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Displaying items by tag: Pacific Ocean

A man survived 14 hours in the Pacific by clinging to a fishing buoy after he fell overboard from a cargo ship.

Marine Industry News rounds up the stories on Vidam Perevertilov, the chief engineer on board the Silver Supporter who entered the water between New Zealand and the remote Pitcarin Islands on Tuesday 16 February.

As his ship sailed away unaware of his predicament, Perevertilov swam to a “black dot” on the horizon which turned out to be an abandoned fishing buoy.

Six hours later the alarm was raised and the ship used its logs to pinpoint Perevertilov’s location in the open sea, where he was adrift without a lifejacket.

Marine Industry News has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update
Tagged under

#Submarine - Could a supersonic submarine speed through the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Shanghai in less than two hours?

The Chinese engineers behind some remarkable new sub-sea technology seem to think so, as the South China Morning Post reports.

Their 'supercaptivating vehicle' design uses gas jets to envelope a vessel inside an air bubble that severely reduces the friction or drag experiences by objects moving through water.

In practice, the technology was developed by the Soviet military to send a torpedo rocketing through the water at an incredible 370km/h.

In theory, the same principles could be adapted to fit a much larger vessel such as a passenger submarine and send it zooming through the depths at a barely fathomable 5,800km/h – the speed of sound under water – and cut a transpacific trip to just 100 minutes.

The South China Morning Post has much more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update
Tagged under
The Velux 5 Oceans website has posted a video preview ahead of the third ocean sprint stage in the marathon round-the-world yacht race.
The third stage, which kicks off tomorrow, will take the four competing yachts across the Pacific Ocean from Wellington, New Zealand to Punta de Este in Uruguay.
Sail World reports that northerly gales are expected to buffet the boats from the off as they set out on the incredible 6,000-mile route, which will take them to Nemo Point - the most remote spot in the world - and the notorious challenge of Cape Horn.
American Brad Van Liew, skipper of Le Pingouin, is currently in the lead having won the previous two ocean sprints in the 30,000-mile race.

The Velux 5 Oceans website has posted a video preview ahead of the third ocean sprint stage in the marathon round-the-world yacht race.

The third stage, which kicks off tomorrow, will take the four competing yachts across the Pacific Ocean from Wellington, New Zealand to Punta de Este in Uruguay.

Sail World reports that northerly gales are expected to buffet the boats from the off as they set out on the incredible 6,000-mile route, which will take them to Nemo Point - the most remote spot in the world - and the notorious challenge of Cape Horn.

American Brad Van Liew, skipper of Le Pingouin, is currently in the lead having won the previous two ocean sprints in the 30,000-mile race.

Published in Offshore

Irish Sailing Classes and Association – There’s no shortage of one-design classes from which to choose and each gives its enthusiasts great competition, fun and camaraderie, writes Graham Smith in this review of the classes. 

One-design racing is where it all starts. It is, after all, where all the top sailors earned their stripes, battling away for line honours without a thought for a handicapper’s calculator wiping away a hard-fought victory!

Indeed, you could count on less than one hand the number of top Irish sailors who didn’t cut their teeth in a one-design dinghy! Just think of Cudmore, Barrington, Watson, Wilkins, Hennessy and Dix to name a few and you realise that they honed their skills in everything from Enterprises to Lasers and a lot in between.

At present count, there are a little over 30 one-design classes in Ireland, split almost evenly between dinghies and keelboats, a statistic which might raise a few eyebrows. They range from the long-established Mermaids, IDRA14s and Dragons to the newer additions like Fevas, Topaz and RS Elite. They all fill a particular need and give their owners and crews considerable enjoyment.

Many have attracted their World or European Championships to Irish waters over the years and while 2009 is notable for a lack of such events here, the following year will see the Etchells Worlds at Howth and perhaps a few other international regattas too.

In addition to the review, we asked each class to complete a questionnaire giving details of their fleet numbers, whether they were on a growth pattern or holding their own, so we could highlight those ‘on the up’ and those remaining static in terms of numbers. The older traditional designs, as you might imagine, fall into the latter category, although that’s not a negative!

CLASS REVIEW  The State of the Classes – League Table (as at February 2009)

S = Static; U = Up/growing

275     Optimist   U

200+   Laser   S

189     Mermaid   S

160     Flying Fifteen   S

130     RS Feva   U

115     Shannon One Design    U

100+   Mirror   S

100+   Topper   U

99       Topaz   U

94       Laser SB3   U

87       GP14   U

85       Squib   S

70       Fireball   S

70       Ruffian   S

60       J24   S

60       Shipman   S

52       Dragon   S

50       RS400/200   S

50       420    U

43       Multihulls    U

42       Dragon    S

40       Water Wags    U

40       Wayfarer    S

34       IDRA14    U

33       Puppeteer    U

28       Etchells    S

27       E-Boat    U

26       Glen    S

25       Enterprise    S

18       Sigma 33    S

18       Howth 17    U

13       RS Elite    U