for ladyslippers, trillium and jack-in-the-pulpits.

The hike is moderately difficult, with steep steps and a few moments of “The trail goes down there?” We started at Cumberland Falls, headed north along Cumberland River to Dog Slaughter Falls near the mouth of Dog Slaughter Creek, and then turned east to hike parallel to the creek – a total of a bit less than five miles.

U.S. Forest Service guide Leif Meadows pointed us to an unassuming little plant shaped a bit like a green pinwheel, maybe 6 inches high. Digging under the plant and cupping the earth in his hand, he produced the Indian cucumber’s tiny white rhizome. He gently cleared away the clinging dirt and popped it into his mouth, and soon we were all craving them. It tastes like a very sweet cucumber, but American Indians knew that a few could act as a diuretic, and in large amounts a purgative.

After all that hiking, rest your wearies in the cool Rockcastle River, one of Kentucky’s five Wild Rivers. Jim Honchell, owner of Rockcastle Adventures Canoe Livery, guided us 11 miles downriver on the Upper Rockcastle, snaking its way through the heart of Daniel Boone National Forest. The current is mostly gentle and forgiving, but a few spots proved too rough and we took the easy way out – by land, via portage. It’s a great river for swimming, as well.

Kentucky boasts 52 state parks, each seemingly more stunning than the last. Somewhere near the top of that list would have to be the Pine Mountain and Cumberland Falls parks.

Pine Mountain has the distinction of being the first Kentucky state park, created in 1924 and located in the heart of the Kentucky Ridge State Forest in the southeastern mountains. The upper lobby of the lodge was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal program funded to put young men to work during the Great Depression. The beauty and workmanship is evident, with the original sandstone and chestnut-log construction proudly in place.

Don’t miss the park’s Hemlock Garden Trail, just behind the lodge; just three-fourths of a mile long, this trail has new “oohs” and “ahs” at every turn. Step over a running rock stream and soon you’ll be ducking under Fat Man Squeeze – a seemingly impossible niche that only becomes believably passable when you’re right there in it. A walking stick is helpful on this one, and we found a stack of 10 or 12 waiting for us by past thoughtful hikers.

The Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is part of the Daniel Boone National Forest. The highlight here is the falls itself, known as the “Niagara of the South.” The waterfall forms a 125-foot curtain that plunges noisily 60 feet below into a boulder-strewn gorge. The mist from the falls creates a “moonbow,” only visible on a clear night during a full moon. Nowhere else in the Western Hemisphere can this phenomenon be found.

Sheltowee Trace Outfitters offers raft rides up to the base of the falls for a close view and a feel of the mist on your face. It’s a 20-minute thrill ride for young and old.

The Dupont Lodge at Cumberland Falls has been recently renovated, and it’s a charmer. Solid hemlock beams and knotty pine paneling frame the massive stone fireplaces in the lobby. Picture windows in the dining room overlook the forest and a steep drop to the river below. For the best view, visit the terrace – and look for the raccoons that keep a masked eye out for thrown handouts.

Recalling the Coal Years

The discovery of coal at the turn of the 20th century led to boom times for southeastern Kentucky. The Stearns Coal & Lumber Co. built the town of Stearns to serve as the hub of a logging and mining empire that, in its 1920s heydays, controlled more than 200 square miles of land. The Stearns company built the Kentucky and Tennessee Railway as well as the world’s first all-electric sawmill, and employed more than 2,200 people in its 18 coal camps. The company town included a freight depot, office building, pool hall, theater, hotel and a company store, where residents could purchase items with company-issued scrip.

By the 1950s, the coal mines played out one by one and soon were abandoned. By 1976, the Stearns Coal & Lumber Co. sold most of its buildings to the Blue Diamond Coal Co., and in 1987 the last railcar of coal left the Blue Diamond mines.

The McCreary County Museum, housed in a 1907 Stearns Coal & Lumber office building, is a window into the area’s often wild past. (A favorite with guests is the whiskey-still exhibit.) A lot of history is packed into this small, charming museum, dedicated to the memories of the lives of coal miners and their families.

The restored Big South Fork Scenic Railway whisks visitors through the gorge of the Big South Fork, a tributary of the Cumberland River, to the Blue Heron Mining Camp, hugging the cliffline, passing through one tunnel and descending more than 600 feet over 5 miles.

Considered by residents to be one of the best Stearns coal mines to live and work at, the Blue Heron Mining Camp was built in 1937 and then abandoned in 1962. In 1989, the National Park Service restored the camp with “ghost structures” and oral-history exhibits as part of the Big South Fork River and Recreation Area.

Take the time to visit the ghost structures and listen to recordings of past residents who spent their lives at the camp; the voices seem in turn wistful, thankful and proud. A short hike up the hill leads to the abandoned mine opening.

Oil spill cleanup is under way

Oil spill cleanup is under way at many beaches along the Gulf Coast, and beach-bound travelers are keeping a close eye on coastal conditions.

Here are some of the latest updates from destinations affected by the oil disaster:

Florida’s Emerald Coast

Oil cleanup Coast, beach-bound conditions.

Here disaster:

Florida’s Coast

Small weekend, bureau. ” removed, spotted,” bureau’s website.

The area, Destin, Island, visit.

” white-sand emerald-green clear. addition, strong, water,” said.

Destin ” Sam” few, unusual.

” balls, we’ll few. That’s Mexico, said.

Beachgoers usual, said.

Pensacola Key, Florida

The fishing, Bureau.

The afternoon. Florida-Alabama Key, said. advised.

Mike McHugh, contributor, video Beach. ” Johnson’s in. 4:30 p.m., gone. balls, [they] find,” wrote.

James Amerson, iReporter, tracking oil Pensacola. Beach, inches, said.

” stuff, old, [on] sands,” iReport.com.

The precautions. ” [the Administration], person, up," said.

Gulf Seashore, Florida

All open, website. Tuesday, Florida, Key. areas.

Health spill.

Gulf Beach, Alabama

In Alabama, Shores, Morgan. open. sightseeing, Bureau.

The fishing.

Grand Isle, Louisiana

Oil coast, emergency website.

Grand beach, website.

Natasha Combs, iReporter, observe efforts.

" military. [hazmat] suits. beach, pools," said.

Perhaps you’ve seen him riding down the side of U.S. Highway 90 wearing a kilt and asked yourself, “Who is that guy and what is he thinking?”

He goes by the name Rob Roy McGregor, and he is riding his bike to help raise environmental awareness and save the world’s rain forests.

McGregor’s journey began in Orlando in January 2009 at the 32nd Annual Scottish Highlands Festival. The cultural anthropologist and father of four set off on a journey throughout Florida to spread his message.

After pedaling nearly 1,000 miles across the state, McGregor ended his ride on Feb. 7 in his hometown of DeFuniak Springs.

“I am biking and creating art to draw attention to our most critical global problem created by our daily decisions,” he says. “The current focus of my bike ride and art exhibition is global climate change.”

McGregor is currently riding across his ancestors’ hometown of Glasgow, Scotland, and working on a new exhibit, “The 13 Acacia Trees of Life Art Project.”

“The tree of life in art has been a mystical concept alluding to the interconnectedness of all life on our planet,” McGregor says. “In Egyptian mythology, it is said that Isis and Osiris emerged from the Acacia Tree of Saosis, the Egyptian tree of life. In the Hebrew/Christian bibles, the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant were both made of acacia wood, and the burning bush was an acacia tree.”

When completed, 13 acacia trees built completely from construction waste will be put on display for the exhibit. The acacia trees, one of the last remaining traces of the fading rain forests, serve as a metaphor for the degradation of an entire ecosystem.

McGregor recently talked with us about his passion for the globe.

ECN: Where did you study anthropology?

RM: I graduated from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in ’97 with a B.A. in liberal arts from the school of anthropology. I study how our culture lives. I study corporate culture and see how our material culture drives our spiritual culture. Our spiritual culture can be seen in our art.

ECN: What kind of bike do you ride on the tour?

RM: Right now I am riding a German mountain bike that I bought from Common Wheels, Glasgow, which saved me on the Rob Roy Challenge more than once. In Florida I rode a Giant 24-speed tour bike.

ECN: Do you prefer to ride a mountain, road or hybrid bike?

RM: I prefer a hybrid for Florida flats. When in Scotland, I use a mountain bike with lots of gears. The hills here are intense and Scotland is home to the best bike trails, routes and courses I have ever seen.

ECN: What is the most detestable action against nature in your opinion?

RM: I am most disturbed by roads.

ECN: What is the most amazing thing you’ve seen on tour in Florida?

RM: The tree I photographed out in front of the Frazier Museum in West Palm Beach. It was beautiful and the roots created rooms like a house. I thought to myself … I could live in this tree.

ECN: Do you have any relation to Scotland’s famous Rob Roy McGregor?

RM: Yes, through my mother, who was a Campbell. McGregor was an alias — his real last name was Campbell. My father is a McGregor.

ECN: What are your future plans?

RM: I am really thinking about making my next bike tour start in El Salvador and then biking down to Brazil into the rain forest. I am praying about it. I also want to bike in the Middle East, Russia and China eventually.