The US Merchant Marine Academy and the Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound (YRA-LIS) will host the 2004 LIS Safety at Sea Seminar on Saturday, April 3 from 9 to 5 p.m. at Kings Point. Ralph Naranjo, US SAILING Safety-AT-Sea Committee Member (and the first executive director of Friends of the Bay) will be the moderator of this information packed seminar aimed at making skippers, crew and boats better prepared for the challenges of sailing offshore.

Whether you are cruising the Sound and the East Coast, racing in the Around Long Island Regatta, or racing to Bermuda, attendees will learn valuable information about hypothermia and medical emergencies, weather routing through storms, boat and crew preparation and USCG rescue. Featured again will be the on-the-water demonstration by members of the USMMA Varsity Offshore Sailing Team and rescue teams from USCG Activities New York and the Air National Guard.

This is a US SAILING sanctioned Safety-At-Sea Seminar. Attendance will fulfill the requirements of the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda YC for the Newport Bermuda Race. Attendees may also qualify for insurance discounts. To obtain an Attendance Application Form, visit www.yralis.org.

Few opportunities exist for non-professional sailors to race around the world and most are for grand prix designs, requiring grand prix budgets or with the emphasis on the extreme, such as single-handed. The Corinthian Challenge offers the opportunity to take a production or semi-production racing yacht, capable of facing the extremes of weather and waves, crewed with experienced amateurs and set off around the globe, pitting oneself against similarly designed yachts and similarly skilled sailors.

Starting in the UK in September 2006, the course will comprise 8 legs, heading south to the Canaries and South Africa, before turning east for Australia, New Zealand, finally heading north to South America, the Caribbean and a final dash home East across the Atlantic. Racing for the pride of winning, the Corinthian Challenge is aimed at racing yachts within a TCC rating band of 1.140 and 1.450, with a minimum length overall of 58ft (17.66m). Yachts will be scored using the internationally accepted IRC handicapping system, ensuring a wide range of existing and new yachts are eligible to compete, using a fair and level rating handicap.

If interested, go to the event website: www.corinthianchallenge.com.

Ginger Martus Marshall, known as the "mother of orphan boats," who grew up in Port Washington, is a member of the Port Washington Library's Nautical Center, and is a member at PWYC, has a missionary's zeal for keeping old boats out of the chainsaw's path. She does this by publishing a wonderful newsletter called Bone Yard Boats.

Ms. Martus says, "Bone Yard Boats is about saving old, forgotten, and abandoned boats. We list boats that have fallen into disrepair and are available for sail - or for free. We list all kinds of boats, big, little, power, and sail. We love 'em all. Most of these boats are found in boatyards, marinas, maritime museums, boatbuilding schools, or in the private sector. We don't care where they are. Just let me know, and we'll try to find them a new home." Bone Yard Boats is published three times a year, with a special "preview page" sent out each January.

Information is available at Nautical Stars, P.O. Box 2065, Vincetown, NJ 08088 or call (609) 859-2370.