Trade-A-Boat Issue 544

on watch

A STEP AWAY BUT NOT GONE Back in March 2014 I landed the job of Trade-a-Boat Editor after fellow Kiwi Jeff Strang decided he’d had enough of the much better weather Melbourne offered and returned to Auckland. I still haven’t fully reconciled why Jeff suggested me — a marketer by trade — for the role, but I’ve enjoyed every moment in the 110 issues I’ve been in charge of. John Panozzo was then Deputy Ed and had been for some time. His knowledge and skills were invaluable and to this day I still consider him the best deputy I’ve had. We had some blues, he showed me a thing or two, but I think I gave him stability and a few laughs. It was a hard day a couple of years later…

the pirate queen

Born in 1530, Grace O’Malley was the only daughter of chieftain Dudara O’Malley of the kingdom of Umhall in west Ireland. While women in Ireland could inherit and hold land, they could never become chieftains — except for Grace. The O’Malleys were a seafaring family who travelled around oceans to trade, taxed for fishing in their waters, occasionally plundered, and controlled coastal castles to protect their lands. Grace received a formal education, yet was determined to follow her roots. When her father told her she couldn’t join him on a sailing expedition as her long hair would get caught in the ship’s ropes, she shaved her head and stowed aboard her father’s ships in boys’ clothing to learn how to sail. Upon her father’s death, Grace inherited his large shipping and trading…

music for threatened cities

Lahti, the European Green Capital, has donated a piece of a music to cities threatened by rising sea levels. The piece, titled ICE, was played by the carbon-neutral orchestra of Lahti and can only be heard in cities threatened by climate change. Coastal cities like Jakarta, Sydney and New York could be threatened by 2050 and 2100 and the 10-minute piece, composed by Cecilia Damtrom and conducted by Dalia Stasevksa, is reminiscent of the planet fighting for its existence. The piece can be listened to only in the 100 most endangered cities around the world, on the site, greenlahti.fi/icemusic, based on the listener’s IP address. Visit tradeaboat.com.au for the latest news updates…

new advanced sg20 gyroscopic stabiliser

Smartgyro, a gyroscopic stabilisation technology specialist, has introduced a new SG20 unit for boats from 45ft to 55ft. The unit is the only gyro stabiliser on the market that can be serviced, maintained, and assembled directly inside the boat, meaning the whole gyro does not need to be shipped back to the factory. Smartgyro’s innovation with the cutting-edge modular mechanical design ensures the range is unique to the market and minimises maintenance and vessel downtime, while also creating new design opportunities for builders and increasing the potential for installation in vessels with small access spaces. Ideal for both new builds and refit installations, the SG20 also features efficient control electronics where roll reduction is maximised under every sea condition using motion sensors and an Inertial Measuring Unit (IMU) to monitor and process real-time…

citizen scientists banding together

An endangered seagrass is being successfully rehabilitated due to the joint efforts of citizen and UNSW scientists. Posidonia australis is a foundation species of seagrass which creates a complex and three-dimensional habitat that supports and sustains hundreds of species like seahorses, blue swimmer crabs, and fish such as snapper. The naturally detached fragments are being collected, stored in large floating boxes, and then replanted by divers in the scars in Port Stevens, the second-most impacted estuary by boat moorings in NSW. Some of these mooring sites, the seagrass’ preferred habitats around Port Stephens, have been replaced by less destructive, environmentally friendly moorings and it’s these sites that the team is restoring. UNSW Science PhD student, Giulia Ferretto, said they enlisted the help of 80 citizen scientists and when conditions were favourable, a citizen scientist…

book your accommodation under the sea

BtB Marine is opening bookings to sleep underwater on the Great Barrier Reef with its new ‘Reef Sleep’ underwater observatory. The Lady Musgrave Experience reef pontoon, known as Lady Musgrave HQ, is 35 metres long, providing overnight ‘glamping’ accommodation for 16 guests above deck and 20 underwater in a glass-walled observatory, and will also act as a base for day trippers for snorkelling and scuba diving activities. The marine tourism attraction will allow visitors to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Great Barrier Reef at night. The 14.5-metre long underwater observatory, 20m swim platform, and observatory access staircase were built in BtB Marine’s Hervey Bay boat shop last year, with the pontoon then assembled, launched, and fitted out in the Port of Bundaberg. Above water, the pontoon is completely solar and wind-powered, with…