News

RATS has recently seen advertisements in chandlery catalogues for LED navigation replacement bulbs that carry some warnings about their use.

The Sun newspaper reported yesterday that British yachts, commercial shipping and ferry passengers were trapped in Le Havre. The militant fishermen used about 20 trawlers to form a "ring of Steel" around the port and pledged not to let anyone come or go.

The CA's Honorary Local Representative in Cherbourg, Pascal Magueres, confirms that the blockade in Cherbourg was lifted on Tuesday at 19:00. He goes on to say "No sign of this strike going on today (Thursday)" However, St Vaast is still blocked.

The Times reports today that about 20 yachtsmen have been trapped in Cherbourg marina for a week by French fishermen protesting over rising diesel prices. The protesters have suspended a cable across the entrance and bombarded any vessels that attempted to leave. On at least one occasion they fired flares at boats trying to escape.

Well I thought so. In the previous three seasons the boat has come out virtually clean,but this year I might just as well not have put any antifouling on at all. Launching at the end of April the bottom had a mat of well established stringy weed on the bow and around the stern particularly bad on the transom hung rudder, by the beginning of July.

RATS receives all kinds of queries (some I am sure maliciously thought up to catch us out!) though not in this case.

The use of TBT (tributyltin) antifouling banned for use on leisure craft, but not commercially since the eighties, because of its harmful affects on marine life, finally looks like coming to the end of its days.

The recent outbreak of foot and mouth in deepest Surrey might seem a long way from the sea and nothing much to concern us, but this is wrong. We hear about the restrictions on the movement of livestock, but restrictions extend much wider, and they do apply to us.

Apparently in 2007 the Arctic icecap has melted back further than ever before. On September 9th it was reported that it covered an area of just 4.24msq.kms. The previous minimum record was 5.32 msq kms in September 2005.During this year the North West Passage was open from August 22nd.

In a further announcement MCA has stated that as from 1st January 2008 all SOLAS vessels on long range voyages (defined as in non A1 areas, ie outside VHF range from shore) are required to transmit details of their identity and position at least every six hours. The system is known as LRIT (Long Range Identification & Tracking).

In a recent MGN (Marine Guidance Notice) MCA state that:

1. ‘It is strongly recommended that yachtsmen permanently install, not just carry a radar reflector or RTE, that offers the largest Radar Cross Section practicable for their vessel.

Representatives from RATS were invited to visit the new Trinity House tender, GALATEA, when she was in London alongside HMS BELFAST, to be named by Her Majesty the Queen, prior to entering service. Described as a multi-functional vessel, GALATEA has been designed for buoy handling, wreck marking, towing, and has multi beam and side scan hydrographic surveying capabilities.

A new comprehensive study of coastal marinas in the UK and Channel Islands has revealed the vital role played by marinas in economic development.

RATS receives all kinds of queries (some I am sure maliciously thought up to catch us out!) though not in this case.

The use of TBT (tributyltin) antifouling banned for use on leisure craft, but not commercially since the eighties, because of its harmful affects on marine life, finally looks like coming to the end of its days.

The recent outbreak of foot and mouth in deepest Surrey might seem a long way from the sea and nothing much to concern us, but this is wrong. We hear about the restrictions on the movement of livestock, but restrictions extend much wider, and they do apply to us.

Apparently in 2007 the Arctic icecap has melted back further than ever before. On September 9th it was reported that it covered an area of just 4.24 msq.kms. The previous minimum record was 5.32 msq kms in September 2005.During this year the North West Passage was open from August 22nd.

A fund to encourage new writing in the area of pilotage and cruising is being made available by Rod Heikell and Imrays to mark the CA’s centenary.

The Award Ceremony that was due to take place on 3 April at CA House will now take place on 9 April at the Hanson Lecture.

Would anyone who submitted a log please contact Mona at CA House.

Tuesday June 17th to June 19th 2008 Port Haliguen

Following a very successful lecture at CA House in November, Jimmy Cornell has offered to put on a masterclass for CA members thinking of undertaking an offshore voyage.

This MIN (Marine Information Notice) is published for information. RATS would be interested to hear from members about their experiences with the use of any type of AIS equipment.

MyCA was off-line between 14:30 on Sunday 2 Mar and shortly before 9am on Monday 3 Mar due to a system problem on our web server. We hope this will not be repeated.

[Tuesday 4th] Sorry, it was. We were out from just after 12 til 17:50 despite the problems being reported to our web service before 13:00. We are actively looking at alternative suppliers.

Chris

Last year the Library received over 700 books as donations. These books have been checked against Library holdings and a BOOKS FOR SALE List has now been prepared.

1. XM have issued a recall on their Bosun’s Chair ref.176856, old ref. BC, after an incident when a yachtsman was working at the top of a 40ft mast and the stitching of the webbing parted from the ring attaching it to the halyard. Luckily he was also wearing a harness and a climber’s hook which saved him from a disastrous fall.