Hot News
20/01/12 • GOLD COAST Australia, one of the ten yachts competing in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race, now has another special message to carry around the world after the 2018 Commonwealth Games logo was unveiled on the hull of the 68ft ocean racer. In addition to spreading the word that the Gold Coast is ‘Famous for fun’, the yacht is now carrying the logo of the 2018 Commonwealth Games which the city recently won the right to host.
20/01/12 • ADDITIONAL services have been added to enhance the enjoyment of transiting the nine miles of the Crinan Canal which links Clyde waters to the world renowned cruising grounds of Scotland’s west coast. Explains Crinan harbourmaster Alec Howie, ‘the new service has been introduced for boats with only two people onboard in response to feedback from those who find lock operation difficult. It is however expected that those with well crewed vessels will still operate the inland locks themselves and the Crinan Canal team will be able to focus the new service at Ardrishaig sea lock, lock four and on the main inland flights between lock five and 13. ‘To ensure prompt assistance, visitors planning to use the new courtesy service should contact the canal office during the week prior to arrival by telephoning 01546 603210.’
20/01/12 • IMRAY Laurie Norie & Wilson and the Clyde Cruising Club have decided to merge Martin Lawrence’s Yachtsman’s Pilot series with the CCC Sailing Directions and Anchorages. The first of these new merged editions, Firth of Clyde was launched under the Imray imprint at the London Boat Show on 6 January 2012. Firth of Clyde extends beyond its titled area to the coast of Northern Ireland (Rathlin Island to Belfast Lough), and on the Scottish side southwards from Stranraer to Portpatrick and beyond to the Solway Firth and Cumbria.
20/01/12 • DINGHY sailor Nick Craig has won the coveted title of YJA Pantaenius Yachtsman of the Year for 2011. Nick not only won the OK World Championship in 2011 but in doing so also became the only person ever, to hold the World, UK National and Inland championship titles. He also won the RS400 National championship and to conclude an outstanding year, Nick went on to secure an overall win of the challenging Endeavour Championship for the fifth time.
20/01/12 • THE RYA Active Marina Programme celebrated the end of a successful 2011 pilot year with a glass of bubbly at the London Boat Show last month. Joined by supporters and users of the programme, Guy Malpas, RYA yachting development officer who manages the scheme commented; ‘We are delighted to be able to toast the success of this programme which was created to encourage and support increased berth holder activity to help people to get more from their boating. ‘It is fantastic to receive such huge support from marina groups, RYA training centres and most importantly from the participants. We piloted the scheme with just 12 marinas and we can now celebrate the fact that 40 marinas are proudly flying their RYA Active Marina flags’, said Guy.
20/01/12 • MCMURDO and Garmin have joined forces and announce that all AIS-equipped Garmin plotters will be optimised to work with the McMurdo Smartfind S10 personal AIS Beacon and the Kannad Marine SafeLink R10 Survivor Recovery System (SRS). These innovative personal safety devices incorporate both AIS and GPS technology which, when manually activated, give precise location information to aid the recovery of persons in difficulty at sea. The Smartfind S10 and SafeLink R10 increase the chances of being rescued thanks to their unique ability to transmit both AIS and GPS data to the vessel the individual has come from, and to other AIS equipped vessels within a typical four mile radius. They also feature inbuilt high precision GPS receivers, which transmit target survivor information, including structured alert messages, GPS position information, and a unique serialised identity number. This information can now be displayed on Garmin’s range of chart plotters.
20/01/12 • AFTER A successful 2011 for Britain’s youth sailors, entries for the 2012 RYA Volvo Youth National Championships are now open. The 2012 regatta will be staged at Pwllheli Sailing Club (North Wales) from 31 March to 6 April and will attract those looking to earn selection to the RYA Volvo National Youth Squads. Selection for RYA Volvo Team GBR, the team which will represent Great Britain at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship in Dublin in 2012, will also be up for grabs along with the opportunity to stake their claim as Britain’s top young sailors and win a host of international travel grants.
20/01/12 • BOATSHED.COM is launching a specialist website dedicated to the sale of boats people can live on, either on the sea or on inland waterways. The website has been launched in response to housing minister Grant Shapps’ urge for councils to increase houseboat moorings. The minister said in August that residential boats could be eligible for the New Homes Bonus, where the government matches the council tax from new build homes on a dwelling for six years.
20/01/12 • THE NOTICE of Selection for teams to represent RYA Team GBR at the Brewin Dolphin Commodores’ Cup 2012 has now been published and is available to view on the RYA website. Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, the event will take place in Cowes, Isle of Wight, between Saturday 21 and Saturday 28 July 2012. The event is a mix of inshore and offshore racing on the testing waters of the Solent. The RYA are urging interested parties to highlight their interest in representing RYA Team GBR at the 2012 regatta as soon as possible as there will be a maximum of four teams being entered; Team GBR Red, Blue, White and Black. The Offshore Group of the RYA has decided that three teams will be selected by a Selection Committee and one by RYA Scotland.
20/01/12 • DIRECTORS of online boat insurer Craftinsure.com, were at December’s Paris Boat Show to launch Assuremonbateaupascher, a joint venture between Craftinsure and Transmer Assurance, one of the largest boat insurance specialists in France. ‘The new website will provide boat owners in France with a fast and cost effective way to arrange their insurance on line, using a system similar to our UK and Irish websites,’ said Mark Lee, MD of Craftinsure. ‘We were delighted to see how much interest the new website was attracting first hand whilst at the Salon Nautique.’
20/01/12 • THE 26th ARC finished on Saturday 17 December with a spectacular prizegiving ceremony at the Gaiety Nightclub in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia. 2011 was a vintage ARC, with most boats experiencing fast crossing times. After a downwind start in perfect conditions in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the 217 yachts, including a record 31 multihull entry, headed south and then west across the Atlantic towards Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia. Classic trade wind conditions provided exciting downwind sailing, with the Franco-Russian team on super-maxi Med Spirit finishing in 11 days and 14 hours; only nine hours outside the ARC crossing record set by Capricorno (ITA) in 2006.