July 18th, 2008 — News
Maritime Safety Queensland announced this week that it has brought forward the date requiring boats to carry a 406 Mhz EPIRB.
From the 1st November 2008 all vessels required to carry an EPIRB must carry a 406 Mhz EPIRB. See the MSQ website for more details. The website also has information on the disposal of your old 121.5 Mhz EPIRB which will no longer be supported after February 2009.
July 16th, 2008 — News
Congratulations to French Sailor Thomas Coville who has set a new solo North Atlantic crossing record on his 32m trimaran Sodeb’O. The new record is 5 days 19 hours and 29 minutes. The record was previously held by Francis Joyon who completed the route in 6 days and 4 hours in 2005.
Coville sailed from the Ambrose Lighthouse off New York to the Lizard, on the South West coast of England a distance of 2859.9 nautical miles at an average speed of 20.5 knots.
More details are available on the Sodeb’o website.
July 15th, 2008 — News
The quest to be the first sailing boat to break the 50 knot barrier is hotting up with teams from Australia, France and Britain waiting for the right conditions.
At the moment the French team appear to be in pole position. They are at their base near Marseille in the south of France conducting trials and waiting for the right conditions for an attempt on the record. Their boat is a 60′ trimaran made of carbon fibre and titanium with a fairly conventional rig. The boat is equipped with hydrofoils and over a certain speed the hulls lift clear of the water and the boat flys along on the foils considerably reducing drag. l’Hydroptere has already reached a verified speed of 44.81 knots and the team has spent the last few months optimising the boat to break the 50 knot barrier.
The Australian team only launched their boat WotRocket in May. The project was conceived by by 18 foot skiff champion, Rolex Sydney Hobart veteran Sean Langman only four years ago. The carbon fibre craft has a 9m hull with two small foils and a crew pod on the end of a transverse beam. The boat is powered by a 9m rigid sail. The WotRocket team hope to use super cavitation technology, new to sailing craft, to break through the 50 knot barrier. According to the WotRocket website “supercavitation will in effect mean Wot Rocket flies in a gas bubble created by the outward deflection of water by a specially shaped nose cone and the expansion of gases from its fin and foil design. By keeping water from contacting the surface of the body of Wot Rocket, this will significantly reduce drag and allow extremely high speeds.”
July 2nd, 2008 — News
Sail Port Stephens 2009 – A regatta for everyone…
It gets a tick on all fronts….sound like a regatta you’d like to sail in ?
It’s all just a day’s sail or a two hour drive from Sydney…. and there’s easy access from Victoria and Queensland with direct flights into Newcastle airport at Williamtown – just 40 mins from the regatta centre….
Sail Port Stephens in April this year was a quiet little success, and the 175 odd yachties and their families and partners who participated in this year’s event have been talking about it ever since.
So lock it in your calendars and make sure you’re there next year !!
June 27th, 2008 — News
Last month we posted a reminder that 121Mhz EPIRBs will no longer be supported after 1st February 2006 and commented on the advantages of the 406 Mhz EPIRB.
Boat operators in NSW should be aware that Ports and Waterways Minister Joe Tripodi has announced a new law which will come into effect on 1st July 2008. All vessels over 8m will be required to carry a 406mHZ EPIRB when 2 nautical miles or more from shore. Vessels under 8m are only recommended to carry a 406 Mhz EPIRB.
There were 141 EPIRB activations between January and March this year of which 108 were false alarms. This is obviously wastes a lot of time and money. In addition to providing quicker and more accurate position information when activated 406 EPIRBs are able to be individually identified. This enables the rescue authorities to eliminate most false alarms by contacting the vessels or owners when possible to confirm there is an emergency.
For more information contact AMSA or NSW Maritime.
Personally I think it would make sense to have every vessel carry an EPIRB whilst operating offshore. If you are to going force people to carry safety equipment the rules should applied across the board.
Is there any reason why a vessel under 8m is less likely to need one? Any comments?
June 24th, 2008 — Navigation, News
Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Jessie Watson a young Australian sailor with big dreams.
An avid sailor since the age of 8, Jessie Watson, who turned 15 in May, has set her sights on becoming the youngest person to sail solo unassisted around the world. Jessie’s dream has been inspired by Kay Cottee, the first woman to make an unassisted solo sail around the world, and Jesse Martin, who currently holds the record for the youngest person to do so.
Jessie readily admits she has quite a task ahead of her just to set off on her quest and sees this as more of a challenge than the voyage itself. She has yet to do a solo sailing trip but is building her offshore experience having just returned from delivering boats from New Zealand to Vanuatu and Vanuatu to Australia. Jessie is also working towards her Yachtmaster qualifications.
She still needs a boat and has an S and S 34 or something equally suitable in mind, an ocean proven vessel that won’t cost the earth. Jessie is looking for a major sponsor to underwrite the voyage. Given the enthusiasm with which Australians supported Kay Cottee and Jesse Martin, this would almost certainly pay off for anyone who put their hand up.
To beat the current record Jessie has 3 years to prepare for and complete the voyage. It is a journey of approximately 27,000 nautical miles and can take 7 to 10 months to complete. This is a long time to spend on your own, especially when the going is tough. Jessie seems unfazed by this prospect and thinks the physical challenge of sailing and looking after the boat will outweigh the mental challenges.
Setting off from the east coast of Australia her route would take her eastwards and south of New Zealand. Crossing the Southern Ocean she would then round the notorious Cape Horn before heading north to a waypoint in the north Atlantic. Heading South again she will pass the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa then head east again towards Australia and her port of origin
Jessie has already experienced some critism about her objective along the lines of she is too young and inexperienced. However by the time she actually gets on the water she will most likely be 17 years old or close to it and will have spent that time preparing for the voyage.
Her parents are very supportive whilst admitting it wouldn’t be their first choice of all the challenges that are available. Given Jessie’s determination, their attitude is to make sure she is well prepared and completes the voyage as safely as possible. Jessie herself gives off an air of quiet determination. At no time when I was speaking with her did she even give the slightest hint that she wasn’t more than capable of becoming the youngest person to sail alone around the world.
If anyone is interested in sponsorship they can get in touch through our contact form on this website. Jessie also has a blog.
June 10th, 2008 — News
The 12th annual Australian Etchells Winter Championship has wrapped up for another year after a weekend of close competition and some exciting and variable weather.
Sailing conditions covered the whole spectrum with the light shifty conditions on the first day seeing Graeme Taylors Magpie win by 30 seconds after leading the fleet around the course.
The start was delayed due to lack of breeze and then went through 3 general recalls as the eager 54 boat fleet fought for a good position before finally getting underway. Unfortunately, last years winner, Skip Lissiman crossed the line early earning him a disqualification on the final start.
Day 2 saw an increase in wind strength with 12-18 knot southeaster and a long day on the water with 3 races sailed to get the 6 race format back on track. Magpie and her crew of Graeme Taylor, Grant Wharrington and Simon Gorman were able to consolidate their earlier win with a 7th, 1st and a 2nd.
The last day had some tough and challenging conditions, race 5 was sailed in SE 16-18 knots with rain squalls causing some major windshifts. During the last race the wind increased to 22-25 knots with a steep chop on top the regular swell causing 11 boats to retire from the gruelling conditions.
Racer XY made a good start in the last race and built a lead of more than minute on the next boat Critical Balance with Magpie making 4th place behind Funky Cold Medina. Able to discard their 18th place in race 5 , Magpie won the championship with15 points, ahead of Critical Balance on 19 points with Racer XY a very close third.
For more information see the Mooloolaba Etchells website.
June 4th, 2008 — News
On Monday 9th June British sailor Hilary Lister is setting off on a solo circumnavigation of Britain.
Nothing to unusual in that except that Lister is a quadriplegic and is only able to move her head.
Lister has gradually been losing the use of almost all her body since the age of 11 due to a neurological disorder known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy which ironically also leaves her in great pain.
June 3rd, 2008 — News
This weekend sees the 12th Musto 2008 Etchells Australian Winter Championship to be held at Mooloolaba in South East Queensland.
Despite being in the middle of winter the waters off Mooloolaba are still warm, the sun is usually shining and the day time temperature is rarely below 20degC. The event regularly attracts sailors from all over Australia as well as some top international names, despite this the event is open to all Etchells sailors.
Mooloolaba fleet captain Trevor Martin says the winter championship is about giving all Etchells skippers and crews the chance to enjoy top class competition.
“We aren’t all professional sailors. Like a lot of the Etchells sailors, we enjoy racing our boats on the weekends and at the class regattas. Even though we may find ourselves placing down the results, the opportunity of challenging top class sailors racing equally on one-design boats is just brilliant. Sometimes those sailors get knocked off their perch by the weekend warriors. That is a great feeling when it happens.”
The event is set to welcome a fleet of 55 boats campaigned by some of the best one-design sailors in Australia including previous America’s Cup and Olympic class competitors. Last years winner West Australian Skip Lissiman will be back to defend the title and John Bertrand is also returning this year.
More information is available from the event website.
June 2nd, 2008 — News
The 20th Sanctuary Cove Boat Show has been widely claimed a success despite earlier speculation that boat sales would suffer in the current economic climate. Visitor numbers to the show were the second highest on record at 50,600.
Boatweb sponsors and importers of Fountaine Pajot Catamarans EC Marine Pty report that they achieved record sales at the show, selling seven sail and power catamarans during the show with a total value of $5,580,000. Sales included the new Salina 48, Orana 44 and Highland 35 Pilot, as well as Lavezzi 40 and Mahe 36’s. Queries and orders immediately following the Show have also been very strong with an additional two catamarans sold, at a value of $1,090,000.
Other exhibitors reported strong sales in the over 40 foot category with many companies also claiming record sales. Walking around the show my own impression was that business on the marina in particular seemed very brisk.
Despite there being many large and impressive boats on display the one that really caught my eye was the Ranger Tug which looks like a proper little ship. Very charming and economically equipped with a 30 hp diesel for those of us who aren’t in too much of a hurry.
Around the Pavilions I discovered the Mobilarm VPIRB which I had not come across before. The VPIRB is a locating beacon that transmits your GPS position via DSC VHF or voice VHF to all vessels in range when automatically activated. This would useful for double handed sailors with a DSC VHF. If one crew member was below and the other went overboard the DSC VHF would be activated and give the position of the MOB directly to the vessel rather than to a rescue co-ordinating centre like a personal EPIRB.
