Biff Matthews, Author at Washington Daily News

Community Columns

Prepare for the boating season while staying at home

Do you have stay-at-home blues? If you have kindergarten through college-age children, they are deeply involved in online learning. So why aren’t you? If you ... Read more

by Biff Matthews, Tuesday, April 28, 2020 6:23 pm

Community Columns

Boating tips for living aboard

To live aboard a boat, whether for months or years, is a complicated and challenging decision. For answers, I interviewed two local couples. The McKenzies ... Read more

by Biff Matthews, Friday, February 28, 2020 6:39 pm

Community Columns

Underway in a fog

My first real experience with fog along with radar was on a friend’s boat crossing Lake Ontario to Toronto, Canada. Two boats followed because neither ... Read more

by Biff Matthews, Friday, November 1, 2019 6:12 pm

Columns

Boaters basic first aid

Stuff happens, particularly on a boat. It moves, tosses and turns, not always in a regular pattern. All too frequently people are injured, sometimes seriously. ... Read more

by Biff Matthews, Friday, October 11, 2019 6:07 pm

Community Columns

Benefits of paper charts when boating

Even with today’s reliability of electronic charting, any serious cruising boater employs paper charts as a backup. Here are a few helpful tips I learned ... Read more

by Biff Matthews, Thursday, August 1, 2019 1:35 pm

Columns

Cleaning and painting your boat’s bottom

If your boat is out of the water is its bottom clean? Does it need bottom paint refreshed? A clean bottom improves running, handling and ... Read more

by Biff Matthews, Monday, July 8, 2019 7:05 pm

Community Columns

Partner in command — no yelling!

For everyone’s safety, invest in teaching a spouse, partner or significant other a few basic boating skills, primarily, how to use the radio along with ... Read more

by Biff Matthews, Friday, April 26, 2019 7:50 pm

Community Columns

The critical importance of running lights

Decades ago, a tug pushing a barge at night ran over a fishing boat, killing three adults, a teenager and a child. The fishing boat ... Read more

by Biff Matthews, Tuesday, March 5, 2019 6:55 pm

Community Columns

Tips for safe wake boarding

Wake boarding/wave boarding/wave surfing is very popular with young and old. Old water skiers find wake and wave boarding as much fun, yet easier on ... Read more

by Biff Matthews, Monday, October 29, 2018 7:21 pm

Community Columns

Boating and the rules of the road

Why do we drive on the right side of the road? Because ships pass port to port, on each other’s left. Before roads and cars, ... Read more