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Pilot Course for Keelboat Sailing Instructors

A pilot course to train RYA senior instructors in keelboats held over two weekends at the Nancy Oldfield Trust and Horstead Centre on Barton Broad proved a major success, despite some pretty wintry conditions.

Organised and run by three Broads’ area coaches, Mark Elson, Jeremy Mills and Robin Slatter, the course was attended by John Thorn, principal coach for the RYA, and George Rice, RYA regional development officer. The course involved theory sessions and on-water activities in three Yeomans, a White Boat and a 21 ft Dutch Randmeer.

All nine instructors qualified and enjoyed the training, despite the last two sessions taking place in snowy conditions.


Senior instructors are needed to supervise all RYA courses under the RYA Training Centre scheme, but until now the qualification has only been available to dinghy sailors.



John Thorn said: “ We are delighted with the success of this pilot course, particularly as it opens the Senior Instructor qualification to those who are highly experienced but do not sail dinghies. This was my first experience of Broadland sailing and I was greatly impressed by the local boats and the skill with which they are sailed.”

As a result of the success of this venture, further courses will be offered which will widen opportunities for sailors with a broad range of experience to gain a keelboat instructor’s qualification. The first of these is being planned for the autumn.

The Nancy Oldfield Trust, based at Neatishead, provides activity holidays and days out for people with disabilities, and is also an RYA training centre. For more information: Contact Robin Slatter, Centre Manager, on 01692 630572.

The Horstead Centre is a residential activity centre run by the diocese of Norwich and offers a range of land and water-based activities. For more information, contact Mark Elson on 01603 737215

Update on the Red Diesel Tax situation

From November 1, 2008, yachtsmen and power boaters will be able to continue to buy red diesel so long as they declare whether they are a recreational or commercial vessel and pay the full fuel tax. Suppliers will be responsible for collecting the tax and passing it on to the Government. Fuel used for heating purposes on board will continue to be sold at the rebated rate, and it will fall to the supplier to ensure boat owner’s declare the correct use of oil fuel on the boat and divide between heating and propulsion.

HMRC has yet to issue a public statement but has released to the RYA its Impact Assessment, which is available at:

http://www.rya.org.uk/AboutRYA/lobbyact/legalhomepagereddiesel.htm

Dave Fitzgerald, HMRC, confirmed that the core policy had been fixed but that they would be working closely with RYA, BMF and other stakeholders in relation to developing the detail of the declaration process and apportionment of fuel for domestic use. Following that consultation process, HMRC will produce comprehensive guidance.

Neil Northmore, the RYA’s Government Affairs Advisor, said: “Since the decision was made to charge a higher rate of duty on red diesel, which required a new regime, we have been working hard with HMRC to find a sensible solution for all.

“Our main concerns were availability and safety, and we were aware that there was a danger that some retailers in more remote areas would simply not bother selling to pleasure boats on the premise that it would be more trouble than it was worth to distinguish between private and commercial craft, and then process the paperwork.”

The onus will be on the owner of the boat to self-declare whether they are a commercial or recreational vessel and pay the appropriate rate of duty at the pump. Anyone falsely declaring they own a commercial vessel will find HMRC coming down on them like a ton of bricks.

The campaign to secure future diesel supplies for recreational boaters has been running since 2003. “This solution ticks many of the boxes for recreational boaters. Availability will not be affected, which gets rid of the safety concern, and the potential for reams of paperwork or even registration of craft, to identify commercial vessels from recreational ones, has been minimised” Neil Northmore added. The only real remaining issue is how the impact of increased diesel prices will affect the marine leisure industry and participation. The RYA will continue to work with the Government to assess the impact of this.

A number of yachtsmen have contacted us concerned that while it’s good news they won’t have to change tanks or lines, and that supplies are generally going to remain available, no-one has mentioned the problems that folk may well run into on the continent, where over-zealous revenue men may slap unwarranted fines on British yachtsmen who have red diesel in their tanks.

Clearly boatyards and marinas are going to have adopt road filling station practice of issuing receipts that indicate clearly that tax has been paid and at what level. The usual scrap of paper with just the total on will not do. Some people are also concerned that fuel carried for heating (or that percentage of the main tank capacity designated for heating) can also be clearly delineated.

Impact of e-Border Controls

The Government’s proposed introduction of e-Border controls as a means of keeping illegal immigrants out of the country could have serious repercussions for East Coast yachtsmen for whom a quick trip across to Calais or Ostend for a weekend almost on the spur of the moment is traditional.

In a nutshell, from 2010, under the Government's new £1.2bn e-Borders scheme, leisure boaters will be required to submit detailed passenger, service and crew data in advance of their departure to and from the UK. Apparently this is to be done through a web form or electronic file upload.

Apart from a general feeling of “not more regulation” several readers have commented that they don’t have email access on their boats!

Stuart Carruthers, RYA Cruising Manager said: “Quite what the impact will be on recreational boating is unclear at the moment. Government has put forward no proposals on how the system and its operation might be applied to us. What is clear, from meetings the RYA has had with the e-Borders Team, is that Government does do not understand fully how fundamentally different recreational boating is to commercial airlines and shipping and therefore how the security processes could be implemented and policed”.

Key issues of ongoing discussion between the RYA and the e-Borders Team include monitoring blue water international trips, intra-UK trips where yachts leave territorial waters before making a UK landfall; who is responsible for reporting; what sanctions will be imposed; will we have to use designated ports of entry, and monitoring non-UK yachts.

HMG Windfarm plans and the Gunfleet 2 on the Start Line

When the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) announced it was consulting on the future release of a further round of wind, oil and gas structures and oil/gas storage installations offshore, the installation of 7,000 wind turbines off the East Coast came a step nearer. The implications for recreational boating will depend on the final location and type of development being proposed.

According to recent figures, 25GW of wind produced energy equates to well over 4000 wind turbines based on a 6MW turbine, which is the largest currently being used. Most existing turbines generate in the range of 2 to 4MW, which substantially increases the number of turbines.

The RYA warns, that development within territorial waters may affect UK cruising routes and those beyond may well affect international cruising routes. The Goverment Scoping Report is available. Comments on the report can be logged by email to environment@rya.org.uk.

and on the East Coast ......

In February the new owners of the Gunfleet Sands wind farm project, DONG Energy, launched details of the Gunfleet Sands 2 (GS 2) extension to the Gunfleet wind farm, seven kilometres southeast of Clacton. Gunfleet Sands 1 (GS1) will have 30 turbines, and GS 2 a further 22 installed on the seaward side of GS I. Work on the shore installation and laying the transfer cable 2m below the surface of the seabed, started this spring. When completed the farm will supply power to 120,000 homes in Essex.

The Gunfleet Sands offshore wind farm project was acquired by DONG from GE Wind Energy in December 2006. DONG Energy is one of the leading energy groups in the Nordic region and pioneered the offshore wind farm industry in Denmark with projects constructed in the 1990’s. In 2002 and 2003 it constructed the world’s two largest offshore wind farms, Horns Rev and Nysted.

The two sections will be built as one and will utilise the site-to-shore electricity cable and onshore electricity connection already consented under the GS1 project. The turbines will be installed using monopile foundations, as is proposed for the GS1 project. Scour protection will be used around the base of each turbine. Tower erection starts this summer with completion scheduled for late next year. The maximum height to the blade tip of the turbines will be 135m, with a clearance of 22m between mean sea level and the lowest blade tip. The spacing of the turbines will be 435m x 890m and they will be marked with standard navigation and aviation lights.

The PLA radar tower at Holland-on-Sea will be closed down and the equipment installed on the most South Easterly turbine tower. This is to overcome concerns that wind farms do have a blanking effect on radar. The developer is talking with a number of mobile phone companies about erecting ‘phone masts on some towers.

Wave Power of the East Coast

Trident Energy Ltd, of Southend, Essex, pioneer of wave power energy generation, is understood to have applied for permission to install an experimental test rig to produce energy from wave power off the East Coast. Their plan involves anchoring an 80t, 17m by 8m high by 10m draft platform, at 52°17’.9N 01°46’.5E (four miles ESE of Southwold Harbour entrance close to a charted dredging area).

The platform will be held by 12 anchors; the superstructure will be painted yellow, will be fitted with a light beacon, an AIS beacon and carry St Andrew’s crosses on top of the towers. The equipment will be in position for a year and the exercise will cost £700,000.

Steel floats attached to the rig use the wave motion to drive on-board linear generators. The company successfully tested its concept at the UK New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) at Blyth, Northumbria. It claims that over 100MW of energy can be produced from a 1.5 kilometre square wave farm – enough to supply 62,000 homes.

e-Loran Navigation service is launched

A new enhanced Loran (eLoran) service, officially launched in January, is claimed will reinforce safety, security and protection of vessels around the coasts of the UK and Ireland, and will reduce the cost of maintaining current navigational aids. The service is being provided by the General Lighthouse Authorities of the UK and Ireland (GLAs) in conjunction with VT Communications (VTC) on a trial basis. It’s claimed to meet the 10-metre accuracy requirement for harbour entrance and approach, as well as being a precise source of time and frequency for marine communications.

The UK Government has championed the new e-Navigation concept to make safe navigation easier and cheaper. It says buoys and lights will always be needed to provide a back up in case of GPS systems going down. However, reverting from e-Navigation based solely on GNSS to physical marks will become less straightforward over time as mariners become less familiar with the traditional skills needed to navigate using physical aids. In some cases, safety might actually worsen, it warns.

eLoran is a low frequency, terrestrial navigation system operating at 100 kHz and synchronized to Co-ordinated Universal Time. Initial trials conducted at Harwich demonstrated horizontal positioning accuracies better than 9m with 95 per cent confidence using modern, miniaturised eLoran receivers.  It is being claimed that eLoran will reduce the numbers of physical marks, increased operational flexibility and improved safety in congested waters, vessels may be able to operate at higher speeds and at closer separation in congested areas such as the approaches to Harwich or Dover. It could presage the introduction of air traffic control-type management of sea-going vessels.

Other advantages claimed for the system include more efficient marking of wrecks using virtual aids prior to deploying wreck marking buoys, and so minimising response time. Electronic marking of channels, reducing the need for buoys and buoy tender time and cutting costs, especially in those channels that shift rapidly due to moving sand banks. It’s also claimed it could cut down the number groundings and collisions at sea, and it is terrorist proof – GPS can be jammed with equipment costing as little as £30!

Tricolour Light concerns in Harwich Navigation Approaches

Harwich Harbour pilots are becoming increasingly concerned that, from a high bridge position, a yacht's masthead tri-colour light merges with shore lights, whereas side and stern lights down against the dark water surface are much more visible, and easier to judge for distance and speed.

So the message is "be seen - be safe". You've got to turn off the tri anyway as soon as you start the engine, so it should be no great imposition to do it a little earlier and navigate through the harbour under sidelights (or a pulpit lantern) and stern light - and don't forget the steaming light too, as soon as the engine goes on.

Eastern Region featured prominently in RYA Volunteer Awards

Yachtsmen and women from across the eastern region featured prominently in this year’s RYA volunteer awards, presented by HRH The Princess Royal at the RYA annual meeting in London. In all 11 eastern region sailors received awards.

The RYA Awards and Community Awards acknowledge the importance of volunteers within the sailing and boating communities. They recognise the outstanding contributions, time, effort and experience individuals have made to making it possible for others to enjoy boating and sailing, from establishing clubs, committee participation, through to boat maintenance and training. This year’s award winners put in an average of 30 years service as volunteers for their clubs – one volunteer has given an incredible 50 years of volunteer services.

For the second year running awards were also given in the new youth category, which recognises voluntary work carried out by young people specifically. This year six youth awards were given.

Rod Carr Chief Executive of the RYA said:=

 “The work and voluntary time that RYA Community Award and RYA Award winners put into our sport is simply astounding. Every one of this year’s 63 award winners has exceeded the reasonable expectations of their fellow volunteers, club members and the boating community in general. Without their sheer hard work, commitment, and expertise our sport would be immeasurably poorer.”

Click Here for details and pictures of the winners.

New Edition of Popular East Coast Pilot

The second edition of the popular East Coast pilot guide, East Coast Pilot (Imrays) was launched at the London Boat Show at Excel.

The version has been considerably updated and improved, with new aerial and sea-level photographs, and up to the minute chart changes.

A new website carrying chart updates, notices to mariners and local comments has also been launched at www.eastcoastpilot.com

The new version of the guide also introduces readers to local Honorary Port Pilots, who work with the authors to update the material and offer help and advice to visitors.