Traditional Boats & Tall Ships Magazine

Experience wildlife or astro navigation on board the Stavros S Niarchos

Leave the big chill behind and head for warmer climes! Tall Ships Adventures  are now booking for two different tall ship sailing adventures. You can choose between a 'Wildlife Watch' or 'Astro Navigation' holiday that will see you joining the crew and sailing around the Canaries in early 2009.

Look out for whales, dolphins and the multitude of other wildlife to be found around the islands with the on board expert. Or leave your GPS at home and learn how to use a sextant when getting an insight into astro navigation with the professional crew.

The 60 metre brig, Stavros S Niarchos, recently featured saving two American rowers in the Atlantic on the BBC TV series Accidental Heroes. As part of the crew everyone also gets the chance to help sail the ship – keep watch, take the helm and climb the masts to set the sails, 120 feet above the sea.

The holidays will start in Tenerife and then sail around the smaller western isles of La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera.

These 7-night voyages are open to anyone – sailors and non sailors aged 18-75 – and include full board. Special offer prices start at £371 per person for full board (connecting flights extra).

Departures from 21 December through to 16 March 2009.

For more information call ++44 (0) 23 9283 2055

More Golds sail into Falmouth

The National Maritime Museum Cornwall secured another gold this week - albeit not quite its own!

Ben Ainslie’s gold medal winning Olympic Finn from the 2008 Beijing Olympics recently sailed into the Museum’s Set Sail gallery and will be on display until the end of the year.

Many may not know that this Finn is exactly the same Finn dinghy that Ben used for the Athens games in 2004. He said: “I suppose most people like newer boats but I just like this boat, it has a very good feel to it, it’s the one I felt most at home in.”

Winning golds seems to be becoming a bit of a habit for local hero Ben Ainslie. The gold achieved in the Finn in this games brings his Olympic Gold medal tally to an incredible three – an extraordinary achievement.

Ainslie’s double gold medal winning Finn is now home in Cornwall’s Maritime Museum. You can also see Ben’s gold medal winning Laser Dinghy from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

For more information visit www.nmmc.co.uk

Picture: Ben Ainslie’s father Roddy and Ben Lumby, Exhibitions Manager, finish installing the Olympic winning Finn.

The Pangaea Expedition begins in Chile

Intrepid South African adventurer Mike Horn's four-year trans-navigation of the globe by land and sea began this week. The expedition, named 'Pangaea' after the supercontinent that existed 250million years ago (and an acronym for his Pan Global Adventure for Environmental Action) will cover 100,000 kilometres, reaching the North and South Poles and crossing all the continents and the oceans of the world.

Horn is arguably the world's greatest modern-day explorer in all terrains, conditions and climates. Some of this previous exploits include Latitude Zero, an 18-month circumnavigation of the Earth around the Equator and the Arktos Expedition, a solo circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle lasting 27 months.

At the heart of this expedition is Pangaea, a 35-metre yacht, which has been purpose-built to incorporate numerous state-of-the-art sustainable technologies. These include: hydrogen fuel cell technology, solar panels and recyclable materials. Horn's expedition has also attracted the support of both Mercedes Benz (the main sponsor) and Officine Panerai (presenting partner).

The expedition set sail from Punta Arenas in Chile on the first stage of the journey to Antarctica where Horn will then trek to the South Pole. His route will then take him through Australasia, China and Russia to the North Pole, then across Greenland, North and South America and back to Punta Arenas.

For more information on the expedition visit http://pangaea.mercedes-benz.com/

 

BBC's Coast films at Purton Ships Graveyard

The BBC and the Open Universities production team have recently visited Gloucestershire in order to film the region's now famous collection of maritime archaeology situated within the Severnside village of Purton on the banks of the River Severn. The site known as the Purton Ships Graveyard has been selected to appear in the fourth series which is due to be aired in the Spring of 2009 and will form a walk through piece fronted by the eminent Historian Neil Oliver.

The site is the current holder of the prestigious Nautical Archeological Societies Adopt a Wreck Award. Local Maritime Historian and Chairman of the recently formed Friends of Purton Paul Barnett is delighted with the progress made so far in order to protect the site's unique maritime heritage and welcomes the BBC's visit,  "This visit is the pinnacle of some ten years research into this unique site which seeks to recognise the significance of this Gloucestershire time capsule, an age long since gone".

It is hoped this level of national publicity will provide a much needed drive to the Friend's campaign to have the British Government, via the current Culture Secretary Andy Burnham and the Governing Authority English Heritage, recognise and subsequently afford much needed protection to this rapidly dwindling collection. To this end Mr Barnett further added, "this site has, throughout its very conception, been habitually open to destruction from arson, vandalism and trophy hunters, sadly this continues to the current day. Barnett is emphatic in his desire to see immediate action by the authorities to protect what is believed to be the largest terrestrial ships graveyard in the country. If nothing is done the result could be catastrophic, "failure to act will only aid the imminent destruction of this island's once fine maritime traditions and so further destroy our already depleted connection to the sea which once made this nation great".

The Friends of Purton are currently recruiting like-minded people to act as site guides, to conduct an ongoing programme of archaeological surveys and participate in forthcoming research for 2009.

You can lodge your support either direct to English Heritage or to Mr Barnett on 07833143231 or by email Barnadillo@aol.com

Friends of Falls of Clyde take over ownership

News in from across the Atlantic suggests that the hardy campaigning by Friends of the Falls of Clyde has paid off. The Bishop Museum in Honolulu officially signed over ownership of the vessel to the Friends in a ceremony that took place on September 30th. The picture shows the President of Bishop Museum, Tim Johns (right) transferring ownership of the Falls of Clyde to President of Friends of Falls of Cyde, Bruce McEwan (left).

Whilst there is undoubtedly a lot of work ahead, it is a major victory for the organisation and one that deserves hearty congratulations.  

TB&TS will be featuring an article on the Falls of Clyde in a forthcoming edition, so keep your eyes peeled for news of that.

You can find out more by visiting www.friendsoffallsofclyde.org