International Women's Day

Tracy Edwards, guest speaker at GCCC clubhouse last year, says she did not form an all-women crew for the cause of feminism, but to do what she simply loved doing best - sailing; and then going on to skipper a 58’ yacht ‘Maiden’ in the 1989 Whitbread Round the World Race (precursor to the current Volvo Ocean Race).

‘Maiden’ is now the subject of a film documentary about Edwards’ struggle to put a female team on the water while tolerating chauvinism within the yachting community and rejection from potential sponsors. 

The film, ‘Maiden’, features interviews & original film footage of the 1989-90 race and is due for release in UK cinemas from today - International Women’s Day!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAaXRpdWXXo

http://www.themaidenfactor.org

A sculpture, ‘Sound of the Sea’ (designed by pupil Ada Kohlmaier-Sims of The Island Free School) has won 1st Prize in the Cowes Harbour Landmark Design Competition for a theoretical piece to be sited on the Cowes Breakwater:-

 Artistic impressions of ‘Sound of the Sea’ on Cowes Breakwater.

According to the panel of judges “its spiral shell-like form was in keeping with the natural sea environment, the white triangular shape fits with the shape and colour of passing sails and the sculpture... would complement Cowes seafront environment.”

The award winners will be presented with their prizes, in Cowes, on 1st March 2019.

Tony Atkins, GCCC Past Commodore, has produced an itinerary for the club's two-week West Country Cruise in June together with a list of interested boats and potential 'stowaways'.    A passage plan is shortly to be posted on the website and a WhatsApp group established for those wishing to keep in touch.

Several options are indicated for arriving at Dartmouth and skippers will be asked to submit their intended route nearer the time.  Those skippers and stowaways already expressing interest have been asked to keep Tony informed as their plans firm up so that advanced marina and dinner reservations can be made.

Boat and crew lists will be finalised in early May by which time skipper, crew and potential stowaway arrangements should have been made between themselves.

Please contact Tony directly, using the club’s membership directory, if you would like to be added to the cruise circulation list or for any further comments or enquiries you might wish to make.

The Round-Isle-of-Wight Race, organised by the Island Sailing Club since 1931, will this year start and finish outside Cowes on Saturday 29th June.  Early bird discounts for online entry are currently available until 28th February.

Around 1,500 boats take part each year including monohulls, multihulls, gaffers, classics and dayboats.   The current monohull record stands at 3hr 43m 50s set in 2013 and the multihull record at 2hr 22m 23s set in 2017.

A public entertainment programme starts on the Parade at 12:00 on Friday 28th June.

Visit www.roundtheisland.org.uk for more information.

Lobbying by both the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) and the Cruising Association (CA) has pursuaded the Maritime & Coastguard Agency to convene a ‘Lobster Pots & Small Craft Safety Working Group’.   The Group is composed of members from the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO), RYA and CA tasked with seeking better ways for avoiding small craft entanglement and also improved methods of law enforcement.

Group Members: (left to right) Ian Wilson (CA), Gwilym Stone (MCA), Robert Greenwood (NFFO), Michael Coyle (MMO) and Stuart Carruthers (RYA).

The first meeting took place at CA House on 16 January 2019 to prioritise their tasks and set up a review of existing regulatory powers across the UK.

www.theca.org.uk

GGR 2018-19

73-year old Frenchman Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, in his Rustler 36 ‘Matmut’, has completed the Golden Globe Race non-stop circumnavigation back to Les Sables d’Olonne in France.  He crossed the finishing line early this morning after 212 days at sea.   He is the first to finish since the race started last July and was greeted alongside by a huge welcoming crowd and a large bottle of champagne presented by Robin Knox-Johnson (winner of the original 1968-69 race).

Dutchman Mark Slats, in second place, has diverted to La Caruna following advice to avoid being dangerously trapped on a lee-shore in the Bay of Biscay by an approaching storm.   His Rustler 36 ‘Ophen Maverick’ was trailing by just 320 miles after narrowing Van Den Heede's lead by 91 miles over the weekend.

Third placed Uku Randmaa of Estonia lies 3,600 miles astern in his Rustler 36 ‘One and All’ (previously owned by GCCC Past Commodore Tony Atkins and sold specifically for use in the race).

With just four boats yet to finish out of the original eighteen, more news can be followed at https://goldengloberace.com/  or  https://youtu.be/u3NM1Ox7Nt0

Fact or Fiction?

A 'freak wave' has been recreated for the first time!  The Oxford and Edinburgh University research workers also noted a similarity to the famous Japanese woodblock print 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa' by artist Katsushika Hokusai (c1829).  

The laboratory-induced wave was formed by varying two smaller wave groups until their crossing angle reached 120 degrees.   These freak or rogue waves, officially known as 'Draupner' waves, appear without warning and may cause the catastrophic sinking of large ships (not to mention small sailing boats!)

Compare the researcher's video shot with Hokusai's woodblock print:

The Draupner (or 'New Year') wave measured 25m and was the first rogue wave ever detected by a measuring instrument.   It crashed into the Draupner Oil Rig platform off the Norwegian Coast on 1 January 1995, fortunately without injury to personnel or damage to the rig.  No longer can such waves be considered a mythological figment of the sailor's imagination!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QWWe9PMuVng

Eastern Channel Dredge

A new Eastern Channel will be dredged to 2.25m below chart datum and provide a more direct route to the Main Fairway than the existing Small Craft Channel.  The dredge will start early in January 2019 and be completed within eight weeks.  The existing Small Craft Channel will stay open most of the time but there may be occasions when only the Main Fairway can be used.  See LNTM No. 33(T) 2018 for more details.

Sign up for LNTMs to be kept informed.

Following a transit of the North West Passage, Steve Brown will cover two expeditions to South Georgia & Antarctica in 2017-18.

Wed 20 March 2019 1900 hrs at CA House, London.

Amid amazing scenery, Steve & his team on a 60’ schooner encounter storms, blizzards, dense sea ice and recover from a potentially catastrophic grounding.  Steve will give an impression of what sailing in these challenging cruising grounds is really like.

To attend this talk, click Book Events and pay on the door.   Any problems with booking please call or email Jeremy on 020 7537 2828/reception@theca.org.uk.

Tickets priced at £4 for CA members & £7 for non-members.

A Leap Forward?

Accidental drowning after slipping through the guard rail and being towed face-down at the end of a two-metre tether has been the subject of considerable debate.

In response to this problem TeamO Marine developed a ‘BackTow’ lifejacket that towed face-up, receiving widespread acclaim in 2013 for innovation.

An ‘A-frame’ clips as standard to a front loop on the harness and runs up the lifejacket to a point behind the neck.   It releases manually under load, similar to that of a parachute ripcord.

Working with Crewsaver and Artemis AC, TeamO Marine have developed an improved ‘MkII BackTow’ including a personal AIS pocket and optional AutoLock Tether (“a seatbelt for the sea”).    AutoLock’s lightweight reel self-adjusts tether length when moving around the deck.   Any fall is immediately arrested, after which the pressure is eased and the reel starts working again.    

BackTow MkII lifejackets with optional AutoLock are due out by autumn 2018.
See TeamO.