Funny Finds: Sail Now

It’s no question that the London Boat Show is talk of the town this week. It’s not as much fun, however, for the boat lovers that can’t be there.

However, there’s not use feeling like a lowly landlubber, as we’ve got a great Funny Find to cheer you up.

Introducing Sail Now – a great curation of everything from sailing jokes to a ‘live aboard simulator’. As well as capturing everything that’s great about dry humour, Sail Now also promotes Safety in Sailing, and offers great tips on everything from spotting cloud types to tying different knots. Talk about multitasking!

If you require further convincing, here are a few samples of the ‘Jokes’ page, which masquerades as a list of definitions.

Sailing – The fine art of getting wet and becoming ill, while going nowhere slowly at great expense (equivalent to standing in a cold shower, fully clothed, throwing up, and tearing up $100 bills, while a bunch of other people watch you).

Crew – Heavy, stationary objects used on shipboard to hold down charts, anchor cushions in place and dampen sudden movements of the boom.

Bottom paint – What you get when the cockpit seats have just been painted.

Port – A fine wine, always stowed on the left side of the boat.

Swell – A wave that's just great.

You can laugh away to the rest of the list by clicking here.

Feeling better now? We certainly hope so!

Have you seen something you can’t help but share? Let us know by tweeting @Aquacote with the hashtag #FunnyFinds.

Keep It Simple

In a world where possessions and aspirations are king, simplicity is profusely underrated.

You’ll know better than any that nothing quite beats the simple pleasure of being alone at sea with a clear sky and an equally clear head. Should you saturate the boat with passengers and unnecessary equipment, your thoughts also begin to clog and underperform.

It’s coming up to one week after the turn of the New Year and, typically speaking, many of us are probably occupied with resolutions to ‘better ourselves’. As fun as it may be to criticise ourselves for not fitting into last year’s wetsuit, or for ‘forgetting’ that you promised to clear out the garden shed, self-punishment isn’t the answer.

One resolution that’s both realistic and rewarding is to make things easy for yourself. By removing the unnecessary from our lives, we are forced to dedicate our attention to the things that actually matter.

To really make things easy, it’s always best to start small.

Take your boat, for example. For maximum enjoyment, you want to spend as little time as possible on maintenance. We want to make it really simple for you. We care like that.

Maintaining your propeller can be an arduous task. When antifouling, you don’t want to spend all that sanding, mixing, and application time, just to dive down six months later to find a small town’s worth of barnacles on the blades.

Propcote doesn’t want that either.

With one simple application, you won’t need to worry for the rest of the season. The formula’s non-stick technology means even the toughest of barnacles will slip off with the push of one finger. Simply grab a squeegee and reveal the mirror-finish you admired on the first day of application.

Now doesn’t that sound better? We certainly think so.

For more information, visit our website, or tweet us @Aquacote.

Know Your Neighbours: Issue 2

The British boating community is something we should all be proud of.Here at Aquacote we celebrate the idiosyncratic nature of our harbours and marinas.

In this issue of ‘Know Your Neighbours’, we focus on two very different marinas that have both achieved an incredible 5 Gold Anchor rating.

Waveney River Centre 

This 150-berth marina is particularly interesting due to its location on the Norfolk Broads. Its 3 separate marinas basins are all part of the largely River Centre establishment, which includes hospitality for park holidaymakers. Arguably, being part of a complex could take away from the authentic community boating spirit, though the facilities provided by the Centre benefit mariners with resources that would be otherwise difficult to come by considering its location.

As well as boasting a 2,500 ft² boat-building and service centre, the marina complex was awarded the PBO Green Award in 2010, and the park won the David Bellamy Conservation Award in 2012/13. If that wasn’t enough, you can even watch the marina live via Waveney’s ‘Eddiecam’, at http://www.waveneyrivercentre.co.uk/eddiecam. They really have though of it all!

Lowestoft Haven Marina

Lowestoft has a more conventional setup in the form ofits coastal marina, as well as an extension about 2 miles inland. The Haven Marina holds upwards of 150 berths, and as members of Trans Europe Marinas, berth-holders enjoy reciprocal visitor discounts when visiting another member marina.

The harbour site offers all expected facilities including a chandlery, and waste facilities following the Maritime & Coastguard Agency approved Port Waste Management Plan. Recycling services cater for the responsible disposal of waste oil, as well as a service for used batteries and for domestic dry mixed recycling items.

With access to beautiful East Anglian beaches, an on-site restaurant, workshop, and boat sales offices, it isn’t difficult to see why Lowestoft was reaccredited its 5 Gold Anchor rating in 2010.

Want to your marina or harbour to feature in the next issue? Tweet us @Aquacote using the hashtag #KnowYourNeighbour.

 

The Low-down On The British Boating Big Dogs

With the London Boat Show coming up, it’s very exciting to be a part of the maritime industry, but being part of the British Marine Federation makes it even better. Here are 6 of the many things that makes BMF membership great.

1.    BMF Membership Awareness Day

Every year the BMF host Membership Awareness Day, which offersnew membersa chanceto meet BMF staff, network with other members, and to learn about the services they’re entitled to. What’s not to like about kicking off with a free mini party for you and a partner from your business?

2. Since it has been around for over 100 years, they have access to some very cool vintage photography: 

[http://www.britishmarine.co.uk/about_bmf/history/centenary.aspx]

Artsy or what?

3. They’ve got multiple awards to prove how great they are, the most recent of which being the prestigiousExhibition of the Year award (2009) at Southampton Boat Show. Adorned with multiple other titles, they're not exactly bad friends to have.

4. Speaking of friendship, BMF are pals with some of the biggest names in the maritime industry, so being a member is like being friends with the ones at the popular table in high school. The RYA, Maritime Coastguard Agency, and British Waterways are just a few of the key names you can expect to see.

5. BMF runs the ‘On The Water’project.They really love the world on water, and want everybody else to enjoy it too. The number of active boaters currently stands at around 3.2million, but they want to increase that number even further. From canoeing to inland boating, they hold events to encourage activity all year. This year’s cycle concludes with January’s London Boat Show.

6. They set up The Green Blue project to drive environmental awareness. With help from the Royal Yacht Association (RYA), they endeavour to help all boating participants to reduce their impact on the health of our water bodies. However, the project goes beyond simply raising awareness to conduct relevant scientific research, and seeking out environmentally-considerate products to best advise those wishing to increase the sustainability of their current boating practices.

Think BMF are great? Let us both know by tweeting @Aquacote, and @britishmarine.

We Bet You Didn’t Know...

It is surprising how little we actually know about our oceans. Despite the amount of time we spend studying, designing products for, and transporting ourselves across the oceans, the Earth’s marine water bodies still remain a largely unknown mystery.

Of the things we do know, however, there are many fascinating facts that lie just outside of common knowledge. Impress your friends down the boatyard or in the pub by reeling off some of these details about the depths.

1.    The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. According to Marine Bio, high tide can reach 16.3 metres above the point of low-tide at certain points of the year.

2.    If that wasn’t enough, the deepest point of the ocean is 8.38km down. Marine Bio tell us that the pressure at the bottom point is 11,318 tons per m², “or the equivalent of one person trying to support 50 jumbo jets”!

3.    The proportion of the oceans explored by humans is less than 10% of its total area.

4.    Jacques Mayol set an incredible record for the deepest free dive by travelling 105m down without any breathing equipment. His skills earnt him the nickname Dolphin Man.

5.    A large proportion of life in the oceans is imperceptible to the human eye. Mother Earth News suggested that swallowing a milliliter of ocean water means you also ingest 1 million bacteria and 10 million viruses!

These facts would also make great icebreakers following the inevitable family arguments of the festive season. Use them wisely.

 

Know Your Neighbours: Issue 1

The sense of community that exists is one of the best things about the boating world. No matter how many big brand supermarkets pop up near your home, marinas and harbours remain individual and independent.

Just like the owners that use them, marinas and harbours have their own unique personalities and plus points. To show our appreciation of these small-scale societies, we’ve created the ‘Know Your Neighbours’ feature. By focusing on a couple of the UK and Ireland’s harbours every week, we want to really get to know the groups that keep boating so great – we hope you will to.

Chichester Harbour

In the past, Chichester has had a run of bad press due to excessive fouling in its waters. However, the area’s glorifying features overshadow this small negative. Not only does the harbour lie within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but it is also home to ‘Solar Heritage’, a fascinating solar-powered catamaran. The virtually silent boat is the perfect vessel to discover the surrounding landscape and wildlife.

A number of initiatives exist to promote and preserve the unspoilt natural character of Chichester, including the Chichester Harbour Trust, and Chichester Harbour Conservancy.

Whitstable Harbour

The community spirit at Whitstable is no less than admirable. Home to the Hands Off Our Harbour campaign, through which 18,000 local people fought to prevent supermarket and hotel chains from settling in their town. Whitstable also boasts the 1,500-strong Whitstable Harbour Watch, meaning that members directly influence the future of their local gem.

As well as protecting it, the local people also do a great job of celebrating their harbour. The Oyster Festival and Biennale is a great demonstration of the local passion, which holds Harbour Day as the main event. 

Want us to feature your harbour or marina? Just tweet us @Aquacote. To find out more about Aquacote, visit our website at www.aqua-cote.com.