Nautical knots are an integral part of boating, used for docking vessels, attaching a dinghy to a boat and for all type of sailing apparatus. Knots are also useful for other outdoor applications. Every boater should master some of the basic nautical knots. These basic knots including the bowline, two half hitches, the reef (or square) knot and the sheet bend.

Any Boy Scout should be able to teach you these knots, but if you don’t know a Boy Scout you can find a wealth of knot-tying information online. There are even websites with knot-tying instructional videos.

Once of the best knot books is The Ashley Book of Knots, first published in 1944 by Clifford Ashley. This knot encyclopedia contains more than 7000 illustrations of over 2000 different knots. Entries include knot usage, instructions and histories. It’s one of the most extensive and important knot references.

After nearly two years of litigation, a New York Supreme Court Justice upheld the decision to hold the 33rd running of the America’s Cup race in February of 2010. The rules of the America’s Cup state that the defending champion and the challenger of record decide the location and date of the next event.

The defending champion is Swiss-based Alinghi, which sails under the colors of Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG). Alinghi had requested the event to be held in May 2010 and had also identified the Spanish syndicate Desafio Espanol as the challenger of record. Oracle, from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club, went to court to be recognized as the challenger of record. Oracle won and was also able to set the date for the event.

Hopefully Alinghi and Oracle can now being negotiations to decide other important details of the America’s Cup, such as the location of the race and standards for entries. The America’s Cup is one of the world’s oldest sporting competitions, originating at the New York Yacht Club in 1851.

The Capital Yacht Club (CYC) is in the U.S. capital city, Washington D.C.  The Club is located on the Washington Channel, 95 miles north on the Potomac River from Chesapeake Bay. Its location on the Potomac is one of the most beautiful in the United States.   The CYC was founded in 1892.  Find out more about the Club on the Capital Yacht Club website.