In a dinghy at night, carry a light

Have you ever been stopped by the coastguard for failing to show a light while in you dinghy at night. Well it just happened to a friend of mine and he wasn’t too happy to be handed a fine. Having almost smashed into a couple of dinghies that were running through the lagoon without lights, I can tell you it’s a hell of a shock. And over the years, several people have been killed on the lagoon because someone wasn’t showing a light. I had this discussion with another friend of mine, a very experienced captain, and he suggested we take a look at what the regulations call for. So, for my piece of mind as well as yours, here they are. A vessel under oars or paddles of less than 7 meters / 23.0 ft must have an electric torch or lighted lantern showing a white light which can be shown in sufficient time to prevent collision. Now this is where it gets interesting. A power-driven vessel of less than 7 meters or 23.0 ft with a maximum speed of less than 7 knots may display only an all-round white light. However, if practical, these should also show sidelights. Now, the way I read it is that a small dinghy with an outboard must show an all-round white light. What is unclear is what lights you need if your small dinghy and outboard is capable of speeds above 7 knots, and that would include a small inflatable with a 15 horsepower outboard. Does the speed lift you into the next category, which is a power-driven vessel of between 7 and 12 meters and if it does, then should you display an all-round white light and sidelights?

St. Maarten! What if they held a Charter Boat Show and nobody came?

Although you might not know it, as there has been little local rah rah rah this year, the MYBA St. Maarten Charter Show opens its doors on Friday. According to the MYBA website, 28 yachts are taking part and that’s down from the 38 that attended last year. The Concourse de Chef will again be a highlight along with the Taste of St. Maarten and the Yacht Hop. With high bridge and mooring fees still plaguing yachts entering St. Maarten, and the Charter Boat Show in Antigua cranking-up on the 7th, it will be interesting to see just how much support the SXM show receives this year. A poor turnout and bad press could sound the death knell for an event that started out with such fanfare and promise. There’s no doubt that the marine industry benefits from this show, and right now they need all the support they can get. But what about the local population, what would they think if the Exhibition should fold? Well, frankly Scarlet, they don’t give a damn, and that’s a shame. Poor local PR is worse than no PR and MYBA have only themselves to blame for that. The MYBA Charter Yacht Show runs from December 4 - 7

Cup boats fear winds that ten year old in optimist would treat with contempt!

From the announcements made every week, one would surmise that the America’s Cup will take place. But what kind of race will it be, I dread to think. On November 11th the Société Nautique de Genève, in their role as defender of the 33rd America’s Cup, published the Notice of Race that will govern the event. And this calls for the first race to take place in Valencia, Spain on Monday February 8th, 2010. Less than ten weeks away. When I read that, I got all excited, but then I read some more. Included in the notice of race is this amazing piece of nonsense … the races won’t start if the wind exceeds fifteen knots or the waves are more than one meter high. And they say they have done this to ensure the safety of competitors, officials and spectators. All the millions they have spent on developing two of the most advanced sailboats the world has ever seen and they won’t race in winds that a ten year old in an optimist dinghy would treat with contempt. What have they done to the America’s Cup?

What a load of Bull!

Now that disgraced investor Bernard Madoff has been thrown in jail, the authorities are selling of his assets. The latest to go are his three yachts which fell under the auctioneer’s hammer on Monday. The yacht’s, a 55 foot-1969 Rybovich Sport Fisher, a 38 foot-2003 Shelter Island Runabout, and 23 foot- Maverick Boat Co. 2400 Center Console, all have the word bull in their name: There’s Bull, Little Bull, and Sitting Bull. Strangely there’s no Bull Shit, perhaps he’s saving that for when and if he ever gets out. The auctioneers were waiting to see if Madoff’s notoriety would add to the price and push the bids to a higher level.

Hey skip, chuck another shrimp on the barbie!

Who do you think invented BBQ? Well according to the St Maarten Charter Yacht Exhibition it was the Arawak Indians of the 17th century. Hard to imagine isn’t it all those Arawaks sitting around drinking beer and saying chuck another shrimp on the Barbie. Anyway, barbecue is the theme of this year’s Concourse de Chef Competition at the charter boat show in December. Competing chefs will be asked to use any fish, shell fish, land based protean, vegetable or fruit found in the Caribbean Basin. This will be a two lunch format, main course and desert. Registration is now open and limited to twenty chefs. You should be able to download the registration form from www.mybacaribbeanshow.com or contact the administrators on 599 544 2436. The exhibition ruins from December 4th to the 7th.

America's Cup... yaaawn ....

Well it had to happen, the New York Supreme Court have ruled that the Société Nautique de Genève cannot hold the America's Cup in Ras Al Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates. The SNG, the yacht club representing Cup Defender Alinghi, had announced the emirate as the venue several months ago. But its challenger, BMW/Oracle, objected in court. Unfortunately for the Swiss syndicate, whose lawyers, I suspect, are now looking for another job, they had already shipped their boat to the emirate. Pretty cocky that. In her ruling, Justice Shirley Kornreich said that the February 2010 event must take place in a venue in the Southern Hemisphere as per the competition's governing document, the famous Deed of Gift, or in Valencia, Spain, where the last America's Cup was held. The Golden Gate Yacht Club, which represents challengers BMW/Oracle, was said to be pleased with the ruling. All the money they have spent arguing, and now they’re back looking at Valencia as a venue. It’s more like a bad soap opera than a yacht race.

SMYC News: Yacht Racing back with a vengeance

November sees the start of the St. Maarten Yacht Club Keelboat Racing Season and the club has come up with a whole new idea. Points will be awarded for yachts that take part in races throughout the season and these include the French side Course de L’Alliance, Captain Oliver’s Regatta, the Anguilla Regatta and the Statia/Nevis Race. There are 13 races and a total of 14 points up for grabs. The season will end with the presentation of perpetual trophies for spinnaker and non-spinnaker classes at the St. Maarten Yacht Club on Saturday July 24th next year. The first of the races is around the cans and that’s on Sunday the 22nd of November and it’s followed the week after by the Course de L’Alliance. People have fought hard to bring yacht racing back to the SMYC and this series deserves everyone's full support. I’ll be talking to someone about how and why this 13 race series came about on YachtBlast next week, in the mean time if you want more details then email info@smyc.com or log on to http://www.smyc.com