WIGHT VODKA – BEST SAILOR’S BAR CONTEST
In the spirit of Wight Vodka’s ethos, we should all ‘Celebrate our Wins’ as
we head into the holidays and New Year. With this as the main theme for the
inaugural Best Sailor’s Bar contest, we must first start by congratulating
all of the establishments that made the Top 10 list of the best of the best
- we salute you all – and look forward to visiting you in due course!

We’ve had a lot of fun with the promotion and we’re very pleased to
announce that in partnership with Scuttlebutt Europe, Wight Vodka will be
making the search for the best sailor’s bar an annual event – whilst
building an online reference guide to key sailing watering holes around the
world that we can plug in as waypoints (if not destinations).

The rampant loyalty and extent of the customer databases and club members
is absolutely staggering. Our voting lines ran white hot.

Not only did we see a spectacular amount of social networking activity we
were also very impressed by the technical competence of some readers! In
common with Santa – we definitely had to check the list twice!

Throughout the race, we spotted heavy duty light-air pumping, OCS and
definitely some serious rule 69 infringements – every bit of gamesmanship
in the book. We applaud your competitive spirit and are clearly going to
have to tighten up the Notice of Race for the next event, as our collective
goal is to NOT have to bring the Rules of Deed up to the examining board of
the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court.

So, with that introduction behind us, we’re pleased to announce the results
for the Best Sailor’s Bar competition. So many great places, so little time
to experience them all!

1. Peter-Cafe Sport – Horta, Azores
Congratulations to the owner… Jose Henrique Azevedo
2. Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club – Hong Kong
3. IYAC – Newport RI, USA
4. Maddie’s Sail Loft – Marblehead, MA USA
5. The Candy Store – Newport, RI, USA
6. Le Select – St. Barts
7. Bitter End Yacht Club – British Virgin Islands
8. Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Hamilton Bermuda
9. Foxy’s Tamarind Bar and Grill – Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
10. Willy T – Norman Island, British Virgin Islands

The winning bars will indeed receive a coveted certificate from the team at
Wight Vodka that they can proudly display on their wall, authenticating
their place in history. Indeed, the winner will receive an elusive bottle
of Wight Vodka to celebrate with. We’ll also be drawing a few names from
those who submitted entries and stories to receive a number of prizes
between now and New Year’s Eve. Many thanks for taking part and on behalf
of the Wight Vodka and Scuttlebutt Europe Team, we wish you all a very
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Tack & Gybe Responsibly

http://www.wightvodka.com

From Scuttlebutt Europe

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There’s just one week left until Christmas so now is the time to get those last minute gifts. With no last delivery date, a magazine subscription is the perfect gift because you can order right up until Christmas Day and simply print out a gift certificate to give to your loved one.

You can buy subscriptions to some of the best yachting and boating magazines by clicking on the pictures below, or you can buy subscriptions to almost any other type of magazine imaginable at Magazine Group by clicking the link.

The snow is still deep and white outside here and so it really feels like Christmas is around the corner.

Seasons greetings to you all from Harbour Exchange and a big Thank You to those who have been reading our articles and have made comments over the past months. It means a lot to know others are enjoying the snippets we post.

GET YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS HERE

Yachting World

Cover Price: £3.90  |  Frequency: 12 issues per year

Save up to 22% off UK shop prices this Christmas when you subscribe to Yachting World

Synonymous with quality, authority and excellence, Yachting World is known world-wide, being brought and read in over 100 countries. Ranging from blue water cruiser to super-yacht Yachting World provides the best in nautical writing and photography, up-to-the-minute technical reports, equipment valuation, new boat tests and informed comment. Yachting World is renowned for its coverage of international regatta, round the world races and other events, the magazine also has the latest sailing news, first hand cruising accounts and practical advice, our ever popular Great Seamanship series re-living epic sailing stories, new yacht equipment news and tests and offers a glimpse at the exotic world of superyachting. Why not subscribe and make sure you never miss an issue – with 12 issues a year, delivered straight to your door, there’s never been a better time to treat a friend, or treat yourself!

Yachting Monthly

Cover Price: £3.70  |  Frequency: 12 issues per year

Save up to 19% off UK shop prices this Christmas when you subscribe to Yachting Monthly magazine

Written by sailors, for sailors, Yachting Monthly is at the heart of the British yachting market for people who actively sail their boats. Yachting Monthly provides an authoritative, yet entertaining, mix of information for yachtsmen with any level of experience. Each issue contains informative and inspirational articles, readers share real-life experiences in the Sailing Skills section and the ‘Confessional’ page. Plus read authoritative reports on yachting equipment, new technology and new and second-hand boats by one of the most trusted test teams in the industry.

Motor Boat and Yachting

Cover Price: £3.95  |  Frequency: 12 issues per year

Save up to 23% off UK shop prices this Christmas when you subscribe to Motor Boat & Yachting magazine

Europe’s premier yachting magazine, Motor Boat and Yachting’s boat tests are acknowledged as the most authoriative in the business and its technical coverage is without equal, plus no other publication offers so many motorboats for sale. Motor Boat and Yachting is a must-read for any boating enthusiast. Why not subscribe and make sure you never miss an issue – with 12 issues a year – delivered straight to your door, why not treat yourself or a friend today.

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You may have seen this on Alltop or another site, but we thought it would be worth repeating. Nothing like a bit of nautical humour for your amusement.

The fact that there are real nautical captains compared with those from cereal boxes makes us laugh.

Originally found on pixlmonster.com here.

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Voting continues to knock the list down to the Top Ten, starting Friday
we’ll then vote for the Best Sailors’ Bar…

As of this evening, with nearly 1000 total votes cast, the top ten are:

Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club – Hong Kong, 287 votes
Maddie’s Sail Loft – Marblehead, MA USA, 205
IYAC – Newport RI, USA, 196
Bitter End Yacht Club – British Virgin Islands, 172
Foxy’s Tamarind Bar and Grill – Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands, 101
Le Select – St. Barts, 93
The Candy Store – Newport, RI, USA, 81
Willy T – Norman Island, British Virgin Islands, 77
Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Hamilton Bermuda, 75
Cafe Sport – Horta, Azores, 52

Voting for the top ten continues until Friday, go to
http://www.scuttlebutteurope.com/sailors-bars.html

Starting on Friday, it’s a vote for the Best One!

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Originally posted on Flickr by Stannesman

Is this the strongest dog in the world? Really looks like the dog is marching on with the distressed Riverdance on it’s back AND is having to drag miss ‘pretty-pink-boots’ too.

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Big thanks to www.boatinsurance.org for including Harbour Exchange in their top 50 must read boating blogs.

We are chuffed to bits. Thank you.

Check out their post here: http://www.boatinsurance.org/50-must-read-boating-blogs/

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Originally posted to Flickr by ‘Tambako the Jaguar’ (good name!).

I love wood on a boat – the shiny varnish – the beautiful teak deck. But I wouldn’t have a wooden yacht though. I owned a wooden Mirror dinghy once (called ‘Eat my shorts’ with a picture of Bart Simpson mooning on the side!) and I seriously couldn’t be bothered to keep Bart looking nice. Way too much effort.

Still, if you can afford a yacht like this one, you can probably afford the servants to polish your brass, rub your bottom and make you proud.

Anyone know what type of boat she is?

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Let me appeal to your inner blogger. Your creative desire to be a wordsmith. Have you ever secretly thought – ‘I could write a blog’, or ‘I know the perfect way to do ….’? Have you wondered if you could combine your passion with writing? I bet you have. I know I used to wonder.

We are looking for people who have something to say, something to offer to fellow sailing enthusiasts. Those who can help novices to understand what this sailing thing is all about. Those who can offer practical advice. And those who know how to interpret the rules for the Sunday morning racers. Or if you have an opinion about sailing, boating regulations, whether children should be allowed to drift alone in the oceans!!

We want to provide a mouthpiece to your latent writing talent (or not so latent is also fine).

One option is to blog in the Club House. Simply create a free account (click here) and start blogging. If you’re new to writing, this is probably the best place to start. Any really good blogs will be featured in Home & Info.

The second option is to submit an article to us for the front page. You submit to us and we’ll edit and publish for you – and you get full credit.

I know that yesterday I said Alltop have never responded to submissions to include Harbour Exchange in the Sailing section, well their ears must have been burning and only this morning I got an email saying Harbour Exchange is now included in both http://sailing.alltop.com and http://boating.alltop.com

What this means is that any of your articles published in the Home & Info section of the site will be included in the largest online magazine rack around.

So, if you’re interested, email admin at harbourexchange dot com

Can’t wait to hear from you.

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Jessica Watson has set sail from Sydney Harbour on her quest to complete a 21,000 mile solo circumnavigation. She is 16 and although the trip will take approximately 8 months, she hopes to get back (if all goes to plan) on May 18th, the day before she turns 17. This would make her the youngest person to complete a solo circumnavigation by some 164 days. Even if she doesn’t command ‘Ella’s Pink Lady’ back with military precision she still has the leeway of those 164 days to beat Mike Perham who in turn beat Zac Sunderland earlier in the year.

Zac did a great job. Mike did a great job. Let’s just pray that Jessica does too.

It is easy to call these brave kids heros once they are back from their adventures alive, but until the day they cross the finish line they run so many risks. Sailing in the Solent on a brisk afternoon can be dangerous, even with another 5 people to help out. Imagine being alone, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night when something goes wrong………oh, of course, Jessica knows about that one already.

On September 09, her first night at sea on her yacht, she collided with a 63,000 tonne Chinese coal carrier, Silver Yang off the southern Queensland coastline at about 2.10am. Back on dry land (thankfully alive) and after reportedly making a few inappropriate comments about the crew of the Silver Yang, she refused explain much about the incident. The Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) concluded that Jessica:

• Most probably dozed off before her vessel hit and was dragged alongside the 63,000-tonne cargo ship
• Did not turn on a device that would have warned her of a potential collision
• Could not produce a clear, plotted plan for her journey
• Had not developed a fatigue management plan
• Kept a log with ‘irregular latitude and longitude entries’

The conclusion from MSQ was that Jessica should abandon her trip. Well just three weeks later and she set sail on that trip, with Jessica and her parents showing a complete disregard for the advice of the professionals (who have safetly at the heart of their agenda rather than a ‘prize’).

Does the ‘Chinese coal carrier crash’ demonstrate a massive lack of experience or was it a mistake that anyone, including and experienced sailor, could have made? Surely it demonstrates a gross lack of experience. Competitors in long ocean-gowing events work hard at sleep management before they set off. They generally remember to switch on the correct instruments to help them and if our Heros, Ellen MacArthur and Dee Caffarri are anything to go by, they are meticulous to the point of OCD about repair, safety, speed…

In truth a 35 year old could have made those same errors so it isn’t that Jessica is 16 that’s the issue. But, a 35 year old would have had more than twice the life and so could have the oportunity to gain the relevant experience. Mike Perham at least had done a solo transatlantic crossing in preparation.

So, given the fact that she demonstrated she is not yet competent enough to under take 21,000 miles, or more (Mike Perham sailed over 28,000), solo, that she was advised to abandon her trip by the professionals and her parents allowed her to go out there all by herself is staggering. I’m a parent and can’t fathom this decision.

Now it gets worse, Roger Watson, Jessica’s father is reported to have said

“It would be devastating if we lost her … but I still think it would be worse to say ‘no you can’t go’ because of that risk, because of what she’s put into it,” (The Courier Mail, 19 Oct)

This demonstrates the weakest parenting imaginable. Parenting is about bring up responsible human beings who contribute willingly to society. It is not about endulging the child’s desires to break records (would she really be doing this if it weren’t for the record?). If my child said they wanted to jump off a cliff with some ‘home-made’ wings they had spent such a lot of time and effort making in their school art class, would I say yes because I’m afraid of upsetting them? No. Because I have a duty to protect my children from themselves, their lack of experience and judgement, a duty to ensure they can actually complete their ambitions safely without endangering themselves or other people (like the rescue services should they, god forbid, be needed to rescue Jessica). And at 16 she is still a child. She can’t vote, can’t have a drink and in the UK would actually be too young to undertake a Coastal Skipper course with the RYA!!

It is abhorent that a parent should say that the risk of losing a 16 year old child is better than saying ‘NO’. Parents who can’t say no to their children end up with spoiled brats. Let’s hope in this case the fate is no worse than that. Earlier in the year a 13 year old girl was put into care in the Netherlands while her parents argued about her right to sail single-handed around the planet. In this instance I suspect it isn’t Jessica that needs taking into care, but someone ought to be ‘sectioned’.

Let’s also hope that the tragic accident, on Australia’s New South Wales Coast, on October 10th where the experienced skipper and one crew member died when the boat grounded on a reef in heavy waves during the night is not an omen.

I truly wish Jessica well, but question the parenting wholeheartedly.

Anyone feel differently?

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If you love Formula 1 and you love boats, it should follow that you’ll enjoy powerboat racing. But…aren’t the best bits of F1 at the start, the crashes and the finish? Surely the rest is just boring.

Not so, say I. I love the thrill of the speed as you get to see the race from the camera above Lewis or Jenson’s head. You get to feel a little of the speed as the track whizzes past at 150 miles an hour. If you’re anything like me you also find yourself swaying on the sofa as if you’re going round the corners yourself. It’s exhilarating as well as being a source of great amusement for the family.

There are some nutters in America that go Jet Boat racing along the white water of Hell’s Gate Canyon in southern Oregon and this video is particularly good if you want to feel the speed. It’s filmed from a camera on the roll-bar (yes boats have roll-bars) of the boat.

If you’re honest though you’d also like to see the boat wipe out. No? Well here’s a fine example, this time filmed in Idaho.

And here’s a last one. The boat almost wipes out due to 50mph headwinds. Listen for the concern of the crowd as it almost ends in disaster. Only in America.

Exciting? Yes. Dangerous? Very. I’m staying a spectator.
Seems like an expensive and dangerous way to spend time. Give me a boat with a stick and a rag anytime.

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