Practical Boat Owner January 2023

We’ve just returned from a narrowboat holiday and discovered a great advantage to the canals – the MOB drill. Not the accidental ‘press the red button and throw the danbuoy’ kind, but the very deliberate ‘chuck the kids overboard’ kind. While this can have far-reaching consequences at sea, on a canal it’s actually rather enjoyable. During the kids’ third quarrel of the morning, my husband James said, “Quick, who can be first to reach the bridge?” Three little people leapt off the boat, and James cunningly veered away from the bank. “Off you go!” he called, and they raced ahead and waited patiently to be picked up. Nah-ah. “Can we get back on now?” they begged, realising they’d been duped. “Next bridge,” said James, and widened the gap. This went…

EXPERTS’ THEORIES AFTER SINKING Marine biologists say evidence suggests that orca interactions with yachts are ‘playful’ rather than aggressive, but at risk of becoming ‘learned behaviour’. It comes after a French-flagged Oceanis 393, with four crew on board, sank following an ingress of water caused by orcas pulling off the rudder, 14 miles west of Viana do Castelo, Portugal. The Mayday call was made at 1205 on 1 November, and Lisbon Maritime Search and Rescue Co-ordination Center (MRCC Lisboa) tasked the Viana do Castelo Lifeguard Station crew to the scene. Upon arrival, it was found that the sailors had been rescued from a liferaft by a nearby cruiser, they did not need medical assistance. The stricken vessel later sank, and the lifeboat crew collected pieces of wreckage. No source of…

It was French sailor Augustin Drion’s first time sailing off the Portuguese coast. He was helping a friend to sail The Smousse, an Oceanis 393, across the gulf when six orcas appeared suddenly. Drion told PBO that they managed to stay calm, they had practised emergency drills and read orca advice, knowing to turn everything off on the boat, and not react. One orca took hold of the rudder in its mouth and was “trying to shake it”. As the Portugal Resident newspaper described, The Smousse had become ‘a plaything of the orcas’; when one stopped shaking it, another took over. Drion said: “We did not radio for help at first. We believed it would be over, and we would be able to assess damage.” But then they heard ‘the…

Disconnect autopilot to avoid damage and let the wheel/tiller run free. Keep hands off wheel or tiller to avoid injury Stop the boat, de-power and drop/furl sails In conditions that make it safe to do so attempt to go slowly in reverse Contact the authorities on VHF Ch16 or by phone on 112; Keep a low profile on deck to minimise the interest to the orcas Keep a firm hold when moving around to prevent injury in the event of ramming Take photographic or video evidence while keeping a low profile. Make a note of location co-ordinates and timing of the interaction along with any other relevant details including the behaviour of the orcas for future reporting After the interaction ceases, wait for several minutes to allow the orcas to…

Six divers from Guernsey are celebrating ‘the discovery of a lifetime’ after identifying a wreck as a ship that disappeared 140 years ago. The 282ft (86m) SS Virago left Hull, bound for the Russian port of Odessa, but never left the English Channel. She lies two miles off Alderney in the Channel Islands. The wreck was spotted 13 years ago during a seabed survey, and later visited by two Jersey divers, but only identified after an intrepid dive last summer revealed 1,000 tonnes of metalwork including five portable steam engines, wheels, ironworks, and 4ft grind stones. Dive veteran Richard Keen led the expedition. He said: “The wreck lies in 48m of water, in probably the most tidal area in the UK. Divers have got a 20-minute window on a neap…

A Scottish marine energy company has announced ‘highly encouraging results’ from trials of its wave energy conversion device off the coast of Orkney, Scotland. Archimedes Waveswing, a submerged wave power buoy, reacts to changes in sub-sea water pressure caused by passing waves and converts the resulting motion to electricity via a direct-drive generator. It is the result of 20 years of research and development. AWS Ocean Energy said results from the current phase of sea trials at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Scapa Flow test site found that Waveswing captured average power over 10kW and peaks of 80kW, during a period of moderate wave conditions, exceeding the developer’s own predictions by 20%. Waveswing was also able to deliver power during Force 10 gales. Simon Grey, CEO of AWS Ocean…