Watersports blog

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recently signed a new law that grants the Philippine Coast Guard additional powers in terms of law enforcement. One of the significant powers given is the Coast Guard’s prerogative to detain and stop substandard passenger and cargo vessels from sailing within the country’s waters.

The law is known as Republic Act 9993 or the “Philippine Coast Guard Act of 2009.” The new law aims to prevent sea tragedies especially since there is a growing incidence of such in the country for the past few years.

Some of the world’s worst maritime disasters occur in the Philippines. With this in mind, there’s a significant need to come up with a law that pinpoints clearer responsibility and accountability.

The law has been under legislative review for more than eight years and the signing definitely brings a breeze of fresh air to the commuters who constantly board shipping vessels in their daily operations.

Sailing is definitely one of the most dangerous water sports out there but for 14-year old Laura Dekker, it is just a piece of cake. In face, she’s been planning to conduct a global solo sail stunt but this has been postponed until the school year ends and that the court must give the green signal for this dangerous attempt.

According to reports, Dekker is awaiting the court’s decision whether she can proceed with her attempt. The court, and even critics, deemed this attempt too risky for such a young girl. In fact, the Utrecht court has already issued a block on her attempt last August. A global debate sparked whether Dekker should proceed with the attempt and that her parents were being lambasted for supporting this adventure.

Dekker plans to sail around the globe with her 8-meter boat named “Guppy.”

A British couple sailing around the globe has been reported kidnapped by Somali pirates as they passed Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. This development was confirmed by authorities.

According to reports, husband-wife Paul and Rachel Chandler sent a distress signal from their yacht on Friday and since then nothing has been heard from them. The officials believe that they’ve been targeted by pirates. Another development was shared on Tuesday saying that the yacht has been seen towing a pirate’s skiff. However, the authorities have not confirmed whether this news is true or not.

The couple is believed to be headed to Tanzania but when they went past by Seychelles, their yacht was immediately blocked and invaded by Somali pirates.

The authorities are awaiting the ransom demands that these Somali pirates will be making in a few days time. They are hopeful that the British couple is still in good health.

An all-female British team reportedly set a national sailing record for Ireland and Britain after completing a 2,500 nautical mile challenge around the said countries.

The sailors, composed of Dee Caffari (36), Sam Davies (34), Alex Sizer (34) and Miranda Merron (39), were aboard a 60-feet yacht named Aviva. They achieved the feat in 6 days, 11 hours, 30 minutes and 53 seconds to break the longstanding record of seven days and four hours. The latter record was made five years ago.

The team, led by Sizer as the boat captain, made it to the finish line at the Isle of Wright.

Caffari already made a distinction for herself as the first woman to have sailed solo and nonstop around the world. This time, she’s set a group record which further strengthens her popularity in the world of sailing.

The team spent more than seven days waiting for the best time to start their sailing adventure. The group took an anti-clockwise route since the weather report suggested at that time that it would aid the yacht in navigating faster.

It is known for most sailing fanatics that the coastline in Britain can be demanding due to the challenging weather.

German car manufacturer Audi has reportedly withdrawn its sponsorship of Team Germany sailing team in the America’s Cup. However, team coordinator Jochen Schuemann said that they will continue with their bid despite this setback.

Audi has been the main sponsor of the German sailing team but Schuemann, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, said that they are now looking for a new sponsor.

Audi officials reasoned that the global economic crisis forced them to withdraw the sponsorship to the sailing team. The German sailing team is bidding to win the upcoming America’s Cup, one of the most prestigious sailing competitions in the world.

Schuemann revealed that he knew about the announcement a week before. He added that he wanted to meet with the car maker officials that time but he was called beforehand saying that there’s no need to come.

Team Germany has already withdrawn its participation at the Pacific Series event in New Zealand this coming February.

Schuemann won his first Olympic gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and won his other two gold medals at the 1988 Seoul and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He was the sporting director for Swiss sailing team Alinghi wherein the team won the 2003 and 2007 America’s Cup.