Yachting Monthly — November 2017

NOVEMBER 2017 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 7

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In brIef

French scrubbing-off

Plouër-sur-Rance in Brittany

now has a community-

owned scrubbing-off grid,

on which yachts can dry out

and remove fouling between

tides. Run off is collected in

a sump, which is pumped up

into a quayside holding tank.

The grid prevents pollution

while spare owners the cost

of lifting out.

Length of Britain

record smashed

Four young British sailors

covered the 876 miles from

Lands End to John O’Groats

in two days, 14 hours and 6

minutes, taking nearly 22

hours off Phil Sharp’s existing

record. The crew were sailing

for Vendee2020Vision.

Barts Bash

Bart’s Bash, the global club

sailing event, saw sailors

getting afloat at 599 venues

in 80 countries around the

world. The event raised

money to help hurricane

victims in the Caribbean. Next

year’s event will take place on

15-16 September 2018.

Premier Marinas

investment

Premier Marinas has

confirmed that it will be

investing over £11m in

its marinas this year. The

investment includes the

Noss on Dart Marina, and

reconfiguring Port Solent.

Lively Lady refit

The yacht that took Sir Alec

Rose solo around the world

in 1967-68 is to undergo a

major refit. Having converted

Lively Lady to a ketch rig for

the 1964 OSTAR race, he took

354 days to complete his

circumnavigation with stops

in Australia and New Zealand.

The yacht will be hauled out

at Hayling Yacht Company.

Lobster pots campaign restarted

More sailors but fewer

new boats being built

A campaign to improve the

marking of lobster pots has

been relaunched by the

Cruising Association (CA).

Poorly-marked static fishing

gear can present a serious

danger to small vessels, it

argues. Following a petition

launched earlier in the year

and backed by Sir Robin Knox

Johnston, progress was halted

by the general election and

the petition was disregarded.

The CA has relaunched its

online petition, asking the

government ‘to improve the

way static fishing gear is

marked for the safety of all

small craft at sea and to seek

views regarding enforceable

regulation.’ It believes that the

current voluntary guidance is

not adequate to ensure the

safety of small craft.

Alongside the petition,

which originally gained nearly

6,000 signatures in two

weeks, the CA has gathered

The UK’s boat building sector

grew in 2016, according to

British Marine figures. Its UK

Leisure Boat Manufacturing

2017 report found that overall

revenue had increased by

1.6 per cent to £859m. The

increase was due to sales of

medium sized powerboats,

RIBs and sailing dinghies, of

anecdotal evidence of boats

being severely damaged and

hundreds of lives put at risk

due to entanglement with

poorly marked fishing gear.

A spokesperson for the CA

said: ‘It is time for everybody

with an interest to work

together to find a solution,

particularly one that is cheap

and practical for fishermen.’

The petition is running

alongside an RYA initiative

to gather evidence of fishing

gear entanglements to

demonstrate the scale and

severity of the issue. Vessels

that get lines and buoys

caught around their propellers

and rudders can lose steerage

or propulsion, often near rocky

shores, and can be held stern

to dangerous seas.

Stuart Carruthers, RYA

Cruising Manager, explained:

‘We have had direct

discussions with DEFRA and

MMO who have made it clear

that they would need solid

evidence that the safety risk

and/or cost of poorly marked

fishing gear is unacceptable

before they consider taking

action. Sailors are being

encouraged to file report

incidents and near misses

using an online form at http://www.

rya.org.uk/knowledge-advice/

safe-boating

Sign the petition at:

https://petition.parliament.uk/

petitions/

neWS

which almost 8,000 were built

in the UK in 2016.

The picture was less positive

for UK yacht manufacturing.

Sales of sailing boats between

7.5m and 24m fell by 8.8 per

cent in 2016. Overall numbers

of yachts built in the UK has

dropped dramatically over the

last eight years, from 180 in

2008 to just 73 in 2016.

Some sectors of the market

are performing well, however.

Sean Langdon, managing

director of Discovery Group,

which builds Discovery yachts

and the newly resurrected

Southerly Yachts, as well

as Bluewater catamarans,

reported orders worth around

£7m from the Southampton

Boat Show alone.

The figures, compiled by the

industry body British Marine,

noted that in contrast to yacht

manufacturing, participation

in yacht sailing has increased

dramatically in the last two

years, from just over 300,

to around 500,000 in 2017.

It explained the opposing

trends, saying: ‘Sailing yacht

ownership has declined, but

charter holidays and shared

ownership offers flexibility of

use and experience [instead].’

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Yachts can easily become

entangled in poorly marked

fishing gear

Photo: theo Stocker

robert Stanwyck/Factory IMaGeS