Ghost ship sighting, British sailor prosecuted, clever autopilot, more

by Nancy Knudsen, Editor on 17 Oct 2013 Judgement in close quarters sailing is not an exact science, and skippers of sailing boats are often required to make a call quickly. It's bad enough to know later that you made the wrong call, it's worse if that call has resulted in severe damage to your boat, but how much worse for that single moment of bad judgement to be flashed around the world to be watched by a million viewers.

There's more. For one British Royal navy sailor it just keeps getting worse. He is no longer in the Navy and he is now in court facing prosecution by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on a number of negligence charges. Personally, I can't help feeling for the sailor – we've all made bad calls, though perhaps in more private ways.

Speaking of judgement, John Jamieson is back this week to talk about judging the safe speed according to the conditions you and your sailing boat find yourself in. Even if you know these answers, a reminder is a refresher...

Is technology taking all the adventure out of cruising? This week we tell of an innovative autopilot which calibrates itself and teaches itself about the characteristics and quirks of the boat, without any intervention from the sailor. There's also a report on how EPIRBs are gradually, thanks to new satellites and reporting stations, getting more accurate more quickly.

Four months have passed since schooner Nina was heard of in the Tasman Sea, but the families have not given up. Their private search firm has now found what could be evidence of the boat still afloat near Norfolk Island. It's worth remembering that a New Zealand yacht, Air Apparent, abandoned by its crew in 2008 in the Tasman Sea, was also sighted months later drifting near Norfolk Island and ended up a year later beached on the north east coast of Australia.

Much more too, cruising news from around the world, so browse down the headlines to find your interest, and, if you are anywhere warm enough...

Sweet sailing!