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Blogger has been a great platform for helping us reach out to the boating world. Powerandmotoryacht.com has been updated and now allows us to blog directly from the site. So, check out our new community digs and follow our editorial crew.

A Mega-Island?

According to a recent report on CNN.com, there's a brand new mega-model on the horizon. That's right, the floating island. Megayacht design company Wally has devised plans for a 100-meter vessel that will serve not just as a boat, but as a floating estate meant to accommodate those who want a year-round, liveaboard lifestyle but don't want to sacrifice luxury. The island-yacht, which can accommodate 24 guests and 40 crew, has what her designers refer to as a "commercial look." But that doesn't mean she can't be personalized. In fact, owners can incorporate just about any feature they want, from oversize helipads to Olympic size pools. The team at Wally drew up two possible options—the full tennis court and giant tropical garden (seen here). So what do you think? Will megayacht owners go for the year-round, floating-island lifestyle?

No Takers

Late last fall Saddam Hussein's megayacht, Ocean Breeze, finally got a for-sale sign. Now, two months later, that for-sale sign is still swinging in, well, the breeze (pun intended). The former dictator's 270-foot vessel is now making its way back to Basra, Iraq, courtesy of the Iraqi government. It had been moored in France where it waited for a nearly yearlong ownership battle to play out in the courts (see "Winds of Change," in our February issue).

Built in 1981, the megayacht sports a mini-operating theater, a helicopter landing pad, bathrooms with gold-plated fixtures and a secret passageway. When it hit the market in November industry experts expected it to fetch approximately $30 million; however, as the global economic crisis rages most buyers are tightening their purse strings, sitting on the sidelines until the markets take a turn for the better.

According to a statement from Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi finance ministry had been instructed to pay about two percent of Ocean Breeze's value to a lawyer handling the paperwork. In addition, it had to pay mooring fees and the charges of a Greek company that had been maintaining the megayacht. To avoid continued mooring fees—and possible lawsuits concerning them—the government decided to bring the Ocean Breeze home.

More on Ethanol

In the January issue of Power & Motoryacht, Capt. Patrick Sciacca chronicled two boaters’ adventures with ethanol gasoline (Encounters With Ethanol). In 2003, several states switched from traditional methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to a fuel blend containing 10 percent ethanol (E10)—with many arguing that the move will help reduce our dependency on foreign oil. However, Sciacca’s article detailed how E10 can also erode fiberglass fuel tanks and rubber hoses.

Now the Marine Retailers Association of America (MRAA) has taken a stand on the issue. Its board of directors recently approved a resolution supporting “all efforts to retain current federal ethanol gasoline additive standards of E10 and oppose any attempts to increase additive levels beyond that level due to the destructive nature of ethanol to marine engine systems and the resulting safety considerations to vessel passengers.”

The resolution was one of several given to the MRAA by the Advisory Council of Marine Associations at MRAA’s annual convention this past November.

Catch the Wave

Kicking off a new year, CharterWave.com has kicked off a revamped Web site as well. The two-year-old site, which is an online source for crewed charter yachts, now features a new design and reader-friendly features. Looking for the latest information on the industry? Check out the CharterWave Digital Newsstand, which offers articles and informational brochures posted on the Web. Other new features include “Three Brokers Say”, a monthly editorial piece, and “Sponsored Blog News.”

“As our readership has grown and our readers have proved to be charter clients, more companies than we could previously accommodate have requested advertising space,” explained CharterWave founder and editor Kim Kavin. “ Demand has risen dramatically in the past six month as the economy has declined and good vale in advertising has become paramount.”

New York-based Media Buoy worked with CharterWave to make the redesign a reality.