Notebook

We've set up a new mailing list to encourage "a conversation" between those of us hoping to sail North this winter, have done it or just dream about it.

To join, go to the registration page or simply send an email to "skipper at skipr dot net".

After you join, please send an introductory message to the list and make yourself at home. Blatant commercial messages are discouraged. We welcome any messages about your travels, experiences, problems and solutions, associated with sailing up and down the Australian coast line.

Here is an interesting account of a meeting at the Balmain Sailing Club (website) attended by NSW Maritime. It covers the use of mooring, anchoring in the harbour and various contentious issues (such as whether you can pee overboard). An excellent account which will settle many a sundowner discussion. Download the Meeting Account here (PDF).

By the way, there is another interesting document on Radio Communications at the Balmain Club's website, written by Allan Adolphson for a cruise to Hobart in 2007. A very comprehensive guide, good to have on board. Download Allan's Guide (PDF).

It's an old one but a goodie... How do you dispose of out-of-date distress flares? Robin Copeland in this month's (Feb 09) Afloat, has an editorial about disposal methods - finding no really practical options. Walking into a Police Station with wide eyes, saying "look what I just found" will probably work...

The best option I have found to dispose of flares is as part of a safety-at-sea course or exercise which are regularly held by sailing clubs like the RPAYC. It gets you experience in activating them, as well as giving an opportunity to dispose of unwanted flares.

By the way, great magazine, Afloat. Great price, Good value. Did you know that you can read it online? You can safely subscribe to their email - no spam - just a monthly email with a list of articles - recommended.

Marinetraffic.com falls in the category “why wasn’t I told about this before?”. It aims to plot all ships carrying AIS and uses volunteer ground stations. Stunningly simple concept (connect AIS receiver to a computer and upload AIS data to a central site)

Here is the state of shipping going to and from (and anchored at) Newcastle this morning:

Clicking on a vessel displays its details:

Wow…. Try it out.

Coverage is not complete (it needs a station in MacKay for example) and of course this is not a system on which yachties would want to rely on exclusively, but its yet another reason for having internet access on board. And a sensible resource for those as yet without our own AIS.

The shape of things to come.

by David McKay

Andrea and I sailed our 48 foot steel Van de Stadt yacht "Diomedea" amongst the islands of the South Pacific during the winter of 2008.  After leaving Sydney to cross the Tasman Sea in April, Diomedea arrived in Opua, Bay of Islands where we met John and Lyn Martin, directors of the Island Cruising Association. We had joined the ICA so that we could participate in a rally from New Zealand to Tonga in May.

We were provided with a  wealth of information and support prior to departure from Opua, including seminars on weather, safety, passage making, boat preparation and so forth.  Membership of ICA also provided significant discounts on chandlery and other purchases. Our clearance out of NZ was made very easy and quick.  Duty free food, alcohol and fuel purchases were facilitated.

The following is a description of the fitting of an Automatic Identification System (AIS) Transponder to SV Crystal Blues by Neil and Ley Langford. It originally appeared on their web site.

AIS Part 1 - A Primer

My father taught me to sail when I was about 8 years old - he's the worried one in the old photo at right (probably because my brother Peter is on mainsheet). With great and delightful understatement, he always said that "a collision at sea can ruin your whole day". He's absolutely right of course, though nowadays we can use AIS technology to help avoid those "ruined days". This is the first of three posts regarding the system, and basically describes the technology. Future posts will cover our installation experiences and the system in operation.

Some years ago the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) ratified a standard requiring all ships over 300 tons to carry an Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder. This was a major step forward in collision avoidance for ships at sea. The system really works - AIS equipped ships constantly transmit information including name, MMSI number, position, speed, course, rate of turn, cargo carried etc etc. Commercial vessels within range receive that data, which is then displayed on dedicated screens or (in most cases) overlaid onto radar or chart plotting screens. The result is that AIS equipped vessels are readily identified, tracked and avoided.

This is a significant primary safety system, and many in the yachting community have taken advantage by purchasing low cost AIS receivers - these display ship locations on navigation chart plotters, or on suitably equiped navigation computers. Whilst an AIS receiver system is a good thing to have, I always believed that the best safety system required the big ships to see me as well - I wanted a transponder that would transmit and receive.