| |
 Boats, cyclones and floods
Australia continues to reel from its disastrous weather, with areas still in recovery mode following the torrential floods, tropical cyclone Yasi and now raging bushfires in Western Australia.
The sight of more than 70 vessels tossed aside like toys in a child's bathtub at Port Hinchinbrook, in North Queensland was a sight that had to be seen to be believed!
 | | Yasi Hinchinbrook .. . |
Thousands of people remain without power, some without water as authorities struggle to bring communities back to some normality.
The impact of Yasi could also have an effect on that world heritage icon, the Great Barrier Reef; we can only hope it is minimal.
In other news, US boat owners have been warned to 'be vigilant' with the increased availability now of the ‘dreaded' E15, gasoline with up to 15 percent ethanol added.
Next weekend sees Australia's top ski racers, many of them 'warming up' for the 2011 World championships scheduled to take place next September in Queensland for the first time, have been forced to choose which of two favoured races they contest.
No fault of organisers, but two races hundreds of miles apart are set down for the same weekend; it all stems again from the weather conditions that Australia has had to endure with so many race meetings postponed due to raging rivers.
On the local scene again, we take a close look at two of Riviera's latest creations, the 5000 and 5800 Sport Yachts, two vessels introducing a variety of innovation into sport boat design.
On the offshore racing front, the competitive Class 1 scene in Europe is planning on a new structure that organisers hope will breathe new life into the sport, while across the Tasman Sea it's wide open throttle for the New Zealand championships.
On the other side of the nation, police, working hand in hand with Western Australian fisheries officers, have 'nabbed' 29 people, mainly for taking undersized crabs.
One group allegedly had 89 undersized crustaceans and police are considering court action (quite right, too) against them.
So read on, reader, good news and not so good this is where it's all at.
Later this week I head out to Miami for the big show and have a swag of interesting interviews lined up and sight to see.
You'll learn all about it right here on Powerboat-World.
Bob Wonders
All eyes on Miami
Bob Wonders, 
All involved with the Miami show hoping for improved weather conditions. Twelve months ago, with the northern sector of the US under snow and ice, the show's attendance suffered; many airports across the north were closed and a number of people, among them exhibitors and media, were unable to make the journey south.... [more]
Share this story
|
Riviera's Sport Yacht success
Bob Wonders, 
Sport yacht designs give consumers another option to the flying bridge design. Despite the sales success of the sport boat design, I'm not suggesting the flying bridge is losing popularity; however, some brokers have pointed out that many prospective buyers in retirement mode who qualify as ‘senior citizens' have no interest in negotiating ladders and stairways up and down to a flying bridge.... [more]
Share this story
|
Port Hinchinbrook's boats destroyed
Jeni Bone, 
Boat owners and a legion of helpers are scouring jagged piles of debris at Port Hinchinbrook, many only to find heartbreak with most of the 70 boats destroyed or seriously damaged.... [more]
Share this story
|
Impact of Cyclone Yasi on Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, 
Cyclone Yasi is expected to have damaged some parts of the Great Barrier Reef, with severe damage likely to have occurred along the cyclone track as it crossed the Reef and reached the coast near Mission Beach... [more]
Share this story
|
Maritimo releases new interior options for C47 Sports Cabriolet
Imprint Media, 
Australia's premier boat builder, Maritimo, has released new interior layouts for its revolutionary C47 Sports Cabriolet, including a three-cabin option.... [more]
Share this story
|
New model release – Signature 502RF (Runabout Fisher)
Martin Beeson, 
The Haines Group has announced the launch of the all new Signature 502RF.... [more]
Share this story
|
BoatUS News - With E15, boaters, anglers will need extra vigilance
BoatUS, 
BoatUS News - With the EPA's recent decision to allow the use of gasoline with up to 15% ethanol (E15) in 2001 and newer model cars and trucks, BoatUS says that trailerboaters will need to remain extra vigilant when filling up their truck and trailered boat at the local gas station.... [more]
Share this story
|
Team BioMax transported to the East Coast
Team Biomax, 
Team BioMax entry in the Australian Offshore Challenge, Bass Strait Rally, engaged in a ‘Challenge' before the event even started! Being based in Perth WA, the 26ft Scarab needed to be transported to the East Coast before the trip down to Hobart for the start of the event on 23rd February.... [more]
Share this story
|
NSW Maritime PWC Safety Awareness joined by Rob Shehadie
Neil Patchett, 
NSW Maritime boating safety campaign has been joined by Rob Shehadie, the actor/comedian (Rocky from Fat Pizza and TV Week Logie nominee), to promote safe and responsible use of personal watercraft such as Waverunners, Seadoos and Jet Skis.... [more]
Share this story
|
Ski racers forced to choose
Bob Wonders, 
Two of ski racing's favourite events held on same weekend. Reason for clash of dates stems from both races being postponed (the Victorian race was postponed twice) late last year due to unfavourable weather conditions making both rivers too dangerous for competition due to floods.... [more]
Share this story
|
UIM F1 H2O World Championship -Shaun Torrente joins Team Sweden
Philippe Stiernon, 
The most talented driver in North America is finally going to get his first taste of international competition this upcoming season as Miami, Florida driver Shaun Torrente will team with Swedish driver Jonas Andersson starting at the opening race of the 2011 UIM F1 H2O World Championship at the ninth Grand Prix of Qatar the weekend of the fourth and fifth of March on Doha Bay.... [more]
Share this story
|
UIM Powerboat Championship - Optimistic about the future
UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, 
Nicolò di San Germano is optimistic that the new structures that have been put in place to steer the future direction of the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship will revitalise the sport... [more]
Share this story
|
WA Department of Fisheries roadside checks net 29 people
WA Department of Fisheries, 
WA Department of Fisheries investigations are continuing into several alleged fisheries offences, following roadside checks carried out as part of a joint operation with Mandurah Police this week.... [more]
Share this story
|
Sizzling hot Powerboat Racing as Gisborne turns up the heat!
Cathy Vercoe, 
With little breeze, temperatures in the high 30s and a flat sea Gisborne was a perfect playground for fast and furious powerboat racing, and that's exactly what we saw as the Rayglass New Zealand Offshore Powerboats competed in the second race of their eight race summer series.... [more]
Share this story
|
Neptune Regatta 2011 - Heading south to the Equator
Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia, 
The Neptune Regatta fleet is now safely back in the Nongsa Point Marina after a trip to the Equator. It has been an action-packed three days since we left Batam and headed south. For almost everyone it has felt like a week – at least. And that's a compliment.... [more]
Share this story
|
The New Burke Marine PFD Range
Colin Burgess, 
The new Burke Marine PFD Range equals sophistication, safety and comfort without the hefty price tag. The new Australian standards (AS4758.1) for PFDs have come into effect and Burke Marine, celebrating 40 years in marine industry, have decided to embrace the changes by releasing a whole new range of smarter and sharper level 100 to 50 PFDs.... [more]
Share this story
|
Australia's Category 5 cyclone Yasi a yachting catastrophe
Nancy Knudsen, 
Among all the other devastation that Category 5 Cyclone Yasi wrought on the North Queensland coast in the last days, all yachts and other water-borne craft that could not be moved out of the cyclone area did not escape unscathed. To put the notion into context, Hurricane Katrina which devastated Louisiana in 2005 was also a Category 5 hurricane.... [more]
Share this story
|
Van Diemens Land Circumnavigation Cruise 2011 - 44 boats entered
Peter Campbell, 
The circumnavigation of the island State of Tasmania will take just over five weeks and cover 780 nautical miles in total passages between ports of call, with stopovers of several days in the Tamar River, the Hunter Group, Macquarie Harbour and Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour.... [more]
Share this story
|
Roosevelt Island climate evolution project
Matt Vance, 
Antarctica New Zealand, a Kiwi-led group of scientists, have just returned from establishing a camp at the remote Roosevelt Island, some 700km east of Scott Base. The Roosevelt Island Climate Evolution project, a seven nation collaboration, aims to quantify how stable the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will be in a warming world.... [more]
Share this story
|
Migration helps corals survive climate change
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, 
The key to preserving the extraordinary richness and beauty of the world's coral reefs through the coming period of fragmentation caused by climate change lies in a better understanding of how newborn coral larvae disperse across the oceans to settle and grow on new reefs.... [more]
Share this story
|
New Additions to GME's Antenna Range
GME, 
GME, Australia's premier communications company, has increased the flexibility of their already large marine antenna range. In 2010, GME introduced the very popular detachable antenna range with the release of the versatile ABL012 and ABL013 antenna bases, a double swivel base (ABL012) and single swivel base (ABL013) both with 5 meters of antenna cable attached.... [more]
Share this story
|
UIM XCAT Middle East Championships – Round 2
Sharon Allison, 
UIM XCAT Middle East Championships – Round 2 - Dubai, 2nd February 2011. Fazza 3 the black Xcat driven by Arif Al Zafeen with throttleman Nadir Bin Hendi at his side will lead the extreme catamaran fleet for the start parade for the UIM Xcat Middle East Championship on Thursday hoping to retain their winning streak... [more]
Share this story
|
Miami braces for celebration of all things boating, 17-21 Feb
NMMA, 
The 70th annual Miami Boat Show runs Feb 17-21 at the Miami Beach Convention Center and Sea Isle Marina & Yachting Center. Running concurrently is the 26th annual Strictly Sail Miami show at Miamarina at Bayside, which like the main show is produced by the National Marine Manufacturers Association.... [more]
Share this story
|
Neptune Regatta 2011: the Race to Zero has started
Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia, 
RO Jerry Rollin sent the PY boats away at 1000hrs off a reaching start to the east, with the course then taking the fleet south and east down the Riau Strait towards a finish line and first night's stopover at Pulau Karas Besar, 34 nm away. It was spinnaker reaching all the way in 9-15 knots of breeze, and first to finish after six hours' sailing was Simon Piff's Rainbow Dream.... [more]
Share this story
|
River and Harbour Bar Crossing - learn how to do it properly!
Richard Gladwell, 
News through tonight that NZ Police are considering taking a prosecution against two fishing boats who crossed the Grey River bar in treacherous conditions and ignoring warning signals. Miraculously they survived, but did you know that there are more fatal boating accidents on harbour/river bars than anywhere else? Extreme care and planning must be taken before deciding whether or not to cross... [more]
Share this story
|
If you do not want to continue to read about Motor boats and boating on a regular basis you can
and you will not receive another Powerboat-World newsletter.
|
1.gif)
.gif)
