November
2008New Hope? MCA delay returning rescue boat to Devon village
Round the World teenager aims to be back for his 17th
MCA highlights dangers of electronic navigation
Unfashionable flares: MCA scraps dangerous pyrotechnics
North West Cruising Conference March 2009
23 Nov: New Hope? MCA delay returning rescue boat to Devon village
Two members of the volunteer coastguard rescue team at the Devon seaside village of Hope Cove, supported by their local MP Anthony Steen, are to meet Jim Fitzpatrick (the Under Secretary of State for Transport) on Monday, to plead for a reprieve for the village rescue boat.
The MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) confiscated the boat on 12 August, for "health and safety" reasons, after it was used to rescue a 13 year-old girl who had got into difficulties. According to the MCA, the 5-metre RIB was "not suitable for coastguard operations because it has insufficient freeboard".
Less than ten days later, after the incident had received extensive coverage in the national press, the MCA issued another statement saying "it is anticipated that the boat will be returned to offer a beach rescue service at Hope Cove."
But now -- three months after that promise was made -- it seems that the future of the boat is still in doubt.
Mr Fitzpatrick has already admitted that although the boat is to remain at Hope Cove for the time being, it is subject to such strict operational limits that the only way it is likely to leave the beach is on a trailer.
See Abandon Hope on the Comment page.
18 Nov: Round the World teenager aims to be back for his 17th birthday
Sixteen year-old Michael Perham has set out to become the youngest person ever to sail alone around the World. He left Falmouth on 18 November, crossing the official starting line between Ushant and the Lizard at 1530, and expects to be back in the UK in time to celebrate his 17th birthday on 16 March 2009
Michael made the headlines nearly two years ago when -- with his father shadowing him in another boat -- he sailed a 28-foot trailer sailer called "Cheeky Monkey" across the Atlantic.
This time, though, he's making the trip in a chartered Open 50 called "Totally Money", and although his father was with him for the short run down to Falmouth from the Solent, he will be on his own for the 25,000 mile circumnavigation.
Written on his satcom dome is a message from his girlfriend that says, simply "Be safe. Be strong. Be brave."
14 Nov: MCA highlights dangers of electronic navigation
The MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) has issued a Marine Guidance Note warning about the dangers of misusing electronic navigation equipment.
It's a long and rather formal document aimed mainly at commercial shipping and professional fishermen, but it's available for anyone to download from the mca website.
It kicks off by pointing out that "Accidents have occurred where the primary cause has been over-reliance on a single electronic navigational aid" and "where the watch-keeper was not fully conversant with the
operation of equipment or its limitations."
It goes on to talk about the importance of proper radar plotting for collision avoidance, and parallel indexing for pilotage.
It points out that GPS receivers can (and do) go wrong, and that although electronic charts are now regarded as generally superior to paper ones, it is all too easy for the user to hide important information, and winds up by saying that "Accidents have occurred with ships equipped with the best of equipment where watch-keepers have been over-reliant on the equipment output, and disaster could have been averted by the simple expedient of maintaining a proper lookout.
5 Nov: Unfashionable flares
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has decreed that pyrotechnics are so dangerous that its rescue teams must use up or dispose of all their pistol-fired flares by the end of this year.
Although the MCA say that the flares -- used to illuminate wide areas during night-time searches -- are now obsolete, and can be replaced by safer alternatives such as torches and night vision equipment, the majority of the volunteer rescue teams that use then are said to be angry at the decision.
There is no word, yet, on when we can expect the MCA to scrap the rules which require all commercial vessels and recreational craft over 13.7m long to carry flares.
3 Nov: North West Cruising Conference March 2009
The Royal Yachting Association North West Region is holding a conference at the Birchwood Conference Centre, Warrington on Saturday 14 March 2009 with the title: Cruising Tomorrow – the future of offshore and coastal cruising
The keynote speaker will be Tom Cunliffe and other talks will be by Stuart Carruthers, the RYA's Cruising Manager and Gus Lewis, RYA Legal and Government Affairs Manager. Frank Singleton, the well-known met expert will discuss developments in weather forecasting and met information systems and Professor David Last of the Royal Institute of Navigation will talk about vulnerabilities of satellite navigation.
For RYA Personal Members and members of affiliated clubs The cost of the day is £35, reduced to £30 for members of RIN and to £25, for members of RYA or affiliated clubs.
More information and registration on the conference website