Antiguan Governor-General Sir James Carlisle is to attend a reception on 16 January when he will be shown around the tall ship ‘Tenacious’ in the company of Amanda Butcher, chief executive of the Jubilee Sailing Trust and Captain Simon Catterson. 

The Jubilee Trust is a unique charity that aims to promote the integration of able and disabled sailors to sail side by side as a team. The Trust built and constructed two purpose built Tall Ships, Lord Nelson and Tenacious. Tenacious was built by a team of professional shipwrights and volunteers of mixed ability, in the spirit of the JST ethos of integration. Launched in September, 2000, she is the largest wooden tall ship of her kind to be built in the UK in the last 100 years. She has taken over 5,500 people to sea, of these over 2,140 have been physically disabled.

NOAA Fisheries Division has issued an alert to all North Atlantic cruisers to keep a sharp lookout for the Right Whale as the “calving” birthing season continues. The season lasts from mid November to mid April while pregnant females migrate from the feeding grounds off Canada and New England to the warm waters of South Carolina, Georgia and northeastern Florida.

Numbering only 300 in the world, the North Atlantic Right Whale is the most endangered marine mammal and even the loss of one would have a serious effect on the population.

A New Plymouth, New Zealand sailor, Lindsay Wright, was plucked from his sinking yacht on Tuesday, 9 Jan 2007, after the trimaran had been holed by a pod of playful whales.

Shortly after he had been rescued by St Johns Ambulance helicopter rescuer Donna Austin, he watched in disbelief as his yacht, Loose Goose, sank beneath the waves.

Wright, an experienced sailor, said he and a large bull humpback whale had stared, eye to eye, for about 30 seconds before it submerged, and Wright heard a loud cracking noise. He said a pod of about 6 whales had played around the yacht for about 10 minutes. 

COLLINS STEWART LONDON BOAT SHOW   5 – 14 JANUARY, 2007. 

The Collins Stewart London Boat show sets sail on the 5^th January, 2007 with a new look and layout and the addition of some fantastic interactive feature.

One interactive feature is a mechanical anchor structure which will give you a hands-on experience of, for example, freeing the anchor if someone has laid his chain over yours, or anchoring without a windlass.

A Fog Tunnel has also been constructed which you allow you to experience the frightening aspects of sailing in heavy fog. There are special effects that will teach you about navigation, together with tips and advice.                       

The Breitling Emergency Watches come with a built-in micro transmitter which broadcasts an aircraft emergency rescue signal. It’s made for pilots and aircrews as a backup for their plane’s emergency signal, but there’s no reason you can’t use it if you get lost in Midtown. The Breitling watch activates the signal for 48 hours when you unscrew the protective cap and pull out the antenna. It broadcasts over flat terrain for up to 100 miles, so it might be good for sea kayaking—you’ll just have to tell them your plane sunk before they arrived.

via Team Geared Up