Win This Game!

If you like board games or are just a collector of cool stuff, check this out. It's a board game developed in 1986 by Sparkman & Stephens, in which each player embarks on a yacht race around the world. And it's yours to win.

Before I tell you how to win it, of course, I'm sure you'll want to know how to play the game. The two-inch-tall pieces that players move around the board are classic S&S racing and cruising designs, crafted in pewter. The game also comes with 360 cards, each with six questions about seamanship, navigation, yachting trivia, and equipment. Naturally each correct answer means you can advance around the board, where spaces are represented by waves. (The racing yachts can only occupy blue waves, while cruising yachts occupy the white waves.) There's even a lot to keep a record of competitors, dates, and margins of victory—a true sailor's approach.

So how do you win? Send an e-mail to info@sparkmanstephens.com with the subject line "Game Raffle," complete with your name, address, and telephone winner. Two lucky people will be chosen by Sparkman & Stephens.

Good luck!

Sigma Sighting

Okay, so the music in this video is a bit much, but there's something undeniably hypnotic about it in combination with the singular (and yes, even strange) styling of the yacht Sigma showcased. Unless you've been living under a rock or have somehow otherwise escaped the Internet insanity, you'll recall that Sigma is one of the most hotly debated and highly anticipated megayacht deliveries of the year. People either applaud or are appalled by her design. Personally it ain't my cup of tea, but then again, if I were building a custom yacht, I'd make sure she truly embraced every definition of "custom."

Watch the video, and let me know what you think of her. You'll also find out more about Sigma when our August issue arrives in your mailbox, since she's on our Power & Motoryacht 100 list of the world's largest yachts.

The First Luxury Hybrid? Well…

The small Austrian boatbuilder Frausher just launched what it claims to be the first true hybrid motoryacht. Frausher worked in conjunction with Steyr Motors to create a marine-grade, diesel-electric hybrid. The boat is a little over 18-feet LOA. Although the builder claims the vessel is capable of speeds around 38 knots, this is mostly under diesel power. The electric component powers the vessel—with “zero emissions”—for speeds below 5 knots. When you switch on the engine, the electric system acts as a “boost” for the diesel engine, but how much extra oomph it gives and what savings it makes to actual fuel consumption is not stated. For more on the story, click here.

Take A Soldier Fishing

My brother Chip and I were honored to host two of our finest veterans from the 10th Mountain Division out on our 31 Ocean Master, Expeditor, this weekend as part of the Take A Soldier Fishing Program.

Sgt. Aaron, Specialist Dan, and the Sgt's sons Cody and Chance must've been good luck. We tried to put on a full-on effort for these guys, who do so much for all of us. The boys managed 10 bass, one keeper at 30 inches, and several bluefish (shark bait). The Sgt and Dan, who are both heading out for their second tour in October, were given the bass for dinner.

On day two, the group caught a whopping about 20 fluke and the kids had a ball.

We're already talking about a fall tuna trip when the boys get back from their next deployment in October 2009. Stay safe guys, and thank you for all you do. You'll always have a place to fish on Expeditor.

Here's a few pics that show what made the trip so special for us: Sgt. Aaron and his sons Chance and Cody.

Fuel Caddy

If lugging jerry cans around is wearing you down, or you just don’t like lifting them up to put extra fuel in your boat, check out Todd Marine Products’ Gas and Diesel Fuel Caddys. Both the gas (red) and diesel (yellow) caddys have 10-foot hoses, so you can keep them right on the dock while you bunker. The dimensions are 27-1/2" W x 41" H x 22-1/2", so you should be able to find a place for them in the garage.

Todd Marine thought not only of mobility, but also of safety: it made sure the axel was made of aluminum so it wouldn’t spark under load. Different pumps are available depending on your flow demands, but the whole setup shouldn’t run you more than $400.

Stern Shot Stumper!

As we told you in our June issue, no one correctly guessed April's "Stern Shot" location, which means that Raymarine VHF is still yours to win!

You can view the photo here, in your old April issue, or in the contests section on PMY's Web site. Once you've figured out the correct waypoint and boat location e-mail your answer to sternshot@powerandmotoryacht.com by June 15, 2008. Can we stump you again?

A Hull of a Trip

There's nothing like a photo of a bare hull being transported from one build shed to another to give you a good idea of just how big it is. You're looking at CRN's steel hull number 125, a 59-meter (about 194-foot) project.

CRN builds its steel hulls in a separate building than the one where aluminum superstructures are assembled. In the coming weeks a portion of the superstructure for this project will be joined to the hull, and the entire structure will remain in the same shed until launch day.

While not much information has been released yet about the yacht, we do know that her Italian owner has requested some "innovative" ideas, according to the yard, for the tender-stowage area as well as for the movement of the tender itself within the garage. And like a few CRNs delivered within the past year or so, she'll feature a stern beach platform.

Delivery is set for 2010.

Look Out Above!

Everyone knows you need to check out the bottom before you drop the hook—everyone except for maybe the crew of this freighter. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the tug sustained only minor damage.

Born to Fish

Regulator announced recently that it's working on a new 34-foot center console sportfisherman (to date the builder's largest center console came in at 32 feet). According to the builder, this Lou-Codega-designed bluewater speedster came out of response from dealers and owners for a larger version of the builder's successful line of sportfisherman. The 34 should launch in October, just in time for the fall boat-show season.

Man Bites Shark Back, Kinda

When an Australian man decided to go for a swim last week at a local beach, he'd never envisioned he would end in the jaws of a great white shark. The 37-year-old swimmer was just about 250 feet off the beach when the 12-foot shark came up on him, according to reports from AFP. Once the shark clamped down on the man's leg, it began to take him down into the depths. The swimmer fought back and jammed the shark in the eye. The fish let go, and a a fellow swimmer on the beach responded to the man's screams for help. While the victim received severe lacerations and damage to the bitten leg, he's lucky to be alive. While this incident is a reminder to always be aware of the waters your swimming in, shark attacks are pretty rare: About 8,000,000 to 1, according to some statistics.

TWIC Compliance Date Moved Back

As if we didn't already have enough to worry about on Tax Day. The Department of Homeland Security has moved the final date for Transportation Workers ID Card (TWIC) compliance from September 25, 2008, to April 15th, 2009. Although this does give us all more time to get our cards—I'm waiting for a sunny New York morning to walk down to the Coast Guard Station at Battery Park, but it's raining right now—it also means that a good deal of us will still put it off. Of course, you can go through both TWIC and tax processes early, and it's not a bad idea. Just thinking of the madhouse it will be on the 15th. Maybe it'll be better weather tomorrow...For the full article, click here.

For more on TWIC, stayed tuned to this blog and check out my earlier post here. Also inform yourself at the TSA's TWIC website.

San Juan 40

In the upcoming June issue of Power and Motoryacht, we’ll give you our full boat test for the new San Juan 40, but here’s a little info to whet your appetite:

The San Juan 40’s classic lobster-boat styling doesn't mean she's confined to classic lobster-boat speeds. The builder reports she runs at 30 knots WOT with a pair of standard turbo-charged and intercooled Yanmar 6LY3A-ETP diesel inboards. To control the machinery at slower velocities, the 40 comes with standard joystick-controlled bow and stern thrusters.

But the 40 is about more than just performance; she’s also about looks. The Gregory C. Marshall firm took great effort in blending traditional aspects like her tumblehome stern with more modern features like the flying bridge. Her looks and speed come with a MSRP of $1,050,000.

Striped Bass Are Here!

One of the greatest success stories in fisheries' management is the striped bass. A commercial-fishing moratorium was imposed more than 10-plus years ago, and since that time this favorite coastal and tasty game fish has rebounded in great numbers for recreational anglers. Strict enforcement of size and bag limits have kept the recreational end of this fishery downright hot. The bass you see here with PMY's Capt. Patrick Sciacca was taken off the South Shore of Long Island during the the striped bass' spring run in earlier this week. To keep a bass in New York it must be at least 28 inches long. This one measured 30 inches and we went great with a side salad. Fifteen of his friends were returned to fight another day.

Fire in the Hole

Some routine spring maintenance recently put a Cape Cod boater in the hospital with third-degree burns.

Matthew Name of Provincetown, Massachusetts, was cleaning out the bilge area of his 30-footer when sparks from the battery ignited gas fumes. Although the resulting explosion caused serious burns to his hands, face and chest, the 39-year-old was able to get out of the boat, which was dry-docked, and stumble for help.

An employee of the Northside Marina in East Dennis heard the explosion and saw Name emerge from the burning boat. He called police and administered first aid. A flight-for-life helicopter later transported the injured boater to Boston. Police said he was in good condition.

The accident serves as a cautionary tale for boaters: Proper ventilation is critical to any area on your boat where fumes can accumulate.

Cruise Evacuation

Tug boats are capable of some highly impressive feats. Push this, tow that—no problem! But earlier this week, four tugs were unable to pull the 660-foot cruise ship Mona Lisa from a sand bank in the Baltic Sea where she had run aground around 10 miles off Latvia's northwest coast.

When removal efforts failed (ballast water and fuel were pumped-out in an attempt to lessen Mona Lisa's weight), Latvia's coast guard spent nearly five hours removing some 650 passengers and taking them to shore in two naval ships. Fortunately, the evacuation was a success: guests descended the ship in ladders sans incident and the ship went unharmed. On Monday, the AP reported that over 330 crew members were also slated to be removed from the ship.

According to the Baltic News Service, Mona Lisa's owner has not lost faith in the awesome abilities of tugs: he's asked a Swedish company with a powerful boat to help free the 30,000-ton cruise ship from her current sandy resting spot.

This Bud's For You

Say hello to Budman, 68 feet of eye-catching, fish-chasing battlewagon from North Carolina's Bayliss Boatworks. This three-stateroom beauty is constructed using cold molding, is comprised of Okume plywood with Corecell coring and is finished off with West System epoxy. She's a jig-built boat and computer-controlled CNC routers are used to cut the jigs that make her hull shape to exacting tolerances.

This vessel, which is just Hull No. 9 for the builder, is powered with twin 1,800-Caterpillar C32 Acert diesels and should easily make a mid- to high-30-knot cruise speed, and top out around 40 knots. The 68's 1,800-gallon fuel capacity means that the fish are always within reach.

If you like to fish, chances are you'll see Budman on the circuit this summer. Of course, it'll most likely be a view of her transom streaking for the horizon.