Yachting Monthly - November 2015

NEWS

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IN BRIEF

Italy insurance fi nes

New rules in Italy mean that

yachts without a new liability

certifi cate of insurance, which

includes serial numbers for

tenders and outboards, have

already been fi ned, according to

the Cruising Association. Anyone

sailing in Italy should check with

their insurers immediately.

New ARC Channel Rally

World Cruising Club has

launched the ARC Channel

Islands 2016 Rally, offering

preparation advice, a lead boat,

a cruise-in-company and social

activities ashore. The Rally will

start from Gosport in August and

will fi nish in Alderney.

Oceans of Hope

for MS sufferers

The charity Sailing Sclerosis has

completed a full circunavigation

aboard its Challenger 67 yacht,

Oceans of Hope, crewed by

people with Multiple Sclerosis.

Sunsail to offer choice

of sailing courses

Sunsail may offer US Sailing

qualifi cations from its British

Virgin Islands base in the

Caribbean. They already offer

RYA and ICC (International

Certifi cate of Competence)

courses, and American Sailing

Association courses in the BVIs.

Vote for the Yachtsman

of the Year 2015

Nominations are now open

for the Yachting Journalists

Association Yachtsman of the

Year Award. Now in its 60th

year, previous winners include

Eric Hiscock, Francis Chichester,

Robin Knox-Johnston and Bob

Shepton. See http://www.yja.co.uk

Wharram 60th

anniversary

James Wharram and his team

celebrated the 60th anniversary

of the fi rst offshore catamaran

to cross the Atlantic on 30

September. In 1955, Wharram set

sail from Falmouth aboard his

self-built 23ft 6in fl at-bottomed

catamaran Tangaroa with two

German girls as crew. His aim

was to prove that the ‘double

canoe’ was a seaworthy vessel.

Najad, the Swedish yacht

builder that was rescued

from banckruptcy in 2013,

has started selling boats in

the UK again, following the

appointment of a dealer.

Najad was established

1971, but went bankrupt

in February 2013 and

was bought by Swedish

company Lidköpings

Båtsnickeri, which also

builds SwedeStar yachts, in

October 2013.

British would-be buyers will no

longer need to deal directly with

the factory and will have a higher

level of choice in specifying their

new yacht. As of September

Portpartick residents, as well as

by people as far afi eld as London

and Canada who have links with

or have holidayed in the village.

There will be over 300

shareholders, all with one vote

each. The harbour will be run by

a committee, with large decisions

going to a shareholder vote.

Portpatrick, on the eastern

side of the North Channel, is

a popular destination for Irish

cruisers. Having been recently

dredged, the harbour has a least

depth of 2m (6ft) at low water.

There are no pontoons, but with a

tidal range of only 3-4m, visiting

yachts usually raft up alongside

the wall.

‘It’s a historic harbour and

we want to keep it that way,

but we also want it to be more

comfortable for visiting yachts,’

said Mr Erskine, who was also

coxswain of Portpatrick Lifeboat

for 25 years. ‘We’re planning to

have new toilets and showers

ready for the 2016 season, and

electric shore power later in the

season or in 2017. We have a

slipway, an annual crane-out and

can offer small amounts of diesel.’

2015, Boat Sales International,

based in Hamble Point, is now

the UK appointed dealers for

Najad, providing a UK point of

contact for customers.

Mike Jennings of Boat

Sales International said: ‘We

are able to fully manage the

design and build process

for customers. As Najad

will be building 12 to 20

boats a year, rather than

60, customers can specify

a truly bespoke boat,

where almost anything

can be tailored to their

requirements.’

‘It’s early days, but

feedback has been good

and there has been genuine

interest in the Najad 570 and 450.’

The 450 is offered with a three-

cabin layout, and the fi rst hull will

be sailing in February 2016.

PHOTO: ALAMY

Portpatrick is Britain’s fi rst

community-owned harbour

NOVEMBER 2015 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 5

Portpatrick in Dumfries

and Galloway, south-west

Scotland, has become the

fi rst community-owned

harbour in the UK.

The Portpatrick

Harbour Trust became

a Community Benefi t

Society in July so that it

could offer a community

share scheme for locals

to buy a share in the

harbour. Within three

weeks, 98 per cent of the

shares – worth nearly

£75,000 – had been sold.

Previously owned

by a Jersey-based

absentee landlord who

was thought to have plans to

develop waterside housing, the

harbour had suffered from years

of neglect. Harbour dues were

collected, but no money was

invested back into the harbour.

Harbourmaster and committee

vice-chairman Robert Erskine

explained: ‘We don’t want to

redevelop, but now we can put

the harbour dues back into the

harbour and the community.

Being community-owned means

we can safeguard the harbour

and improve it over time.

Shares were bought by most

Najad yachts for sale in the UK again

Najad yachts are

back after a brief

disappearance

PHOTO: GRAHAM SNOOK/YM

Portpatrick Harbour is now run solely for the benefi t of sailors and locals