Comments about YachtBlast Sailing Show

Island 92s sailing/maritime show broadcasts from St. Maarten, the Yachting Capitol of the Caribbean. The show is heard by listeners in St. Maarten/St. Martin, Anguilla, Statia, Saber and St.Barts and worldwide via the internet. YachtBlast is also available as a weekly podcast from Itunes or you can download it by following the instructions on www.yachtblast.com If you would like to comment on the show or its contents then please do. The sea is such an amazing subject and the people who work and sail the oceans are a joy to know, although I don't always agree with what they do or say. Your comments will probably be read out on the show, so mean what you say and have at it. Cheers, Gary.

Where have you hidden the Bilge Pump!

Three men were rescued from the overturned hull of their sports fishing boat last week after being adrift for eight days in the Gulf of Mexico. The coastguard searched for the men for seven days, covering an are of 86,000 square miles before calling off the search. Fortunately the men were spotted the very next day by a yacht and plucked to safety. Talking to the press about the ordeal, one of the fishermen said he woke to find the beanbag he was sleeping on was afloat and a few minutes later the boat capsized. He said the accident was caused by a water extractor malfunction...
Fancy going to sea without a bilge pump!

Sailor Ted RIP

Senator Ted Kennedy passed away on Wednesday. A couple of years ago, I was sailing off the Kennedy compound up there in Cap Cod. I was with a friend on his 18 foot day boat when we came across Ted and his wife sailing their lovely little traditional dingy. The winds were very light and Ted sailed right along side us. He shouted, "Good morning, beautiful day isn’t it," and then he tacked away. There was just him and his wife enjoying the water with no security insight. I came away with lovely memories of that day. May Ted rest in piece.

Old farts, young sailors, and those all important records.

Light winds in the north Atlantic have delayed 17 year-old Mike Perham's bid to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world. Now this is quite an achievement for Perham although he made many stops along the way on what was originally meant to be a nonstop circumnavigation. Perham had all sorts of problems, which had to be solved by his farther and a parade of technicians who seemed to turn up at every port. The lad also lost some credibility when he reportedly turned off his boat tracking device as he sailed through the Caribbean, because he was worried about pirates. Yes, it’s still a marvelous achievement by one so young but, if three teenage girls get there way the young Englishman will soon look like a pussy. The first is 16 year old Australian Jessica Watson. She plans to sail unaided and nonstop east about via the great Capes. Jessica will tackle the 22,000 mile voyage in a 34-foot production sloop and, according to her website; she’s leaving in mid September. Then there’s 15 year old Abigail Sunderland. She’s the sister of 17 year old Zac Sunderland. Zac recently sailed into Marina Del Ray in Los Angeles to become the youngest person to circumnavigate. Abigail says she wants to go one better than her brother and circumnavigate nonstop. Now her family is looking for a sponsor willing to dump 350,000 dollars into the pot to finance her adventure. Also throwing her hat into the ring is Dutch 13-year old Laura Dekker. Her parents say she is ready to sail nonstop around the world. However, civil servants in her home town say no way, and have refused to give her permission to be absent from school. It’s beginning to sound like reality TV isn’t it. The Sailing Anarchy website has taken up this story and reports that the ‘Unborn Sailor Association’ has announced their new effort to break the record. They say an unborn fetus named 'Baby Ernesto', will attempt to sail around the world nonstop and unassisted, to become the youngest sailor ever to do so. “They want young, we'll give 'em young,” says Sailing Anarchy. Given the fact that it’s hard to be younger than an unborn, we feel confident that this record will truly stand the test of time.
I support youngsters who want to sail nonstop around the world. But hey, do it right. If you say you are going nonstop, then make sure you prepare the boat properly on the understanding that once out there your parents are not going to get you out of the s**t. If you succeed, great, until some parent sanctions another record attempt by someone even younger who dies along the way and brings the efforts of all young sailors into disrepute.

Hurricanes. One near miss and now a monster is on the way

Hurricanes are the price we pay for all our Caribbean Sunshine, but sunshine is no consolation to anyone sitting in the path of an approaching cyclone. Experiencing such weather on land is bad enough. Facing the same while at anchor is worse. Going through a hurricane while at sea doesn’t event bear thinking about. Yet, when we experience a hurricane in St. Maarten, usually all three scenarios play out. I’ve been to a remembrance service for sailors who thought they could outrun a hurricane. When hurricane Luis devastated St. Maarten in 1995, people came out the other side knowing what they did right and what they did wrong. Some 1200 boats were sunk or tossed ashore during Luis; it was a sight to see. Most of the sailors who went through Luis have left the islands, and few people remember how it was. This has taken us back to 1995. Now I hear sailors talk about how they once anchored in 60 knots of wind and they aint scared of no storm! They’re the ones who leave their roller furling headsails attached, kick out two anchors on string, and parade around the bars with a rum bottle in one hand and their boat insurance policy in the other. God bless them. Here’s a few links that might help you track the storms: http://www.weathercarib.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane
http://www.crownweather.com/?page_id=29

Storms on horizon as St. Maarten Simpson Bay Bridge closes for repairs

With the tropics heating up and storms on the horizon, mariners should take note! Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation hereby announces that as of Monday, August 17 the Simpson Bay Bridge will be close to maritime traffic for a two-week period to facilitate additional repair work. Boat owners and captains therefore must decide whether they will leave their vessel in the lagoon or in the bay. The last bridge openings will be on Sunday, August 16 for inbound and outbound vessels.

Hurricane updates make me smile.

The weather gurus at Colorado state university have again looked into their crystal ball and rattled the chicken bones and come up with a new prediction for the hurricane season. Not bad now that were half way through it. The scientists, in their wisdom, have downgraded the forecast and now say we can expect ten tropical storms, four of which will become hurricanes. Of those four, they say two will reach major status, that’s category three or more. I shouldn’t knock the prediction because even if they’re only half right it’s better than their December prediction which said we could expect 14 tropical storms and seven hurricanes. The last time I poked fun at the hurricane forecasters I got into trouble, and some one called to say I didn’t take hurricanes seriously enough. Having ridden out hurricane Louis while at anchor and experienced many hurricanes since, believe me I take them very seriously in deed.