Practical Boat Owner June 2022

Calm in a crisis When Chris Pearsall’s 32ft yacht started sinking, he didn’t panic. “I was always confident that I’d be OK,” he says, as he calmly worked out which equipment to take to the liferaft. In magazines we’re cautious about scaring people, and as a new boat owner myself I don’t want to read stories that might stop me taking on new challenges. However, Chris’s tale addressed my fears head-on. His yacht sank, but because he was well equipped and well prepared, he was rescued. Now that’s my kind of ‘disaster story’ – one with a happy ending! I’m in the process of upgrading Maximus’s safety gear, and Chris’s experience is a reminder that with communications today – items such as EPIRBs, AIS beacons and PLBs – help is rarely far away.…

SEND US YOUR STORIES Email news editor Laura Hodgetts at pbo@futurenet.com Beware E10 in 4-stroke outboards Owners of small 4-stroke outboards are being urged to proceed with caution if using the new E10 petrol and spending extended time away. PBO engine guru Stu Davies, who keeps his boat in Portugal, has been alarmed by growing reports among his sailing community about unscrupulous mechanics complicating issues that could be fixed with a ‘simple carburettor clean’. Stu said: “It’s partly due to people being away from their yachts for many months because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and exacerbated by the introduction of E10 petrol. “Boaters leave the outboards with this new fuel in the tank and carburettor, they come back after a spell away to find the outboard won’t start. They call in a so-called marine engineer and…

Calm in a crisis When Chris Pearsall’s 32ft yacht started sinking, he didn’t panic. “I was always confident that I’d be OK,” he says, as he calmly worked out which equipment to take to the liferaft. In magazines we’re cautious about scaring people, and as a new boat owner myself I don’t want to read stories that might stop me taking on new challenges. However, Chris’s tale addressed my fears head-on. His yacht sank, but because he was well equipped and well prepared, he was rescued. Now that’s my kind of ‘disaster story’ – one with a happy ending! I’m in the process of upgrading Maximus’s safety gear, and Chris’s experience is a reminder that with communications today – items such as EPIRBs, AIS beacons and PLBs – help is…

Three-and-a-half years after suffering life-changing injuries in the 50th anniversary Golden Globe Race, Abhilash Tomy has announced that he is taking on the 2022 edition. On 1 July 2018, the Indian sailor was rescued, 83 days into the solo non-stop race around the world from his disabled 32ft yacht Thuriya – a replica of Suhaili, which Sir Robin Knox-Johnston sailed to victory in the first 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Tomy, a Navy commander who had previously completed a solo circumnavigation, was third in the race when a storm in the Southern Indian Ocean rolled and dismasted Thuriya, severely injuring his back. Trapped below, unable to move his legs, he sent a text message to race control and turned his EPIRB on. Then all communication was lost. It took three and a…

SEND US YOUR STORIES Email news editor Laura Hodgetts at pbo@futurenet.com Beware E10 in 4-stroke outboards Owners of small 4-stroke outboards are being urged to proceed with caution if using the new E10 petrol and spending extended time away. PBO engine guru Stu Davies, who keeps his boat in Portugal, has been alarmed by growing reports among his sailing community about unscrupulous mechanics complicating issues that could be fixed with a ‘simple carburettor clean’. Stu said: “It’s partly due to people being away from their yachts for many months because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and exacerbated by the introduction of E10 petrol. “Boaters leave the outboards with this new fuel in the tank and carburettor, they come back after a spell away to find the outboard won’t start. They call…

The discovery of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance has made polar history. Scientists located the 107-year-old wreck in the Weddell Sea on 5 March at a 3,008m (9,868ft) depth, just four miles south of the position recorded by Captain Frank Worsley. The ship had not been seen since it was crushed by ice and sank in 1915, forcing Shackleton and his men to flee on foot and in small boats. Endurance22 director of exploration, Mensun Bound, said: “She is upright, well proud of the seabed and in an excellent state of preservation. You can even see her paintwork and count the fastenings. There is some damage to the fo’c’sle deck and part of her starboard side, but otherwise she is largely intact.” He thanked the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust for enabling the expedition,…