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Sail Port Stephens 2009 – A regatta for everyone…

• Great sailing on inshore and offshore courses - all very easy distances from the marina
• Quality marina facilities at a good price
• Fun, affordable social mischief
• A huge range of accommodation choices from Caravan Park Cabins to 5 Star Resorts
• And plenty of well priced activities for partners and kids to do on land…

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 !!

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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?

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

The beach just south of Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland seemed to have a magnetic attraction for boats on Thursday night.

First the 65′ Tuna boat “Magnus” ended up stranded on the beach. It is understood the boat was heading north towards Mooloolaba when the incident happened. A report in the Sunshine Coast Daily says that the crew were asleep at the time!

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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.

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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