tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37069872024-03-06T18:25:01.778+10:00On the Whitsunday WaterfrontHappenings around the Waterfront - - - Whitsunday - The Heart of Australia's Great Barrier Reef
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As published each week in The Whitsunday Coast Guardian - for all your Whitsunday news.
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Cap'n Dan Van Blarcom
***********************Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger443125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-42489579909564333462013-09-10T06:45:00.000+10:002013-09-10T06:51:51.363+10:00Onboard with Marine Studies<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN> <SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Onboard with Marine Studies<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Marine studies have been an important part of our high school for some years and with the announcement by the Marine Teachers Association of Queensland of their annual conference to be held at Griffith University on the Gold Coast it is a good time to reflect on what is a success in our education system.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Our Whitsunday region has a strong focus on water both salt and fresh and everything to do with on and under water.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">A very high local boat ownership means a possible career path for young people in science, servicing and safe operating of craft that is fuelled by engagement of youth in the positive outcomes of marine studies at an appropriate age.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">I don't believe there is a better mission statement than that of the MTAQ: "To foster curiosity, imagination, knowledge and enthusiasm for 'real world' science and vocational maritime studies for Primary, Middle and Secondary school students MTAQ has established the following community and government partnership projects. .<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Our list of achievements includes publications, professional development programs, agreements and memoranda of understanding, certificates and licences for members, a curriculum exchange of ideas, exam papers and teaching pedagogy, professional development programs, workshops and conferences."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">As a commercial ship operator I have found over the years that the youth that have attended High School Marine Studies courses have been interested, engaged and seeking for further their knowledge of our marine environment. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The conference will in collaboration with the Griffith University School of Environment, Engineering and Technology Department and MTAQ invites all Marine teachers and support staff to attend.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">With the 2014 implementation of the Queensland Studies Authority new Marine Science syllabus, Marine Scientists at Griffith University have come on board with the new syllabus and run workshops<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>to enable teachers to deliver with Marine Science 'best practice'. Teachers will have the opportunity to learn real marine science from real marine scientists. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The conference is intended to help teachers make the learning of science accessible and engaging, and ultimately to improve student performance in science and help build a community with a high level of scientific literacy.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">For further information or to see the activities and resources available check out <A href="http://www.marineteachers.org.au/">www.marineteachers.org.au/</A> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">City of Adelaide<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The two headlines from the same day and posted only an hour apart. The first reads "World's oldest clipper ship transported to Australia." The second "City of Adelaide clipper ship export ban sought."<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Both articles are about the clipper ship, City of Adelaide, the world's oldest surviving composite clipper ship and the only surviving sailing ship built to give regular passenger and cargo service between Europe and Australia.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>She is five years older than the composite clipper, Cutty Sark.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">After numerous delays, the Australian consortium intends to move the old ship by barge to Adelaide, Australia in just less than two months. Or not.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Meanwhile, the group which wants to keep the ship in Scotland has asked the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, to intervene to stop the move.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The old ship has been rotting at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine, Scotland for years. The museum, which lacked the funds to care for the ship, had threatened by scrap her.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In August 2010, Scottish Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop awarded the Australians the right to move the ship to Adelaide.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>That might have ended the argument, but so far, it has not.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The ship's rudder was transported to Adelaide in January.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Barring court action to block the move, the City of Adelaide may finally return to its namesake port later this year.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Yongala wreck</SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Mariners are advised that during this week buoy replacement and servicing of moorings will be undertaken during daylight hours on the Yongala wreck site 12 nautical miles east of Cape Bowling Green. The works will be conducted from the vessels 'PMG Harmony', barge 'PMG150' and dive vessel 'Louisanne'. The vessels will remain anchored in close proximity to above position, day shapes and lights will be displayed. Navigate with caution in this area. AUS charts 256, 257 & 827<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-60721112509927225722013-09-04T07:55:00.001+10:002013-09-04T07:55:36.411+10:00Race Week, Reef Fest; bang for Yer buck!<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Race Week, Reef Fest; bang for Yer buck!<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Schweppes Recycled Raft Race as part of the Whitsunday Reef Festival was so successful, it was fully subscribed, that a new plan might be needed in future.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">First, a huge 'thank you' to the mighty Lagoon Lifeguards without whom the event could not happen. Above and beyond the call of duty again our lifeguards protect the public 365 days a year. Ratepayers and Council should know that the Airlie Lagoon has arguably the best safety record on the east coast. The lifeguard crew are proud, but never complacent, about putting the safety of the public above all. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Schweppes Recycled Raft Race has grown to the point that it may have to be taken out to sea, as it was suggested that New Beach at Port of Airlie would be a good spot with a rounding mark to seawards. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">A beach atmosphere could be easily achieved with off beach sailing, iron person race, beach volleyball and mini fun race added to the calendar. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Sky High<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Everyone loves a good fireworks show and Friday night as part of the Reef Festival and concluding Abell Point Airlie Race Week the community got bang for their buck courtesy of sponsor Porter's Hardware.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Big noisy bangers beat those little arty-pharty sparklers so besides the blasting big bungers it was time to catch up with mates not seen for some time.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">For those out early Saturday morning; 0418 hours to be precise, six or eight on the rockets went skywards giving an extra boutique show for those night owls (yeah, don't ask!)and early market stall holders around the Airlie waterfront.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>The law?<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Recreational fishing and boating groups are really upset that a federal law change may see their activities sunk.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Thanks to a new commercial vessel law, if a recreational fisher goes out on a Kayak, films a fish capture on a GoPro camera and then uploads it to a tackle manufacturers Facebook page in exchange for some lures, they are breaking the law if they do not comply with commercial vessel requirements (i.e. vessel in survey)," say the Pleasure Cruising Club.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"The really unfair part of this is that the recreational fisher is now subject to commercial operator penalties which are court prosecuted offences.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Recreational Fishing and Marine Industry journalists and article authors are now in the firing line with enforcement agencies now actively threatening TV journalists with heavy enforcement action, <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"There are two pieces of new Law that you need to have regard to: the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Act 2012 - An Act to provide for a national law about marine safety for certain commercial vessels, and for related purposes. And Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Regulation 2013<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">These regulations sit under the Act and provide for the specification of a thing that is or is NOT a domestic commercial vessel.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Section 10 Definition of domestic commercial vesselthings that are not domestic commercial vessels<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">(1) For paragraph 7(5)(b) of the National Law, a vessel is not a domestic commercial vessel:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">(a) if it would, but for this section, be a domestic commercial vessel only because:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">(i) it is sponsored during a sporting event; or<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">(ii) it is being used for a promotional activity, including an activity to produce an advertisement, or as part of a film set; or<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">(iii) a person is paid to operate the vessel or to be a member of the crew of the vessel; or<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">(iv) a person (the trainee) pays another person to train the trainee in the trainee's vessel; or<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Club goes on to say that their members and "select Marine media personalities" have been threatened with big fines in Victoria. Stay tuned.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Underwater work<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Abbot Point coal terminal - diving operations will continue at Abbot Point Coal Terminal No. 1 and trestle until January 30, 2004. Diving operations will be conducted from <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>'M.V Shadows' and 'L.B Clam' during daylight hours only, both vessels will fly 'Alpha' during diving operations and monitor VHF channel 16. AUS charts 255 & 826 <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-80084975762726837232013-09-03T07:14:00.001+10:002013-09-03T07:14:31.936+10:00Race Week fun for you<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Race Week fun for you<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Part of the fun of Abell Point Marina Airlie Beach Race Week is getting involved helping out during the event if you are not racing. Whatever your skill set you will probably get a job if you get in contact with the sailing club. You could help on the water or on land and take part in all the activities while meeting a new circle of friends or catching up with long lost mates.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">You will be surprised at the people from across the country and overseas who will make the 24<SUP>th</SUP> annual event a fun filled success once again. You will work alongside volunteers who have assisted in international and Olympic events during the seven-day regatta sailed from August 9 to 16.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Tim Parker is coordinator of on water activities who told the Whitsunday Coast Guardian "We always have our volunteers who return year after year, however this time around we are seeing more new faces." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">For more information on Abell Point Marina Airlie Beach Race Week, please visit the official website at <A href="http://www.airlieraceweek.com/">www.airlieraceweek.com</A> or 49 466 138 <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Fun Fest for you too<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Don't fancy volunteering out on the water? No probs, as the Whitsunday Reef Festival also needs a hand. Here is a note from feisty Festie Margie Murphy<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Hey Festivalians, In two weeks time we will need as many helpers as we can get to host the <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>biggest party Airlie has ever seen! Could you please reply as to general hours/times you may be available and of anyone else you know who may be available and Chantal will put you in the roster." Cheers Margie.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><A href="mailto:secretary@whitsundayreeffestival.com.au">secretary@whitsundayreeffestival.com.au</A> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Alice Springs lighthouse?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">One of the 424 lighthouses taking part world wide actually is in the middle of Australia. This big brown land is a very big island nation and at its geographic centre 1,500 kilometres from the coast is Alice Springs, which hosts the famous Henley-On-Todd Boat Regatta each August - albeit on a usually dry river bed.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Northern Territorians and many visitors take the annual iconic event very seriously with up to 3,000 witnessing the regatta, which began in 1962.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">One of the driest parts of Australia deserves registration this year in the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. With the help of the Henley-On-Todd team, a lighthouse has been built to promote the spirit of amateur radio and lighthouses.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">If you want to register a lighthouse, lightship or marine beacon in this year's event on August the 17th and 18th then visit the website <A href="http://www.illw.net/">www.illw.net</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Yarr! Thar be Pirates!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Having successfully repelled boarders in the shape of the Federal election, International Talk Like a Pirate Day in Airlie Beach is on Saturday September 14. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Old fish and the sea<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">A fisherman in Alaska took home a catch for the ages when he reeled in a 40-pound shortraker rockfish that experts believe is at least 200 years old.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The record-setting shortraker fish was hauled from a depth of approximately 900 feet.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"I knew it was abnormally big but I didn't know it was a record until on the way back we looked in the Alaska guide book that was on the boat," the fisher said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Troy Tidingco, Sitka area manager for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the fish is still being analysed but he believes it is at least 200 years old beating the current record of 175 years. Researchers are able to determine the age of a shortraker by the number of growth rings along its ear bone.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">If the fish is actually as old as believed, it would easily predate the Alaska Purchase from Russia in 1867. Scientists say they still don't fully understand animal longevity. The oldest known animal on record was a clam believed to have been 400-years-old.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Mariner Notice<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Whitsundays pilotage area - north of Fitzalan Passage. Mariners are advised that the lighted special marker buoy F1 Y 2.5s in Fitzalan Passage between Whitsunday Island and Henning Island, is reported to be off station. The current reported position of the maker buoy is latitude 20° 17.21' S, longitude 148° 54.60' S to the north west of Reef Point. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Mariners are advised to take extreme caution when navigating in the area. AUS charts 367 & 822<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-41571129814138419672013-08-05T18:07:00.001+10:002013-08-05T18:07:44.093+10:00World First graces Port of Airlie Marina<DIV> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>World First graces Port of Airlie <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>By Cap'n Dan Van Blarcom<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><EM> </EM></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG><EM>Super yacht colours Airlie waterfront<o:p></o:p></EM></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG><EM> </EM></STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The new superyacht berths at Port of Airlie Marina are already attracting the high class of yacht sure to be drawn to the safe deep water port within an easy walk of Airlie Beach and fast cruising distance to the Great Barrier Reef.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Newly berthed is Motor Yacht MARY-ROSE a Delfino 93 launched by Benetti yachts in Viareggio, Italy in May 2011.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>A very noticeable aspect of M/Y MARY-ROSE is the chameleon colour scheme that yacht spotters have noticed; it changes with the mood of the owner. This is possible as she sports the world's first exterior LED lighting system; a technology that illuminates the exterior areas in over 30 different colour combinations and tones, varying with the chromatic appearance. This produces optimal lighting and atmosphere at all times in any light conditions.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Built exclusively for a demanding Australia owner, MARY-ROSE is the second motor yacht of the new Delfino 93 series of 28.50m "pocket superyachts" by Benetti that debuted at the Cannes Boat Show in 2010.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>MARY-ROSE was designed by Stefano Righini with an interior by Carlo Galeazzi. Built in composite MARY-ROSE is designed to accommodate up to ten guests in comfort and style.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>MARY-ROSE special features include a customized audio system, allowing optimal enjoyment of music selections both inside and outside the yacht. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Powered by twin 747kW Caterpillars, M/Y MARY-ROSE has a range of 1,500 nautical miles at 12 knots.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-73930218184101052262013-08-05T18:05:00.001+10:002013-08-05T18:05:51.110+10:00Reef Fest Recyclable Raft Race<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Reef Fest Recyclable Raft Race<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Whitsunday Reef Festival Schweppes Recyclable Raft Race will be sailed at 3 O'clock Sunday afternoon August 18 at the Airlie Lagoon.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Get your entry in now by following the simple provisional rules informed by the Pirate's Code - guidelines really- that the craft be made of clean recycled materials sailed / paddled by two or more crew and may be recycled into a JJ Richards bin following the race. Rules Note: Subject to judge's whim or payoff and of course no correspondence will be entered into; see 'fine print'.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Over the last few years a wonderful collection of quite creative craft has taken to the water; some have even managed to float! However under the watchful eye of our mighty Lagoon lifeguards we haven't lost anyone, although the level of seamanship has left something to be improved upon.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Whitsunday Reef Festival -15-18 August- is a celebration and showcase of our vibrant and diverse community. Now in its 13th year, a rich history has developed in the community bringing different people together to celebrate what we all share, a fabulous lifestyle and beautiful place in the tropical north to call home.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Enter now and get an extra sponsor's prize if you can answer correctly; "what is the oldest soft drink in the world"<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">To enter or further details and fine print - <A href="mailto:raftrace@theelectricparrot.com">raftrace@theelectricparrot.com</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Sometin' Fishy<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Two people were caught with approximately 150 alleged reef fish including approximately 100 Red Emperor. The owner of a recreational fishing vessel was reported for the allegedly poaching from "no-take" protected zones. The suspect was intercepted by Qld Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers and charged with State-Fisheries offences. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Lady sails globe<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Seventy-year-old Jeanne Socrates, believed to be the oldest female sailor to make a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe is now home in British Columbia, Canada.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Socrates an amateur radio operator KC2IOV set out from Victoria's Inner Harbor in her 36 foot cruiser Nereida in October 2012<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">This was not Socrates first attempt having made two previous attempts. The first ended in Cape Town, South Africa in 2009 and the second journey concluded in January 2011 with damage to her boat in a storm off Cape Horn.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Socrates, a grandmother and retired teacher is raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care, a UK based program that provides free home nursing for terminally ill cancer patients.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">300 lighthouses ready<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">A milestone of 325 worldwide registrations has been reached for next month's International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend August 17/18.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Over 30 countries are represented with Australia and Germany leading with 50 each. Then USA on 40, England has 30, Argentina 20 and Sweden 15.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Now in the 16th year, the annual event promotes public awareness of traditional marine navigation methods, amateur radio and to foster international goodwill. Guidelines and registration <A href="http://www.illw.net/">www.illw.net</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Weather; windy<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Be sure to check out the new and easy-to-use timeline feature for marine area wind forecasts from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology marine wind forecast maps website. Also, the maps now use forecasts from BOM's high-resolution computer model.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><A href="http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/wind">www.bom.gov.au/marine/wind</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Mariner Notice<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Dent Passage </SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">- a lighted Special Mark buoy Fl Y has been temporarily established in Dent Passage between Dent Island and Hamilton Island to mark the position of a submarine water pipeline. The buoy is expected to be in position for up to two (2) weeks. AUS charts affected: 252, 253, 254 & 824<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Cap'n Dan</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Cap'n Dan is a regular broadcaster on ABC Radio Tropical North<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-81655902653650887972013-08-05T18:02:00.000+10:002013-08-05T18:03:18.204+10:00Barrier Reef fishing : black market?<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG><FONT size=5>Barrier Reef fishing : black market?</FONT></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT size=5 face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Fishing dories discovered fishing in green zones continues to be a problem with seven incident reports relating to commercial line fishing in the Townsville/Whitsunday Marine Park area and 40 in the Mackay/Capricorn area from January to March 2013; more reports than any other area in the Marine Park. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Recreational fishing offences in green zones declined in Jan-March 2013 compared to Oct-Dec 2012, but it continues to be the most frequent offence in the Marine Park with 300 recreational offences recorded reef-wide so far this financial year. There were 27 line fishing incidents for Townsville/Whitsunday and 20 in Mackay/Capricorn between January and March 2013. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Large numbers of people recreationally fish in the Maine Park, with the majority of offences involving local residents who don't fish regularly and are fishing relatively close to shore, and the most common action is an advisory letter. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>However, there are growing concerns that well organised and equipped fishers are targeting green zones at night and possibly selling their catch on the black market. Inshore and offshore vessel and aircraft patrols will continue to target illegal fishing, particularly in the highest risk areas. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Reef fine; report<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The payment of fines incurred for reef offenders, particularly commercial reef line fishers, has improved over the past year as the regulations have now been improved and an active debt recovery program has started. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>This includes enforcement actions such as suspending the driver licence of fine defaulters. This initiative has resulted in an increased number of outstanding fines being paid and an increase in offenders entering fine payment plans. Over $100,000 in fine payments have been collected by GBRMPA since July 2012.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>It appeared that fines weren't acting as a deterrent and commercial fishers in particular were re-offending. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>AWA 100<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) celebrates its 100th birthday this month. AWA produced all things radio, appliance, television and more for all those years.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>In association with Marconi there was a radio operator training arm especially active during WWII.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The Historical Radio Society of Australia and the AWA Veterans' Association will be holding a Centenary reunion in Sydney on July 28 and is looking for other former associates. Details: awaveterans@gmail.com<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Yacht presumed lost<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>With the news that the search by The Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCC) has formally ended the 85-year-old American schooner 'Nina' is presumed lost in the Tasman with seven aboard having perished.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Reports coming to light suggest the while 21-metre 'Nina' looked good above the waterline, she had become hogged, meaning the hull of the boat bends upward amidships due to structural weakness affecting her seaworthiness. The Tasman being a very unforgiving body of water she may have sustained a catastrophic failure turning her into a pile of planks in seconds. She had not been out of the water for three years while it was moored in Whangarei.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>'Nina' built in 1928, left Opua NZ on May 29 with six Americans and a 35 year old leader of the British Greens, who refused, on environmental grounds, to fly across the Tasman.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>It was last heard from on June 4 when 685km west-north-west of Cape Reinga, bound for Newcastle, Australia. The area was being hit by winds of 80kmh gusting to 110kmh, with swells up to 8-metres.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>RCC said a customs declaration said while 'Nina' had no long-range (SSB) radio, she carried a satellite phone, a Spot satellite personal tracking device and an EPIRB. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>O'Lucky Irish<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Just before 3 am Saturday morning an Irish traveller ended in the drink off the main jetty in Bowen. Police called to the scene thankfully found the soggy groggy backpacker and got a lifebuoy line to him. Trying to get him back up was a problem, the jetty being quite a height from the water.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Our resourceful constabulary borrowed a boat, plucked the paddling paddy from the harbour and handed him to the Ambos to look after. Job well done!<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Marine Notice<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Lady Musgrave Island - the port lateral entrance beacon into Lady Musgrave Lagoon is damaged and could be leaning. This beacon is unlit.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Mariners are advised to navigate with caution in this area.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>AUS charts affected: 818 & 819<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Cap'n Dan is a regular broadcaster on ABC Radio Tropical North<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-86754234579840539902013-07-22T20:04:00.001+10:002013-07-22T20:04:43.118+10:00Abbot Point decision delayed<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Abbot Point decision delayed<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The new Federal Environment Minister Mark Butler has changed the deadline to August 9 on a decision on dredging at the Abbot Point coal terminal near Bowen to allow him more time to consider the project's potential environmental impact.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Green groups including the Australian Marine Conservation Society had called on Environment Minister to delay his decision.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Bowen fisherman Greg Smith told ABC Radio that claims the dredge spoil from the proposed expansion at Abbot Point coal terminal would contain toxic waste are ludicrous.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Mr Smith says he has worked on submissions to the Federal Government since the beginning of the expansion process and says most Bowen residents support the expansion in principle.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Ninety-nine point nine per cent of Bowen residents want to see a sensible development at Abbot Point. They want to see employment for the town of Bowen and Abbot Point is in a good spot to do the least environmental damage while still shipping coal out."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Mr Smith said the community should work with the developers to limit the potential impacts of the proposed expansion.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">OUCH Volunteers,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The next clean up dive is scheduled for Friday, July 12.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Check you calendars and give Secretary Tony Fontes a shout if you can join in.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Departing from Port of Airlie public boat ramp 8:00 am returning around 3:00 pm. You need to supply your own dive gear; OUCH will supply tanks, weight belts and lunch.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The volunteers picked up nearly 140 kg of rubbish last time.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Amazing! Tony Fontes 0417749143<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Reef Walkers<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The 'Reef Walk' group are walking from Cairns to Gladstone to raise awareness about perceived threats to the Reef. The group led by June Norman should arrive in Airlie Beach on Friday, July 12 and stay until Sunday.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>On Saturday, people may support June and her Reef Walk group for a walk from the Volunteer Marine Rescue base - 8:00 am start - to the Lion's Club Airlie Beach Markets near the Whitsunday Sailing Club, about a 40 minute walk.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Classic Yacht Overdue<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Tasman Sea classic 70-foot American staysail schooner 'Nina' with seven sailors aboard left New Zealand's Bay of Islands on May 29 bound for Newcastle, Australia. On June 3, when Nina was 360 miles northwest of Cape Reinga, the northernmost tip of New Zealand, she reported rough conditions, and asked for advice on how to get out of it. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Although nobody sounded distressed the forecast was for winds to 60 knots and 20-foot seas. These are heavy weather conditions, but certainly the schooner had ridden out as bad or worse.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">New Zealand Rescue Services learned on June 14 that 'Nina' was overdue. Since then they have conducted what has been described as their most intensive search ever. But nothing has been found.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The famed schooner 'Nina' a narrow hull with long overhangs was designed by the famed Starling Burgess and built by Ruben Bigelow on Monument Beach in Cape Cod in 1928. She was built expressly to win the 3,900-mile race from New York to Santander, Spain. And she did. When she arrived, a launch pulled alongside and a gentleman waved his cap and shouted, "Well sailed, Nina, I congratulate you. I am the King of Spain."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Nina became the first American vessel to win the prestigious 600-mile Fastnet Race. She then won the London to Chesapeake Bay Race.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">In 2008, the owners started a circumnavigation with the schooner, and a documentary film.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">While nobody knows what happened to Nina, several maritime rescue experts have speculated that the 84-year-old wood boat suffered a catastrophic failure, one that for some reason left the crew unable to set off the vessel's EPIRB.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Years ago it was not uncommon for several cruising boats to go missing in the South Pacific each year. Thanks to EPIRBs and vastly improved communications such unexplained disappearances have become rare and at least have an explanation.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Port News: </SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">cruise ship 'Dawn Princess' arrives today (Wednesday, July 10) midday and departs about 8pm. She is on a trip from Perth to Sydney with Airlie the last stop before Sydney. Saturday will see 'Pacific Dawn' in port 7am to 4pm.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><EM>Cap'n Dan is a regular broadcaster on ABC Radio Tropical North</EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 205.2pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 205.2pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 205.2pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-86420299247048183852013-07-22T19:58:00.001+10:002013-07-22T19:58:50.093+10:00Where were Ye in '83?<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN> <SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><FONT face="Arial Black"><FONT size=5>Where were Ye in '83?<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Where were you when...? People often remember where they were when life altering memorable events or the sudden and shocking deaths of iconic individuals occurred. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Think; where were you when, news that the people's princess, Diana died? Outspoken Beatle, John Lennon shot. 3DB Radio morning news that The King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley died or assassination of the 35th President of the United States of America John F. Kennedy.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Events; Man on the moon, Berlin Wall, Asian Tsunami, War Ends, Saigon falls, Bagdad bombed, 9/11 Towers. Mandela released February 11. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The impact on you and across the globe. Events that changed the shape of our popular culture.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">In Australia, a country that stops for a horse race, it could be the Whitlam Dismissal or first female PM. What about September 26, 1983?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Remember Bob Hawke and That Jacket? September 26, 1983, was the day that Australia II ended the longest winning streak in world sporting history, 132 years, defeating the American entry Liberty to claim the America's Cup. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Australians will have the chance to celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of the country's most famous sporting victories, the 1983 America's Cup, this September.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The victory and its lasting impact in Australia will be celebrated 30 years on Thursday, September 26, 2013, bringing together many of the major players from the famous win.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">This will be the only gathering of the Australia II crew in Australia to mark the 30th anniversary, with skipper John Bertrand and crew to be joined by syndicate chairman Alan Bond.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Bertrand, as well as skipper of Australia II is chairman of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, said that there are a number of reasons why the 1983 victory remains so popular 30 years on.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Looking back at 1983 Australia was coming out of a tough recession, we had been severely affected by bushfires and floods," said Bertrand. "I think the way that we were able to come back from three-one down, with our backs against the wall to break the 132 year winning streak by the Americans captured the imagination of the Australian population, and in many ways continues to today.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"I look back at the campaign with pride and satisfaction at what we achieved. It was the ultimate team performance; our team culture was of resilience. We came back from the dead to win and people have learnt a lot from that over the years.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I look forward to giving people a better understanding of the inside story." Bertrand said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Sydney lunch will be the only time that the crew will gather in Australia to celebrate the 30th Anniversary, coming just a month after they celebrate in San Francisco, coinciding with this year's America's Cup.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>BVGYC <o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Of course BVGYC is Airlie's world famous Beaut Views Grotty Yachty Club where much silliness took place usually around Airlie Fun Race time. I was reminded of the BVGYC at the Pioneers of Airlie Tourism get together at the Airlie Bowls Club on Saturday. There was the night at BVGYC when John Bertrand head-butted the platypus. Ah, memories! <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>That Cup<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Love it our hate it, there is always much, much more to the America's Cup than just sailing. Faster, outrageous, dangerous legal minefield and that's on land! <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">So bet you will be surprised that with preliminary races starting this week there is a change to the rules regarding the sail boats with two of the three competitors facing huge problems to reconfigure to meet the changes. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The AC72' is a truly awesome piece of technology; 72-feet long, nearly 50' wide they are a 'flying carpet', they fly above the water. In 20knots of breeze they reach over 40 knots (80+kms an hour) <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The wing sails fixed on a 130ft mast create lift in exactly the same way as an aeroplane wing but it's most spectacular trick is to use hydrofoils to lift the hull of the boat clean out of the water. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Larry Ellison the owner of Cup defender Oracle and one of America's richest men took possession of the America's Cup in 2010 with grand plans to transform this elite, gentleman's sport into a TV spectacle for the masses: Nascar on San Francisco Bay. Ellison reinventing the cup for "the Facebook generation, not the Flintstones generation."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"A level playing field is all spectators ask. Then let the best Kiwi team win" was overheard. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-3417559578355804142013-07-12T09:16:00.000+10:002013-07-12T09:17:21.880+10:00Croc tung warning signs souvenired<DIV><FONT face=Georgia><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><FONT size=6 face="Arial Black">Croctung!</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><FONT size=6 face="Arial Black"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdL7nmD_Vel7d-5Pp7KeaAB4wZ6A2ha1jSTGL-iRGZk7J_uElIzQ9Kceh-kX-v659Std4R2t3S3esq-g_y3qa9D64vSd6YKIXSybXf3cJTbI6RYJcZSFlxmt5kgHwNTul1r3ld9g/s1600/croctung%2521sm-741881.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdL7nmD_Vel7d-5Pp7KeaAB4wZ6A2ha1jSTGL-iRGZk7J_uElIzQ9Kceh-kX-v659Std4R2t3S3esq-g_y3qa9D64vSd6YKIXSybXf3cJTbI6RYJcZSFlxmt5kgHwNTul1r3ld9g/s320/croctung%2521sm-741881.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5899501117253325266" /></a></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The signs thoughtfully erected by Queensland Parks and Wildlife were very popular for the few days they were up before being souvenired. Warning that crocodiles had been sighted in Boat Haven (Muddy) Bay, the signs advised against swimming at the beach. Tourists lined up to take photos with the signs until the signs got knocked off. Of course it has all happened before and perhaps the Parks people should print more and sell them to visitors thereby getting the message across and making a dollar as well.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Airlie Reunion<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">This Saturday will see the Airlie Beach Bowls Club become a hive of historical activity with a reunion of Airlie Beach 'Pioneers of tourism' taking place. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Some interesting photos and memories are surfacing and in should be a 'do not miss' <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Memorabilia is sought for display and needs to go up earlier on Saturday with organiser Dale Hell is considering archiving some, perhaps in a book or online form. Details 0416273598<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Dredging spoil<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">It is worrying that groups that say they are opposed to some development issues are perceived as being opposed to all development. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">A case in point is a leaflet distributed relating to the Abbot Point expansion and specifically regarding dredging and where the spoil may go.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Now I must say I attended meetings of the technical committee so have a reasonable understanding of the various issues. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">I noted that much thought and work was completed by a range of interested parties to ensure any dredge material did not impact the onshore Caley Valley Wetlands. An early act of the incoming Queensland Government was to reduce that part of the Abbot Point development that would have seen a huge amount of material to be moved. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">It may be fashionable to present mainly uninformed opinion as fact; however it does not do their cause much good when the story is an unsubstantiated one-sided litany of disaster. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">For people that at other times quote their version of "The Science" the arguments put forward on this occasion are not only unscientific or factual, but certainly biased political emotionalism. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">To discuss this issue in a responsible way there must be some guidelines and total anti development 'keep coal in the ground' is not much of a basis for discussion.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Implying that the spoil is destined to be dumped on the Catalina war grave or the Barrier Reef when the clear intention is that the spoil is deposited under the shipping lane in deep water does not provide any basis for honest discussion. The sandy spoil is most like the sea bed where it is proposed to go in deep water.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">And fishers may reflect that the people who want coal left in the ground may also like fish left in the sea or in green zones.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Mariner Notices<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Shute Harbour South Channel</EM>- the No. 3 Green lateral Buoy, Fl G 2.5s has been reported missing from location. AUS charts 252, 253, 254 & 825<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Port of Airlie</EM> - marine development - construction works for Arm E of the marina development have begun will continue until October. Yellow marker buoys to mark the boundary are being installed. Mariners keep clear. The all round white light on 'A' berth entrance to Port of Airlie has been repaired.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Unsafe Passage</EM> - There have been at least three notices issued about the unlit front and rear leading lights on Daydream Island, which mark Unsafe Passage, between North Molle and Mid Molle Islands. AUS charts 252 & 253<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Controlled burning</EM> - Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service will be conducting controlled burns this week on Pentecost Island, Lindeman Island, Shaw Island, Mansell Island, Thomas Island, East Repulse Island and St Bees Island. Visibility may be poor. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Cap'n Dan</EM> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>"The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that it is very hard to verify their authenticity" Winston Churchill<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><EM> </EM></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-22302470024201576242013-07-12T09:13:00.000+10:002013-07-12T09:16:53.832+10:00Reef Fest Recycled Raft Race <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 324.0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><STRONG><FONT size=4><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Reef Fest Recycled Raft Race</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></STRONG></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Build your raft from recycled stuff and enter in the Reef Festival Recycled Raft Race on Sunday afternoon August 18 at the Airlie Lagoon.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Start planning your entry now following the simple provisional rules informed by the Pirate's Code - guidelines really- that the craft be made of recycled materials, sailed / paddled by two or more crew and may be recycled into a JJ Richards bin following the race. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Rules Note: Subject to judge's whim or payoff and of course no correspondence will be entered into unless the protest is secured to a bottle of rum in adult division; see 'fine print' for the junior divisions (Hey, the kids have to learn!) <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Over the last few years a wonderful collection of craft has taken to the water; some have even managed to float! However under the watchful eye of our mighty Lagoon lifeguards we haven't lost anyone, although the level of seamanship has left something to be improved upon.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Whitsunday Reef Festival -15-18 August- is a celebration and showcase of our vibrant and diverse community. It is our largest annual festival that engages the local community while entertaining visitors so they may experience our unique Whitsunday lifestyle.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The four day festival attracts all ages and a crowd of 10,000+ from all walks of life. Chock-a-block with fun events; fireworks, live music, a street parade, comedy gala, family fun day, Lions markets, competitions, fashion and wearable art, sand sculpting, a recyclable regatta, reef education and the iconic Great Whitsunday Fun Race sailing event.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Now in its 13th year, a rich history has developed in the community bringing different people together to celebrate what we all share, a fabulous lifestyle and beautiful place in the tropical north to call home.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">To register or for further sponsorship details email to <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><A href="mailto:raftrace@theelectricparrot.com">raftrace@theelectricparrot.com</A> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 94.5pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>CIA Bowen report<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Port of Abbot Point is an existing operating coal port located just north of Bowen. Since obtaining a 99-year lease of the X50 Abbot Point Coal Terminal, operator Adani identified the need to increase terminal capacity.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">They are proposing a 35 Mtpa expansion of the existing terminal, along with an additional two offshore berths.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Abbot Point Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) Report has been finalised following a public comment process. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The proponents say the CIA will help ensure that the Port of Abbot Point is designed and developed in a manner consistent with environmental best practice and considerate of the Outstanding Universal Value of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. NQBP, Adani, BHP Billiton and GVK Hancock Coal came together to produce a consolidated assessment report that will provide comprehensive information to inform individual approval decisions at the port. The report will also provide useful information to help guide future assessments at the port and also the strategic assessments underway across the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">An environmental assessment which included a review of 16 environmental studies found the port expansion would not have a significant impact on the Great Barrier Reef and that Greenpeace claims regarding the expansion's impact were overstated.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Record set<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Congratulations to Francis Joyon, who set a new west to east singlehanded trans Atlantic record sailing from New York's Ambrose Light to a line linking Lizard Point, Cornwall to Ushant in a remarkable 5 days 2:56 minutes and 10 seconds, beating the previous record set by Thomas Coville in 2008 by 16 hours 34 minutes and 30 seconds.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Joyon sailed a Groupe IDEC 29.7 meter trimaran covering a distance over the bottom of 3,222 miles at an average speed of 26.20 knots. Francis Joyon, 57, is a French professional racer and yachtsman who also holds the record for the fastest single-handed sailing circumnavigation.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Marine notice<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Port of Airlie marina, Boat Haven Bay Work has been completed on the Superyacht berths on the northern Beacons side of the marina. The declared exclusion zone A has been revoked. Schedule B is still current; this is the area just to the north of the public boat ramp. There is a chartlet map S9-170 attached to Queensland NtM 964(T) of 2011. There is also an issue with the white light on berth 'A' being unlit. AUS charts 252 & 268<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 461.85pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-60624817072194250922013-06-17T05:00:00.000+10:002013-06-17T04:59:43.460+10:00Going nuts for Airlie!<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Going nuts for Airlie!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B> <P></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">All over the world the coconut palm is celebrated as a thing of great beauty and a provider of almost everything a human being could ever need.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Coconuts offer us sweet, drinkable juice. Their flesh provides nourishing food. Their husks make cups, toys and a dozen different kinds of implement. Their fronds provide baskets, hats, mats and roofing and their timbers, too many items to list.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"It seems that, here in the Whitsundays, we think of coconut palms as an annoyance, as a source of dangerous missiles, as simply unsightly refuse; rubbish to be disposed of."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">So says local activist Rory McCourt who adds "The coconut is not a nuisance, not a scrap of litter. It's one of nature's great gifts."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"In the Whitsundays we have current plans to remove, to destroy, at least forty of our gracefully arching mature coconut palms - and who knows how many more in the future."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"It seems that the relatively modest cost of occasional de-nutting is not worth paying."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Years ago there was a small business that harvested coconuts under the banner, "All we want are your nuts!"<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"So, how about, instead of perceiving the town's coconuts as a costly inconvenience, a problem to be disposed of, we try to see them as an opportunity.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Why not consider doing something positive with them.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>At the appropriate time each year, when the bulk of the area's coconuts are ripening why not persuade our tourism marketing gurus to consider a celebratory event? <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"How about, 'The Airlie Beach Coconut Harvest Festival? <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Mr McCourt concluded.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">We would be nuts if this is not considered; in the meantime Keep the Coconuts!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Blooming Jellyfish burgers!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The rise of jellyfish populations in many of the world's oceans may be more than just an inconvenience for swimmers who want to take a dip.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">According to expert Lisa-ann Gershwin, the rapid growth over the last few decades of these creatures is a sign of the planet's deteriorating marine health, <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">In her new book <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">'Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean'</I>, Gershwin says that these "enchanting and lovely" invertebrates are in fact harbingers of the health of the oceans.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Unfortunately, the rise in jellyfish numbers is far from benign. Gershwin said that jellyfish are able to "take this damaged ecosystem and actually drive it to a much worst state."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Although jellyfish rank low on the evolutionary tree - they don't even have brains - they have the unique trait of eating things higher up on the food chain than themselves things that are bigger, faster and smarter than they are.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">An example, she points to a species of jellyfish called Mnemiopsis leidyi that was accidentally introduced into the Black Sea in the early 1980s.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Within just a few years, it had taken over so completely with this double whammy of predation and competition that Mnemiopsis was now 95 per cent of the biomass in the Black Sea," Gershwin said. "Ninety-five per cent of every living thing is this one species of jellyfish."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Gershwin said she fears that the biodiversity of the world's water will eventually resemble that of the Precambrian era, when oceans were ruled by jellyfish and mammals and reptiles did not exist.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Another source is Daniel Pauly: Jellyfish Burgers or How We Changed the Oceans and They Changed Us.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Mermaid Parade Saved! <o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The thirty-year-old Coney Island Mermaid Parade was nearly shut down by Superstorm damage to Coney Island New York USA earlier this year.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Through crowd funding online many small donors gave over $102,000, beating the $100,000 fundraising target.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>$10,000 was raised in a benefit concert headlined by Amanda Palmer, an entertainer who champions causes other than just mermaids.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The parade, scheduled for June 22, attracts over 750,000 spectators and is an annual kickoff to the summer season, featuring artists and performers in wild and imaginative costumes, with an aquatic theme. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Mariner Notices<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Port of Airlie public boat ramp</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"> - pile driving for the construction of abutment and queuing pontoon on the public boat ramp has commenced and will continue this month. Pile driving work is being carried out by barge 'Invincible' that will display appropriate signals. Mariners should use caution and give a wide berth when approaching the area. AUS chart 268 <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Unsafe Passage </SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">- There have been at least three notices issued about the unlit front and rear leading lights on Daydream Island, which mark Unsafe Passage, between North Molle and Mid Molle Islands. AUS charts 252 & 253<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Ten years online -- waterfront.blogspot.com.au<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-20038806063845903122013-06-11T05:06:00.000+10:002013-06-11T05:07:21.870+10:00Official start: Season of Sail<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Official start: Season of Sail<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The 24th Blessing of the Fleet on Sunday marked not only the naming of Whit Sunday and Pentecost Island in 1770 by James Cook but also signalled the start of the Whitsunday Season of Sail<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">It is time to stretch your sea legs for plenty of experiences right on our doorstep with boats you could hire, racing yachts looking for crew or learning to sail so you may explore our backyard of islands and the Great Barrier Reef. Learn to SCUBA dive and experience the underwater world. Check the zone for fishing, cast a line and put a fish on the boat barbie. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Your sea legs may take you to experience the invigorating joy of a fast passage on a yacht to a quiet cove; there to sip a Sundowner with friends. Or enjoy the lifestyles of the rich and famous available for hire every day no experience necessary. In fact, you don't even need a boat licence or a fancy pair of deck shoes to sail in Queensland.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Explore Whitsunday Islands on a bareboat charter yacht. Dip a toe in with a sunset champagne sail, cheer on the racing yachties from the balcony of the Whitsunday Sailing Club. Or just sit back and let a skipper (or motor) do all the hard work for you.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">It is said that once you taste the adventure of the sea you never forget it. The feeling of the wind, the salt spray, the activity of the deck or relaxing in the cockpit; you decide your own adventure experience level.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Rub shoulders with the world's yachting glitterati at Hamilton Island Race Week, or join a crew for fun racing every Wednesday in Airlie Beach. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Gather your best stowaways and start planning your sailing and boating today. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Crew cops count<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The 'Queen of the North' was several hours into a routine overnight passage from the northern community of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island, when it struck Gil Island and sank in March, 2006. Of the 103 passengers and crew onboard, two passengers drowned.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The person in charge of the 125-meter ferry has been convicted of criminal negligence causing death. After six days of deliberations the jury returned with the verdict against a deckhand who was filling in as the ship's fourth officer.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Crown prosecutors argued that the crewman, 59, neglected to steer the ship because he was distracted by a crewwoman who he had been having an affair with up until just weeks earlier.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The fateful voyage marked the first time the two had worked alone together since their breakup, after both their spouses found out about the affair. It is unclear what they were doing on the bridge when the crash took place, the prosecution argued.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Electronic records that showed the ship did not alter course for 20 minutes before the crash, saying that showed that the crewman was not doing his job.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">It is extremely rare in Canada to see criminal negligence cases involving commercial crew members, which makes this case of particular interest from a legal perspective.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">In its report of the sinking, the Transportation Safety Board noted that the two crew were engaged in a personal conversation that had lasted at least 14 minutes before the grounding, and that this was their first shift alone on watch since the end of a "recurrent relationship" between them two weeks before.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Jelly fish farm<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">In what could be regarded as a glowing report, nine glow-in-the-dark sheep were born at Uruguay's Institute of Animal Reproduction in a genetics experiment in conjunction with the Institute Pasteur. The scientists say that they used the fluorescent protein from a species of jelly fish to give sheep a distinct glowing green colour when exposed to ultraviolet light. Wonder why? So do I.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Marine Notices<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">St. Bees Island</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"> - a control program requiring the use of live firing of weapons will take place on St Bees Island in the Mackay National Parks Management Area of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Feral animal control operations will continue until 1800 hours Friday May 24. Exclusion zones will be placed around St Bees Island extending seaward 500 metres. All vessels are to remain clear during the above detailed times. Qld Park & Wildlife vessel<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> 'Tamoya'</I> will patrol during these times. St Bee's Island is located 15nm NE of Mackay Harbour. AUS charts 251 & 824 <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Pioneer River entrance</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"> - Mariners are advised that the lighted Port Lateral Mark No.2 buoy Fl.R.2.5s in the entrance to the Pioneer River has been re-established in position. AUS chart 249<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-63584594990314995292013-06-11T05:05:00.000+10:002013-06-11T05:06:03.936+10:00Australia's top 10 islands: The Whitsundays<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Offshore mission: Australia's top 10 islands: The Whitsundays<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"In a nutshell: A bit like heaven really," says backpacker travel magazine TNT Downunder.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Tell me more: Angels serve you free beer and... Nah. But the scenery is out of this world. We've cheated a little bit here we simply can't choose one island above the rest, so we're including all 74. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Most isles are sandy with tropical rainforest and several have accommodation options, ranging from five-star resorts to basic camp grounds (34 in all). It's all shallow, gently swirling turquoise waters and talcum powder beaches, with the famous Whitheaven [sic] Beach on Whitsunday Island the 'must-have' photo. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"As if all that wasn't good enough, the islands are surrounded by the Great Barrier Reef, so the snorkelling and diving is pretty much as good as it gets. Staying on an island or two is fun, but sailing in amongst them is arguably better. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"If you meet someone who toured the east coast and didn't go to the Whitsundays, you'll meet someone who looks marginally suicidal."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Leaving today from Airlie Beach! <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Calling captains courageous <o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Who ever gets this job will no doubt feel the pressure of command; every move will be watched and if there is any mishap, no matter the size, it will be commented on.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">But even with that sort of pressure, captains courageous are lining up to take command of the Titanic II due to sail its maiden Atlantic voyage Southampton to New York in 2016. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Reports say eight prospective captains have already applied for the position, with backgrounds on cruise ships and super tankers.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Though the captain of the original Titanic, Edward Smith, went down with his ship in the freezing waters off Newfoundland, owner Queenslander Clive Palmer hopes his new captain and crew will stay 'cool' and 'get down' on the ship. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Your Waterfront writer hopes and one would expect that, the successful captain candidate sports an impressive beard. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Winter Seawind rally<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Organisers say the Seventh Annual Seawind Whitsunday Rally to sail around and about the Whitsunday Islands June 15-22 will be a fun and fantastic week of social cruising onshore activities and partying.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Open to all Seawind models, organisers are expecting 20+ vessel and around 90 people to participate in this unique experience combining great sailing with a beautiful and safe environment. The onshore activities which add another layer to experience include; karaoke, sand sculpture, golf, hiking and of course the ever popular Blind Mans Dinghy Race!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Of course not everybody has a Seawind in the Whitsundays and we encourage everybody who is keen to be involved to book one of the many Seawind Catamarans available for charter in the Whitsundays. "<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">If you need to book or discuss the rally please contact Morgan McDonough on <A href="mailto:morgan@seawindcats.com">morgan@seawindcats.com</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Beacon distress<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is reminding people to dispose of their unwanted distress beacons properly at Battery World stores after three false alerts recently.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">AMSA's Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia) recently responded to two distress beacon alerts in the Brisbane area, tasking rescue assets and personnel to investigate. It was determined that neither beacon was associated with a genuine emergency. One of these beacons was found disposed in a household bin, while the second and third beacons were found in waste facilities.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">False alarm incidents require the use of emergency response resources and personnel, which may be diverted from a genuine emergency.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">This financial year to date, AMSA has had 46 confirmed cases of distress beacons being disposed of incorrectly with 73 confirmed cases in 2011-12.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Most of these beacons were older 121.5MHz beacons, which have been phased out and cannot be detected by satellites although they transmit on a frequency used by aircraft. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Distress beacon owners need to switch to the 406MHz beacon and register (free!) with AMSA to ensure a efficient search and rescue effort. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">AMSA note<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) will become the National Regulator for domestic commercial vessels and administrator of the National System from July 1.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Navigation Act 2012 will also start on July 1, replacing the century old Navigation Act 1912, providing the maritime industry with a clear, transparent and flexible maritime safety regime say bureaucrats.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">More information on the National System is available online at www.amsa.gov.au<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Mariner Notice<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Slade Rock - Mariners are advised that the lighted port lateral mark buoy Fl R 25s which marks Slade Rock has been re-established in position. AUS charts 249, 250, 823 & 824 <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-13781034859514233902013-05-13T11:43:00.000+10:002013-05-13T11:44:32.603+10:00RR ambassadors are cleaning up<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">RR ambassadors are cleaning up<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">A local group is combining enjoyment of the great outdoors and a bit of exercise with picking up rubbish to enhance their waterfront environment.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The group was organised through social media and gained 165 members in only a few weeks as Responsible Runner ambassador Gabrielle Costello explains.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Being a responsible runner does not mean you have to run (although you are more than welcome to)! The idea behind it is 30 minutes of physical activity while cleaning up rubbish from our beaches/water ways."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Gabriielle was attracted to the original Responsible Runners network of runners, walkers, and pro-activists dedicated to keeping our beaches, waterways, and land clean while keeping fit.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Over the summer I spent a lot of time swimming with (daughter) Sierra and that's when I noticed just how much rubbish is really lying around certain areas around the Whitsundays, I wanted to do something but felt the task was a bit large size and time wise for me to try and tackle on my own."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"It was around about the same time Responsible Runners showed up in my news feed on Facebook, I followed them for a few weeks and saw just how effective just a few people doing an hour clean up could really be, that's when I decided to contact them and ask them if they would be interested in me being a RR ambassador and they happily agreed." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"I have already been asked a few times if I get paid to do this, and I do not. Everything I do is out of my own time and resources, the reward for me is a bit of fresh air and exercise and satisfaction that I know I'm doing my bit no matter how small it may seem to others," Ms Costello told the Whitsunday Coast Guardian this week.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>"It makes such a difference not just preventing the litter ending up in the ocean, but preventing it getting there in the first place by creating awareness and inspiring people to make a difference through the RR presence on the beach and the photos shared over social media (Facebook) about just how much rubbish is really out there.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">RR meet every Sunday at 4pm for an hour and then afterwards count what has been collected and record the data to send off to Tangaroa Blue Australian Marine Debris Initiative, who provide us with our clean up kits.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"The name is a bit confusing for some - you don't actually have to run, I certainly don't unless I'm chasing Sierra," Ms Costello added.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Stung!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Compared to the charismatic megafauna of the oceans, jellyfish have never received the attention they deserve.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Lisa-ann Gershwin, the director of the Australian Marine Stinger Advisory Services, wrote <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Stung! </I>to help correct this, arguing that jellyfish are to the oceans what canaries are in a coal mine, except their indicator behaviour is to thrive when conditions are most dire. Accounts of the various jellyfish blooms across the globe, from polar waters to tropical seas, are used to illustrate just how much the ocean environments have changed, mostly to the detriment of marine biodiversity.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Dr Gershwin has spent quite a bit of time here in the Whitsunday area and is well known for her passion for jellyfish research. Indeed, the only time over the years your writer has seen an Irukandji was a creature caught by Lisa-ann and safely pickled in a small glass vial. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">This genre of nature writing is highly frequented territory. But what makes Stung! stand out is that Gershwin achieves the rare combination of being not just a talented researcher who has discovered more than 160 new jellyfish species but also a very entertaining writer, turning what could have been a worthy but prosaic book into a page turner.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"> by Lisa-ann Gershwin is published this week by University of Chicago Press<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Mariner Notices<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Slade Rock </SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">- Mariners are advised that the lighted port lateral mark buoy Fl R 25s which marks Slade Rock has been re-established in position. AUS charts 249, 250, 823 & 824<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Abbot Point Berth One</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"> - Mariners are advised that Abbot Point berth 1 front lead light F G is temporary unlit due to maintenance on berth 1. Mariners are advised to navigate with caution in this area. AUS charts 255 & 826 <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Cap'n Dan</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-70548734398181975112013-05-13T11:42:00.000+10:002013-05-13T11:43:18.689+10:00Rotary needs a hand!<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Rotary needs a hand!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Of course the Rotary Club of Airlie Beach is usually helping the community in so many ways, but now they need your help.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Rotary have taken on the huge task of taking all or as much as they can of the furnishings from the 250 room ex Club Med Lindeman Island Resort. Some of the chairs, tables and other items are destined for community and sporting clubs of our area. The balance of the goods will head down the Bruce Highway to help the people of flood ravaged Bundaberg.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"So, where do I fit in?" you ask. Well as you can imagine this is a huge undertaking. But if you could lend a hand your might be able to enjoy a trip down to scenic Lindeman Island by luxury barge in exchange for helping to load the stuff onto the barge. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Ok, sounds like a regular Airlie Beach job, i.e. plenty of scenery but no pay. Hang on, Rotary is always helping the community and I'd bet there would be a BBQ and a knock off drink in the offing. Plus the feel good factor one gets from doing a good job for your community while raising <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>a bead of perspiration.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Sound like something you might lend a hand for? Training for your club members? Rotarian in charge of the project is David Paddon who would really like to hear from you on 0414997942.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 92.4pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 92.4pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>People's Day Blessing<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 92.4pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The 2013 Airlie People's Day and Blessing of the Fleet is on Whit Sunday May 19 at the Whitsunday Sailing Club in Airlie Beach. There are usually Sunday markets along the foreshore and a variety of activities.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">First Lieutenant James Cook named the Whitsunday Passage in 1770 so the Blessing of the Fleet is held each year on Whitsunday, otherwise known as Pentecost Sunday.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">A Blessing of the Fleet is part of the calendar of many seaside and fishing communities around the world.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Community groups are invited to participate in the Blessing of the Fleet on the seafront lawn at the Whitsunday Sailing Club, Airlie Beach from 10am, Sunday, May 19. The sail past of yachts and other craft is from 11 am from the sea wall.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">For further information, contact Heidi Walton at the Whitsunday Sailing Club or Cap'n Dan Van Blarcom on ahoy@whitsunday.net.au<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Carbon contained<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">With a view to cut carbon emissions by up to 50 per cent by the end of 2015, France-based shipping company CMA CGM Group has finalised the purchase of 50,000 containers with bamboo flooring.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"CMA CGM reaffirms its long standing commitment to global environmental policy," Jacques R Saadé, CEO of the Group said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"The preservation of the oceans, and the ecological solutions offered to customers are an essential part of the Group's activity and organisation," Saadé added.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The company is planning to use the containers on the world's largest container ship, the 'CMA CGM Marco Polo'. This ship employs electronically controlled engines that significantly reduce CO2 emissions, as well as an exhaust gas bypass system that improves the energy efficiency of the vessel when slow steaming. This reduces CO2 emissions by up to 1.5 per cent at low speeds. A twisted leading edge rudder, meanwhile, improves the hydrodynamics of the vessel by optimising water flow and thereby reducing energy expenditure and further cutting emissions.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Ever cleaner ships will be a requirement in the near future for cargo transportation," Ludovic Gérard, vice president of CMA Ships said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">These container solutions allow savings of up to one or two tonnes of fuel per day, representing a reduction of up to three to six tonnes of CO2 emissions.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Two happiest days<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Yarr! Well, it be said that the two happiest days of a boat owners life are the day they buy a boat and the day they sell it. Welcome aboard for the adventure of a lifetime. Enjoy all the fun of tearing up $100 dollar bills standing under a very cold shower in the dark. BOAT = Bring Out Another Thousand. Ye be warned! It is an addiction, but it can be cured. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Mariner Notice<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Unsafe Passage</EM> between North Molle and South Molle Islands - Mariners are advised that the front and rear leading lights 2 F Bu, F Day, on Daydream Island which mark Unsafe Passage are reported unlit. Mariners should use caution in the vicinity as this seems to be an ongoing problem. AUS charts 254 & 825.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 175.25pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 175.25pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 175.25pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><EM> </EM></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-52675202341235137842013-05-13T11:40:00.001+10:002013-05-13T11:40:57.125+10:00Sea art tourist attraction mooted<DIV> <DIV> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Sea art tourist attraction mooted<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The three mast sailing ship 'Magic' firmly aground just off Cannonvale beach just needs the sails put up to become a major tourist attraction.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>People who know more about art and photography that sailing would find they could get great photos without the worry of the yacht stirring and spoiling their shot. It would be easy to wait and get the right light on the stationary white sails without the disappointment of the ship moving on.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Of course, one could imagine it as monument to poor seamanship or the high cost of anything to do with yachts, but that would be a churlish, ill-natured spoiler really. We should make the best with what we have.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Comedian, writer and classic boat owner-sailor Griff Rhys Jones gave out the prizes for inaugural Classic Boats awards ceremony in London last week.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Griff made light of some of the absurdities of boat ownership as he quipped: "I bought a boat for £70,000, spent £500,000 on her over the years and I find she is now worth... £70,000."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Marine radio exam change<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The Office of Marine Communications at the Australia Maritime College is advising boating people of important changes to VHF Examinations, especially that from April 1 the exams are 'Open Book'.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Why open book examination for VHF only? In 2012 AMC had 4169 applications for the MROCP (full licence) and 1629 applications for the MROVCP (VHF). Both qualifications show an average fail percent of 5%. In the past VHF was mainly used by people working in the marine industry, but over the years leisure boat operators began purchasing VHF marine radios. As more and more people move from 27Mhz marine radios to VHF marine radios it has become extremely important that VHF marine radio users are aware of the correct channels, terminology and procedures as well as being aware that large ships also use the VHF radios.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and AMC have new videos showing correct use of VHF radio and they and others are now on YouTube.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Marconi Day<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>In December of 1901, using an antenna held aloft by a kite, Guglielmo Marconi sat quietly in the former fever and diphtheria hospital on Signal Hill, St. John's, Newfoundland, now part of Canada and received the first successful transmission of a trans-Atlantic signal, the letter "S" in Morse code, sent from a transmitter in Poldhu, south Cornwall, England. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>This Saturday, radio operators around the world and in space on the International Space Station will be making contact to commemorate the birth of Marconi on 25 April 1874.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Last year, Guglielmo Marconi's daughter, Princess Elettra Marconi, was contacted in Italy via short-wave radio and Skype. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The radio operators on board the Titanic were employed by Marconi - and using his equipment they were able to alert the Carpathia, the ship which rescued around 700 survivors. The Titanic sank to the south east of Newfoundland.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>In Ireland the Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio will be celebrating International Marconi Day. The tower was the site for an experimental Marconi Station in 1905. The museum is located in the Martello Tower, Howth Harbour, County Dublin. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>For younger readers, Morse code was the original digital form of communication. As this is a High Frequency event using various modes, it will be shared all over the world by radio operators with the right HF gear. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Look! Up in the sky!<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>No not Superman, but the Lyrids meteor shower that has been viewed for the past 2600 years of and you may catch a glimpse from in the night sky until April 26. As a result of light pollution, observers in the country will see more. The Lyrids are an average shower, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour at their peak. These meteors can produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds. Look for meteors radiating from after midnight. Full moon rising.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Mariner Notices<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Unsafe Passage</EM> -. Mariners be advised that the front and rear leading lights 2 F Bu, F Day, which mark Unsafe Passage between North Molle and South Molle Islands, are reported unlit. Mariners should use caution in the vicinity. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Shute Harbour South Channel </EM>- Mariners are advised that the No. 3 Green lateral Buoy, Fl G 2.5s has been reported missing from location.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Mariners should use caution in the vicinity. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>AUS charts 252, 253, 254 & 825<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><EM> </EM></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-14868567984982319062013-05-13T11:37:00.000+10:002013-05-13T11:38:03.286+10:00Warrior to visit Whitsunday<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Warrior to visit Whitsunday<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The 58-metre Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior III will visit Airlie Beach on Wednesday, April 17. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>As well as ship tours and onshore activities during the day, the Whitsunday Sailing Club has changed the weekly Twilight race to include the green ship as a mark of the course.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>During the afternoon race, sailors will navigate around the ship as a mark of the course, and the club is hoping to attract a big fleet for this special event. Scuttlebutt that the traditional race prize of a bucket of rum will be replaced with a bucket of green tea is unsubstantiated at this time.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Rainbow Warrior III was purpose built and launched in October 2011 at a cost over $28 million Aussie dollars. The ship was in part funded by a crowd funding project. Supporters were encouraged to buy parts of the ship through a website and over 100,000 did. Classed as a sailing yacht with diesel-electric auxiliary, thirty passengers and crew can sail at 15 knots in good conditions with the 55-metre mast carrying 1,255 square metres of sail.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Bowen visit<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior will visit Bowen on Sunday April 14, before going on to Holbourne Island. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Mates @ sea<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Former Airlie Beacher Libby Carrier writes, "Hi Ho... Hi Ho.... it's off across the Atlantic Ocean again I go!! We leave lovely Antigua in the morning. Good weather report & great crew!! See some of you in the Azores & see the rest of you in Palma!! No internet for a while. See ya on the flip side!!"<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Ship-to-shore<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The first Australian ship-to-shore wireless message occurred on April 9, 1903. The receiving station was at Kangaroo Point, Brisbane and the message was sent from HMQS Gayundah off Moreton Island.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>HMQS Gayundah was a flat-iron gunboat operated by the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and later the Royal Australian Navy (as HMAS Gayundah). Built in 1884 and decommissioned in 1921, she then served as a barge for Brisbane Gravel Pty Ltd until 1950, when she was scrapped. In 1958, Gayundah was run aground at Woody Point at Redcliffe, to serve as a breakwater structure.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Koala Island<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>A tropical Whitsunday Island may seem a strange home for a colony of koalas and St Bees Island is an untouched paradise, has a beautiful climate and, best of all, no people; a perfect home for koalas.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The koalas were brought to the island in the early 1900s by the Busuttin family for purely aesthetic reasons. It is believed that the original colony had about 17 koalas. During the 1960s, koalas from St Bees were taken unofficially to establish populations on both Newry and Brampton Islands.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Live firing<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>St. Bees Island - Mariners be advised that this week a feral animal (goats) control program requiring the use of live firing of weapons will take place on St. Bees Island in the Mackay National Parks Management Area of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Exclusion zones will be placed around St Bee's Island. The exclusion zone extends seaward of the High Water mark by 500 metres; all vessels are to remain clear. VHF security calls will be made on channel 16 by Queensland Park & Wildlife vessel 'Tamoya'. St Bee's Island is 15 nautical miles north east of Mackay Harbour. AUS charts 251 & 824<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-14721614942465387012013-05-13T11:34:00.000+10:002013-05-13T11:38:05.177+10:00Pearls of the Coral Sea<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19412"> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV> <DIV> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face=Georgia></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Pearls of the Coral Sea<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Pearls of the Coral Sea Festival is planned for Townsville in September and will feature pearling luggers and traditional timber ships of a bye gone era. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Centred on the major restoration of pearling lugger ANTONIA, organisers are talking with various lugger owners about heading to Townsville for one of the largest gatherings of luggers for some time.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The Australian National Maritime Museum will present all lugger owners that are on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels with their flag and certificate during the festival. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The plan includes a multi-venue precinct between the Townsville Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Centre, Museum of Tropical North Queensland, Townsville Maritime Museum, Reef HQ and more lugger and traditional rig movies, markets, children's activities, and hopefully a lugger race and a sunset sail.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Learn to Sail<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Don't worry if you missed the Whitsunday Sailing Club Registration Day for young sailors or 'tackers' you might just get you child into the course that starts this Sunday at 0830.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The course will be sailed in the new Opti Tackers, specially designed for training younger children. The age range is about seven to 12 years. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Any parents wishing to assist are welcome if you have any sailing background. Contact, Heidi Walton, Whitsunday Sailing Club 4946 6138<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><FONT face=Georgia><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Boat fall, fine<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>A huge $100,000 fine has been copped by a NSW university following an injury to a student falling off a boat during a field trip.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The University of New South Wales (UNSW) was fined after a 23-year-old science student was injured in a boat incident during a course work-related field trip. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The woman suffered severe leg injuries and a broken wrist after falling from an inflatable vessel owned by the University near Darling Harbour on July 2009<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>"The incident occurred when a research assistant, who held a boat licence and was employed by the University, lost control of the inflatable vessel while doing a turn, causing three passengers who were not wearing lifejackets, to fall off.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>"An inspection of the inflatable vessel revealed too much weight in the bow caused 'bow steering' or inadvertent steering to the left or right."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>UNSW was found guilty by the NSW Industrial Court of a breach of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (NSW)<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Mariner Notice<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Tongue Point, Whitsunday Island - Mariners are advised that a heli-lift operation is planned to take place in Tongue Bay, Whitsunday Island in the Whitsunday National Parks Management Area of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. This operation will be conducted from 1330 hours to 1700 hours on Wednesday, April 24.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>This program will require the use of a barge platform and helicopter for multiple lifts during the stated times. A temporary exclusion zone will be placed in Tongue Bay from the public moorings east to Tongue Point during this operation. Mariners are advised to remain clear of exclusion zones and surrounding islands during the operation. Marine VHF security calls will be made morning, midday and afternoon on channel 16 and a Marine Parks vessel will be patrolling the area. AUS charts 252, 253, 824 & 825<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: center 230.9pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><EM> </EM></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-17942170422675042502013-04-25T18:07:00.001+10:002013-04-25T18:07:51.677+10:00Dent Island Light Plan<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Easter weather enjoyed<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Most long time locals will say that Whitsunday often gets rainy, windy 'Easter weather' but not this Easter weekend.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Fabulous weather for everyone except sailors a the Whitsunday Sailing Club Easter Regatta who could have used a bit more wind, not that it cramped their style much with the regatta going off in fine style.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>With a fleet of cruise ships lining up in Pioneer Bay to enjoy Airlie - roadworks and all - the Lions Markets are looking like a Beach Bazaar with near permanent tent souk city.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Local traders would have had their hands busy with what looked like a bonus crowd maxing out the parking and filling the footpaths. Ditto for the Lagoon.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The new boat ramp at Port of Airlie was full to overflowing with a long weekend of flat seas and full moon meaning all the best that Whitsunday and the Great Barrier Reef have to offer was there to enjoy.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>It is easy to see why we can put up with living here in paradise.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Friends depart<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 357.95pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Dear friends and writing colleagues Ian 'Stripey' Grant and his "child bride" wife of some 53 years Marie both passed away in recent weeks, so it is fitting that their ashes will be scattered together on the water they spent their life on and near.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The couple's oldest son, Mark, said the double loss had hit the family hard, but it was "comforting to know they're going to be together".<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>I had the pleasure of their friendship for many years and enjoyed working with them at sailing events. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Ian's childhood nickname came from the blue and white striped pyjamas he got at a Brisbane orphanage. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>For almost seventy-years, whether writing about a sailing weekend with kids or the Olympics, their smiling faces and encyclopaedia-like knowledge of the sport made them firm companions to all who came in contact with them.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>We will all miss their familiar faces at both Hamilton Island and Airlie Beach Race Week regattas, events they covered since they began. Their many friends will have a QLD quiet little drink in their memory.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Fair winds you two. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Dent Island Light Plan<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority have prepared a draft Dent Island Lightstation Heritage Management Plan. The plan describes the Dent Island Lightstation heritage values and proposes measures to ensure those values are managed and protected.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Lighthouse weekend<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>A trend emerging with the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend in August is to find a lighthouse location that has not previously been activated by amateur radio.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>While organisers of the friendly annual event like to see amateur stations returning year after year to the same location, it's pleasing that some new lighthouses or those not registered for some time, being included.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Already quite a few enquiries around the world have been received about new lights, lightships and maritime beacons.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>In the Port Douglas area of Queensland Australia two lighthouses dating back to the 1870s, are to be heard for the first time.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend takes place on the weekend of August 17/18. www.illw.net for info or to register.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 135.15pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Calamari surprise<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>In a bizarre incident, a Chinese fisherman caught a squid that was discovered to be concealing a live bomb.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The bloated looking squid was caught off the coast of the Guangdong province in China and taken to the fish market in Jiaoling County.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Only when the cephalopod was cleaned at the market, was it revealed that there was in fact a live bomb inside it that could detonate at any moment if handled improperly, according to China Daily.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>"This sort of squid lives close to the shore and normally makes a meal of small fish and prawns," the discoverer Mr. Huang, told Guangzhou Daily newspaper.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Local police suggested that the rusted bomb may have been dropped by a fighter jet, but its age was unknown. After Huang called Chinese authorities about the bomb's discovery, it was promptly taken away by police to perform a controlled explosion.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Mariner notice<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Macona Inlet, Hook Island </EM>- Mariners are advised that the destroyed lighted starboard lateral mark beacon Fl G 2.5s, which marks the entrance into Macona Inlet at Hook Island, has been re-established in the position of latitude 20° 10.308' S, longitude 148° 55.138' E. The lighted buoy temporarily established to mark the destroyed beacon has been withdrawn. AUS charts 252 & 824<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-53011036043253264332013-04-25T18:05:00.001+10:002013-04-25T18:05:42.712+10:00Complacency kills hero<DIV> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 419.25pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Complacency kills flood hero<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Complacency led to the death of Brisbane's tugboat flood hero, an investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has found.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Tugboat engineer Peter Fenton, 67, was killed when a crate being loaded onto a barge came free of its slings and fell on top of him on December 15, 2011.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Months earlier, during the January floods, he prevented potential disaster on the Brisbane River when he and colleague Doug Hislop successfully steered a 200-metre section of the Brisbane Riverwalk clear of the Gateway Bridge.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Mr Fenton, operations manager for Bowen Tug and Barge, was performing a routine exercise transferring crates from a ship to a barge on the day of his death.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>In its investigation, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found the crew of the crude oil tanker British Beech had, over time, removed safety barriers which would probably have prevented the accident.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>"The ship's crew did not view the storing operation as dangerous," the bureau said in its final report released on Thursday morning.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The bureau discovered the container had not been properly rigged on board the ship and the ship's crew had not warned the barge crew of its return.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>"The fatal shipping accident ... demonstrates the dangers of complacency, even when undertaking routine tasks," the bureau said.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Mr Fenton received a medal for his bravery during the 2011 floods, when he tackled the swollen Brisbane River on the tugboat Mavis, and steered the 300-tonne walkway clear of one of the city's main bridges.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>He was a reluctant hero, saying afterwards "it was something we had to do and we did it".<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Mariners be advised <o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Hook Reef -</EM> the West Cardinal Mark No.2 beacon which marks the north-western end of Hook Reef has been altered to a pile beacon in the position of latitude 19° 44.448' S, longitude 149° 09.549' E. The structure exhibits a radar reflector. AUS charts 254 & 825<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Nara Inlet, Hook Island</EM> - the destroyed lighted port lateral mark beacon Fl R 2.5s which marks the entrance in to Nara Inlet at Hook Island, has been re-established in the position latitude 20° 09.859' S, longitude 148° 54.017' E. The Fl R 2.5s light has been altered to a Fl R 3s synchronised light. AUS charts 252<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Macona Inlet, Hook Island - Mariners are advised that the destroyed lighted starboard lateral mark beacon Fl G 2.5s, which marks the entrance<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>into Macona Inlet at Hook Island, has been re-established in the position of latitude 20° 10.308' S, longitude 148° 55.138' E. The lighted buoy temporarily established to mark the destroyed beacon has been withdrawn. AUS charts affected: 252 & 824<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Theory and Practice<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; In practice, there is"<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-60965898143583305002013-04-10T13:18:00.000+10:002013-04-10T13:19:03.686+10:00Our plastic future?<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19403"> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV> <DIV> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Our plastic future?<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>I saw a very moving and disturbing short film the other evening at a meeting on the Whitsunday Marine Advisory Committee of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The film clip is about the plight of the albatross of Midway, a 2.4-square-mile (6.2 km2) atoll island in the ocean 2,800 nautical miles (5,200 km) west of San Francisco, and 2,200 nautical miles (4,100 km) east of Tokyo.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Nobody lives there, only birds and yet You will not believe your eyes! This film should be seen by the entire world, please don't throw anything into the sea. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Unbelievable? I wish, just look at the consequences! </FONT><A href="http://www.midwayfilm.com/"><FONT face=Georgia>www.midwayfilm.com</FONT></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Not just birds!<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The greenhouse effect? A dead sperm whale which washed ashore last year in Andalusia, in southern Spain, was found to have died from ingesting plastic sheets used in the construction of greenhouses in that region.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The whale had over 17 kilos (37 pounds) of garbage blocking its stomach, including some 30 square metres (36 square yards) of plastic canvas, said Renaud de Stephanis, a marine biologist at the Donana Biological Station, of the Spanish National Research Council. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>"There were a dozen metres of plastic rope, plastic sheeting used on the outside of greenhouses, and plastic sheeting used inside and even two flower pots."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Can you believe that? No sheet!<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Shipping News<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>When the government or CSIRO put out "the news" such as "Investigator looking ship shape - Australia's new Marine National Facility vessel will start looking ship shape as hundreds of tonnes of steel are lifted into place, to form part of the keel of RV Investigator."(10 May 2012)You should be wary of what lies ahead.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Yup! Australia's new Marine National Facility vessel 'RV Investigator' a AU$120 million, 93.9 metre blue water research ship being built at Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore will be based in Hobart.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>And it will spend plenty of time in Hobart too, as Parliamentary documents reveal the Government has only set aside enough funding to conduct 15 days of research each year. The shortfall was revealed when a policy was submitted to the parliamentary budget office for costing.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The office found that 300 days of research would cost $26 million a year, however existing appropriations for the CSIRO allow for just 15 days of research activity each year, with the exception of funding in 2013-14, which would provide for 65 days of research.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Tri harder record<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>This week the World Sailing Speed Record Council sanctioned Team Australia's passage record from Sydney to Hobart set over February 22-23, 2013.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The ORMA 60 trimaran with six crew sailed a time of 1 day 5 hours 52 minutes and 23 seconds for the famous 630 nautical mile Tasman Sea crossing, making an average speed 22 knots.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Bob Oatley's supermaxi Wild Oats XI retains the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race record of 1 day 18 hours 23 minutes and 12 seconds set last year. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Talk is that Team Tritium from the USA and Team Vodafone Sailing from NZ to race together at both Airlie and Hamilton Island race weeks. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM><STRONG>Pizza, beer, yacht<o:p></o:p></STRONG></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Two men and a woman brought pizza and beer aboard an 82-foot sailing yacht in the Sausalito (California) Yacht Harbor late Sunday or early Monday and proceeded to take the boat to sea, only to run aground.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The owner of the 'Darlin' saw his yacht on the television coverage of the grounding and reported it stolen.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The apparent thieves repeatedly declined assistance and refused to leave the grounded boat. A standoff ensued for several hours with the Coast Guard and local authorities. Ultimately, Pacifica police arrested the three on suspicion of grand theft and conspiracy. Each was being held on more than $1 million bail.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The yacht 'Darlin' was refloated at high tide.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Marine notices<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Unsafe Passage</EM> - Mariners are advised that the rear leading light bearing 240.5° which marks Unsafe Passage be reported unlit. This has been an ongoing problem and the light may be obscured. Perhaps the tree dudes need so directions. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Laguna Quays Marina</EM> - the soundings depicted on the chart for the entrance channel and waterways may not (!) be correct around the Laguna Quays Marina. Navigational aids along the entrance channel and the marina may not be fully operational. Mariners are advised to take extreme caution when approaching Laguna Quays Marina from the sea and navigating within the marina waterways. It looks like the sea is reclaiming this facility. AUS charts 252 & 253<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-7984398324465677592013-04-05T08:57:00.000+10:002013-04-05T08:58:04.030+10:00Is it time to fire marine distress flares?<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Is it time to fire marine distress flares?<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">There is a discussion going on about the future of marine distress flares in an age where electronic devices can perhaps do a better job and negate the carriage of these compulsory, expensive limited life explosive devices.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">A boat does not have to go very far to sea before an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) is also compulsory. So as the EPIRB has its own battery it is self contained and as it is mandatory one may as well use it in a distress situation.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Marine radio equipped with Digital Selective Calling equipment is a part of the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) and provides all the functionality of voice-only equipment and, additionally, allows several distress features almost like dialling triple zero.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The distress button automatically sends a digital distress signal identifying the vessel, the nature of the emergency, and a GPS position. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The problems with flares are firstly; replacing them every three years at a substantial cost. Then the problem is how to use them. Only 'in date' flares may be used in flare training and a permit is required. Out of date flares are considered Time Expired Pyrotechnics (TEP), they are hazardous goods not hazardous waste and can not be used for training purposes mainly because of the 'someone might get hurt' mentality promoted by the huge crowd of landlubber desk jockeys responsible for the impractical Nanny State ideology. Left to these stupid people who seek to protect the world, you may find yourself shooting your flare through the bottom of your boat or liferaft in the dark when blowing a gale and raining unless you have undertaken expensive training beyond the scope of most recreational users.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Then there is the problem of disposing of the out of date flares. You can't use them to find out how they work, so you have to get rid of them. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Yachting Australia advises that "currently there is no uniform national policy for the return and disposal of marine distress signals in Australia. The disposal of expired flares varies from state to state." Well, that is typical for a start.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Arrangements have been made in many states for disposal of expired flares through nominated government agencies such as Police stations or Fire Brigades, State Marine Authorities, Water Police or manufacturer of the distress signal. Boat owners are encouraged to check the websites of these bodies for further information."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">We are lucky locally, probably because of our large marine community, that we have distributors like Marlin Marine who sell new flares to you and take the old ones back. The Whitsunday Fire station will also take out of date flares.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">What do you think? Are flares really past their 'use by' date? If they are 'unsafe' when the date ticks over are they safe in untrained hands? In this age of EPIRBS and advanced radios and mobile phones are flares really still necessary or is the average boat owner just held to ransom by people who can't find their way to the beach. Drop a line with your opinion to Waterfront c/ The Whitsunday Coast Guardian or by electric parrot <A href="">ahoy@whitsunday.net.au</A> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Sea Goddesses wanted<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Calling all Sea Goddesses, applications are now being accepted for the Maine Sea Goddess Pageant, open to 20 young women who are single, a high school graduate, not more than 21 years of age, and a Maine resident. The young woman chosen as Sea Goddess receives a $2,000 cash award and represents the Maine lobster fishing industry at the 66th annual Maine Lobster Festival during her one-year reign. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Applications to: Maine Lobster Festival Coronation Committee, <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Whitehaven beacon <o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Mariners are advised that the lighted North Cardinal Mark beacon Q off the southern end of Whitehaven Beach at Whitsunday Island has been destroyed. (Again!) A lighted Special mark buoy Fl Y has been temporarily established to mark the position of the destroyed beacon. Mariners should use caution when navigating in the vicinity. AUS charts 252 & 253<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Hook Reef<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Mariners are advised that the destroyed East Cardinal Mark beacon off the eastern end of Hook Reef has been re-established in the position of latitude 19° 48.6670' S, longitude 149° 15.1750' E. The beacon is unlit and exhibits a radar reflector. AUS charts 254 & 825<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-52918327702055949672013-04-05T08:56:00.001+10:002013-04-05T08:56:12.442+10:00Course set for Whitsunday Fun events<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Course set for Whitsunday Fun events<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">A meeting of the Reef Festival Committee this week was setting course for another great event later this year based around the Great Whitsunday Fun Race in Airlie Beach. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The days and nights before and after Fun Race Saturday August 17 will provide locals and visitors the chance to be involved in plenty of fun activities on the water and on land.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">While the program is not yet finalised, your Waterfront writer can reveal that the Recycled Raft Race will again be 'sailed' on the afternoon of Sunday August 18 again at the Airlie Beach Lagoon.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Over the last few years a wonderful collection of craft have taken to the water; some have even managed to float! However under the watchful eye of our mighty Lagoon lifeguards we haven't lost anyone yet, although the level of seamanship has left something to be improved upon.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Start planning your entry now following the simple provisional rules informed by the Pirate's Code (guidelines really) that the craft be made of recycled materials, sailed by two or more crew and may be recycled into a JJ Richards bin following the race. (Subject to judge's whim or payoff and of course no correspondence will be entered into unless the letter is secured to a bottle of rum; see 'fine print').<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Prizes are being arranged for the race survivors and sponsors are sought for the event that includes both adult and kids crews.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">You are needed to help our community and have fun while you are at it Further info contact: Reef Festival Committee <A href="">secretary@reeffestival.com</A> or the Heidi Walton at the Whitsunday Sailing Club </SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Titanic II Qld link<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean over one hundred years ago after hitting an iceberg off Newfoundland. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Queensland Billionaire, Professor Clive Palmer and his Blue Star Line Company held a press conference in New York City last week to unveil the new blueprints of the Titanic II.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">It might be hard to believe, but plans are underway for the creation of the Titanic II, an exact replica of the ill fated ship that could transport passengers across the sea as soon as 2016.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"We aren't going to divulge the cost because I have enough money to pay for it," Palmer said. "Cost isn't what it is about. It's about creating a memory of the Titanic."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">From a safety standpoint, a Blue Line representative said, "It will be the most safe cruise ship in the world when it launches."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Anything will sink if you put a hole in it," said Palmer, noting the company is already looking into preventing worst-case scenarios.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Noting that the company is already looking into preventing worst-case scenarios Professor Palmer said, "I'm not super-superstitious. We are staying true to the original Titanic and a lot of those designs and full experience that never saw the light of day, but there will be some updates too."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>ASIO asking<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">An ASIO officer may, without warrant, ask an operator of an aircraft or vessel questions about the aircraft or vessel, its cargo, crew, passengers, stores or voyage; and to produce supporting documents relating to these questions. You may not tell anyone about this.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Mariner Notices<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Due to the weather, there are numerous hazards to navigation including a large log approximately 6 metre long and 1.5 metre in diameter that has been reported adrift, so Mariners should navigate with caution.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Nara Inlet, Hook Island - Mariners are advised that the destroyed lighted port lateral mark beacon Fl R 2.5s which marks the entrance in to Nara Inlet at Hook Island, has been re-established in the position latitude 20° 09.8590' S, longitude 148° 54.0170' E. The Fl R 2.5s light has been altered to a Fl R 3s synchronised light. The lighted buoy temporarily established to mark the destroyed beacon has been withdrawn.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Macona Inlet, Hook Island - the destroyed lighted Starboard Lateral Mark beacon Fl G 2.5s, which marks the entrance into Macona Inlet at Hook Island, has been re-established in the position of latitude 20° 10.3080' S, longitude 148° 55.1380' E. AUS charts affected: 252 & 824<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Words of wisdom:<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>"Anything will sink if you put a hole in it,"</EM> Clive Palmer said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Cap'n Dan is a regular broadcaster on ABC Radio Tropical North and 4MK<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-74550642678599723782013-04-05T08:54:00.001+10:002013-04-05T08:54:48.748+10:00Billions for Airlie <DIV> <DIV> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><FONT face=Georgia></FONT> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face=Georgia></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><FONT face=Georgia><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><STRONG><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=5>Billions for Airlie<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></STRONG></SPAN> </FONT> <P></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Is it a sign of the times? Hamilton Island has enjoyed ownership by the billionaire Oatley family for ten years, so is Airlie Beach just playing catch up; or perhaps claiming our rightful place in Whitsunday society?<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>News that we have at least one billionaire in our midst and that he has purchased a marina to park his boat really says that we have arrived. So we need to welcome him aboard and rally to the cause. I used 'rally' as I hear he drives a rally car called a Perana (piranha?); made his money digging stuff up and also spends money on helping other abled people. Sounds a good fit for Airlie.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Airlie Beach is one of those places where when enjoying a cool drink at the sailing club bar or similar venue, a chap may be standing next to you wearing a well worn Rolls Royce Owners tee-shirt. Naturally, one may assume the said chap is either a near destitute ex wharfie or a bona fide RR owner.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Case in point was a former employer of your Waterfront writer, boating tragic and now deceased John Calloway who would front the bar of the sailing club with RR Owners Club tee-shirt looking every inch the op-shop rag picker, swilling Mount Gay Eclipse Rum with the last of his pension cheque. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Au contraire! When a not so discreet inquiry was made Calloway related that, yes he WAS a member of the Rolls Royce Owners Club. Furthermore the Poseidon era Melbourne stock exchange member had enjoyed seeing two of his Rollers in the 1959 film 'On the Beach' the post-apocalyptic drama film directed by Stanley Kramer, based on Nevil Shute's 1957 novel, starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Calloway liked doing it big. A part owner of 'Golden Plover' JC chartered Eric and Jeannie Kraak's boat 'Sunbird' complete with Chef on the night in 1987 that the full size replica of the 'Golden Plover' was incinerated for the Kennedy Miller film 'Dead Calm'<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>So while it may appear easy to speculate about millions and billions while enjoying a rather large Sharez Cabernet your humble writer feels somewhat justified in reclaiming for Airlie the crown as Heart of the Great Barrier Reef. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 354.0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 354.0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Ghost ship<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 354.0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>For a month, the small cruise ship MV Lyubov Orlova has been adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, a "ghost ship" without power, lights or passengers, except for the rats left aboard.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The 295' ice strengthened cruise ship, built in Yugoslavia in 1976, has been abandoned twice once by her owners in St John's, Newfoundland in 2010 and once by Transport Canada. The ship is drifting over a thousand miles off the coast of Ireland.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>On January 23, she was taken under tow bound for a scrap yard in the Dominican Republic; however her tow line broke in heavy seas,<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>"The Lyubov Orlova no longer poses a threat to the safety of offshore oil installations, their personnel or the marine environment. The vessel has drifted into international waters and given current patterns and predominant winds, it is very unlikely that the vessel will re-enter waters under Canadian jurisdiction," a Transport Canada official said.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>The current owner of the ship is technically responsible for the vessel, though there has been no response from the owner, Neptune International Shipping, described as a "Caribbean-based" Iranian buyer," which purchased the ship for scrap for $275,000 in February 2012.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Marine Radio<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Check out the latest tips from the guys at Hook, Line and Sinker! Digital Selective Calling on your VHF Marine Radio: Ideal in a distress situation, it can broadcast your essential information including your GPS position with the touch of a button. Check it out at Hook, Line and Sinker Tips www.youtube.com<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Sea scroll<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>When is a sea not a sea? The Dead Sea is not a sea, but a landlocked salt lake, 45 miles long by 9 miles wide.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><STRONG>Notice to Mariners<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Whitsundays pilotage areas - Unsafe Passage - Mariners are advised that the leading lights F Bu, F Day, bearing 240.5° which mark Unsafe Passage are unlit. Mariners should use caution when transiting the passage. This has been a persistent problem. AUS charts 252 & 253<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>Remember: Clean Up Australia Day this Sunday! <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><((((º><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>`·.¸¸..·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><((((º><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>·´¯`·. .><((((º><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>><((((º<`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><FONT face=Georgia>`·.¸.·. . .><((((º> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p><FONT face=Georgia> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706987.post-7950637175734006462013-04-05T08:51:00.001+10:002013-04-05T08:51:59.904+10:00Sailing for everyone needs you!<DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <DIV><FONT face=Georgia> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG><FONT size=4><FONT face=Arial>Sailing for everyone needs you!<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Sailability helps get other abled people out on the water to enjoy the sport of sailing and they need volunteers to lend a hand.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"We are in desperate need of more volunteers" Whitsunday Sailability secretary Lyn Chalmers said this week.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"Sailability will be taking people for a sail this Saturday at the Whitsunday Sailing Club's Australia Day 2 event.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We need volunteers and are inviting people to come down and go for a sail in our boats."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"So I hope as many of us volunteers as possible can be there Saturday <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>"We also have to discuss taking a boat to Bowen for the Sports Expo," Ms Chalmers added.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Popular race on</STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">the Monte's Reef Resort Race, originally scheduled on the Australia Day long weekend, will now take place on March 2 and 3 with sailors enjoying a few before cruising home on Sunday.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Granny conquers cape<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Jeanne Socrates, a 70 year old British grandmother, has rounded the Cape of Good Hope on her sailboat 'Nereida' in her attempt to become the oldest non-stop solo circumnavigator.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>She left Victoria, British Columbia in October rounded Cape Horn and has now set course to round Australia's Cape Leeuwin.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is Ms. Socrates' third attempt at a solo non-stop circumnavigation. She has already completed two previous solo-circumnavigations but on each needed to put into port for repairs, after grounding and a knock-down damaged her sailboat. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Cup O' coffee<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Is there no place on earth beyond its reach? No, it's not the US Navy, but Starbucks. The coffee seller is now opening a store on the amphibious assault ship, USS Boxer the first "fully functioning Starbucks shop on a US Navy ship.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is only fitting that Starbucks has gone to sea as the company was named after the chief mate of the whaling ship 'Pequod' in Herman Melville's novel "Moby Dick."<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Melville in turn used the name of a prominent whaling family in Nantucket for Ahab's second in command.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In a very real sense, Starbucks has been at sea for quite some time. Just as long as they don't start using seawater in the brew.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Single-handed<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Congratulations to Matt Rutherford who was recently awarded the Ocean Cruising Club's Jester Medal, for an outstanding contribution to the art of single-handed sailing. In April of last year, Matt completed a record breaking 309 day, over 27,000 mile, non-stop circumnavigation of the Americas. He made this incredible voyage, which included singlehanded non-stop passages through the Northwest Passage and around Cape Horn, in St. Brendan, a 27' Albin-Vega sailboat. In addition to completing the voyage itself Matt has raised over $100,000 for the Chesapeake Regional Accessible Boating (CRAB.) A documentary is in production about Matt's voyage 'Red Dot on the Ocean'.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Gilligan's Island quiz<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">What were the Professor and Skipper's actual names? The Professor on Gilligan's Island was named Roy Hinkley. The Skipper was named Jonas Grumby. Both names were used only once in the entire series, on the first episode.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><STRONG>Old measure<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">The cubit is the oldest known measurement, appearing in the Bible when God gives Noah instructions for the ark. Described as a Royal Cubit, it was measured from the elbow to the thumb knuckle. It was a means of insuring that the nobility got a larger share at the market place. Don't tell politicians about this; they have enough 'measures' up their sleeves.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>Robots detect Whales<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">Two submarine robots equipped with instruments designed to listen for the calls of whales, have detected nine endangered North Atlantic right whales. Battery powered and exceptionally quiet in the water, the robot<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>gliders are equipped with an underwater microphone on the underside of the vehicle near its wings and an iridium satellite antenna on the tail section. According to SCUBA News the vehicle surfaces every few hours to get a GPS position and transmit data to shore-side computers.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 353.3pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 353.3pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><STRONG>55 BC<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 353.3pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 353.3pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work instead of living on public assistance." <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>- Cicero, 55 BC<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 353.3pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'">So, evidently we've learned nothing in the past 2,068 years.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Fair winds to Ye!<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><EM>Cap'n Dan<o:p></o:p></EM></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com