BH Marine » Powerboating

Lands End TSS

admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:06:41 +0000

Lands End TSS extended north by 12 miles

It is understood that the main reason for the revision is to guide shipping clear of the SW Wave Hub area, approximately 10 miles north of Hayle.

Reminder – penalties for misusing TSS are steep for all types of craft and there have been numerous successful prosecutions against leisure skippers for entering these traffic schemes incorrectly.

While NM627/09 states that there are no changes to the charted inshore traffic zones, the Feb 2009 update to Reeds Nautical Almanac states that “the ITZ between the TSS and Land’s End will be extended north by 2 miles”; the chartlet accompanying the NM indicates that this is correct.

Weymouth Town Bridge Essential Maintenance

admin — 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.

The new £4 million RYA building has started construction at Portland

admin — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:39:41 +0000

The new, five-storey building at Osprey Quay Portland will include a reception area, meeting rooms, storage, a small retail unit, three floors of 24 en suite bedrooms and a top floor clubroom, bar and dining area with views over the water. The project will be completed during the winter this year.

Latest notice to mariners

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:12:00 +0000

Lancaster Port Commission No. 01-2009 – Advising Mariners that the River Lune No 4 Buoy is back on station and also the No 2 Buoy has moved to the following coordinates: 53° 58′ 870 N 002° 58′ 475 W.Trinity House (TH)No.2/09 C1 – Advising Mariners that the exisitingVarne Light Vessel in the Dover Strait is to be withdrawn and a replacement Light Vessel established.Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB)No. 3 of 2009 – Mariners are advised that AIS as an aid to navigation is being transmitted from Shiants Buoy situated on the West Coast of Scotland.No. 4 of 2009 - Mariners are advised that AIS as an aid to navigation is being transmitted from Stumbles Rock Buoy situated on the Sound of Harris,West Coast of Scotland.No. 5 of 2009 – Notice is given that works to discontinue and remove the remains of five perches from the Sound of Harris have been postponed.

Navigation lights

admin — 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.

Changes in EPIRB Frequency

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:04:42 +0000

RYA Cruising News has been here before, but this is just a final reminder that you should check your EPIRB or Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) is up to date.Obviously, you want all your equipment to be up to date, but in the case of EPIRB’s and PLB’s there are some radical changes afoot which could render your old beacon all but redundant.

From February 1 2009, the 121.5/243 MHz satellite processing service will be terminated. All EPIRBs and PLBs that transmit on 121.5/243 MHz will cease to be monitored, after which, beacons transmitting on this frequency can only be used for localised homing.

Speaking earlier in the year, RYA Cruising Manager Stuart Carruthers explained: “All modern beacons transmitting on 406 MHz, will not be affected by the change.

“However some of the older ones transmit on 121.5/243 MHz and following a number of issues and the negative impact caused by large numbers of false alerts on SAR Services, the decision was taken to discontinue monitoring this frequency.

“The important thing is that people check their beacons and make sure that they are not redundant. From a safety point of view, this is paramount.”

However, 121.5/243 will continue to provide a short range homing signal once an initial call for assistance has been made.

For further information visit www.mcga.gov.uk where the MCA’s Marine Guidance Notice will give you a full overview of the changes.

What Should I do With My Time Expired Flares?

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:01:27 +0000

Back in April, RYA Cruising News reported on the rather combustible issue of disposing of Time Expired Pyrotechnics (TEP), the main problem being that people were unsure of what on earth to do with them.No-one has ever objected to renewing their flares every three years; it’s an expense, but you really can’t put a price on safety. The issue has been that since 2004 it has become increasingly difficult to get rid of your old flares, meaning that some of us have been inadvertently stockpiling explosives. Whilst these don’t quite amount to weapons of mass destruction, it’s hardly safe to have a selection of explosives in your shed and the RYA has been pressing hard for some answers from the relevant authorities. Since then, the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) has issued the following advice: ‘If you are a leisure user and you wish to dispose of your TEP’s, contact your local Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) and inform them of the number and their condition, the coastguard will then be able to advise whether it is able to accept your TEP’s and will discuss arrangements for you to deliver them to the appropriate storage facility.‘Not all Coastguard MRCC’s have storage facilities and some may be a considerable distance from the MRCC, it is important to contact the MRCC to make arrangements to arrange for someone to be available to receive TEPs at these locations at a mutually agreed time.‘The MCA has no statutory duty to dispose of these pyrotechnics, but recognises the potential danger to the public if these devices are not disposed of correctly. Out of date pyrotechnics should be landed ashore as soon as possible after the date of expiry for safe disposal. Damaged or out of date pyrotechnics should not be used.‘The public are asked not to put TEP’s in general household rubbish in or public litter bins where they can cause extensive damage to refuse collection facilities and may injure persons who come into contact with them.’RYA Cruising Manager Stuart Carruthers is happy with this step forward and feels that RYA pressure has helped to bring about a change.“I don’t think this is the final answer to this problem, but it is a step in the right direction because we have an organisation taking responsibility for the problem, and we have to welcome that” Stuart added.