Trade-A-Boat Issue 542

on watch

SORRY ABOUT THAT The timing couldn’t have been worse. We sent the section containing our preview of the Sydney Boating Festival last month right as the rumours started on its coming cancellation. I heard the rumours and thought about pulling the pages, but clutched at the chances we could see all the dazzling gelcoat in Cockle Bay and bargains in the halls. Alas, it was not to be, again. Years ago, when the ICC was being redeveloped and SIBS was split between a temporary structure on Glebe Island and Cockle Bay, there were people suggesting it would kill boating in NSW and even Australia as a whole. Not having a show that could attract over 50,000 visitors was seen as a death knell for boating, apparently. Now, two years without a full-scale…

tassie’s namesake

Best known for being the first European to discover Tasmania and to confirm that Australia was an island continent, Abel Janszoon Tasman was born in the Netherlands around 1602. After the death of his first wife, he became a skipper for the Dutch East India company which patrolled Indonesian waters and skirmished with smugglers and rebels alike. He was later appointed as commander of two small ships, the Heemskerck and Zeehaen, to search for unexplored land in the south and east. After a month in Mauritius refitting his ships, he tried sailing south until the freezing temperatures drove him back, after which he sailed east. On 24 November 1638, Tasman saw the peaks of southern Tasmania and named the area Antony Van Diemen’s Land after Batavia’s Governor-General. Over the next week, he…

record apprenticeship interest for riviera

Riviera has attracted record interest in apprenticeship opportunities for 2022, with the Australian luxury motor yacht builder hosting 330 people for an information and site tour event. The annual tour is held by Riviera in collaboration with local schools and employment service providers as part of the company’s apprenticeship recruitment drive. Students, parents, teachers, and industry liaison officers were given the opportunity to see the Gold Coast facility firsthand and learn of the many marine industry career opportunities available at Riviera. Two new trades have been added to the apprenticeship program for 2022, being boilermaker and furniture finishing (French polishing), to take the total trades available from seven to nine — the others being polymer processing, marine craft construction, diesel fitting, cabinetmaking, timber and composites machining, upholstery, and electrotechnology. Over the past year, the…

mental health win

Seafarer Connect and other organisations have provided free WIFI along numerous Australia’s ports. The WIFI will provide crew, who are often at sea for over a year at a time, mental health benefits with the chance to make phone calls, Zoom calls and message loved ones. Isolation, homesickness and mental health issues are common on long sea voyages, which have been heightened by the addition of COVID-19 as crews are often unable to disembark due to quarantine restrictions, meaning they are stuck onboard vessels for two years at a time. Robert Coombs from Seafarer Connect said it is thanks to industry stakeholders and their financial contributions that the initiative is able to continue for a further three years. “It’s very special when you see seafarers getting some face time with their families after months…

shark deterrents to help prevent fatalities

Research published in the Royal Society of Open Science journal has shown Ocean Guardian’s FREEDOM+ Surf electronic shark deterrent helps prevent shark attacks. According to the Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File, out of the 57 worldwide bites, there were 10 deaths around the world from shark attacks — six of which were in Australian waters. Sharks have short-range electrical receptors in their snouts used for finding food, and Shark Shield Technology is used to create a powerful three-dimensional electrical field which causes spasms in these receptors, turning them away with no known harmful effects on sharks or humans. The FREEDOM+ Surf was designed as a seamless shark deterrent solution for surfers, with little to no impact on surfing performance and is proven to deter great whites, tiger sharks, and bull sharks. The easy-to-install…

new lowrance software release

Fishing electronics manufacturer Lowrance has rolled out its new software update for its line of HDS Live, HDS Carbon, and Elite FD fishfinders, with updates improving radar interfaces and safety features. It will now be easier to view, track, and monitor vessels as well as identify vessels that may be a risk to the user’s course with the new radar improvements — including new icons for Automatic Identification System (AIS) and different symbols for greater clarity. Connectivity, comfort, and control issues have been resolved with integrations such as the ITC Lightning Control Bar, IP Cam-1 marine video camera (HDS only), and Honda ECO Mode all now combined into one unified view on the screen. Updates have also included Radar and AIS Target Association for safety, with targets now displaying a graduated trail showing…