Practical Boat Owner May 2020

with the editor To receive the editor’s monthly email newsletter, go to our website: www.pbo.co.uk Picture this… What’s not to love about this picture, below? The feet belong to Tony Smith, a regular PBO contributor and published author, who sails without an engine (see page 32). This issue also features Sam Llewellyn’s description of ‘no sail week: the idea is to climb on board boats of various sizes and use only the wind and the tide to perform the usual manoeuvres and some unusual ones.’ Last month in this column I was looking forward to the future of clean power, but various stories in this month’s issue remind me that all the alternative we need – for leisure purposes anyway – is perhaps staring us in the face. Foiling technology for sailing is featured on the…

SEND US YOUR STORIES Email news editor Katy Stickland at pbo@ti-media.com, tel: 01252 555213 Cowes harbour safety review follows ferry fog incident Cowes Harbour Commission (CHC) is continuing to review safety at Cowes Harbour on the Isle of Wight following the publication of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report into the sinking of the Contessa 32, Greylag. The unoccupied yacht was on a swinging mooring to the east of the Inner Fairway channel when it was hit by the Red Funnel-operated Red Falcon ferry in October 2018. The MAIB has highlighted the danger of commercial vessels to people sleeping on yachts in Cowes Harbour, which ‘had not been sufficiently considered, documented or mitigated with risk assessments produced by Cowes Harbour Commission, Shepards Wharf Marina or Cowes Yacht Haven’. Cowes Harbour Master Capt. Stuart McIntosh said…

A new round the world race for a one design self-built 5.8m yacht has been announced. Don McIntyre, who is behind the Golden Globe and Ocean Globe Races, said the Mini Globe Race would start from a European port in either October or November 2024. The event, which will run over six legs westabout via Panama, is one of a series of races for his One Design ClassMini 5.80, which he was due to launch at March’s HISWA Amsterdam Boat Show. An Azores and Back race in June-July 2022 and two 5.80 Transat events, with the first starting from Portugal in November 2021, are also planned. Designed by Polish sailor Janusz Maderski, the plywood ClassMini 5.80 is self-righting. Hull No1 is currently being built in Poland and will undergo sea trials from late…

Australian skipper Bill Hatfield has claimed the record for the oldest person to sail around the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted. The 81-year-old former fisherman chose the westabout route, against the prevailing winds and currents, completing the circumnavigation in 259 days aboard his 38ft Northshore LÕEau Commotion. He left Gold Coast Seaway in Queensland on 8 June 2019, returning on 22 February 2020, fulfilling a dream he has had since a child. “I’m very pleased to be back and it’s nice to be back on land again. I very much appreciate the welcome I’ve had. It is nice to have done it,” he said. Hatfield carefully planned the circumnavigation, working out a daily diet of “a third of a tin of beans, a tin of tuna, 100g of rice, 100g of flour, 100g of…

Boaters are being reminded to register their vessel details with RYA SafeTrx. It replaced the HM Coastguard Safety Identification Scheme known as CG66 in July 2018, with previously existing data on vessels, owners and emergency contacts being retained for only two years. The Cruising Association is urging all boat owners to register, which will allow Search and Rescue (SAR) authorities to easily access vessel details during an incident. RYA SafeTrx is divided into two parts: a SAR database of account and vessel details, which can be updated at any time by the skipper, and a mobile phone app which as well as vessel registration can also track voyages in Sail Plan and Track Only modes and report overdue vessels. The app does not replace Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) but is designed…

Q Do I need to use the app to register my vessel details? A No. Details of your boat, the safety equipment carried on board and your shore contact can be registered online at safetrx.rya.org.uk Q. Do I need to use the app to let the Coastguard know of my passage details? A No. As boat owners did previously, skippers can contact the Coastguard on VHF Ch16 and register their voyage details and we are happy that this continues. The RYA SafeTrx App does have a Sail Plan function where you can put in details of your voyage with a logged ETA. A vessel’s position is sent to the SafeTrx server every kilometre in Sail Plan mode if the battery is above 30%, and by default every five minutes in Track Only mode,…