Loose Ends - Blair's Marine Blog

Unique round Aussie yacht race postponed

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Despite exhaustive efforts and a great deal of enthusiasm from yacht clubs, local councils, port authorities, tourism and development authorities and governments, organisers of the inaugural Around Australia Ocean Race and Rally event have had to postpone next year's event.

Around 165 rally competitors, their crew and associated supporters registered for the event, a unique staged race around Australia, as organisers say they have run out of time to secure the logistical and sponsorship support necessary to stage the event in 2011.

Organisers will continue to review alternative strategies for running the event in the future, and have asked participants if they would like to retain their registration details and take part when and if it happens.

More information can be obtained from www.sailaroundaustralia.com.au

-- Tie up this loose end - add your comments and send to:

What's current? The oceans move to surprise the boffins

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

A deep ocean current with a volume equivalent to 40 Amazon rivers has been discovered by Japanese and Australian scientists near the Kerguelen Plateau, in the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean, 4,200 kilometres southwest of Perth.

In a paper published in Nature Geoscience, the researchers described the current - more than three kilometres below the ocean's surface - as an important pathway in a global network of ocean currents that influence climate patterns.

The current carries dense, oxygen-rich water that sinks near Antarctica to the deep ocean basins further north. With this supply of Antarctic water, the deepest levels of the ocean would have little oxygen, say researchers.

The ocean influences climate by storing and transporting heat and carbon dioxide. The more the ocean stores, the slower the rate of climate change. The deep current along the Kerguelen Plateau is part of a global system of ocean currents called the overturning circulation, which determines how much heat and carbon the ocean can soak up.

Researchers were surprised by the speed of the current - more than 20cm per second, the strongest ever measured at depths three kilometres below the surface.

-- Tie up this loose end - add your comments and send to:

Beware the scammers who go "phishing".

Sunday, March 7, 2010

You have been warned! Fortunately your wily boat broker quickly saw through a phishing scam. The internet confidence trick was designed to convince an unwary boat vendor into selling his expensive boat on the basis that money has been deposited into a recognised international internet payment system.

It's a scam that could capture the unwary advertiser of any high value item, and it works like this: " Your receive an email from a "buyer" with an English sounding name, saying they are on business in China, and would like to buy a boat in Auckland, to be shipped to London. " You tell the buyer you need a contract, and advise him to appoint an agent or surveyor in Auckland to look after his interests. " A contract arrives, but it's unsigned, and in the meantime you are told the full price of the boat is now lodged in your account with PayPal. " You receive an email, allegedly from PayPal, telling you the amount is in your account. " You are also urged on the basis of this "credible" note, that an additional sum ($9000) is included in that amount to arrange shipping. " You are asked to urgently send the $9000 to a shipping agent in London.

For the experienced broker, alarm bells start to sound very early in this scenario, as there are all kinds of flaws in the approach, the procedure, the spelling of the emails, and in the fraudulent use of PayPal's branding and logos. And of course, the name and address supplied for the shipper is non-existent.

But these people will catch somebody, somewhere, otherwise they wouldn't attempt it.

And here's our plea - use an experienced broker to sell your boat. We use industry standard legal documentation, backed by legal advice when necessary, we use a trust account for the transfer of all funds, and we act first for the vendor in the sale.

And we don't risk your time, money, boat or anyone's reputation in trying to complete dodgy deals.

-- Tie up this loose end - add your comments and send to:

Sounds great - until it blows day and night

Monday, February 8, 2010

So what's it like, cruising the Marlborough Sounds? Timed for the second week of January this year, we booked the yacht for six days from a charter company based at Waikawa Marina in Picton. The yacht was a roomy Chieftain 38, and with four adults and two children this proved to be an ideal setup. The Chieftain has a good sized motor, that pushes her along at up to 8.5 knots, and that proved to be very useful.

The Sounds are just beautiful, full of deep bays, great scenery, pleasant people, not too many other boats, reasonable anchorages - but at the time we picked, here is the downside. The South Island in general at the time was hit by a period of pretty bad weather, and gales blew day and night, causing us the odd sleepless night and a lot of motoring. During the day, the wind was either dead on the nose, or simply too strong for comfortable cruising with two small children aboard.

The Sounds are very hilly, very steep, and if there is any wind blowing up top, it creates very strong gusts in even the calmest looking bays. Fortunately the charter company provides heavy moorings at most of the best anchorages, and that's very reassuring. But with winds blowing 60 knots up top, we circumnavigated a number of bays while attached to a stout mooring. Not restful.

So what to do? It's a great place to go sailing, but choose your time. We're told by a number of fellow brokers that this year was exceptionally windy, and March and April are best. We will go again some time, but pick the weather.

And comparing it with the Whitsundays as a cruising venue? There are no stingers in the Sounds, they are there all year round now in the Whitsundays. The water in the Sounds is cooler, but it's a helluva lot safer!

-- Tie up this loose end - add your comments and send to:

Spectacular sailing with the Extreme cats

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Oman Sail's Masirah last week continued their winning form by taking a comfortable overall victory in the first leg of the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia in Hong Kong.

The champions of this year's European Series, skippered by Pete Cumming of Great Britain, consolidated their overnight lead by winning the first three races of the day to set them on the way to victory over the 20 races held in Hong Kong's spectacular Victoria Harbour during the last five days.

The Extreme Sailing Series Asia now moves on to Singapore for the second leg (December 11-15) before the inaugural series concludes in Muscat, Oman, from February 1-5. Find out about this exciting series at www.ExtremeSailingSeriesAsia.com

-- Tie up this loose end - add your comments and send to:

And the AC lawyers continue to make money...

Friday, November 27, 2009

The America's Cup Defender, Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG), has argued before the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court in defence of two of the Defender's fundamental rights as per the Deed of Gift: the right to choose the venue and the right to race a challenger that complies with the Deed of Gift measurement requirements.

SNG vice-commodore Fred Meyer says the Defender is hopeful the five Judges of the Appellate Division will respect and uphold its Deed of Gift right to select the venue and to define the rules as has been the case for 158 years and 32 editions of the America's Cup.

"If Justice Kornreich's decision is upheld, it would be the first time in the history of the America's Cup that the Defender is deprived of its fundamental right to choose the venue. We expect a swift decision from the court in order to move ahead with the 33rd America's Cup and at last return it to the water,' said.

-- Tie up this loose end - add your comments and send to:

Good progress at 2012 Olympic Yachting venue

Thursday, November 26, 2009

With less than 1,000 days to go to the Olympic Games London 2012 Opening Ceremony, there has been good progress made by the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) and its partners in planning and preparation for the Games.

With venue construction continuing on or ahead of schedule - the sailing venue, the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, was the first venue where construction was completed - and with the Games drawing ever nearer, the focus of this Coordination Commission was largely on operations and planning than on the excellent construction and regeneration work being carried out by the Olympic Delivery Authority.

The Coordination Commission spent time discussing with LOCOG and its partners, including the Government and the Mayor of London's office, a number of operational subjects including athlete services, ticketing, city operations, technology, press operations, transport, sport and Paralympic Games operations.

Find out more about the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition at www.sailing.org/london2012.

-- Tie up this loose end - add your comments and send to:

Boaties warned on hazards of ethanol petrol blend

Friday, September 25, 2009

New Zealand's boating public seems to be blissfully unaware of the dangers of using petrol/ethanol blends in boat engines.

The fuel can be particularly damaging if used in marine petrol engines as it has a short shelf life, gets gummy as it absorbs water, corrodes plastic and metal fuel tanks and fuel lines, eats into fibreglass - and the particulates from partly dissolved plastic can cause serious damage to outboard motors. Yet there appear to be no price or other advantages in using the fuel.

There's evidence from Australia, where similar ethanol/petrol blends are on sale, that points to significant problems with the fuel.

Many in the boating industry itself seem to be aware of the potential for damage, and although very few pumps in New Zealand sell the blend, we're concerned that the thousands of operators of small outboard powered boats could inadvertently fill tanks with the ethanol blend.

There is potential for not just serious damage to expensive fuel systems and motors, but leaking fuel can cause a fire, and engine failure while at sea can be life threatening.

With longer days and warmer weather approaching, the boating and oil industries should be doing all they can to warn petrol engine operators of the hazards of using the fuel if motors are not especially engineered and tuned for it.

-- Tie up this loose end - add your comments and send to:

Amateur crews set off on Round the World adventure

Tuesday, September 14, 2009

More than 100,000 people lined the banks of the Humber on the east coast of England to watch the start of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race this week. As the cannon fired, the ten internationally sponsored yachts crossed the start line at 1400 BST (1300 GMT) to the roar of the crowds at the beginning of their 35,000-mile challenge.

Edinburgh Inspiring Capital led the charge across the line, followed by the Irish entry, Cork, and Spirit of Australia. The first race takes the fleet from the east coast of the UK to La Rochelle, France. The northerly breeze at the start and the weather conditions forecast for the next few days indicate that the 780-mile race will be a fast one.

The Clipper Race is the only race in the world where the crews come from all walks of life, all ages and with all levels of experience. Prior to their training, some 40 percent of the crews had never stepped aboard a sailing yacht before.

Ahead lies a ten-month-long, 35,000-mile course that will take the race to France before crossing to Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, China, California, Panama, Jamaica, New York, Cape Breton Island, Cork and the Netherlands. The race will make its triumphant return to the Humber on 17 July 2010. The Clipper Race is the brainchild of legendary yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail non-stop single handed around the world.

-- Tie up this loose end - add your comments and send to: