A glamourous show opening by Tamara Ecclestone

1) Storage rates of just £10 per metre, per month as part of our award winning sales walkway

2) Commission rates starting at just 4%

In fact as one of the leading yacht brokers on the south coast we are finding more and more sellers are turning to us to bring our modern and personal service to them and sell their boat from our key offices locations:

Port Solent Yacht Brokers
Ocean Village Yacht Brokers
Hythe Yacht Brokers
Trafalgar Wharf Yacht Brokers
We have offices in all of these key locations and look forward to being of service in 2012

The fantastic pro wakeboarding show

Crowds attending the show

Drop by our stand and say hello!

Once again Waterside Boat Sales will be there with their own brokerage stand in the north hall displaying a wide selection of both sailing yachts and powerboats for sale through our dedicated brokerage division, a our trained yacht brokers will be on the stand everyday to discuss your boat requirements for 2012. In addition to this Waterside will also be part of the broker’s village in the South Hall so we won’t have just one stand but two! Making Waterside Boat Sales presence at the show bigger than all our competitors.

So if you are planning on coming to the boat show to discuss buying or selling then please do come and see us on our stand for free, impartial advice – we really are always happy to help.

Waterside Boat Sales - Happy Christmas!

We hope that the boating season of 2012 will be a warm and long one and we looking for to assisting you in any way we can be it in the sale of purchase of a yacht or motor boat or with advice on upgrades we are always available and happy to chat through your needs.

Remember early in 2012 you can see Waterside Boat Sales at the 2012 London Boat Show on our stand in the North Hall – B440

Modern Day PiratesIn the Golden Age of piracy the pirates were usually after a ship’s cargo, but modern pirates have other priorities due to the difficulties of finding markets to sell these goods. Nowadays pirates take the crew’s personal valuables, electronic items and money. But more disturbing still is hostage taking for ransoms and the fear and danger which this results in. Today a vast 1.4 million square miles of the Indian Ocean is considered a “no-go” area.

The FiguresThere were 36% more international pirate attacks in the first half of 2011 compared to the same in 2010, according to the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre. 266 attacks in the first six months of 2011 compared to 196 in the same period the previous year.

Somali pirates were responsible for more than 60% of the attacks, the majority of which were in the Arabian Sea area. As of June 2011, Somali pirates were holding 20 vessels and 420 crew and demanding ransoms of millions of dollars.

In the first half of 2011 Somali pirates took 361 sailors hostage and kidnapped 13. Worldwide, 495 seafarers were taken hostage. 7 people have been killed and 39 injured. 99 vessels were boarded, 76 fired on and 62 thwarted attacks were reported. Whereas five years ago pirates were just as likely to brandish knives as well as guns, ships are now increasingly being attacked with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade launchers. Although Somali pirates have been more active this year, taking higher risks by firing on ships in rough seas in the monsoon season, they have actually managed to hijack fewer ships, due to tougher defences and actions of international naval forces to disrupt pirate groups off the east coast of Africa.

It is thought that piracy is now costing world trade £10 billion a year. Insurance premiums have trebled and many insurers refuse to cover ships that go anywhere near the piracy areas. This means that many ships have to be rerouted, a costly and time-consuming solution.

Where Have the Attacks Happened?•South East Asia and Indian Sub Continent
•Bangladesh – listed as a high risk area. Most attacks reported at Chittagong.
•India – Cochin. Most attacks occurred when vessels were at anchor.
•Indonesia – pirates normally attack vessels at night but usually abort boarding when spotted.
•Malacca Straits – attacks have dropped due to aggressive patrols by the authorities.
•Malaysia – pirates armed with guns and knives often attack in darkness.Singapore Straits – attacks have reduced but vessels are advised to keep vigilant.
•South China Sea
•Vietnam
•Africa and Red Sea
•Nigeria – All waters in Nigeria are risky with many reports of thefts and kidnappings.
•Benin – violent attacks are increasing, particularly on tankers.
•Conakry (Guinea) – aggressive attacks with automatic weapons and pirates sometimes dressed in military uniforms.
•Douala Outer Anchorage (Cameroon) – 2 attacks with kidnapping.
•Gulf of Aden/Red Sea – the pirates fire automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades. When the vessel is hijacked it is sailed towards the Somali coast and ransom demands are made for the release of the vessel and crew.
•Somalia – as well as the whole coast of Somalia being a dangerous area, attacks have spread to Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mozambique, Oman and Maldives. Somali pirates are notoriously dangerous with their automatic weapons and RPGs.

The majority of these attacks take place relatively near the shore, the pirates using small speed boats. But some attacks have occurred as many as 400 nautical miles from the shore. In these cases it is probable that smaller ships work in conjunction with a large mother ship, carrying fuel, ammunition and supplies. These “mother ships” are sometimes themselves hijacked vessels. The most common targets for modern pirates are cargo ships, tankers and container ships. These are most vulnerable when they are berthed or at anchor, as are private sailing boats “anchoring out” to avoid marina berthing fees.

How to Avoid Pirate AttackAt the planning stage
•Avoid “no-go” areas. Before sailing, research trends and hotspots where piracy and other criminal activity is rife and avoid them, even if it means going a long way round.
•When in port, get as much local knowledge as you can from local captains and port offices about potential piracy problems.
•Avoid discussing your route or cargo while in port.
On your journey
•Search the ship before leaving port to make sure no one is on board without authorisation.
•If you have to travel through a dangerous area, go with other boats if possible, keep a low profile and get through quickly.
•Stay in contact with warships if there are any in the vicinity.
•Cruise in groups so that you can take it in turns to have a person on watch at all times.
•Avoid bottlenecks in shipping areas.
Make yourself safe and a difficult target
•Be armed – not necessarily with guns, but with awareness. While some governments allow their ships to carry armed guards, this is not the norm and certainly private yachtsmen would be unlikely to carry guns. Treat unusual occurrences as a threat and put out a radio call, secure valuables or increase your speed as soon as you see a small boat coming towards at speed.
•Make your boat a difficult target by running razor wire around the stern, caging in access to lower-deck crew’s quarters, using high pressure water hoses or trailing lengths of heavy-gauge steel cables or wire mesh from your stern, which rips the propellers off the pirate boat as it approaches.
•Use your lights once you have noticed a potential threat, to focus on the pirate boat. He may abort the attack if he knows he has been seen.
•A new type of laser defence system is being developed. The laser beam incapacitates pirates by dazzling them as they approach a ship and is effective against moving targets more than a mile away. It hides the vessel carrying it in a bright green glare, forcing the pirates off course and leaving them unable to use their weapons accurately.
•A satellite system called ShipLoc allows shipping companies to monitor the location of their ships. Companies can also install non-lethal electric fences around the ship’s perimeter, as long as it does not carry flammable cargo.
•To avoid being boarded – call for help and warn other boats in the area, take evasive action to out-manoeuvre the attackers, sound the alarm and use the ship’s lights to illuminate the vessel. When the attackers attempt to board, try to throw off any grappling hooks or poles.
•If at anchor, lift your dinghy alongside the toerail or on board at night to discourage pirates from stealing it and then boarding.
•Lift up the transom boarding ladder to make boarding more difficult.
•Fit bunk fans and keep companionway hatch and other cabin hatches shut in problem areas.
•Fit an inexpensive infrared alarm in the cockpit which will emit a loud shriek.
•Stow knives and any other items that could be used as weapons.
•Fit a concealed safe for valuable possessions.
•Keep a hand-held VHF beside your bunk if you are in a suspect area.
•After anchoring, do a pre-start-check and have a safe course to steer written out by the wheel, so you can make way at a moment’s notice.
•Keep a red parachute flare handy so that it can be fired to raise the alarm.

Happy OutcomesFortunately, not all pirate attacks end in thefts, kidnappings or murders. The bulldog spirit of Great Britain still thrives, both on land and at sea and is no better shown than when the appropriately named cruise ship the Spirit of Adventure, was approached by Somali pirates while crossing the Indian Ocean, with 320 elderly passengers on board. Their “black-tie” dinner was interrupted by the captain’s instruction to the crew to proceed to emergency stations. The urgency in his voice told them this was no practice drill. The passengers were moved to safety in the lower lounge in the middle of the ship where they calmly sat on the floor in full evening dress while the ship sped away to get away from the pirates. After about an hour the pirates were left behind and the passengers resumed their dinner.

Lets Cut Red Tape For Boaters

The aim of the challenge is to ‘promote open discussion of the ways in which the aims of existing regulation can be fulfilled in the least burdensome way possible’.

With the focus now on the maritime sector the Department for Transport wants to gather thoughts and ideas from those who deal with regulations on a day-to-day basis on which regulations should stay, which could be merged, which can be scrapped and so on.

The RYA is particularly keen that boat owners should become involved. Their Head of Government Affairs, Gus Lewis, said: ‘This is a great opportunity for us all, from clubs and training centres, to volunteers and boaters and the RYA to let Government know what we think about existing regulation and its impact upon our activities.

‘As a preliminary to the Red Tape Challenge opening publicly the RYA met informally with the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Department for Transport to discuss the process and to enable us to identify where the RYA’s intervention might be most effective.

‘The RYA believes that any legislation or regulation should be transparent, accountable, proportionate and consistent and only targeted at cases where sound risk and evidence analysis demonstrates that such action is needed.’

Mr Lewis concluded: ‘This process gives us a unique opportunity to challenge those regulations that do not satisfy these criteria and in doing so to set a benchmark against which future legislative proposals might be measured.’

At the end of the period Ministers will have three months to decide what action they will take in light of the experience and ideas they have received from the sector.

The Government’s Red Tape Challenge, which will be conducted across all departments and sectors, started in April 2011 and will run until April 2013.

To let Government know what you think go to the Red Tape Challenge website and join the debate.

The walkway has space for circa 20 boats and we will be adding to it over the coming months to eventually ensure all our boats have walkway access. More and more owners are taking advantage of our discounted storage rates for boats for sale which are just £10 per metre, per month.

We will have further exciting news about our plans at our Trafalgar Wharf office in early 2012.

Three Great Offers!

So as Autumn descends upon us and boating minds turn to laying up, winter and a few months without boating, we at Waterside like to brighten things up for you!

In October we will extend our storage ashore offer for boats for sale with us for just £10 per metre, per month on the hardstanding in our exclusive sales walkway at Trafalgar Wharf. This means your boats is safe, secure and clean for the winter and most importantly of all with boats for sale it is visible and easy to view.

But as our exisiting customers already know we don’t like to do things by halves and so on top of the above storage offer we are also offering all yacht owners professional sail valeting and treating for just £60 for two sails that is £30 a sail! This means a saving of nearly 45% on the normal price!

You want more?
Well how about a third offer of London Boat Show at an incredible £8 each!

The Full Show Site

Waterside Boat Sales has also listed more powerboats and yachts for sale and you can find full detailed specifications of all the boats we have for sale, as well as ample photographs.

The Busy Marina

Thank you to all who came to say hello at the boat show and we hope to see you at the next UK boat show we will attend, the London Boat Show starting January 6th 2012

Some gems of the show so far in pictorial form below, remember if you are coming to the show come and see Waterside Boat Sales on stand E002

Busy pontoons on the first day

We have never seen one of these before!

An overview of the water complex

THe race gets under way escorted bt the mighty HMS Illustrious

The event is the world’s longest ocean race at 40,000 miles and set off from Southampton on Sunday 31 July. It’s the first time in seven years that a round the world yacht race has started from the Solent and a large fleet of spectator boats turned out to witness the spectacle of a round the world yacht race start under blue skies and eight to ten knots of wind.

The SSE breeze prompted race director Joff Bailey to opt for the course that took the yachts from west to east across the start line when the cannon fired at the prestigous Royal Yacht Squadron.

First across the line was race debutant, Gold Coast Australia, closely followed by Geraldton Western Australia. The Keppel Corporation-sponsored Singapore also made a strong start in third place, with New York, De Lage Landen and the bright pink Welcome to Yorkshire in hot pursuit.

Visit Finland was next with the dragon of Qingdao breathing down her neck. Edinburgh Inspiring Capital and Derry-Londonderry completed the order on the start line as the fleet headed across the Solent towards the first mark at Stokes Bay, where hundreds more spectators were watching from the beach.

By the first mark Gold Coast Australia had extended her lead to a quarter of a mile while Singapore had moved up to second, with Geraldton Western Australia nipping at her heels. Visit Finland had gained two places to round fourth.

A fantastic race and we will bring you updates as each leg finishes.