Raymarine Award
Keeping Your Historic Vessel Safe
Most vessel owners who regularly operate their vessels have had the frightening experience of coming too close to a large ship at sea and many have had a ‘near miss’ and just escaped collision. In some cases, yachts have been sunk when evasive action came too late. If one of these incidents involves an historic vessel, an irreplaceable part of Britain’s maritime past will have been lost in addition to the human tragedy that such incidents cause.
National Historic Ships teamed up with Raymarine UK to address this problem, who kindly agreed to donate a C-series plotter (C120W) and an Automatic Identification System (AIS 500) unit to a vessel from the National Register of Historic Vessels. The successful recipient of this gear will have the security of the latest equipment (worth over £4,000), with the means to transmit their vessel’s position as well as to track other shipping. AIS is particularly valuable in close quarters situations, as contacts can be identified and then called by name, greatly increasing the chance of a response.
Vessels over 300 tons are required to operate with this equipment, however for smaller registered vessels this offered is a unique opportunity for owners to ensure that their vessel is fitted with the latest technology and that every effort has been made to protect her at sea.
How to apply:
This closing date for this award is now passed and no further applications should be submitted. The successful applicant will be presented with the equipment at the PSP Southampton Boat Show, 17 September 2011.
thole pin:
a single pin or one of a pair rising vertically from the sheer and acting in a variety of ways to provide a fulcrum for the oar
