A yacht which was abandoned seven months ago after its crew mutinied against their experienced skipper has been found, still sailing - 800 miles from where they left it.

If ever there was evidence that the little yacht was seaworthy and could survive all that the often unfriendly Tasman had to throw at it, even without any help from the crew, this is it.

The Powerboat Racing community are still in shock at hearing the news that former Race Director of the Jet Sport Racing Association went missing at sea on Friday 24th October in Bali.

Jeremy had recently attended the IJSBA World Finals in Lake Havasu, Arizona then was invited to attend the 2008 Asia Beach Games in Bali as Race Director for the Jet Ski Sport events.

The Royal Navy has repelled a pirate attack on a Danish cargo-ship off the coast of Yemen, shooting dead two men believed to be Somali pirates.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the incident took place on Tuesday, when HMS Cumberland crew members tried to board a traditional wooden dhow.

Pirates have seized a giant Saudi-owned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean off the Kenyan coast and are steering it towards Somalia, the US Navy reports.

The US-bound tanker was captured on Saturday some 450 nautical miles (830km) south-east of Mombasa, and is now approaching the Somali port of Eyl.

National Boat Shows (NBS) today unveiled exciting plans for the Main Stage – Powered by Fairline at the 55th London International Boat Show – London’s largest Boat Show – taking place from 9-18 January 2009. 

Following the huge success at the 2008 Show, the Main Stage – Powered by Fairline is set to be the jewel in the Show’s crown, playing host to an engaging schedule of marine themed entertainment, catwalk fashions, seminars and activities each day. 

Hot on the heels of 2008’s popular ‘Sea Queen Stage Show’, the eagerly anticipated sequel, ‘A Mermaid’s Tale’, will offer a visual feast of world class live performance, set to a high energy musical score which is sure to capture the imagination of audiences of all ages.

'MDL in Bloom' 2008 Winners Announced

MDL's marinas have been blooming nicely with garden displays and floral arrangements as the company announced the winners of its 4th annual 'MDL in Bloom' competition at the recent PSP Southampton Boat Show 2008.

Initially suggested by staff at Port Hamble Marina, the competition invites marina teams to reclaim the gardens back and treat them as their own.

Barton Marine sponsored British yachtsman Mike Brooke OBE has completed a twelve week sail around Britain to raise vital funds for research into Leber's Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a rare genetic condition of the retina.

The slowing global economies have claimed another victim. This time it’s not a boat yard, a big dealer or an equipment manufacturer that’s feeling the strain, but an astonishing explorer raising money for Sail 4 Cancer.

Despite big exposure and pledges of help during the Southampton Boat Show, the irrepressible adventurer Tom McNally is struggling to meet his pre-Christmas launch date in the world’s most diminutive transatlantic sailing boat – the amazing 3-foot 10-inch ‘Big C’.

The 2009 MEN OF MISTLEY calendar goes on sale on Monday.

On Thursday 27 November at 7.30pm Free the Quay will be the special guest of the Electric Palace cinema, launching Men of Mistley 2009 with a screening of On The Waterfront, the Oscar-winning 1954 classic movie that inspired the calendar.

Mistley Parish Council has summoned Michael Dew, the Tendring District councillor for Mistley and Manningtree, to its end-of-year meeting on Monday 22 December to account for his recent actions.

On 9 December  Dew voted against a motion put forward by Conservative district councillors Sarah Candy and Carlo Guglielmi that: 'This Council finds the recently erected fence at Mistley Quay to be 
detrimental to the visual amenity, harmful to the character of the area and contrary to the Council's aspirations to protect and safeguard the Manningtree and Mistley Conservation area."

The anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd is being accused of attacking the Japanese vessel Kaiko Maru in Antarctica.
 
The Kaiko Maru claims protesters used their vessel the Steve Irwin to ram and throw bottles of butyric acid onto the Japanese ship.

This Spring, 23-year-old Sarah Outen will set out from Australia’s west coast on the greatest endurance challenge of her life, when she attempts to make history by becoming the first woman to row the 3000 miles of the Indian Ocean.

Sarah's voyage is in memory of her late father, Derek Outen, who throughout Sarah’s life lived with rheumatoid arthritis until his untimely death in 2006.

For this reason Sarah has chosen Arthritis Care as her charitable partner.  Having experienced first-hand the effect arthritis can have on her own family Sarah is keen to make a positive difference to the lives of other people with arthritis.

Defence Journalist Tom Newton-Dunn of The Sun newspaper has struck a blow against piracy, on a major Royal Navy mission — by sinking a PIRATE boat.
 
He fired a fearsome minigun to destroy a wooden skiff which had been used in the hijacking of a ship.

The Sun is the first to join the five-nation force sent to curb ruthless gangs in the most dangerous seas in the world.

This is the message from Yacht Brokers Boatshed.com this week as they report another month of buoyant sales.

Peter Watt from Boatshed Portsmouth claims that despite the difficult market a number of factors are adding to decent sales results recently, "The strength of the Euro is making buyers from all over Europe look to UK boats as they are better value at this time, plus all the talk of gloom and doom has brought more boats onto the market"

Kingsbridge based dealer, Wills Marine will be running its own one day boat show during the Easter weekend on Saturday 11th April. Showcasing a range of top brands including Zodiac, Nordkapp and Evinrude, the local event, which is free of charge, will take place from 10.00am - 4.00pm on Kingsbridge Squares Quay, at the head of the Salcombe Estuary.

As one of the UK's top-selling Zodiac dealers, there will be a number of special boat packages available on Zodiac's Medline, Pro, Cadet and Yachtline ranges. The new Medline IIC, launched at the recent London Boat Show, will be available with an Evinrude 115 E-TEC engine package for those looking for a superb family day boat, with lots of comfort and excellent handling.

'Blow the fence down, bullies...'

Free the Quay launches its 2009 campaign to restore public access to Mistley Quay with a fund-raising shanty night

At 8pm on Saturday 21 March  sailors and landlubbers alike will gather upstairs at the Red Lion in Manningtree for a night of shanties, music, stories and sing song in aid of Free the Quay.

Southampton based journalist Abbie James founder of Vogue PR joins The Blue Sheets Marine Directory this January to further establish her name within the marine market.

The company’s varied PR background in fashion, television, charity events and even pop video promotion took a turn in a new direction in 2007 when Vogue won the contract to run the PR for the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Powerboat race series.

Vogue’s fresh outlook on the marine industry brought a wealth of enthusiasm to the world’s largest off-shore race series which revived the company and placed it within the public eye at its highest level to date. And with plans already in place for the 2009 season Vogue is looking forward to exposing the series even further.

SailingNetworks.com is delighted to be sponsoring the Bistro Bar at this year's RYA Dinghy Show, running at Alexandra Palace from March 7th - 8th.

"Bars work well for us" said Jeremy Pocock, CEO of Sailing Networks, " we are all about networking so where better to meet fellow sailors and businesses in the marine community! We are looking forward to meeting up with friends old and new"

SailingNetworks.com is well known for adding a new dimension to Boat Show bars and as usual a host of activities are planned.

It’s business as usual for the world’s oldest and largest sailing regatta, Cowes Week.

The team at Cowes Week Limited, the organisation behind the world famous event, announced today that despite no new title sponsor being signed to date, they are still in ongoing discussions with a number of companies regarding the sponsorship for 2009 and beyond.

Whatever the outcome, they want sailors and spectators alike to rest assured the regatta will sail ahead as usual.

A British couple who, between them, have sailed the Atlantic Ocean a total of 11 times, have been saved from the middle of that same ocean by an Italian tanker after spending 40 days disabled and drifting.

Stuart Armstrong, 51, and his partner Andrea Davison, 48, are on board supertanker Indian Point and heading back to Amsterdam.

Although they escaped unhurt, they were tired, exhausted and grateful to be heading home after their six-week ordeal.

The Dutch tall ship Loth Loriën will be sporting a new sail rig when she arrives in Portsmouth in May 2009.  This beautiful ship has undergone a transformation over the winter to convert what was a three-mast schooner into a three-mast barquentine.

The ship’s owner, Jaap van der Rest, has spent the last few months working hard to replace the foremast and adding four new yard arms and square sails in time for the summer season. 

The change in rig will give the ship a totally different appearance and will also change her dynamics under sail. “The changes have made a lot of work for the team” says Van der Rest “but the transformation is astonishing – she looks fantastic!” 

A must-visit event this spring is the Plymouth Sail and Power Show, being staged for its 5th year at Queen Anne's Battery marina, between Saturday 25th - Sunday 26th April. The weekend event is all set to showcase yet another fantastic collection of new and used boats as well as host numerous exciting on-water displays and demonstrations. What's more, the event is FREE entry to all visitors.

A highlight in the Plymouth spring boating calendar, the Plymouth Sail and Power Show offers a top weekend for boating and watersports enthusiasts and their families to enjoy. On-water entertainment at this year's Show includes a charity raft race, which is taking place on the Saturday (25th April). On-land there will be superb exhibits, competitions as well as other attractions for adults and children alike. Competitions at this year's event include the chance to win a day's sailing, courtesy of fractional boating specialist, SailTime®.

Cowes Week Limited is appealing to the local business community, sailors, and members of the public to show their support for the traditional Cowes Week fireworks display by making an online donation to a new fund that has been set up to help raise money for the event.

There has already been a significant contribution towards the cost of the extravaganza from a generous anonymous donor, and the 3,591 members of a new Facebook group, Save Cowes Week Fireworks, have pledged to contribute towards the display.  However, there are still considerable funds to be raised.

Premier are pleased to announce that they will be running the Premier Roadshow again in 2009, visiting Brighton Marina for the second May Bank Holiday 23rd – 25th May.

Last year Premier worked with marina tenants Walton, Sea Ventures, Dickies and other tenants to hold a successful Roadshow event with many boats on display – power and sail at all sizes.

This year the event is to be repeated with boats displayed by Walton Marine, Dickies International, Premier Yacht Sales and Blackrock Yachting (what was Sea Ventures).  Models will be displayed from Moody, Elan, Island Packet, Beneteau Power, and Jeanneau Power and sail – there will be something for everyone from the small Jeanneau Merry Fisher motorboats to the Beneteau Trawlers and both cruising and race boats in a range of sizes and prices from the sail boat manufacturers.

Four motorboaters made a hasty retreat from their burning thirty-six foot boat this afternoon.

Solent Coastguard were contacted by a nearby vessel at 1.00 pm to report that the motorboat, Rochford was on fire in Chichester Harbour.

The Coastguard then received a mayday broadcast from another vessel Eskimo reporting that they were alongside the motorboat and taking off its four crew.

Crewsaver has officially announced its Patronage of Exercise TRANSGLOBE, the Tri-Service adventurous sail training exercise that sets off from Portsmouth on 11th July.  The TRANSGLOBE Project Team, led by Sqn Ldr Neil Cottrell, is delighted that this famous brand joins with GILL, the highly valued Technical Clothing partner that was announced in January, as Patrons.

Martin Jerrett, Crewsaver’s General Manager and Oana Matty, Marketing Manager, delivered the signed sponsorship agreement to the home of the Challenge boats, JSASTC (Joint Services Association Sail Training Centre) in Gosport.  Sqn Ldr Cottrell and Petty Officer Andy Scott took the opportunity to show the new partners around HMSTV DISCOVERER, one of the three Challenge 67ft yachts that will be circling the globe during a gruelling 12-month schedule comprising 13 separate stages.

FREE storage ashore when you list your boat with Premier Yacht Sales!

Premier Marinas are offering their brokerage customers three free months storage ashore at Swanwick Marina when a customer lists their boat for sale with Premier Yacht Sales.  Swanwick Marina are offering FREE storage for May, June and July for new brokerage listings – the customer just pays for the lift and re launch.

When we list our boats for sale one of the annoying things is that we still have to pay for it to be kept somewhere – Premier’s latest offer overcomes this.  Not only does the vendor get up to three months free storage, they also benefit from a reduced commission rate.  And being listed with Premier also means that the boat has the best opportunity to be sold.

MARITIME security has been tightened at the seaside town of Watchet in Somerset following the launch of a new Boat Watch scheme using SelectaDNA forensic marking.

The Boat Watch initiative, which has helped to reduce theft and criminal damage in many boating communities around the UK, was set up in Watchet in response to a spate of thefts from the marina. One recent incident involved the local Sea Scouts’ base, which was broken into and £1,200 of gear, including two kayaks, was stolen.

The historic Watchet harbour dates back to Saxon times but has been refurbished with a state-of-the-art marina containing 250 berths for both pleasure craft and charter fishing boats.

Visit Portsmouth Harbour from only £2/m per night

Premier Marinas Limited are pleased to announce their new, fantastic, special offer visitor rates.  Premier’s Port Solent Marina is offering visitor berths from only £2 per metre per night and visitors can stay the next night at Gosport Marina for half price.  Or stay at Gosport Marina one night and stay the next night at Port Solent for half price – that’s from only £1 per metre per night.

This special offer is available for £2 per metre per night for vessels up to 9.5m and £2.50 for boats 9.5m and over, any night of the week until the end of September and is open to visitors of Port Solent Marina.  Visit Gosport or Port Solent Marina for one night and then visit the other marina for the next night for half price.  Amazing value available all Summer with Premier Marinas.

Forty Plus are pleased to offer assistance to Trader boat owners. The Portsmouth based company have put an offer together for current owners looking to sell their boats after last week’s sad industry announcement that Tarquin Boat Company / Trader
Yachts had been taken into administration.

Forty Plus Four can ensure that owners receive the best possible service and are successful in selling their boat in a timely, professional and cost effective manner.

Pictured with two of the new generation of solo sailors, Dee Caffari and Steve White the sailing legend marks his unprecedented British success in the 1969 Sunday Times Golden Globe yacht race in central London.

On April 22 1969, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston made history as the first man to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world. He was the only competitor to finish the Sunday Times Golden Globe yacht race after 312 days alone at sea and to this day remains the only British sailor to win a single-handed round the world race.

April 22 2009 saw the pioneering skipper mark the 40-year anniversary of this incredible accomplishment in central London. Having once again sailed alone around the planet only two years ago at the age of 68 in the VELUX 5 OCEANS, Sir Robin brought his original boat from 1969, Suhaili, up to Tower Bridge.

Organisers of the 2007 Earls Court Boat Show and the 2008 Sail, Power & Watersports Show at Earls Court are delighted to announce the launch of a brand new consumer event, the British Leisure Show. The show will be held on the banks of the River Thames, at the Royal Windsor Racecourse, from Friday 19th – Sunday 21st March 2010.
 
The British Leisure show is the only UK event to feature six core zones, designed to showcase a fantastic range of leisure products, sports & activities:
 
The new show ethos is all about inspiring people to have fun, get active and healthy, and explore new leisure pursuits to suit their lifestyle. To help achieve this, the organisers are proud to be working with a number of show partners including Change4Life, The Camping & Caravanning Club and Royal Windsor Information Centre.

The Zapcat season started off in style this weekend as 28 teams and thousands of people descended on Bournemouth’s beaches for The Tohatsu Bournemouth Grand Prix and to enjoy the summer’s perfect weather.

The new points system, which was announced at the start of the season, provided some interesting movements between divisions after Saturdays racing with 4 teams gaining promotion to Division 1. Also entering into the top division for the days racing were the formidable 3 times champions Martin Wilcox and Will Evans in Zapcat 04 Wet Willy 2: Wilcox and Evans who are both employed by Tohatsu decided to make a late entry into the Tohatsu Grand Prix although they will not be competing in the full season.

Belfast Tall Ships have announced that four local charities will benefit from the massive four day festival which take place between 13th to 16th August around the Port of Belfast.

Dr Gerard O’Hare, chairman of the Tall Ships Festival board, speaking about the charities chosen said, “Belfast Tall Ships are determined that the August event will be more than about the four day spectacular and the appointment of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Sea Cadets, Ocean Youth Trust and Belfast Lough Sailability will hopefully raise the profile of each organisation as well as raising much needed cash for each of them.

Mike Perham, the youngest person to sail solo around the world, has become an Ambassador for the Prince's Trust, the British youth charity headed by HRH Prince Charles that helps change young lives.

The 17 year old adventurer from Potters Bar, who took 9 months to circumnavigate the Globe and returned to Portsmouth at the end of August, made his first official engagement at a Sport United reception held at the Lord's Cricket Ground last night (Monday 28th September).

Mike is now back attending St Albans College to complete his Sports Performance and Excellence Diploma before joining Australian adventurer Don McIntryre and two other crew on the Bounty Boat Expedition. 

They will re-live Capt. Bligh's remarkable 4,000 mile voyage in an open boat from Tonga to Timor 221 years after the famous mutiny on HMS Bounty.

The RYA is pleased to announce that it has appointed Sarah Treseder as its new Chief Executive. 

Richard Langford, RYA Chairman said of her appointment: “Finding someone to fill Rod’s shoes was obviously quite a challenge for us.  However, Sarah’s excellent management experience and leadership skills combined with her own personal recreational boating will be a true asset to the RYA, its members and the boating community as a whole.

“Her appointment, I believe, will bring an exciting new dimension to the RYA and to the marine leisure sector”.

A thirty foot long yacht this evening sailed straight on to Brixham Breakwater to the amazement of several people who were out for a stroll in the fine weather.

Two members of the public, realising that there was obviously something wrong, slithered down the steep seaward side of the Victorian Breakwater and boarded the yacht. An other bystander telephoned the Coastguard to summon help from the RNLI Torbay Lifeboat, which was stationed less than half a mile away.

To their surprise, the two members of the public found the skipper of the yacht asleep in the cockpit! When they woke him, he was apparently a little the worse for wear, having consumed a little too much alcohol.

Paul Chandler has spoken to ITV News this evening about the terrifying night pirates hijacked their yacht. 'I was off watch.

I was asleep and men with guns came aboard. It was on Friday last week at 0230,' said Paul Chandler, whose identity was confirmed by Rachel Chandler's brother Stephen Collett. 'They kept asking for money and took everything of value on the boat.'

The pirates then headed for the Somalian coast onboard the Chandlers' Rival 38 Lynn Rival, where they were spotted by an airborne patrol (see picture).

Anthony Chambers (50), mechanic and crew member at Portrush lifeboat station, Antrim, Northern Ireland, is to be awarded the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) Bronze Medal for Gallantry for rescuing two 14-year-old boys trapped by the rising tide in a cliff cave near Castlerock Strand on 5 August 2009.

The Coastguard tasked land, sea and air rescue teams as soon as the alarm was raised by worried parents, and the RNLI charity’s all-weather and inshore lifeboats at Portrush launched to help with the search operation.

Talk to us, Mr Parker... or we'll see you in court

Free the Quay has issued a challenge to Mistley Quay owners TW Logistics – talk to us, or we'll see you in court.

One year on since TWL erected a fence on Mistley Quay to block access to the River Stour –provoking a storm of public protest – opposition has not flagged.

At the third FTQ boat rally on Sunday 4 October, FTQ chairman Simon Bullimore addressed hundreds of supporters partying in the sunshine on Mistley Quay.

The RYA welcomes the groundbreaking Marine and Coastal Access Act which received Royal Assent on Thursday 12 November. 

Gus Lewis RYA Head of Legal and Government Affairs: “Although we supported the marine and Coastal Access Bill in principle we proposed a number of amendments on which we lobbied members of the House of the Lords to put forward to the House.

The majority of our amendments were taken account of  and as such we are very pleased with the resulting Act.  It goes further in protecting and taking account of recreational boaters interests, as far as is possible within the context of the Act, than the draft Bill had done.

Volunteers from every part of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, including 17 Swift Water Technicians from North Wales have been involved in a massive search and rescue operation. The team have been working through the night in ‘horrendous conditions’ after record-breaking rainfall swamped parts of northern England.

More than forty members of the RNLI Flood Rescue Team from across the county have joined other emergency services in the mammoth flood rescue operation. The North Wales volunteers are from Conwy, Llandudno, Criccieth, Moelfre, Rhyl, Flint, Beaumaris, and Pwllheli RNLI lifeboats stations. They are all trained in swift water rescue.

Following last year’s consultation, in August 2009 Ofcom published further proposals for spectrum pricing in the maritime sector.

Those relevant to the RNLI and other safety-of-life charities were:

•Radio channels used by search and rescue organisations (including the RNLI) in the course of maritime emergencies are managed by HM Coastguard.

These are shared channels and we will not be asking any individual rescue organisations to pay fees.

The five Britons are being detained by the Iranian navy after the Volvo 60 yacht was stopped on 25 November.

The Foreign Office said Luke Porter, Oliver Smith, David Bloomer, Oliver Young and Sam Usher may have "strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters".

The Team Pindar-backed yacht was sailing from Bahrain to Dubai.

Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaie, President Ahmadinejad's head of staff, told Iran's Fars news agency: "Judiciary will decide about the five... naturally our measures will be hard and serious if we find out they had evil intentions."

Don’t forget to place your bid! The online auction for Optimist sail number ‘6000’ opened at 7.00pm last night, Thursday 3 December. This special auction is being run by the International Optimist Association together with the RYA and all proceeds from the auction will go to the John Merricks Sailing Trust.

Join in the auction for your chance to own this much sought after Optimist sail number

http://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=130347762082

David Baddeley, International Optimist Association;  “It’s great – the auction opened last night at 7pm and by the end of evening we had over 9 bids.  I think there could be some fierce bidding over the coming week”. 

Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show, 8-17th January 2010
Stand: S038B

Salterns Boatyard has announced that Goldfish Boats' flagship, the Goldfish 36P1 Super Sport RIB will be entering the greatly anticipated 2012 Round Britain Race. This follows their success in the 2008 race where the 36 emphatically won her class, breaking the record for the fastest RIB around Britain along the way.

General Manager of Salterns Boatyard and member of the record breaking 2008 team, James Sydenham will once again take part, alongside the father and son duo, Stuart and Steven Munro of Nautic Marine Services in Poole, the new owners of the Goldfish 36 having moved up from a Goldfish 29.

Construction industry regatta the Little Britain Challenge Cup held its annual charity cheque presentations at a reception in London last week.

Despite the economic downturn, and reduced numbers at the 2009 event, nearly £100k was raised for the event charities.  David Smith, the new Chairman of the event Committee said, “We started 2009 not knowing what the year would bring, but we couldn’t have hoped for a better event or the generosity of the entrants who helped boost our funds through the various fundraising activities. 

5th MDL in Bloom Competition Winners Announced

Europe's largest marina group, MDL Marinas has announced the winners of its annual 'MDL in Bloom' competition, which rewards 'green fingered' teams at its marinas. Many sites picked up awards for winning their categories, including Hamble Point Marina, Mercury Yacht Harbour, Ocean Village Marina and Shamrock Quay. The winning marinas were presented with gift vouchers and trophies to display on-site.

MDL's marina teams entered a 'blooming marvellous' range of garden displays and floral arrangements across a range of categories, such as best border and beds, best tubs and containers, and best hanging baskets.

If you have ever wanted to race during Cowes Week but have limited or no sailing experience and want a gentle introduction, now is your chance to join in the action! 

LaserPerformance, the company behind the extremely popular Laser SB3 keelboat, the largest class at Cowes Week for the past four years, has teamed up with Pelican Racing to offer members of the public and Cowes Week competitors an opportunity to ‘Come Racing’ when the 1,000 boat fleet has finished racing for the day. The cost of this taster is just £10.00 per person.

Europe's largest marina operator, MDL Marinas recently launched this year's summer scrub offers* across eleven of its UK sites; Queen Anne's Battery, Dartside Quay, Cobb's Quay Marina, Hythe Marina Village, Shamrock Quay, Hamble Point Marina, Northney Marina, Sparkes Marina, Penton Hook Marina, Chatham Maritime Marina and Woolverstone Marina.

The offers, which are running until 31st August 2009, will help boat owners keep their craft in top condition so they can fully enjoy their time on the water.

To help boat owners make the most of the summer season and explore other cruising grounds, six Southampton based MDL owned and operated marinas are offering the chance to stay overnight for just £10 on any Wednesday during July 2009*. Hamble Point Marina, Mercury Yacht Harbour, Port Hamble Marina, Hythe Marina Village, Ocean Village Marina and Shamrock Quay are each running the visitor berthing offer, which is available for boats up to 14m. 

MDL marinas not only offer first-class berthing and marina services so that boat owners can really relax and unwind throughout the duration of their stay, but they are also situated in many great locations.

Cowes Harbour Commission has received an application for a Cowes Harbour Works and Dredge Consent from SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) for the Outer Harbour Project.
 
The Harbour Works consent is one of three permissions required for the Project, the others being:
 
Consent under the Food & Environment Protection Act, issued by the Marine and Fisheries Agency;
Planning Permission from the Isle of Wight Council.

The components of the plan are:
 
Construction of a new rock mound breakwater and a short extension to the Shrape breakwater to create a properly protected outer harbour for the benefit of both East Cowes and Cowes;

A marina of 300 permanent berths with separate dedicated provision of visitor and event berths to support the waterfront re-generation of East Cowes;

Dredging of a new eastern channel to improve vessel safety within the harbour, especially during major yachting events such as Cowes Week and the annual Round the Island Race.

The team at Boatshed.com are considering rewriting the words to a certain song as they really do like Mondays, especially last Monday July 20th when the Boatshed.com Yacht Brokerage Group posted a record 24 boat sales in just one day! The boats included a wide range of boats from a 16.5m Bruce Roberts Euro 1600 motor boat to a Hunter Duette sailing boat.

Neil Chapman the managing director of Boatshed.com commented " We can't put our finger on exactly why we had good boat sales last Monday, generally we have been very busy since the start of 2009 and we keep breaking our records month on month.

Premier is pleased to announce that they will be holding the Premier Used Boat Show from 11th – 20th September at Swanwick Marina.  The show, now in it’s 30th year has been hailed in the press as the “Best Used Boat Show on the South Coast” and Premier are proud to continue with this event.  Entry and parking at the show is FREE and the show is open from 10am–7pm daily.

This year Premier are working with onsite Swanwick tenants, Princess, Walton Marine and Dickies International to offer even more high quality used boats across the board.  There will be boats from Elan, Moody, Island Packet, Jeanneau, Beneteau, and Princess as well as many other well known brands.  Raymarine are also supporting the show and will have a presence inside the show marquee.

Gibraltar’s best young RIB drivers, Jordan Warwick, 10, and Dylan Mauro, 13, will be travelling to the PSP Southampton Boat Show in two weeks time (September 13) to compete against the UK’s top RIB driving talent in the final of the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship. The youngsters proved their skills and won their places at the national final when they claimed victory in 8-12 and 13-16 age group classes of the Gibraltar overseas final held at the Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club (RGYC) this weekend (31 August). 

Conditions were good for RIB driving, fine weather and calm seas, however, the atmosphere on the time trial race course was anything but calm with competitors from three different clubs, RGYC, 1st/4th Gibraltar Scouts and the Gibraltar Sea Scouts each keen to blow each other out of the water and secure a place at the final.

The Arabian 100 hits the water for the first time in Oman on 23rd August 2009. It's a proud day for Oman as the Arabian 100 trimaran touches water for the very first time in Salalah Port. A team of up to 30 international and Omani boat builders and specialists have worked on her at any one time and the result is this phenomenal racing craft which is sure to be making headlines soon.

Oman Sail's new trimaran moves one step closer to being launched after it was wheeled out of the boat shed yesterday in Oman. A new flagship for Arabia, this new 105 foot trimaran, known as an Arabian 100 (A100), was built by Boat Speed in Australia before the components were shipped to Oman for assembly in the southern most port of Salalah in May.

It’s taken a long time to get ready for this epic voyage, but finally, Tom McNally (affectionately dubbed the ‘Crazy Sailor’) is almost ready to set off on his epic voyage in the world’s most diminutive trans-Atlantic sailing boat, the amazing 3-foot 10-inch ‘Big C’.

Tom, who is sailing for the Sail 4 Cancer charity, had hoped to embark last year; but his plans were scuppered when thieves stole his main battery-housing and the lead-filled keel bulb for their scrap value.

“Thanks to some help from my sponsors we are back on track and we can see light at the end of the tunnel again; I just hope it’s not another train,” joked Tom at the Southampton Boat Show.

The Foreign Office says it is "actively investigating" reports that five UK yachtsmen held by Iran's Revolutionary Guard for a week have been freed.

The crew were said to have mistakenly strayed into Iran waters as they sailed from Bahrain to Dubai for a race.

Iranian radio said they had been freed at 0730 local time (0400 GMT). It is thought they were held on Siri island.

The news comes hours after UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband spoke by phone to his Iranian counterpart.

The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) and two partner Clubs, the New York Yacht Club  (NYYC) and Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM), are staging the Westward Cup regatta in Cowes from 5-11 July  2010 in collaboration with Boat International Media.

The organisers aim also to establish an event that would eventually lead to a revival of Big Class classic yacht racing as it was known from the  1910’s – 1930’s.

The Westward Cup has been initiated to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the launch of the racing schooner Westward in 1910. She was designed and built by one of the most successful yacht designers, Nathanael G. Herreshoff, in Bristol, RI, USA.

From 10.30 am on Saturday 8 November Free the Quay protestors will be tying protest ribbons to the Mistley Quay fence

Since the fence went up over a month ago, people have spontaneously come from far and wide to attach numerous protest ribbons, flowers and signs to the fence.

Premier Shipping & Packing (PSP), one of the UK's leading freight companies, is to return as title sponsor of the 2009 Southampton International Boat Show for the second year running.

PSP, which was founded in 1998, is one of the UK's leading logistics companies specialising in boat transportation, marine spares and international express couriers. The company is headquartered in Hampshire, with offices in London, Vietnam, China and Hong Kong.

A Grandad has been hailed a hero after his decision to work yesterday saved a historic restaurant from devastation.

It was chance that Trevor Bartlett went to work for a couple of hours and spotted The Ferry Restaurant go up in flames.

The 57-year-old marine worker, from Townhill Park, had gone to the Elephant Boatyard, Bursledon, to do some spraying while it was empty.

Essex Boatyards, the UK's leading boat sales centre, has been appointed sole distributor for the Arvor range in Ireland. Having been the sole UK importer and distributor for Arvor for the last ten years, the new appointment for Essex Boatyards will see the company extend its products
and services to the Irish market.    

Arvor is renowned for providing quality fishing and family cruising boats that boast excellent on-water performance and handling, spacious interiors and high equipment specification.

The company that put up a controversial fence on Mistley Quay in September is now preventing the erection of another fence on the quay.

Last week Gladedale Homes began putting up a metal fence along the perimeter of its Maltings waterside development. But workers from Trent Wharfage parked one of the company's lorries in its path, and blockaded the rest of the planned route with bags of granite. Gladedale workers have now abandoned work at the site.

Two nuclear-armed submarines from Britain and France collided while on separate patrols in the Atlantic Ocean but there were no injuries or radioactive leaks, naval officials said on Monday.

Analysts said a major disaster could have resulted had the underwater collision ruptured the hulls, set off conventional ammunition or started a fire, although the chances of a full nuclear explosion were virtually nil.

The nuclear-powered submarines collided earlier this month but there was no damage to the vessels' weapons, said First Sea Lord Admiral Jonathon Band, head of the Royal Navy.