BH Marine » Motor Yacht

Another delivery completed!

Editor — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:43:51 +0000

I have successfully delivered a Phantom Fairline 46ft Motor Yacht “Phantasea” to Veerhaven in Rotterdam. The conditions were beautiful with a maximum wind force of Force 3. The sea state was smooth to slight. The passage from Weymouth to Ramsgate was the longest day with a few fog patches. A good meal in the evening at pizza express with Dutch company and some dancing lessons in the local club. The next day saw a 5 hour crossing from Ramsgate to Rotterdam entrance “The Maas!” Considering we were motoring out of the Dover straits and following the traffic separation schemes the traffic was light. On arrival to the Maas entrance we checked in with the port and followed a tanker up the river towards Rotterdam central. Rotterdam is the second largest port in the world, so we navigated carefully avoiding all ships. After a 12 mile trip up the river we arrived at Veerhaven and celebrated in style at a local restaurant! Later i checked in to CitizenM in Amsterdam which i recommend, a new trendy hotel located at the airport. Marcel said “Many thanks to you, we all had a great time on the boat, during the trip and in the evenings. We made a very well and safe trip from Rotterdam to Lobith. We sure will send you the foto’s asap.”

Weymouth Town Bridge Essential Maintenance

Editor — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:44:40 +0000

Mariners are advised that essential maintenance work will be undertaken on the town bridge commencing 10:30 on the Tuesday 27th January 09 and lasting up to 3 days.There will be no bridge lifts after the 10:00 lift on Tuesday 27th January until completion of works which will be no later than 08:00 Friday 30th January.Any vessel that intends to sail during this period may move to the outer harbour prior to work commencing and should contact the harbour office for berthing instructions.Pedestrians and vehicular traffic will be unaffected by these works.

Navigation lights

Editor — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:07:01 +0000

It’s hard to believe that it was not until the mid 1800′s that navigation lights were made mandatory aboard sailing ships, and as our seas become more congested no boater would dream of sailing at night without lights. Anyone with any sense will do all they can to ensure they are visible to commercial shipping, however, the RYA is frequently contacted by representatives from the commercial shipping sector on one matter: tricolour navigation lights.Mounted at the top of your mast, the tricolour is a useful way of saving battery power on a long passage, as most will only use one bulb. There are, however, drawbacks as RYA Cruising Manager Stuart Carruthers explained: “We are frequently contacted by commercial masters concerned because they are not picking out tricolour lights as easily as perhaps they should.”There are a number of reasons for this: tricolour lights have a tendency to disappear when there is a lot of background clutter, being at the top of the mast, tricolours exaggerate the angle of heel which also reduces their effectiveness.”Maintenance is also an issue: being at the top of the mast, the light will not get inspected as regularly as deck level lights. In addition to this, the fact that there is a substantial length of wire between the battery and bulb will inevitably reduce its power.”The RYA is not telling you not to do away with tricolour lights, just to be aware of their limitations.”Top Tips

Check for lens crazing; many lenses also tend to fog up following exposure to sea air which can substantially reduce their efficiency.
Check your bulbs are still working efficiently and are of the right size and type. Damaged filaments can compromise the brightness of bulbs, whilst if you are replacing lights, make sure you fit the correct bulb. If in doubt, check with the manufacturer.