Practical Boat Owner October 2022

Reading Marsali Taylor’s column (page 20) brought a smile to my face. We’ve just finished Junior Week in our Dorset sailing club, and I was lucky enough to help out. Marsali’s young sailors are at the opposite end of the country to ours, and though I imagine the water in Shetland is a bit cooler, the kids’ reluctance to capsize (but then jump in the harbour anyway) is familiar. Capsizing is a common fear among adults, let alone kids, but I came across a new phobia that was crippling one of our seven-year-olds. After finally persuading him to get in an Oppie (me folded up next to him) I nudged us gently into the reed beds, which is our usual technique for ‘parking’ beginners when the beach is too windy. The…

A land, air and sea team-effort to save the life of a French yachtsman, trapped in an overturned 12m keelboat with just 30cm of air, has been described as ‘a rescue on the edge of the impossible’ by the Maritime Rescue and Safety Society of Spain. Laurent Camprubi, aged 62, endured 16 hours inside his capsized yacht, 14 miles from the Sisargas Islands, Galicia, Spain, but survived by using an air bubble in a cabin. A distress signal was sent by his boat at 2023 local time on 1 August. The sea was rough and night had fallen so divers aboard the Salvamento Marítimo rescue ship that responded, attached buoyancy balloons to the boat to stop it from sinking and waited until morning. Rescuers have described the euphoria of hearing banging from the…

Reading Marsali Taylor’s column (page 20) brought a smile to my face. We’ve just finished Junior Week in our Dorset sailing club, and I was lucky enough to help out. Marsali’s young sailors are at the opposite end of the country to ours, and though I imagine the water in Shetland is a bit cooler, the kids’ reluctance to capsize (but then jump in the harbour anyway) is familiar. Capsizing is a common fear among adults, let alone kids, but I came across a new phobia that was crippling one of our seven-year-olds. After finally persuading him to get in an Oppie (me folded up next to him) I nudged us gently into the reed beds, which is our usual technique for ‘parking’ beginners when the beach is too windy.…

A conservation project has found more than 27,000 marine animals living alongside its innovative oyster nurseries – indicating that the restoration project is helping more than just oysters. The ambitious three-year Wild Oysters Project, which spans coastal regions across England (Tyne and Wear), Scotland (Firth of Clyde) and Wales (River Conwy), houses more than 140 oyster nurseries and 4,000 oysters across three British Estuaries. One year after thousands of native oysters (Ostrea edulis), housed in nurseries suspended underneath marina pontoons, were returned to UK waters, the project has discovered 65 species, including the critically endangered European eel, the common prawn and shore crab now living alongside the oysters. A partnership between the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Blue Marine Foundation and British Marine, the project aims to help restore coastal waters around the…

A land, air and sea team-effort to save the life of a French yachtsman, trapped in an overturned 12m keelboat with just 30cm of air, has been described as ‘a rescue on the edge of the impossible’ by the Maritime Rescue and Safety Society of Spain. Laurent Camprubi, aged 62, endured 16 hours inside his capsized yacht, 14 miles from the Sisargas Islands, Galicia, Spain, but survived by using an air bubble in a cabin. A distress signal was sent by his boat at 2023 local time on 1 August. The sea was rough and night had fallen so divers aboard the Salvamento Marítimo rescue ship that responded, attached buoyancy balloons to the boat to stop it from sinking and waited until morning. Rescuers have described the euphoria of hearing…

Refills of the popular 4.5kg Calor Gas cylinders are expected to remain out of stock until late September. Angela Barraclough contacted PBO to ask: “Can you tell me anything about the lack of Butane gas currently affecting the many yachts fitted for 4.5k bottles? Everywhere I have been this year has seen frustrated skippers unable to get any.” A Calor spokesman responded: ‘Our 4.5kg cylinders remain an important part of our cylinder range but their availability continues to be affected by high seasonal demand for this size nationwide. We apologise to anyone who has not been able to obtain their gas as readily as they are used to.’ Supply of 4.5kg refills continues to be affected by issues resulting from the pandemic lockdowns. A combination of high demand and being unable to get…