Old salts remember the adage not to whistle aboard a sailboat for fear of bringing high winds. But if high winds or anything else causes you to end up the water, you'll want your whistle then. The Coast Guard Auxiliary has been conducting a campaign to remind boaters that sound signals, including the humble whistle, are often the most important factor in finding a boating accident victim. As they point out, you may think you can shout until you're heard, but shouting can lead to a hoarse voice and exhaustion within minutes, while you can blow a whistle practically forever - and the shrill sound can carry better over water sounds. I keep mine tied inside the Velcro flap of my inflatable PFD where I never have to think about it and won't forget or lose it. In fact, if I see it at all, that means I'm in the water and my inflatable is inflating, and I suspect at that moment I might just be happy that it's there. Where do you keep yours?

We've all seen them: the old fiberglass boats in the back of boatyards, shreds of an old winter cover wrapped around the jack stands, mottled wood on deck and piles of leaves in the cockpit suggesting abandonment. Someone's dream once, but now too expensive to restore when you can buy a good used boat for less than the parts needed to restore an older one. What happens to these old boats? Is it a downside of fiberglass that it seems to last forever?

I've always thought there must be some creative uses for fiberglass hulls that won't see the water again. Seal them up and join them together as pontoons for a floating city? Invert them as roofs woven into the structure of a fantastic pagoda? Surely someone has a creative solution for repurposing old fiberglass in beautiful shapes?

On the other hand, there are boats worth saving and there are people with the love and energy to do it. I heard recently about a family in the U.K. rebuilding a classic Contessa 32 from a fiberglass hull up. Their goal is to build as green as possible, such as with a decking of Kebony, a sustainable wood alternative to tropic hardwoods, and a Hybrid Marine engine. Their blog Building Calypso is inspirational for both classic sailors and environmentalists. If only the world had thousands more families like this!

I'm just back from a cruise along the Maine coast where we, naturally, ran into a good amount of thick fog among the islands. With one eye on the plotter, one on the radar, another sorting through the ubiquitous lobster pots (even in depths over 200 feet a couple miles offshore), and one for sail trim and steering, we had no particular difficulties. Our VHF-hailer automatic foghorn signaled every 2 minutes as legally required, Still, we had some very close calls with other vessels that came ghosting or roaring out of the fog a hundred feet or less away, often on a collision course. As always, I was surprised how many boats blithely go forth into deep fog without using a radar reflector to help others see them or a foghorn for others to hear them. There have been collisions in fog, of course, and people have been injured - and sometimes die. I wonder if these careless boaters are trusting that the boats they encounter will always be using the correct equipment and common sense to prevent collisions? What happens when two vessels both ignoring the regulations meet? The odds are small, but maybe that's when the collisions happen. There's really no excuse not to have aboard and use a required sound signal in fog. Here's some basic information on different fog devices available.

True, it's only mid-August, but we had been warned to expect a particularly active season, and a lot of sailors have been waiting watchfully. Of course we're a long way from the end of the season, and those of us in the Atlantic, Caribbean, or US Gulf or East Coasts should remain cautious. If planning a voyage offshore, be sure to check the National Hurricane Center web site and Atlantic map for any potential activity coming. Indeed, the Hurricane Center still warns: "Significant activity is predicted for the remainder of the season, with an additional 12-17 named storms, of which 7-11 are expected to become hurricanes with 4-6 reaching major hurricane status." Stay watchful! Remember the season now extends until the end of November. And be sure you know how to prepare your boat for a hurricane if necessary.