This week sees Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week in the UK, but it’s a timely reminder wherever you are of the dangers of carbon monoxide and why you should be aware of it in confined spaces like a boat.
I want to talk a bit about Internet Service Providers (ISP) filtering content and the over-blocking that can occur with these filters. In the UK at least, since 2013 all ISPs have been filtering content that might be adult or illegal in order to protect minors. All new customers will now automatically be opted-in to the ISP’s own content filter. Unless you specifically change your settings you may be seeing a reduced number of sites on your device. I’m not up to speed with the filtering of content in the US but would imagine it’s on a state-by-state basis. What are these filters, what are they blocking and are they always blocking the right sites?
We are very excited this week to have a guest article on the blog. Sue Williams is a woman sailor and author and has written her memoirs, Ready to Come About, about a North Atlantic circumnavigation on a 37′ yacht with her husband David. Here she describes the events that led up to the trip and some of the mishaps they had along the way.
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED, AWAITING A NEW DATE. Plymouth is holding the Mayflower Ocean Festival Week from Monday 4th until Sunday 10th May 2020. The festival is part of the Mayflower 400 celebrations which commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage to the New World.
The annual RYA dinghy show at Alexandra Palace takes place from Saturday 29th February until Sunday 1st March 2020. Saturday opening hours are 10:00 – 18:00 and Sunday 10:00 – 17:00.
Love it or loathe it Valentine’s Day will soon be upon us again. It may just pass by without you giving it a second thought or it may hang around and remind you of your single status and wanting to find your soulmate.
The Royal Western Yacht Club of England based in Plymouth in association with the Royal Victoria Yacht Club in Ryde on the Isle of Wight has announced a new race for the offshore racing calendar. This new biennial race, the Lonely Rock Race, will run on alternate years to the RORC Fastnet Race and is in no way meant to compete with the Fastnet Race.
With the New Year comes thoughts of resolutions and goals. One of mine is to try some voluntary work this year. Whilst I’m not an expert sailor I’m sure I can offer some skills and if nothing else I can make a mean cup of char.
At this time of year, thoughts will inevitably turn to boat shows and the London Boat Show in particular. However, this boat show is no more, has ceased to be, and is an ex-boat-show. Here is a list of just some of the larger boat shows with a sailing element that you could attend in January to get the year off to a cracking start.
I recently decided to attend an RYA VHF Radio Course to obtain my radio operator’s licence. The reason for this was three-fold.