Tides |
Premier Marinas have useful downloadable tide tables for the year for their various marinas along the south coasts from Brighton to Falmouth. You can save the pages as PDF files and then print them. |
Free tidal predictions for the next week only can be found
on the UKHO
Easytide website - and you can get one or two week predictions
for dates further ahead (or in the past) for £1.00 or £1.75 |
Funded by the Environment Agency, the National
Tidal and Sea Level Facility also give tidal predictions for
up to 28 days ahead for a range of ports. The site also tells you
the highest and lowest predicted spring and autumn tides for the
next 20 years |
WXTide32
is a free software download that will generate tidal data for many
locations worldwide for any date from 1970 to 2037. Accuracy is
not guaranteed for critical use, but is generally good enough for
advance passage planning. The current version generates UK data
from non-UKHO sources. |
Tides for Fishing has an online tide prediction calculation option for many UK ports running over a year in advance - although "not for navigation" it appears to generate predictions for Falmouth generally within 10 mins and 0.1 metre of the official data - useful for advance planning. |
Tideplotter 2005 - £10.99 including UKHO licensing, gives data
for smaller UK ports and harbours (480+ UK and nearby Channel ports)
for one year. Order online at Belfield
Software or try out as a free download.
The download evaluation version does not support future dates. A
simple, intuitive program ..... |
Navigation |
Notices to Mariners and chart corrections from the UK Hydrographic
Office |
The US National
Geospatial Intelligence Agency Maritime Safety Information portal
(US military) has online access to download NP229 sight reduction
tables, which are identical to the paid-for-only UK NP401 tables.
The website is not easy to navigate but a great deal of material is available free - for example the sight reduction tables here. |
From people who seem to care about traditional navigation, as
well as sell the kit online, a good source of basic information
about sextants, and why you should still use one - Celestaire |
Safety |
Although it's aimed at users of inland lakes in the northern
USA, an excellent primer on hypothermia,
and how to treat it. If you sail, you should know about this
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Surveys & Surveyors |
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Osmosis and Blistering of GRP hulls |
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Possibly the best printed reference work is
one of the later editions of the book 'Fibreglass Boats' by
Hugo Du Plessis, published by Adlard Coles Nautical from 1964
onwards - make sure you have a reasonably up to date edition
(1996 plus) as these have much more information on osmosis.
You can buy the latest 5th edition paperback on Amazon.
A few samples fromdu Plessis:- |
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".... In middle age, say ten years,
blisters can be expected. They will develop slowly, so there
is plenty of time to consider what to do. Cheap, owner maintenance
may contain them indefinitely" |
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On moisture meters: ".... Meters do not detect
only moisture....." "....many owners have been lured
into expensive work on the basis of false moisture meter readings. |
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".... Never go by the advice of a specialist
clinic or boatyard. They want work ...." |
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".... Replacing a gel coat is a major operation
to be avoided if possible, a last resort, and not, as so often
regarded, the first and only treatment" |
Du Plessis is also fairly brutal in his assessments of most yacht
builders "....to most builders the main consideration has
not been whether the boat would blister but would it do so before
the guarantee expired". |
And finally - some US small powerboat boatbuilders are now putting
conditions on their hull warranties to the effect that they don't
guarantee the boat hull not to blister if it is in the water for
more than two weeks...... |
Organisations and associations |
Stolenboats.org
- an online database of stolen boats and marine equipment. All the
information on this website is provided by the marine insurance
industry and the Police and is cross-checked with the Police National
Computer. Although the majority of stolen boats are dinghies and speedboats, a few sailing yachts do also get stolen. |
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The Cruising
Association represents the interests of cruising sailors worldwide.
It's purpose built HQ overlooking Limehouse Basin in London contains
an outstanding library and chartroom, as well as cabins, bar and
catering facilities.
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Nicholson
32 Class Association - one of the all time classic production
cruisers
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Hurley
Owners Association - in the 1960s and early 1970s Hurley
were one of the major British builders of production GRP cruising
yachts - the most famous of these being the Hurley 22. This
is the class association for all Hurleys - plus a number of
differently named but very similar later derivatives of the
designs. |
Sailing Issues is a private website providing a good tutorial on marine navigation, plus information on sailing holidays in Greece. Well designed, lots of information - and well worth a look |
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Commercial yachting and marine sites |
Sailing
Scenes Marine Photography: David Harding of Sailing
Scenes is a yachting writer and photographer whose work is widely
seen in the yachting press and marine industry; from books, magazines
and newspapers to web sites, brochures and exhibition displays.
His archive includes yacht and dinghy racing, motor-boats, cruising,
coastal scenery and commercial shipping, together with an A –
Z library of production cruising yachts which is used by publishers
on both sides of the Atlantic. |
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SchoonerSail Sailng Holidays offers sailing adventures, offshore and coastal voyages on board the schooner Trinovante. Passages include Norway (Norwegian Fjords) Arctic Circle and The Netherlands,
plus weekend breaks in the UK. |
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Tangent
Engineering is a small family-run engine
restoration business, specialising in Gardner marine and automotive
diesels. They can supply customised LW and LX engines finished
to a high standard, also core engines and generators. Contact tangent.gardner@gmail.com or
+44 (0)7802-572441 |
Halcyon Yachts Ltd is a yacht delivery company based near Falmouth. All skippers are qualified Ocean Masters
as a minimum, with experienced crew. Unlike many other companies there
are no charges for delays caused by weather. There is also a 24 hr
engineer support service.
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Boat-shift.com
is a boat transport company based in Kent, specialising in moving
yachts and motor cruisers around the U.K, France and Spain
by road. Boatshift have specialist trailers capable of carrying
boats of up to 20 tons, and also have 4x4 vehicles to tow
smaller boats that are on trailers. |
Ship
Shape Bedding specialise in making bedding for yachts and motor
boats. All their marine bedding is especially shaped to fit beds on
boats. Their range includes V berth, round ended beds, tapered,
asymmetric doubles and singles and many more. They also supply shaped duvets, fitted
sheets and mattress protectors. |
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Michael
Briant's website has lots of information about long-distance
cruising, and also sells his books, including 'French Canals to
the Mediterranean', 'Living Aboard Round the World', and a number
of DVDs covering cruising areas such as Polynesia, Panama Canal,
Indian Ocean etc. |
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Yacht Brochures
is a commercial service offering scanned copies of original sales
brochures for out of production yachts. These original brochures
are often rare and difficult to obtain but extremely popular with
owners and enthusiasts. Copies of the brochures can be ordered for
a fee. |
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Simon
Winter Marine Limited Classic Yacht Insurance Specialists. British
Marine Federation and British Insurance Brokers' Association member.
Clock House, Swan Hill Road, Colyford, Devon EX24 6QL Tel +44 (0)844
988 6132 Fax +44 (0)844 988 6133 Mob +44 (0)7775 627652 Email info@simonwintermarine.co.uk
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Yacht charter, sail training, including shore-based courses, and yacht delivery from Falmouth-based Cornish Cruising - +44 (0) 1326-211800 |
Powersail
Training is an RYA recognised training centre and yacht charter
business, and provider of sailing corporate events, based at Dartmouth
in Devon in summer and the Solent in winter. Contact 07774-745788
or email info@powersailtraining.co.uk
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Based on the River Hamble near Southampton, 'Arcsine'
is a new 37 ft Swedish Arcona cruiser/racer, skippered by Kathy
Claydon. Yachting
Experiences offers skippered charter, tuition in navigation
and sailing, yacht racing experiences, race training, team building
& management training, corporate entertainment and sail training |
Tops
and Strops sells purpose-built stainless steel ratchet straps
for trailers, roof racks and for other general marine industry use
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Online
sales of a wide range of sailing lifejackets at the Marine Warehouse,
Swansea |
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Marine electronics from Yachtbits
- the web outlet of KM Electronics, with online ordering for electrical
and electronic items, and a few other marine products |
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Ace
Marine offer a Naval Architecture Service, including hull fairing,
stability analysis and general design work |
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Pratt
Naval Architecture undertakes the designs of both powered and
sailing vessels, plus consultancy and stability analysis |
Classic Sailing. Find lots of Classic Sailing Holidays for beginners
and experienced sailors on Tall Ships and Traditional Vessels in the UK, Europe and many
other parts of the world.
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Gaelsail ( www.sailscotland.net
) is an RYA sailing school offering the full range of courses,
based from Troon on the west coast of Scotland
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www.marsbrookboating.com
has more than 50 RYA and ASA recognized sailing schools in 11 different
countries listed, together with a detailed profile and contact details
for each school |
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Daften
Die-casting of Wadebridge in Cornwall manufacture a range of
sacrificial anodes for yachts and commercial craft |
Non-sailing links |
Aston
Wilson web design, graphics and photography services |
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Save
our Foreshores - a community website set up to fight inappropriate
waterfront apartment development by the Greenbank Hotel in Falmouth |
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with any requests for links.
Website design and maintenance by Aston
Wilson |
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