Fast Facts: What is a Bight?
A bight is a long, gradual bend or recess in the shoreline that forms a large, open bay. Bights are shallow and may pose hazards to navigation, so their depths, in addition to any submerged features like sand bars and…
Cruising
Dedicated to Cruising the world under sail including destinations, navigation, sailing tips, safety ideas, yacht & multihull reviews along with stories and insights for the sail cruising life in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Twenty-fifth edition of ARC Portugal sets sail
Heading out into a cloudy Plymouth Sound on Sunday 2 June, seventeen boats began their three week adventure sailing to the sunny Algarve with World Cruising Club's annual sailing rally ARC Portugal. ARC Portugal has been taking boats south to…
Tassie west coast: sailing on the wild side
Sailing the wild side of Tasmania, its west coast, has been a long held goal: remote, rugged, less frequented, all aspects we value. But to cruise there safely, with a chance to see and explore pristine wilderness in all its…
Boats of steel
“It is better to travel in hope than to arrive” is the often quoted mantra of the philosophical nomad who wishes to distinguish himself from the tourist or business traveller. However, the person who wrote this has clearly never been…
Charting the heavens and earth
In 1956 a Turkish naval officer gave a copy of an early 16th century Ottoman navigational chart, drawn by Piri Reis, a captain in the Ottoman navy during the sultanate of Suleyman the Magnificent, to the U.S Hydrographic Office in…
Flights of fancy: sometimes it pays to just go with the flow
That splinter of an idea: Sail to Lord Howe Island, had lodged there in my psyche many years, not festering but absolutely insistent. So, with the best (and worst) laid plans of mice, men and whoever else cares to dare,…
Boys own adventure: 12 year circumnavigation
When Pittwater local Tony Roberts took off on his Crowther 42 foot catamaran, TacticalDirections on May 1 2006, he had no idea his travels would take him 43,629 nautical miles to 49 countries before completing his circumnavigation just last year….
Repairing a RIB
Inflatable dinghies are a wonderful invention. It is true they do not have the rowing ability of a well-designed rigid dinghy, or the beauty of a classic timber tender but, for simple utility they are hard to beat. The inflatable…
Sampling some Turkish delight
We sailed into Turkey determined to be bound by no deadlines or obligations to do anything other than go where the wind blew us. The five weeks we were there comprised a long languid procession of hot and sultry days…
The history of the fore and aft rig
For thousands of years, man has heeded the call of the sea: whether for trade or piracy, for exploration and adventure, or to seek to understand more of his environment. Until the advent of aircraft, ships were the links that…
Down Under Rally supports 10-year-old shark victim with horrific injuries
I am writing to you to see if you can help a New Caledonia family during what will be a very tough time. Earlier this week Anthony, a perfectly normal 10 year old boy was having fun jumping off the…
Hopes fading for Sydney sailor lost on India's second-highest mountain
Indian authorities have conceded that there is little hope of finding alive a Sydney woman who was part of an eight-person mountaineering party which failed to return to base camp at Nanda Devi, the second-highest mountain in India. Ruth McCance,…
The Long Blue Line: Ensign Charles Duke and seizure of rum runner Greypoint
Capt. Daniel A. LaliberteU.S. Coast Guard, retired Charles L. Duke, a native of Norfolk, Virginia, joined the Coast Guard on Aug. 26, 1925, amid the service’s dramatic expansion during Prohibition. A previous four-year enlistment in the Navy Reserve near the…
US Coast Guard rescues two from capsized yacht
On Wednesday night, the US Coast Guard answered an EPIRB distress signal and rescued a man and woman from a capsized sailboat about 65 miles off Atlantic City, New Jersey. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s Fifth District Command Center in…
Sailor jailed for eight years for killing wife who died after yacht sunk
Evening Standard. By Bonnie Christian. A newlywed British/Australian sailor has been jailed for eight years in the US for killing his wife who died when their yacht sank off the coast of Cuba Lewis Bennett, 42, was sentenced on Tuesday…
Wreck of last American slave ship confirmed
Maritime Executive The wreck of the last slave ship ever to reach American shores has been found in a river delta near Mobile, Alabama, according to the state's historical commission. In 1860, on the eve of the American Civil War, the…
Sailor drifted for more than a day near Mull of Galloway on new yacht
BBC News An “inexperienced” sailor who tried to guide his recently-bought yacht from Whitehaven to Galway was rescued after drifting at sea for more than 24 hours. A search was launched after his family contacted the coastguard to report the…
Sailing the “The Cool Route” – a captain's view
As the Mediterranean gets increasingly crowded, and with much attendant hassle in the day to day logistics of operating amidst such overcrowding, more and more large yachts are heading to higher latitudes in the summer season. Alternative summer destinations…
Fast Facts: What are High Seas Forecasts?
NOAA's High Seas Forecasts are weather forecasts and data transmitted around the world in real- and near-real-time. The National Weather Service provides High Seas forecasts for large areas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, U.S. coastal areas and the Great…
What's down below? Virtual Archaeology Museum opens
The US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has opened its Virtual Archaeology Museum which displays video, detailed 3D models and mosaic maps of shipwrecks from the 19th and 20th centuries. The historic shipwrecks were discovered…
New marina opens on Australia's Lake Macquarie
Trinity Point, NSW, Australia, 17 May 2019 — April 18th was a significant milestone for Johnson Property Group and Managing Director, Keith Johnson. Mr. Johnson first began planning Trinity Point in 1999. His vision – a luxury resort /residential lakeside development. The…
US National Hurricane Center adds Forecast Zones to East Pacific Ocean
The Maritime Executive The National Hurricane Center’s Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch (TAFB) now issues detailed five-day marine weather forecasts for the offshore waters of Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Ecuador. These new Offshore Zone forecasts represent a dramatic increase…
What a load of s**t! NSW Maritime says 14.2 million litres of sewage pumped from boats
Better out than in! During 2018 more than 14.2 million litres of sewage waste was recovered from 14,890 commercial vessels visiting the public pump-out facilities on Sydney Harbour. NSW Maritime Environmental Services team maintains the three publicly funded marine sewage…
Thirty yachts depart Southport for the adventure of a lifetime
Thirty yachts with over 100 crewmembers will depart the Southport Seaway at 08:00 on Friday the 17th May bound for New Caledonia and Vanuatu as part of the Down Under Go East Rally. The vessels and their crews have travelled…
Aurora activity may light up skies in southern Australia this week
Sky gazers may be in for a treat this week, with increased solar activity bringing the potential for dramatic light displays to occur in skies over southern parts of the country. The heightened chance of aurora activity is expected to…
The Arctic shipping route no-one's talking about
The Maritime Executive. By Mia Bennett. I recently attended (via teleconference, to cut down on travel time and emissions!) a meeting on future maritime trade flows at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)’s International Transport Forum. One session focused exclusively on…
Chesil – the most famous beach we have ever cleaned
The 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 sailors assembled again ahead of the 2019 Volvo European Championship to spend some time cleaning up a local beach to the club we were at. Joined by our partners for the Europeans, the RYA…
Husband charged over death of his wife after setting sail in storm conditions
The husband of a model and TV presenter who fell from a beach cat and drowned during a fierce storm off the coast of Brazil will be charged over her death, Jorge Sestini is accused of setting sail on a…
Pirates kill New Zealand man, leave woman and child injured in Panama
Stuff.co.nz. The family of a New Zealand man killed when armed robbers attacked their yacht in Panama are “traumatised” and “heartbroken” by his death, the man's sister says. Alan Culverwell, 60, died while defending his wife, Derryn, and two 11-year-old children…
Have hen will travel: the man who sailed round the world with a chicken
The Guardian. By Emma Beddington. At the tip of Brittany’s wild, wet Côtes-d’Armor peninsula is the village of Plougrescant. Beyond that, butting right out into the sea, lies Yvinec island, a tiny outcrop intermittently accessible depending on tides via a…
Fremantle yacht reported capsized and sunk en route from Thailand to Indonesia
Details are sketchy, but it has been reported that 'Ezylivin', a Catalina 350 home ported in Fremantle, capsized and sank enroute from Thailand to the Indonesian Sabang Marine Festival. (The source of the story is Facebook, not the most reliable…
Yorkshire RNLI lifeboats assist tall ship after engine problems
Hartlepool RNLI all weather lifeboat ‘Betty Huntbatch’ and volunteer crewmembers were paged at 10.45am on Monday 23rd April to assist the Whitby RNLI all weather lifeboat ‘George and Mary Webb’ berth a 120 ton sail training vessel that had suffered…
Wreck of the Titanic to be imaged in 3D
Maritime Executive A group of organizations will apply advanced underwater imaging technology to monitor and document the wreck of the RMS Titanic, discovered in 1985. RMS Titanic, Inc., an affiliate of Experiential Media Group, and the salvor-in-possession of RMS Titanic…
WWII shipwreck discovered: Australian freighter SS Iron Crown found after being sunk by submarine in 1942
23 April 2019 – Released by Australian National Maritime Museum | CSIRO After being lost for 77 years, an Australian freighter sunk by a Japanese submarine during World War II has been located by maritime archaeologists using CSIRO research vessel…
Changes to marina rules and extreme weather preparedness course launched
The BIA standard contract for vessel storage – the Marine Craft Mooring, Berthing and Storage Deed – has been updated following a review to accommodate additional provisions concerning vessel salvage, and to clarify obligations and responsibilities of various parties. The…
Russian regatta to be sailed at 1870 metres above sea level
Russia will host an international sailing event at the height of 1,870 metres above sea level from 23-28 July 2019. This regatta will welcome guests and professional crews from all over the world. The Kezenoy-Am Cup 2019 is organized by…
Completing the circle: World ARC 2018-19 concludes in Saint Lucia
Round-the-world rally World ARC 2018-19 officially came to an end on Saturday 13th April with a special day of celebrations to mark the conclusion of this unique sailing journey. Returning to the shores of Saint Lucia, thirty-eight crew members of…
Couple and their ‘sea dog’ Jack Russell make a lucky escape from yacht inferno in Queensland
Water police responded to a yacht on fire south west of Moreton Island on April 20. Just after 5.30am, police were called to a yacht which was fully engulfed by the fire. With the assistance of Queensland Fire and Emergency…
Three men rescued after boat sinks off Shark Island
Three men were rescued after a vessel sank off Shark Island last night. About 8pm (Wednesday 10 April 2019), a 12m sloop struck a bombora off Shark Island, Port Stephens, and began to take on water. The three men on…
Ships polluting the oceans via “magic pipes” can be spotted from space
The Maritime Executive Environmental monitoring organization SkyTruth watches for illegal activity using satellite data, and over the past several years, they've made it clear that “magic pipe” bilge water disposal can no longer be hidden at sea. Bypassing the ship's…
