Winter’s approaching and boating activities usually diminish during the colder months especially in the southern states. Many boat owners use the extra time to do repairs and upgrade equipment.

Although not usually at the top of our priorities we know we should check our safety equipment as the use by dates for some items always come around sooner than anticipated.

This year it will also be time to upgrade your EPIRB if you still have one of the old 121.5 Mhz types. From 1st February 2009, alerts from these beacons will no longer be received by the Cosaps-Sarsat satelite system. Aircraft that are fitted with 121.5 Mhz receivers will still pick up the signal if they are in the vicinity and have the receiver turned on.

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Are you considering buying a GPS plotter or a laptop for your onboard navigation?

Here are some of the pros and cons.

GPS Plotter Advantages

• Waterproof - A GPS plotter has been designed to operate in a marine environment and most units are sealed to protect them from damp salty environment with some level of waterproofing.

• Secure mounting options

• The screen is visible in bright light

• Software is more stable - Compared with common standard computer operating software

• Integrates with other marine electronics- Most GPS plotters will interface with compatible autopilot/sonar/radar/weather receivers etc

• Lower power consumption compared to a laptop

• Cheaper- Arguable, but a cheaper plotter is around $600, a second hand laptop is about the same, but which will last longer in a marine environment?

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Many thanks to Captain Triko for for this story about the Joshua C and her crew as they head off on voyages anew.

The Joshua C is a fine 80’ schooner that has been 10 years in the making. Since kissing the tide she has been lying on the northern bank of Petrie Creek a shallow muddy tributary of the Maroochy River on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

A few weeks ago on a particularly high tide, the Joshua C successfully separated herself from the mud and cane fields of Petrie Creek and motored two miles downstream and under the David Low Way bridge. A crane had come and pulled her masts from her in order to pass below the span which carries the 4 lanes of traffic linking the northern and southern Sunshine Coast. She was heading to a new berth just to the seaward side of the bridge to make final preparations for crossing the Maroochy River Bar on the next big tide.

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Vittorio Malingri has just sailed 2,545 miles from Senegal on the west coast of Africa to Guadaloupe in the Caribbean in just 13 days, 17 hours and 48 minutes.

Not so remarkable except that Malingri was sailing on an open 20 foot catamaran in a singlehanded, non stop, unassisted crossing. Malingri has now set the record for this route in a single handed open catamaran.

Unfortunately due to the weather patterns it was not a particularly fast passage but he has set the mark for the next person who attempts this voyage.

Malingri experienced some difficulties with his solar panels and had to hand steer the boat a lot of the time. This also prevented him from communicating with his onshore support team to report his position and receive weather routing information. However Malingri, a veteran around the world racer, remarked that it wasn’t the most difficult voyage he had undertaken.

Have a look at his website for more information.

I have been following the progress of young Australian Nick Jaffe as he sails single handed from Europe to Australia.

A very relieved Nick on his Contessa 26 “Constellation” has arrived in Barbados, 30 days after leaving the Canary Islands.

The first 10 days were dogged by light and variable winds and large uncomfortable cross swells before Nick hit the trade wind belt. It certainly sounded like Nicks stamina and patience were tested.

Nick has put a run down of the first half of the voyage on his Blog.

Related posts: Young Australian Heads Home Alone

Related posts: Big Oceans, Small Boat Update

The 2008 Sanctuary Cove Boat Show in nearly upon us once again and this year is also the 20th anniversary of the show.

Commencing on 22nd May and running for four days the organisers are anticipating visitor numbers to surpass last years record attendance.

There will be 439 International and Australian exhibitors with 107 new products being launched at the show. 390 boats will be on display in the marina with the world debut of Activa Marina’s 5300 Raised Pilothouse and Maritimo’s Cabriolet 60 for those in the luxury motor yacht market.

Power boats of every description are on display from the large and luxurious right down to the humble tinny. Hundreds of marine products will be on display in the four pavilion areas and the Marine Village area.

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Figures show that boat ownership is growing by approximately 3% per annum. Although the majority are buying small, trailerable boats there is still a significant increase in the number of larger boats on our waterways.

This puts an ever increasing pressure on where to moor these craft. It has long been a problem in heavily populated areas like Sydney but is now becoming a problem in all popular boating areas.

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Many thanks to Armin Pauza for this very interesting article about the latest developments in lithium ion battery technology which will soon be available in Australia. For the technically challenged there is a summary at the end.

Overview of Existing Battery Technology

Up to the present time the boat owner has only had available one type of battery chemistry to serve a multitude of marine applications. This of course is the lead acid battery. As discussed in detail in a previous article on batteries, there are two main variations to the lead acid battery depending upon its specific application.
Broadly speaking the lead acid engine start or “cranking battery” is designed to provide a short, high power burst of electrical current to crank over either petrol or diesel engines while starting.

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An overnight drama in Queensland saw the crew of a 24m yacht rescued after the yacht sank. The Challenge of Outward Bound was south east of Townsville heading for Sydney when it reportedly hit a large log shortly after 2 am this morning.

With the vessel taking in water the 6 crew radioed for help. As the yacht sank they were forced to take to the liferaft. They were picked up by the volunteer rescue boat at 2.45 am and were later transferred to the Water Police boat. They are now safely back in Townsville.

Only a few hours earlier but on the other side of the world, the crew of the 29′ racing yacht Jezebel II were having a few dramas of their own. The seven experienced crew members were enjoying a Sunday afternoon sail on the new yacht at Queensferry in Scotland.

Around 3pm the boat ran aground on rocks reportedly due to equipment failure. They were so close to shore that the spinaker got wrapped around the roof of a house. At what point this happened it’s not clear. Six of the crew were able to get ashore whilst the owner stayed on board waiting for the lifeboat. The lifeboat arrived and towed the yacht off at which point it promptly sank. They were however on hand to rescue the owner.

There seems to have been a spate of fires on boats recently, at least in Queensland.
Late last year 4 boats caught on fire whilst in port. In each case they were moored away from other vessels and the crews escaped unharmed.

In November a 9m steel boat burned to the waterline after a suspected electrical fault started the fire. The owner was on board and attempted unsuccessfully to control the fire and eventually escaped in his dinghy. Continue reading →