13 October 2011

Ocean disaster - yet again

When will it stop? There was the Exxon disaster on the Canadian coastline, then the Gulf of Mexico, a host of minor oil disasters and now it's the very pure waters of New Zealand - contaminated by 350 tonnes of oil from a container ship.

Cruising sailors of the world have an especial affinity for the ocean. We all may feel helpless or angry or both about what the world's dependence on oil is doing to our seas and sealife. But don't let the anger be wasted. What can you do, in general, to assist the cause of protecting our oceans? Apart from lobbying along normal channels you can join such organisations as the GreenBlue, or Sailors for the Sea, or OceansWatch and there are others. Make your presence felt!

Whale towing yacht out to sea by the anchor line .. .
The quirkiest story of the week happened in Australian waters: A whale picked up an anchor line and towed a yacht and its two crew 1.5nm out to sea. The whale, no doubt, was just as alarmed as the crew – with the rope in his mouth, dragging an anchor on one side and a yacht on the other. They finally cut the line and lost both whale and anchor. Can you imagine filling out the insurance claim form for the loss of that anchor? Or the reaction of the insurance assessor?

In the meantime, there are many sailing adventurers out there accepting challenges that would be daunting for many. Oliver Rufix is just completing a circumnavigation of Britain in an 18ft boat for a very good reason, and another British sailor has just finished the first British clockwise circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle – both these stories are inspiring.

Other events making the news: Read how in Oman the girls are starting to sail; in Italy they have just named their three top yacht-friendly coastlines; in Venezuela one of the most pristine yachting destinations is under threat of development; and Jean de Keyser tells a grand tale of flotilla sailing in Croatia.

Finally, we're calling all long-range yachts considering their options between Asia and the Mediterranean - do you want to join a group to ship your yacht past the pirate zone? Read how in the story below.

ENDS

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