Practical Boat Owner January 2015

Jon Ridd, Ben’s father, said: ‘As a parent you protect your children in the best way you know how: you gather all the information around you regarding the activity your child wishes to do and then assess the risk. Unfortunately, all the information was not made available to any of the parents involved with these boats. Many months before the incident, the designer of the Sorcerer powerboat was a spectator at one of the Wanda Offshore Racing Klubb races and was concerned that the boats were not suitable for what he saw. He felt so strongly about this that he wrote a report and submitted it to the organising authorities (RYA). This report went into great depth and detail as to why the boat was not suitable and the consequences…

A charge of harassment brought by former Round the World Clipper Yacht Race participant Ruth Harvey has been withdrawn fully in a tribunal hearing. The claim named the Clipper Race, its chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, her race skipper and some crew. Sir Robin’s name was withdrawn from the claim immediately at the opening of the case as it was regarded as purely speculative. Subsequently the case was dismissed entirely and, unusually, the judge intends awarding costs to Clipper Ventures on the basis that there was never any sensible basis for suing Sir Robin and that Ms Harvey had conducted the case unreasonably. A Clipper Race company spokesman said: ‘This case should never have been brought following Ms Harvey deciding to leave the race after completing only two of the eight…

The 2015 London Boat Show has been given a makeover by students from the Central Saint Martins University of the Arts and aims to ‘surprise and intrigue visitors’ with 4D experiences. Visitors will enter the show through a dramatic interactive wall of rain. A digital information wall will enable people to plan their day, highlighting the must-see talks, seminars, new products and boating personalities at the show. Weather is the one thing that connects everyone on the water. The show’s 4D Experience will offer six epic environments at sea where you can take in the atmosphere, temperature, scent, wind and soundscape of the globe from the Arctic to the Tropics and everything in between. The 2015 event, sponsored by Forex trading company CWM FX, takes place from Friday 9 to…

A Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) manager has admitted defrauding the charity out of almost £5,000. David Shepherd, an ex-Royal Navy officer, was head of operations at the RNLI’s headquarters in Poole, Dorset when he committed the fraud in December last year. The 54-year-old fled a false invoice for £4,773.60, but offered no explanation as to why he did it or what it was spent on when he appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court. Shepherd, who pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud, had served 22 years in the Royal Navy as a Submariner Lieutenant Commander and was appointed head of staff officer training at the RNLI in September 2006. Before that he was responsible for the delivery of operational training to volunteer crews for 42 different lifeboat stations from North…

Fake charts may be putting boat owners at risk, says the Cruising Association (CA). It isn’t just Admiralty charts produced in the UK which have been counterfeited, but also electronic charts issued by other manufacturers. Counterfeit charts found so far include misinformation and mistakes that could present a risk to navigation. A spokesperson for the CA said: ‘Most of us have said our old charts are still OK because “the rocks don’t move” – and some of us have been caught out because they have seemingly moved. In most cases this is simply because modern location methods place them more accurately on newer charts. As well as fake charts we now have the situation where mankind is adding obstructions to those provided by nature, with renewable energy installations seeming to…

PRACTICAL PROJECT BOAT Installing instruments ■ Fitting a VHF radio, log/echosounder, plotter and compass light to the PBO Project Boat PLUS ■ How to repair Vetus windows ■ Pitfalls of three popular adhesives ■ Fitting a crankcase breather filter ■ Heads refit from scratch ■ Repair a winch and save £££s ■ Build an automatic anchor light TESTED Small inverters ■ Up to 1kW mains power onboard Diesel heaters ■ A PBO buyers’ guide BOATS The French connection ■ Economical second-hand 24-27ft French cruisers Seaward 25 motorboat ■ Gentleman’s cabin cruiser tested SEAMANSHIP Electronic charts ■ How to keep them up to date Inside SAR ■ Memoirs of a rescue helicopter crewman CRUISING Cyclades sailing charter ■ Greek island adventure for ‘gentlemen of a certain age’ Charter-ready ■ Not including…