Working Together today for a Healthier Reef Tomorrow

Local Reef Guardian Schools are participating in the Future Leaders Eco Challenge (FLEC)with this year's event seeing students participate in activities focused on supporting healthy ecosystems and improving sustainability in their schools and at home.

The theme for this year's Reef Guardian Schools FLEC, Working Together today for a Healthier Reef Tomorrow, aims to help students connect sustainability and environmental initiatives within their community to a healthy Great Barrier Reef.

Students will have the opportunity to investigate a local ecosystem through field based activities that are translatable to their school based projects.

The Whitsunday Future Leaders Eco Challenge; Bring a hat, sunscreen, water bottle, raincoat and sturdy closed shoes next Wednesday at Cannonvale Beach from 8.45am

 

Whale Jail?

 

Is Australia a whale jail? Is overregulation killing tourism? Compare Canada and Australian whale tourism.

In eastern Canada – "But for a real thrill why not try sea kayaking to get up close and personal with whales. Where else in the world can you see humpback whales (some 5,000 pass this way each year) and 10,000-year-old icebergs only two hours from New York?

"The company offers snorkelling and diving with whales for $199 and "Iceberg Close Encounter" for $149."

However, in Australia the headlines read "FEDERAL agents will carry out secret surveys of Cairns tourist boats by land and sea to ensure they are keeping a good distance from migrating humpback whales.

"The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and officers from the Federal environment department, alongside officers from the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management, are starting compliance surveys, as part of a nationwide operation to enforce whale approach limits.

Boats are not allowed to be within 100m of a whale in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. A person in water must not move any closer than 300m to a whale. A person must not enter water closer than 300m to a whale.

A department of environment representative said officers would be involved in a various compliance and enforcement strategies, including land and sea patrols and covert surveillance.

"The public are encouraged to report suspected offences."

Your writer can confirm that the main problem with getting up close and personal with a humpback whale is that they have very smelly fish breath.

"Whale watching did not exist as an organized activity a half a century ago, yet today it accounts for some 3 million participants in thirty countries generating almost a half a billion dollars annually." Value of Life by Stephen Kellert (1997)

 

Thorny issue

 

Funding is sought to put in place a long-term eradication program for Crown of Thorns starfish (COTS) following recent research and assessment in the Whitsunday area by Projects Global.

The Whitsunday Charter Boat Industry Association and the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators are seeking letters of support for a Regional Crown of Thorns Eradication Program.

Local divers and Projects Global confirmed that some locations do have significant outbreaks and collected sufficient data to apply for government funding for a Whitsundays specific eradication program.

 

Mariner Notices

 

Boat Haven Bay - Mariners be advised that a sailing vessel has sunk midway between Abel Point and Mandalay Point, in the Small Craft Mooring Area. The vessel, exposed at all tides, lies in about three (3) metres of water. A Special Mark buoy is temporarily established to mark the sunken vessel. Mariners should use caution in the vicinity. AUS charts 252, 253 & 268

Going north? Admiralty publication Indonesia Pilot Volume 3 Fifth Edition 2011 be published and replaces previous editions. For further details, refer RAN Australian Hydrographic Service.

 

Fair winds to Ye!

Cap'n Dan

 

Cap'n Dan is a regular broadcaster on ABC Radio Tropical North

Funds needed for reef stars halt

 A Crown of Thorns Starfish control and assessment team operating in the Whitsunday region during June killed hundreds of the starfish on Bait and Knuckle reefs in the first significant outbreak in several years.

Col McKenzie, from the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, says operators in the Whitsundays noticed an explosion in Crown of Thorns Starfish (COTS) numbers in the region, with Bait and Knuckle reefs damaged.

"We need to do something about it or it'll just eat all the coral out on those particular reefs," Mr McKenzie said.

Blame for the increase in the pest is the result of significant recent rainfall.

"Bait Reef operators have noted a significant increase in the number of COTS they see during their diving day," long time local diving expert Tony Fontes told The Whitsunday Coast Guardian this week.

"Dive operators are now working with the Whitsunday Charter Boat Industry Association to lobbying for a government sponsored eradication program.

The crown-of-thorns is a corallivore, a carnivorous predator that preys on reef coral polyps.

 

Mystery ship in port

 

A three-mast schooner with an interesting history has been in port recently.

Now known as 'Southern Cloud' the white 39.62m (130-foot) sailing yacht was launched in 1989 in Denmark designed to cruise in style and when launched was the biggest fibreglass composite luxury vessel in the world.

Accommodating up to 12 guests in seven cabins, 'Southern Cloud' is here for the winter sailing season before returning to Sydney for the summer.

However, it is the history of the Superyacht that is of interest here.

Named Butterfly McQueen when launched, the Bermuda rigged schooner was until recent times owned by a secretive Danish cult charity organisation whose directors have been in and out of court for years, when they could be found.

Claiming to be a target for the SIS and the CIA, cult leader Mogens Amdi Petersen disappeared one day in 1979 and not seen again for the next 22 years until he was arrested in the US. Released in 2006 during an appeal Petersen and four other directors of the 'charity' have been hunted by Danish authorities on allegations of money laundering, tax evasion, and fraud.

The Superyacht was originally named after Butterfly McQueen; the first black actress to win an Oscar - for her role as Scarlett O'Hara's maid Prissy in the 1939 American epic-romance-drama movie "Gone With The Wind". Her Oscar award had to be picked up by somebody else because of the racial discrimination, which existed at the time.

 

Coral Sea battle

 

This week thirty warships are patrolling in the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef area as part of as part of Australia's largest joint military training exercise with U.S.

Joint Task Force Commander, Vice Admiral Scott Van Buskirk, Commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, said the exercise was important for Australia and the U.S. to maintain close military ties.

"By exercising together we will increase interoperability, flexibility and readiness which will help us maintain peace and stability in the Pacific," Vice Admiral Van Buskirk said.

Exercise Talisman Sabre involves more than 22,000 troops at Shoalwater Bay near Rockhampton, and other sites in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Talisman Sabre exercise is Australia's largest joint military training exercise and it is important to the security of the region.

 

Marine Notices

                

Lagoon Rock - Mariners are advised that the lighted west cardinal mark beacon Q (9) 15s, which marks Lagoon Rock off Whitehaven Beach, has been destroyed.

Spitfire Rock - Mariners are advised that the lighted west cardinal mark buoy Q (9) 15s that marks Spitfire Rock in Kennedy Sound, south-west of Lindeman Island, has been reported to be off station. AUS charts 252, 254 & 824

 

Fair winds to Ye!

Cap'n Dan

Farmers, fishers, school kids, councils - say "our reef"

 

The screening of the new Reef Guardian community announcements on television featuring fishers, farmers and graziers has surprised some; however, the programs aim to highlight the positive actions undertaken by primary producers along our Great Barrier Reef coast.

The Reef Guardian initiatives are voluntary programs that aim to promote new industry stewardship to improve capacity and facilitate the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices that will ultimately improve the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.

Participants representing GrowCom, Canegrowers, Agforce, Regional NRM groups, Local Marine Advisory Committees, DPI, State and Commonwealth Government, as well as grower/producers expressed enthusiastic support for the Reef Guardian programs.

The overarching objective of the programs is to engage positively with farmers, fishers and graziers in the Great Barrier Reef catchment, through recognition of best practice management actions that contributes to reef resilience.

At a recent meeting of the Whitsunday Local Marine Advisory Committee members heard from Karen Vohland, GBRMPA Director of Reef Guardians and Regional Engagement,

"It is not an eco certification program, it is skill list recognition program," She said.

"It is about encouraging and recognising the work that is already happening; developing skills. Not just about environmental sustainability but includes economic sustainability for farmers, fishers and others who have a great knowledge and ability to do what they do."

Weather it is the soil or the sea it all affects the GBR and this program can generate positive outcomes and best management practices leading to a triple bottom line of social, economic and environmental of the various businesses.

The Project will strengthen the existing Reef Guardian School Program, which has in excess of 230 schools participating, and the Reef Guardian Council Program with ten councils involved.

 

Good TIPA

 

TIPA is Tourism in Protected Areas and is a framework for managing tourism on national parks that has been under discussion with the tourism industry, recently finalised, and released by then Minister for Environment Kate Jones MP and Jan Jarratt MP Minister for Tourism.

An information evening for tourism operators that run programs on many of our iconic National Parks in Queensland is on Wednesday July 13, 6pm Reef Gateway Hotel, RSVP or details - jane.graham@derm.qld.gov.au

 

Pirates are real

 

Yes, and there are two types of pirates. The popular type speaks a combination of West Country English and 1930s Hollywood called 'mid Atlantic,' sing songs about rum and waving their hook in the air. Seen in Airlie Beach during International Talk Like a Pirate Day (Note. Saturday September 10 this year)

Then there's the other type who, if they speak English, have a Somalian accent and are armed to the teeth, if they have any. They kidnap ships and crews and then ransom them. This type be giving 'type one' pirates a bad name.

Those sailors who are lucky enough to be roaming the high seas or considering it often ask about staying safe in a sometimes-unsafe world.

To be very safe, consider staying in a safe harbour sitting on a big fat armchair, where demanding that 'someone should do something about it' works a treat.

The next level requires doing something yourself where you find quickly that the Nanny State ends where the water gets rough.

Therefore, it pays to consider ways to protect yourself and your ship; the best idea is to not go where gunplay is the norm. So avoid some regions usually where your insurance coverage ends, be cautious and educate yourself about areas with lower, but existing risks.

Even on the waterfront, having a second wallet with small amount of cash, expired credit card and perhaps a cheap watch to give aggressive intruders might save your bacon.

Carpet tacks on deck in strange ports are reported to have some affect, leave a light and music on, buy some pepper spray but leave your guns at home.

 

Mariner Notices

 

While out sailing this week I saw that the leading lights on Daydream Island guiding vessels through Unsafe Passage between Mid Molle Island and North Molle Island be still in disrepair.

 

Fair winds to Ye!

Cap'n Dan

 

Cap'n Dan is a regular broadcaster on ABC Radio Tropical North

Short sleeves and sports boats get ready to race

Having turned 21 last year, the annual Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week has grown in stature by adding exciting class fleets to the tropical shirtsleeve sailing at Airlie Beach and around the Whitsunday islands.

The fast, furious and highly competitive sports boat class will be joined on Pioneer Bay by new fleets of junior sailors sailing International Optimists and the tried and true Sabot.

For the first time, junior sailors are to join the bigger boats in this fantastic regatta sailing with the rest of the world at the August 12-18 regatta.

While the August 12 start is nearing, teenage sailors Klaus and Eva Lorenz from Whitsunday Sailing Club have some serious sailing to do before then, as they will represent Australia in Optimists at the 2011 Asian Championships, taking place in Singapore in the last week of July.

The Whitsunday Optimist Regatta during Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week will eventually form part of a Queensland circuit, with its own perpetual trophy.

Over 100 boats will be racing across ten classes at Airlie Beach with racing from Friday August 12.

 

BVGYC

 

Yes, the 'BVGYC' Beaut Views Grotty Yachty Club is planning a rendezvous during race week that will mark twenty five years since John Bertrand AM fresh from skippering Australia II to victory in the 1983 America's Cup head-butted the platypus.

While at press time, it is not known if Bertrand will grace Airlie Beach for the Race Week reunion a usually reliable source says BVGYC Commodore and Boating Oz pioneer Kathy McKenzie will be in town for the event.

Susie Costello is tracking down some of the crew, Lawso is usually in Airlie at the sailing club and some others will no doubt float up, as they tend to do.

 

Holiday sailing

 

 The Whitsunday Sailing Club has a fun sailing program for kids who are looking for an introduction to sailing these school holidays.

Sailing instructor Roger Stewart says, "The whole idea of this holiday program is to introduce kids to the basic elements of sailing and sea safety. I try to focus on making every session fun and interactive."

 

Smile and wave!

 

Some Japanese tourists just asked me to take a picture of them. When I said "Wave" they ran off.

 

Old bubbly

 

Last year divers found intact bottles of champagne, believed to date from between 1782 and 1788, in the hold of a shipwreck on the Baltic seabed. In November, a bottle of the "world's oldest champagne" was opened and tasted by experts who judged it to be quite palatable. Last week two bottles of the shipwreck champagne went on auction in Finland. Despite expectations that each bottle might sell for as much 100,000 Euros (approximately $140,000), the winning bids were 30,000 Euros ($43,500) for a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and 24,000 Euros for a bottle of Juglar.   

The money is to go towards maritime history and environmental projects in the Aland Islands, located between Sweden and Finland. Experts are still trying to determine the identity of the 170-Year-Old shipwreck, believed en route to Russia and the Tsar's court.

 

Sabot sails

 

Recovering from the cyclone, Mission Beach Sailing Club is in desperate need of Sabot sails for their club boats. Sails in any condition would be appreciated, as they do not have five sails for their 'learn to sail' sabots. Contact: Judy Heath 40688201 jgheath@bigpond.com

 

Want a chance?

 

Racing and delivery crew wanted for Hamilton Island Race Week - www.hamiltonislandraceweek.com.au/forum

 

Fair winds to Ye!

Cap'n Dan

 

And then there were none

 And then there were none

 

Submariners are known as a tough breed and they themselves will say "a bit crazy' to sail a boat below sea level.

However, as with any fighting force they need support and leadership and that appears to be the missing elements in both Australia and Canada.

Both Australia and Canada have naval headquarters in cities far away from the sea in Canberra and Ottawa and both places are described as full of admirals, politicians, bureaucrats and a waste substance that should not be published in a family newspaper.

Sure, an accident or mechanical breakdown will occur, that is why nations have more than one submarine.

Last week HMCS Corner Brook grounded leaving Canada without any operational subs.

Apparently the Canadians are not alone in this regard, as Aussie sub HMAS Dechaineux is in dock in Perth for inspection after limping home from Singapore leaving the Australasian fleet of six submarines also in no shape to put to sea.

Reports say that for the first time in a generation, Australia does not have a single submarine available to defend the nation today.

Sources say the entire fleet of six Collins-class submarines cannot be put to sea despite the navy's claim that two of them remain officially "operational" but insiders say the reality is that neither vessel could be put to sea today if required.

Not having a single task-ready submarine is an embarrassment for the navy, whose attempts to improve the performance of the $10 billion fleet have been stymied by breakdowns, accidents, lack of crew and the growing unreliability of the ageing vessels built between 1990 and 2004.

 

Wubbo Ockels

 

The Ecolution, an innovative sailing yacht built by former Dutch astronaut Wubbo Ockels, reached port near The Hague on Tuesday afternoon after a successful test voyage.

The futuristic boat was sabotaged and sunk by vandals last December. Mr Ockels says the first phase of repairs has been completed with more work needed to repair the state of the art electronics.

Mr Ockels called the test voyage with the Ecolution "fantastic". He said, "My wife and I shed tears when the sail was hoisted for the first time."

The hyper-modern yacht with its space-age design is able to generate its own energy and is built with sustainable material.

 

Ark bids

 

The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Invincible was sold to Turkish scrappers last February. Now bids are open for the sale of HMS Ark Royal. While scrapping seems a likely outcome the tender allows that "alternatively the vessel may be purchased for re-use/refurbishment for non-warlike purposes."   Now a Devon based diver is bidding to sink the ship as an artificial reef off Torbay to promote sea life and provide a dive site for recreational divers.

In addition to the bid to sink the ship, there be plans to use the Ark Royal as a floating commercial helipad in London, turning it into a school, a nightclub or a base for security personnel during the Olympics." 

All bids are due by 1000 BST on June 13.

 

Port of Airlie update

 

Mariners are advised that actual channel depth below port datum (Lowest Astronomical Tide) in the Port of Airlie Marina development, as defined in NTM 1109 (P) of 2010, is declared to be 1.8m as of Thursday, 9 June 2011. AUS charts 252, 253, 268 & 824

Boat Haven note: A meeting of the Proserpine Shire Council on June 9, 1960 approved the adoption of 'Boat Haven' as the name for the bay at the eastern end of the Town of Airlie, till then known as Muddy Bay. The idea was to rid that muddy bay of the stigma of the earlier name. Source: Ray Blackwood.

 

Fair winds to Ye!

Cap'n Dan

Itinerant Boatman and Reverer of Wimmin passes
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Such a lonely death. The winter storm lashed the mast-tops, and drove black rain into his face. The bay was black and lifeless, reflecting nothing, a black hole in the city, whose far sounds shimmered and dimmed behind the rain. He opened his mouth to the wind and the rain, raging without voice.
Henry Adam, the much-loved and irascible writer for Afloat otherwise known as ’Arry Driftwood died on 15 June having drowned when he fell from his dinghy on a passage between Birkenhead Marina and his good ship Driftwood.
Alan Lucas recalls that he always stood up in his outboard-powered dinghy. “A practice I worried about and gave him a friendly dig about it, but he persisted through rain and shine – both before and after his knee replacement – so I guess he died fully understanding the risks he took and certainly living the life he loved.”
Talking about the death last month of his friend Hans Eriksson after “momentary carelessness” ’Arry concurred in the need to never let up on your vigilance or you will swiftly become LATE.
With startling prescience he mentioned his own moment of rashness … “Usually I throttle back and whip the stop lanyard out and drop it aboard before tying up. But this time with a bit of roughosity the lanyard caught under the throttle and as I whip it up, it opened her up! I’m clinging like hell as we circled around and around the moorings. I’m flat on me arse in the wet bilge until I get me equilibrium and shut things down. Now that coulda been fatal. It coulda!”
Largely self-taught, ’Arry was a man of miscellaneous unfulfilled talents. He was born 17 June 1930 in Montmorency, Victoria. The family then moved to Melbourne. Looking for adventure and “to get away from the coldness” he bought a Thames Bedford van and drove north to Brisbane where he met and married Heather. On the way he worked as a cane-cutter, road labourer and fencer. In 1954 they bought a property in Kalanga and turned the wild bush land into a pineapple farm.
In 1961 they repaired to Redcliffe where he went to night school, working in the daytime as an apprentice radio technician with the old AWA company. Later he joined B&D and Electrolux as a salesman.
Moving to Cairns, he bought his beloved Driftwood and sailed to Sydney, dreaming all the time of one day sailing around the world, a bone of contention with his, now, extended family who teased him mercilessly about his susceptibility to mal de mer.
The grey-bearded grinning ’Arry rarely talked about himself – he was always interested in the opinions of others, particularly if he could start up an enjoyable discussion where you could agree to disagree.
“He was always a strong socialist with a clear way of describing his politics,” said Alan Lucas.
Water neighbour Don Hartley recalls how they used to share a sunset chat. “He was alternatively cursing the government or the big white boat wash. He was a fixture on the Harbour. Ferry crews would wave to him, steam boats would toot and there was always someone pulling alongside to have a chat including the Maritime and the Water coppers. He was much liked.”
You can see him in his dinghy. Standing with his hand behind his back to steer and the other raised in a wave. Head up, cap on, big grin, loudly singing the Internationale.

Eternal virgins shipmate. Love ya!
Robin Copeland


Source: http://afloat.com.au/afloat-magazine/2011/july-2011/Editors_Column

Fast trip north for Offshore Challenge

 

Fast trip north for Offshore Challenge

 

Over nine days from August 25, the Offshore Challenge will island and marina hop a course inside the Great Barrier Reef up the Queensland coast to Airlie Beach.

There are races and rallies, cruises and social outings for every form of water craft, but until now there was no real opportunity for a genuine, long-distance, adventure-style, navigational rally for power boating enthusiasts.

This event is designed specifically for the privateer boat owner who might not normally undertake a solo offshore cruise, but who would jump at the chance to explore some of Australia's best coastal waterways in the company of others as part of an organised event.

The Offshore Challenge is sixteen islands, six coastal passages, rocky inlets, coral cays, wide sandy beaches, palm-fringed lagoons, coastal towns, Pacific ocean swells, mangrove-lined hidden surprises, bar-ways, famous holiday resorts and remote secluded passages; the most varied and exciting way the explore Australia's most iconic coastline.

If you are a power boating enthusiast and want to do more to enjoy your boating, then starting and finishing at the world-class marinas of Meridien Marina's Horizon Shores and Airlie Beach, the Australian Offshore Challenge is for you.

You do not need a specially modified craft, just a sea-worthy, offshore capable, production sports cruiser or fishing boat.

The Gold Coast to Whitsundays Rally August 25 to September 3 enjoying the best weather and arriving in time for the Rotary Meridien Boat and Lifestyle Show at the new Port of Airlie on the weekend of September 10-11 and enjoy the Airlie Beach Fun Race and International Talk Like a Pirate Day are on Saturday September 10.

 

Fans stick together

 

The Eighth-Annual Duct Tape Festival was held on the weekend to celebrate and pay tribute to the world's favourite fix-all - duct tape.

Hosted in Avon, Ohio, the "Duct Tape Capital" of the world, and home of Duck Tape® brand duct tape, the three-day event celebrated everything duct tape,

The grand parade on Saturday was lead by Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, and featured floats made with duct tape.

With over three million fans on Facebook the Duck® brand celebrates one of the two most used products to fix anything the other being WD-40, the combination of the two referred to as The Redneck Repair Kit.

NASA engineers and astronauts used duct tape in 1970 on Apollo 13 en route to the moon. A workaround used duct tape and other items on board saving the lives of the three astronauts on board.

Sweet, smiling Teresa Scanlan the 18 year old Miss America was crowned the first-ever Miss Duct Tape.

"People think I'm being facetious, but being invited to attend the Duct Tape Festival is a dream come true," said Scanlan.

"It's the greatest invention ever," she said. "If I was ever on a deserted island and only allowed to take one thing, I'd take duct tape. You can hunt with it, fish with it, build with it, use it to decorate your hut and make stylish clothes" she gushed.

Devotees of the famous tape enjoyed a meet and greet with Miss America to hear why she loves to craft with duct tape and how the tape would fix world problems such as poverty, peace and the ailing US dollar.

 

Titanic II

 

Who would have guessed that when Briton Mark Wilkinson took his new 4.8-metre cabin cruiser out for its maiden voyage, it would sink?

Sure, most people would think twice before buying a boat named Titanic II.

"If it wasn't for the harbourmaster I would have gone down with the Titanic," Wilkinson, who had to be fished out of the sea at West Bay harbour in Dorset, southern England, told local media.

"It's all a bit embarrassing and I'm pretty fed up with people asking me if I had hit an iceberg."

One eyewitness reportedly said: "It wasn't a very big boat - I think an ice cube could have sunk it!"

 

Mariner notice

 

Platypus Rock - Mariners are advised that the temporary west cardinal mark buoy VQ (9) 10s which marks Platypus Rock off Shaw Island, is reported off station. The buoy is currently located to the north east of the reef. Mariners should use caution in the vicinity. AUS charts 252, 254 & 824

 

Fair winds to Ye!

Cap'n Dan

 

Thar be whales!

Thar be whales! Here in our Whitsunday waters

 

Seeing photographs of whales in a book or a newspaper, or even vision clips in film or on television can not prepare you for the experience of seeing a living whale in its natural habitat at sea.

The sight of the whale's breath spouting above the water will be the first alert that you are about to experience first hand one of the largest and most majestic mammals to have ever swum in the ocean.

Yes! It can truly be a most powerful and humbling experience especially when a 15 metre whale leaves the water in a mighty leap and its 30+ tonne weight falls back to the ocean surface with a thunderous splash of salt water.

However just fifty years ago the numbers of migrating Humpback whales reached a low point of about 500 creatures when whaling was finally stopped in Queensland waters.

And the ironic thing is that the Tangalooma whaling station on Morton Island east of Brisbane closed in 1962 after 'harvesting' 6277 Humpback whales and became a tourist resort.

So In the last fifty years the term 'whale watching' has entered our language in a big way. Whales have gone from being associated with a dirty smelly bloody job to being a welcome sight along the headlands of Queensland's coast as they swim to their preferred winter holiday mating and calving ground inside the Great Barrier Reef around the Whitsunday islands.

Now a days, whales help provide employment in marine tourism and at resorts by employing marine biologists and other specialised staff who interpret the experiences for tourists.

Generally humpback whales are off the Queensland coast between late autumn and late spring. They turn south in July and August with an added feature in the chance of seeing mothers with their newborn calves.

 

Thar she blows!

 

The best time to see whales is when the conditions are calm in the morning before any wind picks up and wave height increases.

So far the first of the season whale spotting must go to an Air Whitsunday Seaplane pilot, "First whale of the season spotted! Nice work Haskell, keep those eyes peeled!"

Other reports come from Deb Duggan who reported on Monday that the crew on Cruise Whitsundays Seaflight "saw some today near the islands :)"

Jack Lumby commented "Thought I saw one, but it was my reflection. Bugger!!"

And of course who can forget Scotty in Star Trek IV "Cap'n, Thar be whales here!"

 

Yellow Boat

 

For the last year Rotary has been fundraising to end Polio once and for all and is now within 27 million of the target 200 million.

Robert Pennicott and fellow skipper Mick Souter are circumnavigating Australia in two 5.4m (18ft) Naiad RIB dinghies.

They departed Sydney on May 31 embarking on a 12,000 nautical mile journey arriving back in Sydney three months later.

This Friday the Yellow Boat Road Team will travel from Mackay to Airlie Beach to arrive at approximately 16:00 hours here at Meridian Abel Point Marina with a welcome after at the Whitsunday Sailing Club to get together with people interested in supporting this worthwhile cause. Donations to Rotary Club of Airlie Beach. Website – search for Yellow Boat Road

 

Marine notice

 

Pioneer Bay, off Airlie Beach - Mariners be advised that the special mark buoy Fl Y 2.5 to the north west of Pigeon Island marking the sewage outfall is now operational. AUS charts 252 & 253

 

Fair winds to Ye!

Cap'n Dan

On Cook's course along the coast

 

On Cook's course along the coast

 

Best Job in the World's Ben Southall has embarked on his next adventure - 'The Best Expedition in the World' exploring Queensland's Great Barrier Reef on a four month, 1600km kayak and sailing journey from the Town of 1770 north to Cooktown in Queensland's Tropical North.

 

"I feel privileged to have had so many wonderful interactions with the natural world whilst out on the Great Barrier Reef and now I'd like to encourage more people to share in the same experiences."

 

Ben is looking forward to encounters with unique wildlife; sea turtles, manta rays, humpback whales and the huge variety of fish. He'll scuba dive, snorkel, charter a seaplane, cruise on a sailing boat and visit research stations to learn about the sustainability of the reef.

 

His vessel of choice is the USA Sailboat of the year award winner- The Hobie Mirage Adventure Island Tandem. Ben intends to pedal, paddle and sail his way up the coast on the 5.64 metre (18 and a half foot) tri boat equipped with unique paddle fin propulsion that defies description other than to compare it to turtle fins.

 

"As with any real life adventure obstacles arise to test us," blogs Ben.

 

"Our planning and ability to cope with the unexpected was tested after completing the first section, my support yacht 'Sunshine' was on a mooring at Lady Elliot Island when a gang-buster wind came ripping through the island."

"In the early hours of the morning Sunshine's mooring broke and she came to rest on a coral flat to the north of her original position."

The catamaran yacht was later refloated with only minor damage to her hull and reputation.

 

 Carib gets tough on garbage

 

On May 1, the Caribbean Sea became a "Special Area for the prevention of pollution by garbage generated from ships" in accordance with the MARPOL convention.

Maritime Authority of Jamaica Director of Legal Affairs, Bertrand Smith, welcomed the move saying, "The designation marks a significant milestone for the protection of the marine environment of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region."

From now on ships trading in the Caribbean, including pleasure craft, are prohibited from discharging any ship-generated garbage,"

"Although shipping contributes less than ten percent of the pollution of the marine environment, stricter standards for the discharge of garbage is important to protect the fragile marine resources on which most of the Caribbean countries depend for tourism and fishing," Mr Smith said.

 

Fire in the Hole!

 

Two men fishing in Fox Lake, Ill., threw a lit "quarter stick of dynamite" — into the water to kill fish. As the fuse burned down, wind blew their aluminium boat to the spot where they had thrown it in. The explosion blew a hole in the bottom of the boat, sinking it. A 29 year old man drowned, but his companion swam to safety. 

 

Marine notices

 

 Gloucester Passage - Mariners are advised that Finger Reef buoy Fl R 2.5s has been relocated to its normal position. AUS chart 268

 

Pancake Creek - Mariners are advised that the back night lead at Pancake Creek is unlit. Mariners are advised to navigate with caution when in the vicinity of Pancake Creek. AUS chart 819

 

Bowen Wharf front and rear leads - Mariners are advised that the front lead and the rear have been reported unlit. Mariners are advised to navigate with caution whilst operating in this area. AUS chart 268, 825 & 826

 

Pioneer Rocks - Mariners are advised that the lighted isolated danger mark beacon Fl(2) 6s 5m which marks Pioneer Rocks has been reported to be unlit.

 

Fair winds to Ye!  Cap'n Dan

Hot Date! Whitsunday Boat and Lifestyle Show

 Hot Date! Whitsunday Boat and Lifestyle Show

 

A change from the June long weekend means the Rotary Whitsunday Boat and Lifestyle Show will enjoy and show off our best Whitsunday weather in September.

 

The new date 0f September 10 & 11 and location at Port of Airlie will make Airlie Beach a magnet for those interested in all aspects of boating and the lifestyle that Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays is famous for.

 

At the all new Meridien Port of Airlie Marina there will be better access and parking with the village of Airlie connected to the Port of Airlie site and the Whitsunday Sailing Club for the sailing of the famous Fun Race on Saturday September 10.

 

Organisers are hopeful that International Talk Like a Pirate Day is moving to the same weekend to join with the mouth watering Fish D'Vine Seafood Festival.

 

Located close to the booming high income mining demographic and with the Whitsunday islands and Great Barrier Reef right down the bay, the Whitsunday Boat and Lifestyle Show will draw upon the glorious weather of Australia's peak boating destination.

 

Did you know that over the past nine years the new September show dates have had ZERO rainfall so it is the best chance to enjoy Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays Islands Great Barrier Reef paradise.

Take some time out to relax for you and your family at the new boat show.

There will still be activities for locals and visitors on the June long weekend with the Dingo Beach Whit Fun Day and People's Day @ Airlie.

 

Pirates parlay

 

The polite Pirates of the Whitsundays be considerin a parlay to fetch up our International Talk Like a Pirate Day (as seen on Sunrise TV) a week early to fit inta the Rotary Boat and Lifestyle Show and Fun Race on Saturday September 10.

The word parlay comes from French an means talk or negotiate, perhaps under a temporary protection, as informed by the Pirates of the Caribbean fillum;

ELIZABETH: Wait! You must return me to shore! According to the rules of the Order of the Brethren --

BARBOSSA: First. Your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement, and so I 'must' do nothing. Secondly: you must be a pirate for the pirate's code to apply. And you're not. And thirdly ... the code is more what you'd call guidelines than actual rules.

Speakin O' fillums did ye hear the next Pirate fillum ta be filliumed right here in the Whitsunday Barrier Reef Islands?

Yarrr! The fillum be rated Arrrrrgh!

 

Chef's Tool

 

Eric Ripert, the chef of Le Bernardin, the high temple of seafood in Manhattan, bought a new kitchen gadget a few days ago: a radiation detector.

"I just want to make sure whatever we use is safe," said Mr. Ripert, "Nobody knows how the sea currents will carry the contaminated water." said.

 

Lights on

 

The 200th entry for the International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend in August has been received for Sea Hill Point Lighthouse on the tip of Curtis Island on the coast near Gladstone.

Also adding excitement is a new country fresh from winning Eurovision; Azerbaijan has entered the Absheron Peninsula Lighthouse located near that countries famous mud volcanos.

Last year, a record 447 entries promoted awareness of lighthouses and lightships, their need for preservation, promotion of amateur radio and International goodwill.

 

Fair winds to Ye!

Cap'n Dan

 

Cap'n Dan is a regular broadcaster on ABC Radio Tropical North

Sailability charts course: sailing for all!

 Sailability charts course: sailing for all!

 

Sailability Whitsunday has only recently been established in Airlie Beach but has found a ready interest from the public.

Based at the Whitsunday Sailing Club our local branch of this international organisation has as its key objective, to encourage and facilitate sailing and boating for people regardless of disabilities or age, in social, recreational and competitive activities.

With branches throughout the twenty countries belonging to Sailability this may well develop into a new form of tourism for nearly twenty per cent of Australian population with a disability.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) defines a disability as 'any limitation, restriction or impairment, which has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months and restricts everyday activities'.

"We have attracted some new volunteers but still need more to be safe on our sailing days as we need help with our two specially designed boats and support craft," says Sailability Whitsunday founding member Bruce Carter.

"People who want to be involved in a supportive activity regardless of age and ability are sought to give it a go with Sailability Whitsunday,"

Contact Bruce Carter on 0407 763 887 or check out www.sailabilitywhitsunday.org/

 

Year of the Seafarer

 

2011 is the International Maritime Organisation's Year of the Seafarer for men and women in their worldwide industry.

However, it has also coincides with a regrettable upsurge in the number of seafarers who have found themselves facing criminal action in courts around the world.

A recent poll discovered that nine out of ten seafarers now fear criminalisation; perhaps more than they fear the power of the sea.

Is this just part of a wider social malaise in which any people who have to take risks as part of their work now find themselves criminalised if these do not come off? It is also significant that the people who are doing the prosecuting are not within this category, and thus fail to comprehend why risk-taking is necessary.

 

Is that a Shark?

 

On a photo shoot at Whitehaven Beach last week we saw a Giant shovelnose ray also known as a Guitar fish swimming leisurely in about two metres of water right off the beach.

In some places they are called a Shovel Nose Ray (Rhinobatos typus) and sometimes a Shovel Nose Shark, and you can see why by the body. If you were in the water rather than looking from a yacht, the shark-like features, fin and all, and two to three metre length might give you a start.

 

Exxon-Valdez reef hit

 

The captain of a tugboat spilled about 6,400 gallons of diesel fuel on Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef was unaware of the boat's position when he put it on a crash course with the infamous and well-known and lighted navigational hazard, a US Coast Guard report says.

The captain changed the tugboat Pathfinder's course to return to Valdez, pushed the boat's throttle to "all ahead full," checked his email and was playing a computer game, either solitaire or hearts, just before it ran aground the night of Dec. 23, 2009, the report says.

Two decades earlier, the Exxon-Valdez oil tanker ran aground on the same reef, dumping more than 11 million gallons of crude oil.

James Cook entered Prince William Sound in 1778 and named it Sandwich Sound, after his patron the Earl of Sandwich. The editors of Cook's maps changed the name to Prince William Sound, in honour of Prince William, who would later become King William IV.

And yes, the reef and nearby Bligh Island was named after William Bligh, of future Bounty fame, who served as Master aboard ship during James Cook's third world voyage.

 

Spitfire Rock

 

Mariners are advised that the lighted west cardinal mark buoy Q (9) 15s that marks Spitfire Rock in Kennedy Sound, south-west of Lindeman Island, has been reported to be off station. AUS charts 252, 254 & 824

 

Fair winds to Ye!

Cap'n Dan

 

Night lights on Pioneer Bay

Night lights on Pioneer Bay

 

Sailing up Pioneer Bay on Sunday night in the failing breeze, the sea looked like oil glistening with the reflection of shore lights. A thin crescent moon struggled to peer through the thin clouds as a light cool breeze wafted from the shore bringing the smell of land in the close, mist-like atmosphere.

That lit-up pile of a house on Mandalay Point first appeared as a giant birthday cake with candles glowing, then changed to a vision of a cruise ship on a slow voyage across the languid water. Later it morphed once again into a riverboat on a gaudy cruise, me imagining the piano playing for a crowd of poker players and consorts complete with clinking glasses and laughter across the water.

Keeping lookout across the shimmering sea, a memory of years gone by when Romeo's Italian Restaurant had red and green lights displayed on the seaward side of his waterfront establishment. Romeo said it was the Italian colours; the uninitiated thought it was the navigation lights of an approaching vessel.

A thought crossed my mind of another Airlie Beach castaway; Irish James had a distrust of things mechanical or electrical. James' yacht was old, timber and unequipped with fancy stuff such as engine or lights.

When it was explained to James that others in charge of their craft would not know his direction due to his lack of lights, notwithstanding his slow pace, candle and joint burning in the cockpit.

James obliged by buying an electric torch and two plastic buckets; one red, one green. If you yelled out to him he would show a light by putting the torch in one bucket or the other, or just shine the torch around. If he be upwind, ye would smell the burning grass.

Nearing Abel Point Marina I spied through the mist a large timber ex-trawler looming massively, a mountain of a boat resembling a dark iceberg softly silhouetted by the lights of Airlie, but showing no light onboard to mark her anchorage.

So take care on the water at night, it is that time of the year when sailors arrive in Airlie Beach for the first time. Aided by a page torn from a library atlas and a Queensland road map of considerable age they have made it to the yachties destination of the north. Nothing left to do than throw the old builder's brick and dog chain over the side to anchor and go ashore to seek the fun of Airlie.

 

Galapagos Wonders

 

Laura Dekker sailed from the Netherlands last summer aged just 14 to enjoy a cruise around the world on her 38-foot Jeanneau Gin Fizz ketch Guppy.

She is now at anchor in Academy Bay on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos after successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean and entering the Pacific Ocean through the Panama Canal.

Laura is enjoying the sights and charging her batteries in preparation for the long Pacific crossing to Australia.

 

Mariner notices

 

Out on the weekend sailing a new Seawind 1250 catamaran, I noticed issues with the navigation marks on South Whitehaven Beach, Lagoon Rock destroyed, Daydream Island lead lights wonky and Pioneer Rocks light is extremely restricted.

 

Seaforth Creek - Mariners are advised that the lighted Port Lateral Mark No.8 beacon Fl.R.3s in Seaforth Creek has been destroyed and is temporarily unlit. Mariners should use caution in the vicinity as remnants of the beacon remain. AUS chart 251

 

Fair winds to Ye!

Cap'n Dan

 

Cap'n Dan is a regular commentator on ABC Radio Tropical North