Featured on this weeks World on Water TV show is all the yachting news from Clipper yachts to Arab Dhows. As usual the show is on the home page of World Marine Guide 

The show is a guide to the world of yachting, marinas and marine racing. You can see previous shows at http://www.boatson.tv

http://www.worldmarineguide.com

A new marina to rival the once iconic Puerto Banus has been planned in the shape of a €400 million redevelopment of the fishing port and marina of La Bajadilla in Marbella on Spains Costa del Sol.

The new scheme, backed by Qatari Sheikh Abdullah Ben Nasser Al-Thani, will include not only a 200m dock for cruise liners but also an 800+ berth marina. The surrounding area will be completely revamped with the relocation of an entire industrial estate to create a new luxury zone with 5 star hotels, retail and residential space as well as an eventual link to the excellent AVE high speed rail network. 

The plan for the new world class Marbella Marina has been described as “the most important urban development” in Marbella’s historyand be a huge boost for marine tourism.

The Marbella Marina will have space for 1221 yachts afloat and dry stacked. There will be 858 moorings for yacht, 3 piers for cruise liners, 3 moorings for mega-yachts, 2 for yachts with 125 m length and one of 175 m length. A total of 860 will be in the water and 361 in dry boat storage.

The plans have been agreed and contractors selected to begin work and it is expected that construction of the marina will take three years. Given the scale of the project and the amount of existing activity that needs to be relocated it would seem likely that the project should be completed, as a guide, by early 2017.

More marinas with World Marine Guide on the Costa del Sol and other coasts of Spain.

Nuevo Puerto de Marbella Al-Thani Video 

Source Medberths.com and Hotels In Marbella

http://www.worldmarineguide.com/

The Volvo Ocean Race got back under way when the fleet left the  Maldivian capital Malé at 0800 UTC on Sunday the 22nd on the second stage of Leg 3 to China,. The fleet is back to six yachts after Team Sanya rejoined the race. 

The teams will cover more than 3000 NM and see the fleet cross the Bay of Bengal to the north west tip of Sumatra where they will enter the congested commercial waters of the Malacca Strait before eventually turning north east to possibly face strong winds and steep waves in the South China sea on their way to the finish in the Sanya Serenity marina on the Chinese island of Sanya.

The race officials, captains and crews will hope to put the threat and disruption of piracy behind them and concentrate on yachting matters, but the Straits of Malacca are not unknown for acts of piracy. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing skipper Ian Walker Said “Hopefully we’re done with shipping (the yachts) and we’re done with complicated logistics and we can concentrate on our offshore sailing"

World Marine Guide will be following the yachting and updating the progress of the yachts on there race around the world, Full Race Schedule. Guide to Teams. 

Information on other Chinese marinas with World Marine Guide

Source Volvo Ocean Racing

http://www.worldmarineguide.com/

After 45 days in an open boat, Row For Freedom cross the finish line and break two World Rowing Records.

World Marine Guide send congratulations to the Row For Freedom team of Julia Immonen, Debbie Beadle, Helen Leigh, Kate Richardson and Katie Pattison-Hart, who arrived in the   Barbados  marina of Port St Charles just after midnight LT. They are the first five-woman team to row any ocean in the world and have broken the record for rowing The Atlantic in the fastest time by an all-female crew.

The crew overcame everything that was thrown at them, in the marina in La Gomera,  Canary Islands , the six-strong crew shrunk to five due to the departure of skipper, Andrea; at sea, whilst battling waves up to 30 foot high, their steering system failed, leaks in the cabin, the water-maker caught fire and de-salinator broke resulting in the need to laboriously hand-pump to produce drinking water.

Row For Freedom's final time reflects their actual departure date of 7 December at 08:47 UTC which they delayed so as to give them the best shot of the fastest croosing record. Their triumphant row, and success in raising awareness for the issue of child slavery and human trafficking, is being celebrated worldwide.

The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge began for the girls on the 7th December at 08:47 UTC and since then they have rowed 2613 NM in a time of 45 days 15 hours 26 minutes so crossing the finish in 5th place out of the original 17 teams to start, but when based on time the girls were 4th.

The Row For Freedom mission has been to raise world wide awareness of the issue of child slavery and human trafficking. The team has had a great deal of media attention and support from the likes of Bear Grylls, Sir Steve Redgrave, Dame Kelly Holmes and David Cameron. Row For Freedom is aiming to raise over £1m for two charities, ECPAT UK and the A21 Campaign. Donate to the campaignClick for a guide to the crew and  read more on the team

Six boats are still to finish and Talisker will be tracking all the boats .

http://www.worldmarineguide.com

As one of the acclaimed sailing destinations, the British Virgin Islands hosts an array of sailing events throughout the year, attracting visitors from all over the world. From races and rendezvous’ to high level international match-racing regattas, the BVI is the must visit destination for every sailing and water sports enthusiast. World Marine Guide has information on the BVI and their marinas. BVI Marina info

Here is a selection of just some of the sailing events taking place in 2012:

Jeanneau Owner’s Flotilla with Sunsail  03 – 10 March 2012

Jeanneau, in conjunction with Sunsail, has organised a week of great sailing adventures throughout the BVI’s. Over 200 Jeanneau owners and guests are expected to gather to celebrate cruising and embark on a week’s adventure sailing around the BVIs, enjoying all that the islands have to offer.

www.sunsail.com/jeanneau  

North Sound Yacht Club 2^nd Annual Boat International Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous 14 – 17 March 2012

Following the success of the inaugural Caribbean Superyacht Regatta and Rendezvous, the second edition of this event will take place at the brand new YCCS Marina Virgin Gorda.

The Caribbean Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous will once again bring together sail and motor yacht owners for four days of racing, fun activities and glamorous social events in the idyllic surroundings of Virgin Gorda and her neighbouring islands.

This event is the first of many prestigious yachting events that YCCS intends to organise at the newly opened Yacht Club, which is linked to the Oil Nut Bay Resort Community and Beach Club as well as the nearby Biras Creek Resort.

www.superyachtregattaandrendezvous.com

ClubSwan Caribbean Rendezvous  12 – 17 March 2012

Swan yacht owners can enjoy a warm, relaxed tropical atmosphere in the sunny BVI with the 9^th annual Club Swan Caribbean Rendezvous. A wide range of Swan yachts are present in the Rendezvous each spring with the participating fleet gathering at the Bitter End Yacht Club for the start and finish.

A whole programme of events is scheduled, offering sailors and their families a mix of structured cruising, social events, snorkelling, scuba diving, alongside beautiful beaches and delicious island cuisine.

www.nautorswan.com

BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival  26 March – 01 April 2012

Now in its 41^st year, the famous BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival has become one of the Caribbean’s premier yacht races and is the highlight of the sailing calendar, attracting competitors from all over the world. It offers something for everyone who attends, whether that’s racing, cruising, practicing or partying!

As one of the most exciting and sometimes challenging sailing events in the Caribbean, the BVI Spring Regatta offers seven days of racing and five separate events, with over 150 boats setting sail from Nanny Cay Marina to race on courses around the Sir Francis Drake Channel.

www.bvispringregatta.org

Oyster Regatta - BVI  02 – 07 April 2012

Oyster’s series of regattas heads to the British Virgin Islands in April for a week of low-key races, plenty of parties and the opportunity to meet other owners and crews from different parts of the world.

www.oystermarine.com/events

Leverick Bay Resort & Marina – 11^th Annual Leverick Bay Poker Run  27 May 2012

The renowned Poker Run attracts the attention of hundreds of nautical enthusiasts to the waters of the BVI’s each year. During the event participants travel a pre-designated route, drawing a card at each stop until the route is completed at Leverick Bay Resort and Marina. The contestant with the best poker hand at the end of the journey is crowned Poker Run champions, with a large part of the participant-entry money being donated to local charities.

www.pokerrunbvi.com

Highland Spring HIHO 2012  01 – 08 July 2012

The Highland Springs HIHO event is known as the World’s Greatest Windsurfing and Sailing adventure and features a week of SUP and windsurfing racing, as well as sailing aboard a fleet of captained Moorings yachts.

Great island-to-island racing, fun parties and fantastic sailing, all set against the backdrop of the beautiful British Virgin Islands – it’s no surprise that this event attracts racers and participants from the world over. 

www.go-hiho.co.uk

The Moorings 31^st Interline Regatta  09 – 18 October 2012

The Moorings 31^st Interline Regatta will be held from 09 – 18 October 2012 with plans for another fantastic nine days of great racing and parties currently underway.

www.themooringsinterlineregatta.com

Bitter End Yacht Club – 26^th Pro Am Regatta  27 October – 03 November 2012

The Bitter End Yacht Club’s Pro Am Regatta provides a rare opportunity to learn from and interact with sailing’s elite, as teams of resort guests and amateur sailors are paired up with ‘Pro’ sailors including America’s Cup skippers, Olympic medallists and world champions for a series of exhilarating fleet and match races.

In addition to the sailing, Pro Am guests can also enjoy an array of activities from snorkelling and diving to yoga and spa activities, as well as a host of evening parties, wine dinners, pub gatherings and other social functions.

www.proamregatta.com

NOOD Caribbean Regatta with Sunsail  09 – 13 November 2012

NOOD (National Offshore One Design) regattas attract close to 2,000 boats and more than 30,000 competitors and spectators annually. Each event in the series features three days of sailboat racing for one-design models from 20 to 70 feet in length, with the Caribbean Regatta determining the overall winner. 

Source ADRP

Yacht Charter in The BVI http://www.boatbookings.com/yachting_content/bvi.php 

http://www.worldmarineguide.com/

This weeks World on Water is once again on the home page of World Marine Guide with a guide to whats happening in the yachting world.

Watch the announcement of Ben Ainslie new team to compete in the 2013 Americas Cup Series and of plans to join Oracle for the defence of the 34th Americas Cup.

Also featured is Volvo Ocean Racing, Sail Skating on ice and a yachting mad dash for all comers across San Francisco Bay.

The show is a guide to the world of yachting, marinas and marine racing. You can see previous shows at http://www.boatson.tv

http://www.worldmarineguide.com/

Its that time of year again, Christmas has gone, New Year underway, the bills...well theres still the bills, but now is the time our thoughts turn to hot sun, blues seas, cosy marinas and that yacht charter holiday.

We are not all able to afford to charter the Maltese Falcon, pictured above, but there are still hundreds of companies chartering yachts of all sizes that can fit your budget. From the large specialised charter companies such as Sunsail and Moorings, which have a huge choice of boats, to smaller operators who are just as good and, perhaps, offer a more personalised service.

From sailing yachts in the Mediterranean to motor boats in Florida or a Gulet in Turkey there are more choices than ever before and because of the competition there are some great deals for early booking. Bare boat charter offers you the freedom to skipper your own yacht but crewed yachts are a great way to charter as well as they allow you to sit back and relax (or partake as much as you want to!) and also provide local knowledge to plan and make the most of your voyage.

Take a look at the World Marine Guide Yacht Charter section to view some of the chartering companies offering holidays afloat for this year. Many charter companies also offer the chance to combine chartering a yacht with completing sea miles and/or acquiring sailing certificates as well as Sailing Schools which specialise in teaching but also provide a taste of the charter experience. 

If you are looking to charter in an unfamiliar cruising ground World Marine Guide has information on 100's of marinas with contact details, marina facilities and local attractions and services.

http://www.worldmarineguide.com/

The super yacht Quinta Essentia paid a visit to Puerto Calero Marina in the Canarian Island Lanzarote. World Marine Guide took these photos while the yacht was on a weeks stay in Canary Island port.

The mega yacht was launched in 2011 and has accomodation for 10 guest and 14 crew. Quinta Essentia’s design offers some notably luxurious features, such as the largest owners’ stateroom seen on any of Heesen’s yachts. In size it is comparable to those found on yachts of over 80 metres, while she is also the first in the Heesen fleet to sport a tender bay that can be flooded to allow easy launching and recovery of the tenders, and a swimming pool on the main deck that is filled by a waterfall. The gym and spa facilities, including a steam room and a massage room, play a key role on the sun deck.

The Quinta Essentia was built by Heesen Yachts and is the the largest yacht ever to be launched by the Dutch shipyard. 

The yacht has a capability of world cruising with a fuel capacity of 125,000 litres giving a range, as a guide, of around 4500 nautical miles at her economical speed. Even more impressive is that to fill her tanks with marine diesel would cost just over 100,000 Euros. Oooch!!

It is not known what plans the owner has for the yacht and whether the yacht will will be available for charter. View more photos on Flickr

Specifications of the Quinta Essentia:

Length Overall: 55.00 m/180.45 ft

Beam: 9.90 m/32.48 ft

Max speed: 24 knots

Engines: 4.300 kW, MTU 20V 4000 M93L diesel

Hull Material: Aluminium

Superstructure: Aluminium

Naval Architect: Heesen Yachts

Exterior Designer: Omega Architects, Dobroserdov Design

Interior Designer: Michela Reverberi, Ken Freivokh Design

http://www.worldmarineguide.com/

This could be World Marine Guides last weekly guide as to how the  Row For Freedomcrew of 5 girls are progressing as they try to make the fastest female crossing in the world and survive everything the long marine passage will throw at them on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge

Its over 41 days since the Row For Freedom team left the marina in La Gomera,  Canary Islands , to row across the atlantic unaided and attempt to set a new record crossing time for an all female crew. The girls and their boat are now less than 350 miles from the finish in  Barbadosand are in 5th position.  Given that the girls set out some 44 hours after everyone else to maximise their record-breaking chances, this is remarkable. For the last few days, the crew’s progress has slowed, with unfavourable winds making it feel like they were rowing in treacle. Now a following wind and big waves mean that they have really picked up the pace. The girls are expected to make landfall in just under a week.

The latest update from the boat says it’s hot out there on the Atlantic, adding an extra level of discomfort and challenge to their speed efforts. The warm water they are drinking isn’t doing much to quench their thirst, and the girls are now dreaming of ice lollies and cool orange squash to add a bit of flavour to their liquid intake.

The First rowers have reached Barbados with Box Number 8 winning the Talisker Whisky Challenge and Andrew Brown who came in a close second but nonetheless broke a new World Record for fastest time across the Atlantic for a solo rower.

The Row For Freedom mission is to raise world wide awareness for the issue of child slavery and human trafficking. The team has already gained a great deal of media attention and support from the likes of Bear Grylls, Sir Steve Redgrave, Dame Kelly Holmes and David Cameron. Row For Freedom is aiming to raise over £1m for two charities, ECPAT UK and the A21 Campaign. Donate to the campaign

World Marine Guide will be following the progress of the girls attempt and updating their position in this blog and Talisker will be tracking all the boats .

Click for a guide to the crew and  read more on the team Read Previous Report

http://www.worldmarineguide.com

Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean round the world race is underway with a sprint race out of the marina in  Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates  to Sharjar, the 106 nautical mile, six and a half hour blast was won by Ian Walker’s home team on Azzam, their second victory in two days. Results for this leg so far are in the table below and World Marine Guide will update the race as it unfolds and post the leg results when the yachts reach the Chinese marina of Sanya.

The piracy problem means that the start of this third leg has been redrawn as was the 2nd leg, with the boats once again due to be transported to a safe haven, from where the race will restart. The yachts have now been loaded on to cargo boat, after a delay due to strong desert winds, to be delivered to an unnamed point where the race, leg 3B, will restart.

The tactical battle is likely to commence as the boats spread out on the expected beat across the Bay of Bengal. Amongst the challenges as they negotiate the steep sided Malacca Strait are frequent thunderstorms, alternating squalls and flat calms, as well as the avoidance of a dense armada of commercial shipping and a myriad of small local fishing boats. Having survived the rigours of the straits there will be little time for self congratulation as the final push to the finish in Sanya is likely to be a windy and cold upwind slog.

	LEG 3A *			TOTAL
1		Team Telefónica	3	71
2		CAMPER with Emirates Team NZ	2	64
3		Groupama Sailing Team	4	51
4		PUMA Ocean Racing by BERG	5	36
5		Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing	6	31
6		Team Sanya	-	4
*Provisional points for Stage 1 of Leg 3.

World Marine Guide will be following the yachting and updating the progress of the yachts on there race around the world, Full Race Schedule. Guide to Teams. 

Source Volvo Ocean Racing

http://www.worldmarineguide.com/