New catamarans, new adventures, new whale science...
by Nancy Knudsen, Cruising Editor on 19 Mar 2009
Disentangling the sedated whale SW
The news coming in to Sail-World Cruising for the leisure sailor is buzzing with interest and variety again this week, and it's exciting just to write about it all.
On the oceans there's interest everwhere. .
Over in the Gulf of Aden the Yemenis, once notorious for their own brand of piracy, are leading in the international effort to make the shipping channel safe for ships and yachts.
Down-under, two young men have crossed the notorious Bass Strait in a 14ft skiff – to help raise money to save the endangered Tasmanian Devil.
Across in Hawaii traditional sailing vessel Hokule'a has set off on a 1000 mile journey to Palmyra Atoll;
...and out in the Atlantic a team of marine experts have successfully sedated a North Atlantic right whale to remove net entangling it.
Speaking of whales, a controversial project to give iron to the Antarctic Ocean has met with much applause and criticism. The group of German and Indian scientists insist that their project will counter the effects of CO2 emissions, giving the waters more of the much needed plankton that whales live on.
This week read of three new exciting models that are being launched by Fountain Pajot, and of the new Lagoon 421 which has some surprises – all evidence of the continued surge in popularity of the cruising catamaran over the single hulled yacht.
Back to the practicalities of sailing, and Peter Salisbury starts a multi-part article on what to consider when fitting out a new cruising boat, while Tim Knight has helped Sail-World Cruising put together the 12 design tips to make the best sail-cover in the world!
Finally, our remote destination of the week is the Comoro Islands, off the east coast of Africa, a potential stop for cruising sailors taking the round Africa route from Asia to the Med. Harriet and Martin Ottenheimer, who spent 18 months in the islands, describe their entrancing experiences.
Read on, enjoy, and here's wishing you...
Smooth sailing!
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