Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2018 i Cruising Helmsman

A NEW owner for Bavaria Yachtbau looks to be in sight, with reports that a bidder’s binding offer is on the shipyard’s desk with specifics of the sale already having been negotiated. At time of writing it is expected the potential owner will have made the announcement at the Cannes Boat Show in September. As a sign of its confidence the Australian distributor, Ensign Yacht Brokers, showcased the latest model, the C45 at the recent Sydney International Boat Show (SIBS). According to reports in a daily regional newspaper Mainpost, the Italian offer allows for the continuation and expansion of what was once Germany’s largest series production shipyard. Bavaria’s cooperation partner is said to be an Italian manufacturer of luxury yachts that wants to expand its product portfolio into a cheaper…

JOHN BUZAGLO CATAMARAN LEGEND PASSES Both Chris Wilson and John Taylor have rung to tell me the news that John has passed on. I spoke to him about three weeks ago and we had a reasonably long and enjoyable conversation, especially about the ‘old days’ and the fun times we spent sailing and especially on catamarans and in particular to do with the International Catamaran Challenges and on the wonderful development of Miss Nylex. John had so much to do with the development of this International C Class design and its special construction techniques. He thought outside the square and, by teaming up with Roy Martin, the two of them advanced the design and construction of the radical new wing masts worldwide. I first met John (and Kath) sailing at…

WHAT’S IN THE BAG? Walking down the dock on the way to a yacht survey Anthony Gates is often asked: “what’s in the bag?” When conducting a survey Anthony uses all the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. These senses sometimes, however, need assistance in the form of amplification of the signal. Tools in the bag to assist with this include: • reading glasses and magnifying glass (sight) • stethoscope screw driver (hearing) • infrared thermometer (touch) • salinity meter (taste) • carbon monoxide detector (smell). Measurement tools are also needed and include a digital Vernier, stainless steel rule, steel tape measure, fibreglass tape measure and digital multi-meter. To record the survey findings and see into those difficult to access places Anthony uses a digital camera. For even…

SINCE the early 1990s the old tools and instincts needed for navigation have slowly but surely eroded. With technology improving and prices crashing it is no wonder that hand-bearing compasses, sextants, dividers and paper charts have been usurped by radar, GPS, AIS, chartplotters and, inevitably, much greater demand on battery capacity to feed them all. What has effectively been a major shift from self-reliance to corporate-dependence has attracted many people to boating thanks to their relief at not having to learn anything about navigation before putting to sea. Techno-dependence is now virtually absolute, leaving many new-age sailors floundering when the electronics are wiped out by lightning, instrument failure, dead batteries and so on. Some newcomers even call up rescue organisations to help them figure out where they were when the…

WITH a number of offshore visiting yachts already booking berths in New Zealand for the period of the 36th America’s Cup in 2020 and 2021, a comprehensive guide to visiting the host nation’s waters has been released. It is already useful for any yacht visiting Aotearoa. The 2020 edition of ‘Destination and Cruising New Zealand’ contains extensive information on the places to visit, marinas and regulations for foreign-flagged yachts visiting New Zealand, as well as details on the Grand Regattas which will take place over 2020 and 2021 around the 36th America’s Cup. A wealth of practical information covers New Zealand’s globally-recognised refit and supply industry, with a comprehensive directory of marine services and suppliers and useful information on cruising to, arriving at, and experiencing the Pacific nation’s waters to…

MINDEROO Foundation, one of Australia’s largest philanthropic groups, launched a $100 million Minderoo ocean research (MOR) initiative to help study and protect global marine life. The donation will be invested in efforts to track global fishing patterns, fund research into ocean plastics pollution and develop a world class research facility at Exmouth near Australia’s iconic Ningaloo Reef to study the migration of sea life through the Indian Ocean. Minderoo plans to partner with a range of institutions to establish globally-impactful interventions in the marine conservation space. It has established informal collaborations with leading groups including the Sea Around Us, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Ocean Elders, University of Western Australia’s Marine Futures Lab, James Cook University’s College of Science and Engineering, The University of Queensland’s Centre for Marine Science, University of…

“BARELY ABLE TO HOLD BACK THE TEARS, KEN THANKED THE MANY VOLUNTEERS AND ‘FOOT SOLDIERS’.” NEVER in his wildest dreams did Ken Thackeray imagine he would be hosting one of Australia’s largest social boating events ten years on from its inception. But that is exactly what happened on the last weekend of August 2018, when 150 boats and about 550 people descended on the Whitsundays for this year’s Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club (SICYC) Rendezvous. It was 2009 when the sailor and former Air Force man originally came up with the concept for the exclusively, non-exclusive yacht club and its beloved annual rendezvous. Born from a simple conversation on a beach opposite the tiny islet from which the club would take its name, Ken’s brainchild was a phenomenon for which…

IMAGINE that your worst nightmare has come true; a catastrophic equipment failure, irreparable damage due to a collision at sea or human error puts your vessel in peril. You find yourself getting ready to abandon ship; how prepared are you? I recently read an abandon ship story that not only chilled me to the bone, as many of those stories do, but made me reconsider a few things about our own safety plan on board Kate, our Newport 41. The vessel was on passage from Hawaii to Washington state when she ran into foul weather. The crew were veteran sailors and were just 150 miles short of completing a 17 year, 70,000 nautical mile circumnavigation. The winds and seas increased and, although they had to alter course, they felt confident…

WIN THE PERFECT CUPPA This month’s prize will go to Chris Gudgin. Thanks to the Australian Madura Tea company for supplying one of these boxes. www.maduratea.com.au DIDUNO Despite the confusing terminology, a boat’s topsides is not the deck but the part of the hull between the waterline and the deck. Down below, we walk on the cabin sole and the ceiling is the interior lining of the hull, not the deckhead. Is it any wonder newcomers struggle?…

PETER Lowe is retiring after more than 55 years in the Australian marine industry. His career began with a five-year shipwright apprenticeship in 1963 at Venables Boatshed in Rose Bay building Stella class yachts then moving on to a building and design career that covered everything from oil rig supply vessels, tugboats and fishing vessels through to International 12m class yachts, luxury motor yachts and just about everything in between. He was one of two associates at Peter Cole and Associates in the seventies, working on designs for quarter, half, three quarter, one and two ton level rating racing yachts under the International Offshore Rule. During the same period there were a number of designs for production boat builders including the Nantucket 31 and Pawtucket 35 for Comprador Marine, and…

OVERALL incidents in the Latin America and Caribbean region increased by 163 per cent compared to 2016, according to the annual State of Piracy report released by One Earth Future (OEF) Oceans Beyond Piracy program. The report analyses the human and economic impacts of maritime piracy and robbery at sea in the western Indian Ocean region, the Gulf of Guinea, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. While activity in the east Africa and west Africa region is concerning, the attacks have all been against commercial shipping. It is the Asian and Caribbean regions that are of the most relevance to yacht owners. Maritime crime against anchored yachts in Latin America and the Caribbean is showing a marked increase. “We have observed a significant increase in violent incidents and anchorage…

IN A horrifying report the Volvo Ocean Race said that only three of the 75 water samples collected during the recent round the world race, south of Australia, east of Argentina and west of Ireland, have been found to contain no microplastics. The most recent data collected, before the race finale in The Hague, by scientific devices on board Team AkzoNobel and Turn the Tide on Plastic boats, found particularly high levels of microplastics - 224 particles per cubic metre in the Skagerrak, a 150-mile strait that runs between Norway, Sweden and Denmark where the outflow from the Baltic Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. The highest levels of microplastics, 349 particles per cubic metre, were found in a sample taken in the South China Sea that feeds into the Kuroshio…

BLUE skies, calm water and the fish had been biting steadily, but now the golden sun was melting into the horizon, a great day’s fishing at Rottnest Island, off the West Australian coast, was coming to an end. With thoughts of the fresh fish fillets soon to be sizzling on the barbecue, all that remained was to haul anchor, shake out the roller-reefed jib and head back to the marina. That was the plan, but it suddenly changed for the worse because the pick was stuck. I had anchored in 25 metres of water with 25 metres of chain and 50 metres of rope scope near a fringing reef. During the day the wind had gently swung from the east through the south and round to the west. As it…

What safety gear do you need? HEADING out into open ocean on another person’s boat can be a great way to get experience and sea miles. The downside is you will not have all the comforts of home at your fingertips. Being prepared and bringing the right personal equipment with you can make the experience more enjoyable for you, your skipper and other crewmates. PERSONAL FLOTATION DEVICES An approved self-inf lating offshore lifejacket is a must. Bringing your own means you may be more comfortable and, depending on the boat, may be necessary. Check with your skipper if you do not already have your own; don’t assume they will have a spare onboard for you. Gone are the days when you needed a separate lifejacket and safety harness. If you…

LET’S start with what I find as the most interesting addition to this yacht’s features. It is in the master cabin in the bow. An offset cabin door to port leaves the starboard side vanity and shower recess with an enormous amount of room. The shower sits just forward of the mast and bulkhead, behind a tall rack of shelving and drawers that face the bed. To starboard, alongside the shower, is the vanity basin and cupboards. Both areas have large hatches overhead and nearly two metres in headroom. This leaves the separate head cabin to port, behind the open cabin door and, although it may be a bit small due to not including the shower, it is sizable enough facing aft with 190 centimetre headroom and still with its…