Hurricane Omar

The British Virgins, the bareboat charter center of the universe, hasn't been hit by a hurricane in 10 years. That might be about to change as Omar bears down on them packing winds up to 90 kn.
Might be some good deals on used charter boats coming up.

More Comment on the AGM and Yacht Club Levies

This time from Richard Gladwell. Click Here.

YNZ AGM

Received today:
Hi there,
Just thought i'd give you a quick update on the weekends AGM. Started off OK and I was impressed by President Jan Dawson's report. She seems like a nice lady who is passionate about yachting.
Then came the CEO's long winded report which focussed on the time and money spent fighting mussell farms.
Graeme Robinson and Richard Gladwell were re-elected to the board.
Then came the discussion on fees with quite a few unhappy people. They have announced that a proposal will be sent out to clubs before march next year to decide on a different fee structure to the current SEM based mess, but at the end of it YNZ needs "$460,000 odd from its members no matter what" (can't help but think the more clubs that leave because they can't afford it the more those remaining will have to pay).
The CEO's opinion was that clubs should be charging greater membership fees. A Lady from Bay of Islands Yacht club suggested a fee structure based on a percentage of membership income but this was not taken seriously, seems to me the fairest way to do it. Time will tell.
In the meantime our club is stuck paying $14,000 per annum for its 100 sailors and 300 social members.
In other matters Hugh David Poole was made a life member, and a gentleman from Sailability Wellington spoke, offering to help anyone interested in setting something up within their club/area.

So there you have it sorry its not in more detail but i'm not good at notes and head off to Noumea tomorrow to sail a boat back.

Regards,
William Horne
Mount Maunganui Yacht Club

If anybody else who attended would like to add an opinion, please email me at editor@crew.org.nz.

Notice To Mariners

Notice to Mariners:

Mairangi Bay, Rosedale Outfall Dredging Operations, Hauraki Gulf

Marine operations (dredging, drilling and pipe laying) will occur off Mairangi Bay from 7 October 2008 to 31 March 2009.

This operation will involve the Seatow 80 barge and various smaller vessels.

The GPS positions (WGS 84) of the project area are as follows:

• Lat 36 44.07S Long 174 45.31E
• Lat 36 43.37S Long 174 47.10E
• Lat 36 44.22S Long 174 45.39E
• Lat 36 43.52S Long 174 47.17E



Diagram not to be used for navigation.

The area will be marked by buoys and all mariners are requested to remain well clear of the area.

For any queries, please contact Christiaan Moss, Deputy Harbourmaster of the ARC Harbourmasters Office, at 09 366 2000.



Diagram not to be used for navigation - doh.

Kenny Fyfe and Fyfe Sails

Last week I paid a visit to one of our new advertisers, Fyfe Sails. Kenny Fyfe has been a presence on the Auckland sailing scene for almost as long as I can remember. His sails appear on winning boats, particularly in the dinghy and skiff classes, with amazing regularity. Click the headline for more.

PETITION - ARC SEABED CHARGES

I recently received an invitation to sign and help promote a petiton to the ARC on seabed user charges.
It looked like something we should all be aware of so I contacted the gentlemen responsible. Please click the headline to read more and download a copy of the petition.

Hall Spars NZ

One of the nice things about my job is that I get some pretty neat invitations. Last week while working with Hall Spars NZ on the ad for staff on the right I got a conducted tour of their Silverdale facility. Click the headline.

All Black Bristolian

I'm fairly sure I saw this on the harbour on Saturday. I'm afraid these big things don't interest me much, so I didn't take a lot of notice. But I just found this on the Yachting World site:

Here's Bristolian, the 120ft Philippe Briand designed sloop just launched by Yachting Developments (YD) in Auckland, New Zealand.
Bristolian, with her 40-ton lift keel and lightweight construction could be a force to be reckoned with on the superyacht regatta circuit. Once trials are complete she will be heading for Europe and the Mediterranean via the Indian Ocean and Suez canal.

Bottom Paint Study Update

Look closely at the photo, the clean part of the boat was painted with an environmentally friendly Water Based paint. That was enough to justify reproducing the full article from Latitude 38, click the headline.

Speedboat Trials

Photo:Sub Zero Images

Tom Fear, the project manager, very kindly took a few minutes out to answer a few questions for Crew.org.nz.
Click the headline to read more. Click here to follow the discussions on the forums and more photos.