BGFJ columns

May/June 2003 Columns

EDITORIAL

PETA Gets The Ass
by Capt. Len Belcaro

We have received many calls and letters from people shocked at the bombing in Jerusalem on January 26 in which a donkey laden with explosives was intentionally blown up, writes Ingrid Newkirk, PETA founder and President. A letter was sent by her to Palestinian President Yassir Arafat regarding her disapproval of a terrorist attack that killed a donkey when explosives strapped to its back were detonated near a bus on the road from Jerusalem to the West Bank Settlement of Etzion.Newkirk goes on to request, ÒIf you have an opportunity, will you please add to your burdens my request that you appeal to those that listen to you to leave animals out of this conflict.ÓAsked by the Washington Post if she had, Òconsidered asking Arafat to persuade those who listen to him to stop blowing up people as well,Ó her response is a classic in insensitivity toward the ÒhumanÓ victims of the Middle East conflict. ÒItÕs not my business to inject myself into human wars,Ó she replied.The well-heeled animal rights organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), was founded in the early 1980Õs with a mission agenda that directed much of their attention toward dog, cat and chimpanzee laboratory experiments. Through the years, Newkirk has lead her flock in many different directions. Defending suffering and traumatized milk cows, beef cattle, chickens, and placing laboratory rats before AIDS victims and sick children, are now on the forefront of their animal welfare agenda.Anti-fishing campaigns are also on the increase. In recent years, PETA activists dressed in animal costumes staging protests at numerous fresh and saltwater fishing tournaments around the country. Taunting the contestants and hoping for a physical response while their cameras roll is their modus operandi. Anglers involved in any tournament should give these fanatical sympathizers a wide berth. Do not engage them in any controversy. You cannot win.In 2002, PETA income was reported at $17,012,128. Funded by foundations to the tune of millions of dollars and enticing movie stars and personalities to join their absurd causes, PETA has become a formidable foe of both the recreational and commercial fisherman. The basic charter of PETA, the ethical treatment of animals, is really a good one, but through the years, the PETA pendulum has swung so far to the left, the organization, along with their many campaigns to force their agenda on the public, is beginning to take a toll on their credibility. The foundations that dump thousands and thousands of dollars into their coffers and the prominent people that endorse their antics should be informed of their current mission, tactics, agenda and distorted priorities.Check out www.activistcash.com for a list of endorsers and top funders of this fanatical organization. Drop them a line and request they redirect their support toward organizations that truly need their dollars to aid in the fight against human suffering and finding cures for the many horrible diseases that have taken our children and loved ones from us.I just wonder if Ingrid NewkirkÕs priorities would have changed somewhat in her Òdefense of the assÓ letter she sent to Mr. Arafat if her family and loved ones were aboard the bus that day on the road from Jerusalem.

THE CAPTAINS PLOT

MAKING THE SWITCH
by Capt. Vic Galgano

In past issues we have talked of the many advantages of all the new multi-featured electronics which have become a part of our daily boating lives. What is currently available in one compact package would not be available at all 10 or 15 years back, or would have required a multitude of large packages to provide something close to the information stream now available from one compact unit. The question that pops up is this. With all of the data being made available, have we thoroughly read and understood the manual that accompanies that unit? Furthermore, was the manualÕs description of techniques understandable?What brought this to the fore was an e-mail from a fishing pal who had just purchased a Furuno GP 1650 DF. He was excited that he could enter his LORAN TDs and the unit would convert them to Lat/Lon. ItÕs a great feature, but I cautioned that the algorithmic conversion would not be right on the money. Perhaps if the original LORAN unit were still available, the best possible method of converting one of your hotspots would be to locate that waypoint with the LORAN unit, then save the waypoint on the GPS unit by hitting the MOB key and enter the appropriate WP name. The new save could then be used for a return to the spot on a future trip. This would save the time used in a Òpattern searchÓ

BENEFITS OF THE NEW SYSTEMS

The accuracy of the return (repeatability) depends upon the type of GPS in use. Back in May 2001 the Selective Availability (SA) (originally in place to degrade GPS signals so they could not be used by those who would attack the United States) was eliminated for civilian GPS, improving the repeatability accuracy from 100 meters (328 feet) to 25 meters (82 feet). DGPS, which uses a radio broadcast correction signal, improves accuracy to 5 meters (16 feet), while the use of WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) brings accuracy to 3 meters (10 feet). (For comparison of the accuracies see Figure 1.) Eventually, WAAS, a U.S. system which uses two geosynchronous satellites to affect a series of corrections, will become worldwide Satellite Differential GPS (SADGPS) with similar satellites being developed in Europe and Asia to be in place in about two years.A major advantage that comes with a combination unit of the type mentioned above is the inclusion of the chart plotter. Depending upon the chart system used, a great deal of local information is available from the inserted mini chart card. Each electronics manufacturer has established for its plotter the type of mini chart usable in its units. Unfortunately, they are not all standard so the data available for each system is not quite the same as the system of a different manufacturer. The two primary suppliers of mini cards are C-MAP NT and Navionics, while Garmin has its proprietary Blue Charts with a PC CD that will allow downloading of data from the CD to the mini chart card. Furuno also has produced propriety mini charts, however, they now accept either C-Map NT or Navionics cards.Most units have ample memory or memory cards, which permit the personalization of your local charts. Favorite fishing areas, wrecks and other local names can be entered as waypoints and provided with a descriptive chart symbol in one of several available colors to denote your own code for various area types. These entries can be made at the slip when you have the time to carefully enter the data you have available. The precise location of that waypoint can be refined and reentered when on the waypoint by pressing the MOB key and assigning the position to the previously entered and annotated waypoint. Using this method (or the pattern search method) of confirming the location of specific waypoints will allow for future ease of a precise return to the site.

CATCH MY DRIFT?

The use of the plotterÕs Òtracking modeÓ is a most helpful tool when trolling or drift fishing. The plot on the screen allows for a visual representation of your track, as it would appear either as you are following a bottom contour or traversing a drop-off. With the track in view, you will be able to return to any spot on that line by retracing your course on a direct line.When on a drift and your boat passes a piece of bottom which either produces a catch or looks promising, itÕs worth the time to make a quick run to repeat the drift. With the track visible on the screen, it is easy to run back and redo the drift. Necessarily, it would be wise to take another look at the effects of both the current and the wind as they have affected the previous drift. It may be prudent to make minor adjustments if there have been any changes that would have a possibility of modifying the anticipated track.ÒBlind driftsÓ are now a thing of the past, especially now that software such as the MAPTECH Contour Professional, which provides a total undersea picture of the bottom being traversed, whether on the troll or on a drift. The magic is the combination of the undersea topography/cartography and DGPS, providing a very vivid picture of the precise bottom structure directly below the vessel.The best advice to those just getting into this technology is to buy the best equipment you can afford (it will last a long time), read the manuals and learn the intricacies of the unit, then practice, practice, practice. Make notes either in your log or if you have the capacity in your memory so that you can easily access the stored information and use it on your next escapade to the fishy spots.