A Canadian company, Harbour Air Seaplanes have approached the Canarian port authorities in Los Llanos on the island of La Palma and Santa Catalina in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to seek approval to begin flights. Harbour Air are the largest all-seaplane airline in the world, they want to expand and offer their services connecting the Canary Islands from 2010.

The company has already had a successful meeting with the local authorities and are currently in the process of confirming how the operation would work for the security and procedures. Very little work would be required at either of these ports to establish the first seaplane connection between the capitals of these islands. Each seaplane would be able to carry up to 19 passengers per flight, they could be run as often as every 40 minutes and the journey time would be half an hour with a cost of around 40 Euros per person. Once the first connection is in place, Harbour Air would be interested in opening other routes to connect more of the Canary Islands.

Utilising skills and experience gained from being part of two previous Spanish Americas Cup Syndicates, Barracuda Yacht Design have recently completed an optimised design concept for an attractive 180ft performance sailing yacht, with a canting keel and water ballast.

Intended for display at the forthcoming Monaco Yacht Show, the new design is for a long and sleek yacht, characterised by an emphasis on speed, minimal healing angles and great comfort.

The principal inclusion of a canting keel with lead bulb, flanked by adjustable dagger-boards and 35 tonnes of transferable water ballast, will result in expected speeds of around 15knots upwind, in only 20knots of breeze. For the comfort and safety of those onboard, an optimum trim can be achieved across all points of sail, in particular, upwind healing angles should be no more than 10º, even in high winds.

But the technological revelations do not end purely below the waterline. The design for the flybridge, for example, should cause interest. Viewed from the side, this large external living space, with dedicated areas for dining, seating and sunbathing is surprisingly discreet and does not detract from the flowing elegance of the yacht as a whole.

At the forward end of the fly-bridge, twin helm stations will offer great visibility, from where all major controls, including those for a self-tacking jib, can be accessed.

 

Internally, within the main deck saloon, a central hall area provides access to a spacious lounge area aft and forward to a separate dining room. The saloon also houses a secondary galley and the yacht’s internal bridge station.

From the hall, stairs or a lift offer access to the lower deck, where accommodation for an owner plus 8 guests in five, spacious and luxuriously appointed cabins can be found. The well appointed crew quarters are housed in the forward sections close to the main galley, laundry and freezer room.

The owner’s space is very impressive; comprising a beam width bedroom, private lounge area, twin ‘his and her’ bathrooms. Along with a private sauna and relaxation area with port side access to a ‘beach zone’, located just above the water level, for cooling off immediately upon exiting the sauna.

The yacht’s inventory of water toys and equipment can be stored in a vast under-deck garage, aft, whilst concealed discreetly underneath deck level doors, will be two tenders, launched and retrieved via telescopic crane.

Space, pace and comfort are the defining qualities of the design for the new Barracuda 180ft performance sailing yacht.

Source SuperyachtTimes.com 23rd July 2009

The Abu Dhabi Yacht Show (ADYS) will return from the 25th to 27th February 2010 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and Marina (ADNEC). There will be considerably more exhibition space and several changes in format for the second edition, enabling the organisers to showcase many more world-famous brands of superyachts even more effectively to the thousands of high net-worth visitors expected.

The first event in 2009 saw sales of yachts totalling more than 200 million US Dollars which shows the importance of Abu Dhabi as a leading super yacht destination. It is hoped that this year will better the 100 companies that exhibited in 2009 as demand for space is already high. 23 super yachts were at the show last year and again this is expected to be bettered.

For more information info@abudhabiyachtshow.com

or visit www.abudhabiyachtshow.com

 

Source Super Yacht Times 21st July 2010

Two luxury yachts, which were about to be shipped to China for the eventual use of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il, have been impounded by Italian police in Viareggio. The yachts are valued at €13m.

Italy's financial police, along with help from Austrian authorities, traced the yachts under a sting called Operation Flybridge. Under an international trade embargo, luxury goods are prohibited from being imported into North Korea.

Libero-News reported that an Austrian businessman paid cash to build the yachts, and that the title for them was later transferred to a Chinese company. The Italian police became suspicious and traced the bank accounts back to Kim.

The yachts will be put up for auction, while the money that has been paid for them has been frozen. The newspaper did not say which shipyard was involved.

Source IBI 20 July 2009

Europe's largest marina operator, MDL Marinas recently launched this year's summer scrub offers* across eleven of its UK sites; Queen Anne's Battery, Dartside Quay, Cobb's Quay Marina, Hythe Marina Village, Shamrock Quay, Hamble Point Marina, Northney Marina, Sparkes Marina, Penton Hook Marina, Chatham Maritime Marina and Woolverstone Marina.

The offers, which are running until 31st August 2009, will help boat owners keep their craft in top condition so they can fully enjoy their time on the water.

Offers at the specified marinas include a special Maintenance Scrub package with a Lift, Pressure Wash and Block off, up to 7 days storage ashore and Relaunch at a significantly discounted rate. A Hull Scrub is also available which includes a Lift, Pressure Wash in Slings and Relaunch; again at a reduced rate. MDL annual berth holders ('Club Outlook' members) will receive an extra 50% off the summer scrub offer

Whether located in the South West, Dorset, Hampshire, Thames Valley or East Coast regions of the UK, boat owners will be within easy reach of an MDL marina participating in the summer scrub offers. The experienced teams at each MDL marina/boatyard will co-ordinate all boat maintenance needs and ensure the highest standards of service.

*Terms and Conditions apply in these difficult finacial time every bit helps. To find out more about the MDL summer scrub offers, including pricing and terms and conditions, please visit www.mdlmarinas.co.uk or contact the specified marinas.

Source allatsea.co.uk

The ever popular Southhampton boat show is on between the 11th and the 20th September. All the usual exhibitors will be there and this year you will be able to tour a Tall ship, visit the science ship Callista and watch search and rescue displays. For more information on tickets and transport plus everything that will be on show visit http://www.southamptonboatshow.com/2009/home.aspx

MADRID : Nearly 50 teams have expressed an interest in taking part in the next edition of the Volvo yacht race around the world scheduled for 2011-12, the director of the event, Norway's Knut Frostad, said Monday.

"From a competitive sense we have close to 50 teams at various levels that are interested," he said in an interview published on the site of the Volvo race.

"There are a lot of names that I always wanted to see in this race that are now interested in getting on the start line," he added.

The tenth edition of the race, which was won by Sweden's Ericsson 4 last month, only had eight participating teams at the start.

Organisers have said they hope to increase the number of participants to at least a dozen for the next edition.

Most of the teams that participated in the 2008-09 race, including Spain's Telefonica, Sweden's Ericsson and Puma of the United States, intend to participate in 2011-12, Frostad said.

There will be only seven or eight stages for the 2011-12 event, which will again leave from the Spanish port of Alicante, where the Volvo Ocean Race has established its headquarters, and will last a maximum of eight months.

The stages will be announced in late March 2010 from a list of 34 candidate ports.

"We have had a huge response from ports around the world wanting to become part of the next race. We have undertaken a thorough review of the race and sought feedback from a number of stakeholders," said Frostad.

Source: channelasianews 

Construction of new marinas can help regional growth and provide locals and visitors with excellent facilities. A study that was created to explore ways in which development could be encouraged in the Algarve has suggested that introducing new direct flight routes to and from Faro Airport along with the construction of more marinas would pave the way for fast-track regional growth.

The study proposes introducing new direct flights from Faro Airport to Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Stockholm, Vienna and Moscow as well as reinforcing the thirteen regular routes it hosts, mainly to the UK, Germany, France, Holland and Denmark.

It also suggests two or three new marinas would be beneficial.

Should these proposals materialise, the study calculates that by 2015 17 million people would visit the Algarve, 13 million of whom will be foreigners, the rest Portuguese.

This translates into an estimated revenue of €853 million, which would be an eight percent rise in comparison to what is anticipated for this year.

The first signs of improvement, if the study’s suggestions are to be followed, should be visible between 2009 and 2011, which could indicate a recovery from the economic crisis, followed by a period of stabilization.

Regarding the marinas it was recommended that at least one new marina should be located in the eastern Algarve where such infrastructures are fewer.

According to the study the Algarve pales in comparison to neighbouring Andalusia, in Spain, which has 42 marinas equalling 15,000 berths for boats. The Algarve has just four marinas and a total of 2,500 berths.

Source Portugal News on Line

Grand Harbour Marina on the mediterranean island of Malta has been added to WorldMarineGuide.com this is a very sheltered harbour and provides many facilities which are listed on the site.

With the island being slap bang in the middle of the mediterranean Grand Harbour Marina is a great destination or a good home base from which to explore. If you have more information on this marina then please do let us know

email nick@worldmarineguide.com

A family of eight rescued by a French warship after their yacht became stranded at sea have praised Maritime New Zealand's rescue co-ordination efforts.

The Bradfield family, of Auckland, had left Tonga for New Zealand and got into trouble after gale force winds battered their yacht for days. The mast broke and the rigging then became tangled under the rudder and keel, making it immobile in the Pacific Ocean. The family also lost their radio aerial and quickly fashioned one using a piece of wire and a fishing rod. They then managed to make contact with Taupo maritime radio and the Rescue Coordination Centre was alerted about 5pm on Tuesday.

An RNZAF Hercules was sent to watch over the yacht until French warship La Glorieuse arrived to pick the family up 200 nautical miles of the coast of New Zealand. Skipper Charles Bradfield says the experience has filled him with confidence to know New Zealand has a fantastic rescue co-ordination centre."This was actually an amazing experience because we sat on deck and when they were in our vicinity we set off a flare. They identified us, they circled overhead and remained circling until the French navy were there. "The Bradfields were greeted by friends and family when the ship arrived at Queens Wharf in Auckland on Thursday morning.

Mr Bradfield says the family has every intention of looking for another yacht and going sailing again.

source al at sea