The Smörgåsbord
by John Curnow, Editor, Sail-WorldCruising.com 25 Jul 2018 23:00 BST
Sailing along nicely on board Bavaria's new C45 © John Curnow
Sitting here a week out from this region's major event, the Sydney International Boat Show, the notion of a feast of delights somewhat overwhelmed me. Yes. There is a wide and interesting range of treats about to be laid out before us, and it is very much a case of all you can eat!
We have Jeanneau with the very clever Sun Odyssey 440 and 490. Ensign Ship Brokers will be displaying the very new and quite magical Bavaria C45. Beneteau are to have the 'unofficial' World Premiere of the highly anticipated Oceanis 46.1, and Damien Jacob is coming downunder to showcase the team's efforts with this seventh generation of the popular line.
Also, we will be treated to J Boats and the J/112E that makes short-handed sailing so effortless. Multihull Central is serving up the trailable family weekender/week away Corsair Cruze 970 Trimaran. Then when it comes to twos, Multihull Solutions will be presenting the new, award winning and ever so stylish Fountaine Pajot Astrea 42. So it will be busy times indeed, and I feel like I won't eat for the week beforehand, just to save up enough room, as it were.
Now this next subject may not be the kind of buffet we would like, but it is a deadly serious one. It is not edible, rather toxic actually. It is also one we have been on to for some time on the website, and it is important to remember that - bar the ones already incinerated - every piece of plastic ever produced is still with us!
Indeed, we have been following this particular project very closely from its inception to current status. Its name is Seabin. It was an Australian invention, but recently Europe became a hotbed of activity for it, and so now the focus is on making Australia stand up and take notice once more. After launching just six months ago, it is projected that there will be between 50 and 60 Seabins in Aussie waters by December.
In May and June alone, 210 Seabins were installed in waterways around the world, with over 50 marinas in Europe alone investing in Seabin smart technology. The total number of functioning Seabins worldwide is now a staggering 232. This means that Seabins are now removing 646 kg of rubbish from the world's waterways every single day. This equates to nearly 40 metric tonnes of marine litter/rubbish that has been collected in May and June alone.
The images here are from an event on Queensland's Gold Coast on July 17, and further enquiries with Co-Founder, Pete Ceglinski, revealed a very promising outlook, given the enormity of the issue at hand. "The Seabin journey has been an exciting one and although we started only three years ago as a start up with a prototype only, its seems like a lot longer with the amount of attention we have been receiving."
"Commercial Seabins started shipping in May this year, and we are now looking at over 200 units in over 50 countries. June saw Seabin Group receive its first paycheck, after surviving on the last three years on crowdfunding and grant capital. The current demand for Seabin technology is global with over 500 marinas in 80 countries enquiring to purchase the Seabin technology. The challenge of meeting this demand effectively on a global scale is what we are now working on, as the product development period is over for the V5 now."
"Each Seabin deployed is collecting around two to three kilos of marine debris with some locations recording 45-80kgs of debris per day. As well as collecting the larger items like plastic bottles, shopping bags and coffee cups, the Seabins have proved extremely effective in removing micro plastic particles and surface oils. The removal of the micro plastics, and unsightly surface oils in marinas, has been generally unheard of until now, and is only possible with the use of the effective Seabin technology."
"Whilst the deployment of Seabins within Europe is accelerating every week, we are also coming up against a 'not my mess, not my problem' culture, predominantly within some European countries. The Seabin technology and the issue of marine litter is a relatively new problem that is of global concern. We are working on circumventing this attitude by promoting cleaner waterways as a value-add for tourism and marina businesses, where long-time and repeat clients are depended upon."
"Local communities have also been instrumental in driving interest in the Seabin technology, after becoming frustrated by the amount of marine debris in waterways, and demanding effective solutions. Marseille is a perfect example of this. Crowdfunding by local communities, and then donating or sponsoring Seabins has now become a trend across the globe, which has led to interest from governments and cities. The City of Paris and an undisclosed major city in Australia [Editor's note: in the South] currently have trial Seabin units in the water with an objective of deploying the Seabin technology to assist in maintaining cleaner waterways."
"The growing trend of sustainability and corporate responsibility extends also to the superyacht industry with growing interest from manufacturers, crews, captains and owners requesting information on the possibility of installing Seabin units on transoms, for when the vessels are berthed in marinas on and off charter."
"Whilst the deployment of Seabins is now underway and gaining traction, our focus then moves to what do we do with all this waste and plastics the Seabins are removing every day. Seabin Group have started discussions early this year with waste service providers around the world of how we can introduce the Seabin plastics into the circular economy concept, because if plastic lasts forever, why not then reuse it? Seabin Groups future goal is to manufacture Seabins from the very plastics that they collect." So yes. An awesome project, and a particularly useful outcome!
Given today's theme, it also seemed more than fitting to also have a comment from our friends at the Bluewater Cruising Association about their Peterson Cup Cruising Rally. When you read the description below, you'll see that these impromptu 'chefs', cook up a wonderful Summer buffet, complete with all the trimmings.
Rosario Passos explained it to me, "This is a cruising rally we do just before the August rendezvous. Folks just go out with no specific destination. In fact, they meet on the Friday night the week before the rendezvous and collectively decide which direction to go the following day. They cruise for six days, wherever the winds take them, but they do have to meet up with the rendezvous. Each evening they decide where to go the following day. It is meant to introduce you to, or to have you reminisce about, the cruising lifestyle."
"The group has a lot of fun sailing their boats and getting together each evening in beautiful secluded bays in the Gulf Islands, where they eat freshly made pie and talk about sailing... and have a few beers! It is a fun event, and there is a cup awarded at the end, with the winning criteria is also decided upon during the cruise." My. My. That certainly sounds like a terrific plan. Do enjoy it, team!
OK. Today you will find that we have information for you about wine, keeping fit and active whilst at sea, Canada, bearings (not the geographical kind), New England, the South Pacific, GOLD, yes gold, how to head offshore, anchor chain, Sweden, Maine, Ireland, Cornwall, Whales [had to have that straight after the other territories], as well as much more.
So you see, there are stories, lessons, inspirations and history to regale yourself with. Please do savour... We're really enjoying bringing you the best stories from all over the globe. If you want to add to that, then please make contact with us via email.
Remember too, if you want to see what is happening in the other hemisphere, go to the top and the drag down menu, select the other half of the globe and, voila, it's all there for you.
In the meantime, do you love being on the ocean? Well remember to love them back too. They need our help. Now more than ever! Until next time...
John Curnow, Editor, Sail-WorldCruising.com