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America’s Cup Live Broadcasts This Weekend If you have the time and interest you can tune in to the live broadcasts of the America's Cup series races from Venice this weekend. Quite a treat to hear the familiar "Guys, we got a cluster f**k here" spoken by a highly paid athlete in an Australian accent.
It's an amazing sight with the Cup catamarans racing in the narrow confines of the bay in front of lovely and historic Venice. You can find the races at http://www.youtube.com/AmericasCup. |
If the wind is going to roar this winter, your rigging needs a check. Sail-World picked up a post from Captain John at Skippertips that lists the most vital rigging checks you need to make. Sailing Rigging Inspection Checklist: Just as pilots of aircraft large or small wouldn’t think of taking off without [...] A post by Ryan Scott on the West Marine Rigging-Newport site that might be helpful as you prepare your boat for the coming season. One common misconception that I am asked about, is whether stretch and creep are the same thing. They are not. I saw an analogy a while ago describing the difference, and I still think it is one of the best ways to demonstrate it. Rubber bands stretch, taffy creeps.
 One of the symptoms for a heart attack in women is pain in the shoulder blades. — Rosanne Olson/Getty Images If you Googled this article because you think you’re having a heart attack — stop. Call 911. Then chew an aspirin. Spending precious minutes searching for information about heart attack symptoms as you experience them is not wise, doctors say, because “time is heart muscle.” Heart Attack Symptoms One of the symptoms for a heart attack in women is pain in the shoulder blades. — Rosanne Olson/Getty Images “If you think you’re having a heart attack, that’s not the time to try and figure out whether you’re right,” says Gordon Tomaselli, M.D., president-elect of the American Heart Association, who adds he has patients who have done exactly that. This morning Bertram Levy of the Port Townsend Moorage Tenants Union sent along the following memo that makes three specific changes to the proposed legislation that phases out copper bottom to recreational boats under 65′.  "Old Norse Hauled Out" painted by the artist Martin Justin David. http://martydavid.com Over the past ten days since we sent out the February 11 position paper on Senate Bill 5436, House Bill 1785 that is similar in many ways to the Senate bill, has been posted on the web. Both bills have undergone hearings and some changes. During this time, three members of the Moorage Tenants Union have been speaking to a variety of people, including paint manufacturers, members of the Port Townsend Marine Trades Association, The Port Manager, the Commissioners, Practical Sailor magazine, and the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. We’re told it’s late in the game and that the bills are well along, so here are the changes we want in this legislation. 1) Strike the proposed amendments in both bills that limit the definition of a recreational boat to 65 feet, and include ALL recreational boats, regardless of size. There should be no exemption for recreational charter boats. Rationale: No justification exists to change the legal definition of recreational boat as it is found in 33 C.F.R. 6(V)§1362; or in the federal Clean Boating Act; or in Coast Guard regulations or literature. The use of federal Vessel General Permits to suggest size limits on recreational boats is also not justified because VGP is about ballast water, deck wash, graywater and bilgewater discharges, not bottom paint. Therefore, no size limit exists on the legal definition of a recreational boat and all should be included. Chris Wilke, Puget Soundkeeper and Executive Director, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance sent in this response to the earlier PT Moorage Tenants Union (MTU) post. Stay tuned for a response from the MTU. Posting of Comments and entries in the Forum are encouraged. Let your voice be heard. Having a problem registering to post? Jak did some work to straighten out that function, try it again and the “Forgot my password” function is working. I read your recent story on copper bottom paint [on the PTSA website] which was a reprint of the recent Marina Tenants Union (MTU) position paper. I have already provided MTU with comments on the paper on behalf of Puget Soundkeeper Alliance (Soundkeeper), and I had a long discussion with MTU members on this issue. I am concerned however that the tone of the article is very adversarial and one-sided, and paints recreational boaters as a victim in what is actually a multi-lateral effort to better control a significant toxic pollutant (copper). Copper has been scientifically shown to disrupt and/or kill aquatic life (especially salmon) even in extremely low concentrations- down to levels as low a 2 parts per billion (ppb). There can also be a lot of copper in bottom paint- some paints are up to 75% copper. The copper in the paint readily leaches into the water, and if disturbed by cleaning or pressure washing, can create a dense plume in the water, which is why in-water bottom cleaning of most paint formulations is illegal in Washington state. Although Soundkeeper has clarified its position with MTU and plans to partner with them to broaden and improve the legislation, we feel a need to address some of the assertions in the article as it has now been shared with a broader audience. |
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