Great support for local event

The assistance of many volunteers during Hog's Race Week indicates the high level of community support for local events.
The sailing club had a thank you BBQ for volunteers on Sunday afternoon. Club Commodore John Usher said he and the Hog's Race Week management recognised the great job done both on and off the water to make Race Week an excellent event.
"You can't do it without the valuable help of your volunteers. Many are not even sailors, they are just community minded people who always front up and help out and we certainly do thank them," Commodore Usher said.
Race Week co-ordinator Max Ryan told On the Waterfront that there were 48 volunteers involved in conducting the event.
"It's amazing really, when you consider that from our Olympic race official Tony Denham, the on water staff, boat crews and the like, to computer and support people and people cleaning up, they are all volunteers. In our first management plan there were 34 volunteers listed. We ended up with 48 who were all needed and who we thank for all their hard work," Mr Ryan said.
A little bit of figuring would come up with some numbers. Forty-eight volunteers working for one hundred dollars a day would be worth a minimum of almost five thousand dollars per day before the organisers give them lunch. There was five days of racing, so you could say the community donated twenty-five thousand dollars of 'time' towards the successful running of Race Week. Before Lunch.
However, people do it for the love of sport and the community benefits many times over for the work these people do. Last year may have been the Year of the Volunteer but the entire community benefits from the many activities toward which people put their time.

Maritime Festival

The annual Paddling Through History Festival will be held on September 20, 21 and 22 in Airlie Beach with many activities on the programme. Organisers still need a couple of support boats and drivers for one day. If you can help call 4948 0980.

Switched on sailors

Communication technology and the ever-increasing availability of personal computers is enabling clubs and race organisers to rethink the old ways of disseminating information to competitors.
This year, for the first time, the Notice of Race for Hamilton Island Race Week was only available electronically and all 179 entries were processed online. Apparently, only one skipper indicated he did not have Internet access, so Hamilton Island Yacht Club officials keyed in his details for him.
The print saving was immense, the results were immediate, and it spared the need for organisers to re-type the details into their computer system.

Sailing goes mobile

Mobile phones with SMS text messaging are being used in yacht racing overseas and may have a place in future events in Australia. In the UK recently, Cowes Combined Clubs undertook an experiment with over 500 of the 893 entries racing at Cowes Week using SMS texting of courses to their mobile phones.
Computer operators input the course that has been set by the race officers, the Sailmath software then converts this into a diagram and shows the estimated times of rounding each mark, as well as highlighting any course clashes.
At the 10-minute warning signal, the operator selects the class and presses "send". The list of telephone numbers for that class is sent via the web to an SMS gateway, together with the message string. Within 5 seconds of the operator sending the message, all the mobile phones for the class are beeping to show that the course has arrived.
It is also possible to send other messages, either to an individual boat, a class or the whole fleet, so competitors can be easily told of postponements etc. Competitor feedback was reportedly very positive.

News at sea

There is a number of radio 'nets' available to sailors as they voyage around the Pacific area. A net is a time and radio frequency where sailors can check in, get information and help, or just catch up with friends. Anyone with a short wave or Ham radio can tune in.
The Maritime nets operate on 14.315 MHz with the Pacific InterIsland Net at 0800 Z UTC each night and Tony's Net at 7.00am EST each day.

US enforces jackets

The United States Coast Guard will require all children under 13 years old to wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket, that fits, when underway on a recreational vessel: unless they are in an enclosed cabin or below decks.
The rule becomes effective December 23. Failure to have a child wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket will be treated the same as not having a life jacket readily available. Penalties may be assessed up to $1,100 maximum for each violation, but typically, they would be assessed in the $50 to $250 range per violation.
Captain Scott Evans, Chief of the U.S. Coast Guard's Boating Safety Office in Washington, D.C., pointed out, " Some States already have life jacket requirements in place and the age requirements may vary from State to State. The Coast Guard rule recognizes a State's requirements and accepts them as the Federal standard."
"Our latest report shows that 28 children perished while boating in just one year. Too many parents, families, as well as this nation are losing our most cherished gifts to a death that could be prevented in most cases," said Evans.
"Our youth are already wearing protective gear when roller blading, skateboarding and bicycling. Lifejackets are protective equipment for water related activities and must be worn to be effective. Statistics show that life jackets save lives."
In 2000, life jackets could have saved the lives of approximately 445 boaters who drowned." says U.S. Coast Guard

Cid Island light restored
Mariners are advised that the Fl.6s light at the southern end of Cid Island in the Whitsunday Group has been restored to normal. Charts affected: AUS 252, 253, 824.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

-Albert Einstein

Fair winds to Ye!
Cap'n Dan
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Final Hog's Race Week results

Series Results [PHS] for Division 3.2 shows that local's did well.
1 OUT OF THE BLUE Frank Brace Cairns; - 3 IDLE TIME Kev Fogarty WSC; - 4 WOBBLY BOOT Craig Piccinelli WSC; 6 SPORTSCAR Aaron Smith WSC; 9 DEHLER MAGIC Charlie/Greg Preen/T WSC; 10 DECEPTION Murray Sanders WSC; 12 X2 Peter Millar WSC; 15 BREAKAWAY Robert Davis WSC; 16 BYO Dave Turner WSC/CYCA; 19 FALLEN ANGELS Murray Kennedy WSC; 21 JUNGLE JUICE Graham/Colin Jiggins WSC; 22 L J HOOKER C R Nicoll WSC; 23 RUSH HOUR Warren Smith APYC; 25 DADDY LONG LEGS Jim Garner Mackay.

Big fines for fishers

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol have applauded record fines against an illegal fishing operation in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Commercial fisherman, Darren John May (master) and Corey James Juckes, an assistant fisherman were successfully prosecuted in Rockhampton Magistrates Court for intentionally fishing in a Marine National Park "B Zone" (May) and negligently fishing in Marine National Park "B Zone" (Juckes). Penalties were $27 500 and court costs.
According to the Chair of the GBRMPA, Virginia Chadwick, this was the first prosecution under a new provision, by the Federal Government, inserted in the GBRMP Act in July 2001. Maximum penalties under this new provision are $220 000 for an individual and $1.1million for a company.
The highest fine for illegal commercial fishing prior to this was $5000.
"We are very pleased with this outcome. It is a sign of our increased capability in the enforcement of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act. We have substantially increased our intelligence networks and our eyes and ears on the sea, in the air and on shore.
"Secondly, the fines reflect the significance of the threat posed to fisheries in the Marine Park by illegal fishing and lastly this case demonstrates that compliance is a high priority for the Authority in its management of the Marine Park," Mrs Chadwick said.
Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers in the Northern Swains Reef area detected the offences on November 29, 2001. The fishermen were operating from the commercial line vessel "Fram Too".
Acting Magistrate Mark Morrow said the fines should act as a deterrent to all illegal activity within a Marine National Park "B Zone" commonly referred to as a Green Zone.
Mr Morrow noted that the Master fisher had knowingly entered the Green Zone purely for commercial gain ignoring the serious impact such activity would have on the reef that had been protected for the past 14 years.


Cup embarrassment
Sailors have been surveyed as to the best reasons for sailors to be embarrassed by the America's Cup.
Forty per cent of respondees said too much legal bickering was the most embarrassing aspect of the Auld Mug contest. Extravagant expenditures embarrassed twenty-seven per cent of sailors while resulting poor publicity about boats that break and sink attracted twenty per cent.


Doin' in tough!
Sailors on Hong Kong entry Moonblue II sailing in the Hog's Race Week had a one horsepower blender on board. When you sail with twenty-four crew, drink time must be such a chore. Safety trainer and sailing master Teki Dalton pointed out to Waterfront that the blender was also gimballed so the fancy drinks would not spill if sailing.


Jellyfish

About 95 per cent of a jellyfish's body is composed of water. So on a percentage basis it suggests the dangerous jellyfish is only five per cent troublesome.


Cid Island light unlit

Mariners are advised that the Fl.6s light in approximate position Latitude 20°16.5'S, Longitude 148°54.5'E at the southern end of Cid Island in the Whitsunday Group has been reported unlit. Mariners should use caution when navigating in the area. Charts affected: AUS 252, 253, 824



"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
* Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes


Fair winds to Ye!
Cap'n Dan


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Hog's final results
Hog's Breath Race Week, Airlie Beach, Winners:
* IRC Division - Aftershock - Colin O'Neil, Sydney
* National Sydney 38 Class Championship - Another Challenge - Lou Abrahams, Melbourne
* Cruising - Panacea - Peter Helm, Sydney
* Multihulls - OMR - Trilogy - Keith Glover, Brisbane
* Multihulls - PHS - Zippy - Bernie and Dalwyn McErland, Whitsundays
* PHS Division 1 - Moonblue 2 - Peter Churchhouse
* PHS Division 2 - Out Of The Blue - Frank Brace, Cairns

Local boats scored well in stiff competition:
Sydney 38 - Asylum - Wayne Kirkpatrick - Hamilton Island - National titles 6th place.
IRC Div 2 - 5th SENSATION - James Ingle - Mackay YC
PHS - 6th ODYSSEY - Bill Gleeson - Whitsunday SC
Cruising - 2nd EARL GREY - Norm House - Whitsunday
7th TREASURE - Harold Menelaus - Whitsunday SC
8th RISQUE - Paul Johnson - Whitsunday SC
9th ELYARA - Jeff Brown - Whitsunday SC

Multihulls: 2nd HIGHLY STRUNG - Leo Rodriguez - Whitsunday SC
3rd EMULTIHULLS.COM - Keith Roberts - Whitsunday SC


Book review
Freshwater fishing in Queensland 2nd edition
By M Hollaway

A new and updated second edition of this guide has now been released. The first edition was very popular with anglers with requests for updated information frequent. The guide now covers 84 dams, weirs and rivers throughout Queensland that have been regularly stocked with native fish. Fishing locations range from the Dumaresq River on the Queensland-New South Wales border, north to the Endeavour River near Cooktown and as far west as Moondarra Dam, Mt Isa. This is much more than a guide to freshwater fishing locations within Queensland. Its 168 pages provide a vast range of information to make any fishing trip more enjoyable. For each fishing location, details are provided on local accommodation, picnic and recreational facilities, boating choices, the local fishing guide and local businesses where you can purchase your fishing permit. Additionally, there's information on what fish are being caught and data on the number of fish that have been stocked. Now there's 17 colour plates of fish that you are likely to catch, details about the new fishing permit - the Stocked Impoundment Permit, and helpful tips from some well-known freshwater specialist anglers to ensure a better-than-average chance of success. There's also an expanded section on exotic pest fish to help you identify these species, understand where you may catch them and what to do with them if you do catch them.

9999999 ends 00000000

PG0802 On the Waterfront

Racing despite lack of facilities


The lack of marina facilities is the number one problem faced by race organisers this week as a 107-boat fleet competes in Hog's Breath Race Week.
With the cream of Aussie and international yachts competing in Airlie Beach, there are just not enough marina berths or deep-water moorings to accommodate the yachts, say race organisers.
At least one owner of a large yacht considered retiring from the series because of the lack of facilities.
"Abel Point Marina have been great, but we would still be short of berths but for the help of the local marine community," says Hog's Breath Race Week coordinator Max Ryan. "They (Abel Pt) know the problem, that's why they want to build another marina."
"Private owners have helped by moving their boats out of the marina. Commercial operators such as Terry Kemp and Terry Hudson were fantastic. This event would have had more trouble without the help of these two and other community minded people."
" The most fantastic thing is that to these guys nothing is a problem. The attitude is; "Yes mate, what can I do for you?" says Max
"Another example is Tony Mahood who moved his boat out of the marina and gave his berth for two Sydney 38s" Max said.
"When boats are racing they have extra gear that they don't want on board, especially if they have sailed up the coast with all kinds of spare gear. They can't function on a mooring." Max added.
The organisers have had to arrange boats to take people out to their yachts anchored in the bay. Companies such as Ocean Rafting and Maxi Ragamuffin have been good enough to bring their tenders around to help, but they also have a business to run and time is precious. The thirty volunteers required to conduct the event are spread thin on the ground (water?) when extra jobs are demanded.
Two yachts, Aftershock and Hollywood Boulevard rafted up to the barge Major Dundee for a few nights, but the barge has other work and cannot hang about. The race officials were thankful for the assistance received from the barge operators and staff.
David Edge Salvage were busy with their own work, but anchored their tug Union Star out in the bay to help provide a mooring facility.

"The community support has been wonderful. Local business have been so supportive with Marine Tech Electrics, All Marine Services, Coral Sea Resort, Marlin Marine, Hospac, Airlie Engineering and Whitsunday Marine and Protective Coatings doing all manner of things at odd times to ensure the success of Race Week. Sorry if I have missed anyone. Add to this the thirty-plus volunteers and you can see that it is a real community effort" Mr Ryan told On the Waterfront.

Business people, shop owners, chandlers, bars, butchers, bakers and you know the rest, all miss out on trade because people with nice big yachts can't get a suitable berth in a marina in Airlie Beach. Big white super yachts sail right past - even though they would like to stop - because we do not have the facilities to accommodate them. They need deep-water berths, with a real power supply and something better than a concrete block dunny locked after hours.

Sailors meet

The Board of the Australian Yachting Federation (AYF) met in Airlie Beach last week taking advantage of the activities surrounding the Hog's Breath Race Week.
One issue raised and agreed too is that in future the AYF will align sail training to the requirements of the Australian National Training Authority and the Australian Quality Training Framework.
The Queensland Yachting Association (QYA) also held meetings during the week including a general meeting at the Able Point Yacht Club. The meeting was well attended by members with 'standing room only'.
On the agenda were competition, reports, Olympic matters and training. The QYA has been working on training for some years and has been leading the country, so it was good to have the AYF confirm that they would follow the National Training framework.
While in Airlie Beach the Executive Officer of QYA, Bruce Chapman, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Maritime Skills Whitsunday (operated by your Waterfront writer) to provide advice on training and assessment, quality assurance and to issue credentials attained under the Quality Training Framework. This was the first agreement of this nature signed by QYA.



Young Endeavour

Each year the Queensland Yachting Association sponsors a berth aboard the sail-training vessel STV Young Endeavour. This means some lucky person between the ages of 16 and 23 can sail the high seas on Australia's sail training vessel. The voyages embark in early 2003 so nominations should still be sent to QYA even though the application date has closed.

Little boat : big trip
Russian sailor Evgeny Gvozdev left Darwin this week on a 3.7m boat bound for the Cocos Islands to continue his second solo circumnavigation. He finished his first circumnavigation on a 5.5m Micro-class boat in 1997. In the current circumnavigation, Gvozdev did not go through the Panama Canal but passed through the Estrecho de Magallanes in Chile, says a Boating OZ report.


Pole to abandon Canada

The Magnetic North Pole is on the move and will soon abandon Canada, avoid Alaska and eventually wind up in Russia says Larry Newitt, a researcher with the Geological Survey of Canada.

Newitt says that the magnetic pole is on the move. It has steadily drifted for
decades and has picked up speed in recent years. He says that at its current speed, it could exit Canadian territory as soon as 2004. Moreover, says Newitt, if the pole follows its present course, it will pass north of Alaska and arrive in Siberia in a half-century.

If you are worried that you may soon have to trade in your old compass for a GPS to know where you are, don't. Researcher Newitt cautions that such predictions could be wrong.


Fair winds to Ye!

Cap'n Dan