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IN BRIEF

Yachtsman of the year

Volvo Ocean Race winning

skipper Ian Walker was named

Yachtsman of the Year by the

Yachting Journalists Association

(YJA). Eleanor Poole (14), 2015

Topper national champion, won

Young Sailor of the Year and

cartoonist Mike Peyton received

the YJA Diamond Jubilee

Lifetime Achievement Award.

Caution in the Channel

Hampshire police are warning

sailors to be vigilant in the

English Channel after UK-bound

migrants approached yachts

in Cherbourg. A record haul of

smuggled weapons was also

discovered in Kent in 2015,

aboard a small motor yacht.

Two sailing vessels were targeted

by armed pirates in separate

incidents in the Caribbean at the

end of December 2015.

The yachts were boarded

between Trinidad and Tobago and

Grenada and were ransacked as

the pirates stole valuables and

passports. In both cases, there

were fi ve or six Spanish-speaking

men armed with assault rifl es in

5.5m to 6m (18-20ft) pirogues

with powerful outboard engines.

The Trinidad authorities are

said to be taking the issue very

seriously. The Ocean Cruising

Club (OCC) port offi cer in

Chaguaramas, Jesse James, said:

‘The Coastguard is making its

presence felt very strongly and

highly visible in our waters. They

have over the past two

days escorted yachts as far

as they are legally able to

on their passage north.’

The fi rst vessel, White

Dumbo, a professionally

crewed 25m (82ft) sailing

yacht, was attacked at

midday on 20 December,

about 30 miles north of

the Trinidadian capital,

Port of Spain, and a few

miles north of BG Group’s

Hibiscus gas platform.

‘The pirates corralled the

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SYSTEMS SOLUTION

The

ENGINES | STERN GEAR | FUEL | INSTRUMENTS | FRESH WATER | WASTE WATER | MANOEUVRING | ELECTRICAL | STEERING | HATCHES | VENTILATION

it’s vital that we protect our

marine environment to ensure our

seas remain healthy, our fi shing

industry remains prosperous

and future generations can enjoy

our beautiful beaches, coastline

and waters.’

Third tranche MCZs

Consultations for the third tranche

on MCZs will be proposed this

year and conducted in 2017,

with designation of the zones

in 2018. The last group of MCZs

may, however, ‘be the most

contentious,’ said Brian Clark, ‘as

the less controversial sites were

agreed in the fi rst two tranches.’

Seagrass meadows remain a

cause for debate. New research

from Swansea and Cardiff

universities names anchoring

and mooring, alongside nutrient

pollution, among the key threats

to seagrass. Boat Owners

Response Group (BORG), a

community campaign group,

believes, however, that: ‘There is

no consistent evidence of boat

anchoring impacting the seagrass

habitat at Studland Bay.’

New consultations on Special

Areas of Conservation (SACs) and

Special Protection Areas (SPAs)

were also opened in January 2016.

PHOTO: BG GROUP

PHOTO: ALAMY

Pink sea fan coral (Eunicella
verrucosa) is one species that will
be protected by the new MCZs

three of us to the stern. The man

with the weapon stayed on deck,

holding us at gunpoint, while the

other two pirates on board looked

for money and valuables,’ recalled

skipper Valerio Galigani.

The second vessel, a 9.7m

(32ft) yacht crewed by the owner

and his two sons, was boarded in

a similar way just to the west of

the gas rig on 27 December. The

skipper, Jonas Rommel, was told

he would be killed if he called for

help. In both cases the pirates

left after 20 minutes and headed

south towards Venezuela.

Yachts are encouraged to get

the latest advice when sailing in

the area. More information can

been found on the OCC forum and

the OCC Caribbean SSB Net.

Both attacks

took place near

the Hibiscus gas

platform north

of Trinidad

The pirates are assumed to have come

from the Paria Peninsula, a remote part

of Venezuela with a violent reputation

PHOTO: ALAMY

YM on the BBC

Yachting Monthly featured in the

BBC One TV drama series Death

in Paradise on 7 January.

Blue Water Medal

British sailors Tom and Vicky

Jackson, who write occasionally

for YM, have won the Cruising

Club of America’s Blue Water

Medal for their extensive racing

and world cruising over more

than 34 years in their 40ft classic

S&S sloop, Sunstone

Turkish passport rules

Foreigners in Turkey must now

carry a passport valid for at least

60 days beyond the ‘duration of

stay’ of their 180-day e-Visa or

Residence Permit, according to

the Cruising Association.

Pirates attack two

yachts off Trinidad

MARCH 2016 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 5