Another beautiful day out on the water while training for my Powerboat Level 2 certificate. I was very surprised by my fellow mates for the course when they were kind enough for me to have the trainer and boat all to myself, allowing me to develop my confidence and respect for handling the tender. being new to everything boats and yachting I tried to absorb all the information like a dry sponge. My trainers shared many stories with me and I was able to ask alot of questions in regard to just about everything. I learned that the trainers dog is good friends with a billionaire, and report the location of a tagged manatee pod to the wildlife protection agency. At the beginning of the days journey the trainer and I joked about my hat not having a strap to hold my hat down onto my head. Th...

Squeezed into just 200 hectares, this principality might be the world's second-smallest country (the Vatican is smaller), but what it lacks in size it makes up for in attitude. A magnet for high-rollers and hedonists since the early 20th century, it's also one of the world's most notorious tax havens (residents pay no income tax). It's also famous for its annual Formula 1 Grand Prix, held every year in May since 1929. Despite its prodigious wealth, Monaco itself is a long way from the prettiest town on the French Riviera: it's basically an ode to concrete and glass, dominated by high-rise hotels and apartment blocks that rise into the hills like ranks of dominos, not to mention an utterly bewildering street layout that seems solely designed to confound lowly pedestrians. It'...

Yacht Stewardess Housekeeping Tips   1. Dusting: When you detail-clean a room on a yacht, start with dusting all furnishings, including tabletops, counters, bookshelves, artwork, etc. Run a dust cloth over upholstered furniture, headboards, and lampshades in the main salon and other guest areas. Check window treatments and draperies. Vacuum if necessary. A dry-cleaning sponge can be used to gently clean upholstered furniture. Don't forget to check overhead panels and the tops of doors and doorjambs. Also, when cleaning lamp bases, always stay on the safe side and use only a soap-and-water solution to clean them.   2. Electronics: Next move on to the electronics. Disinfectant wipes are great for killing germs and bacteria on yacht telephones and remote controls. Squee...

Efficient Sea App – 'One with the lot' The Efficient Sea App has just made their global launch with an iPad app that sets itself apart from existing programs because of it's comprehensive array of manuals, checklists, templates and compliance reporting forms, and it's pure simplicity to use. It is a complete vessel management system in a single iPad app. Conceived by a seasoned super yacht captain with over 85,000 sea miles experience it addresses the long held issue of increasing demand on a ships' master for compliance and archiving. This app has been two years in development with trialling in actual operational situations and it's passed with flying colours. Initial feedback from other ship's masters indicate that the Efficient Sea Ap...

Global trade enabler DP has embarked on an ambitious marina project at its Mina Rashid facility in Dubai… Dubai has a been city of interest for superyachting for some time now and as more orders come in from the Gulf Arab region the interest in the area is only set to grow. Global trade enabler DP has now embarked on an ambitious marina project at its Mina Rashid facility in Dubai. The DP world team believes that Dubai is yet to provide a homeport worthy of the calibre of superyacht found in the region. The Mina Rashid marina will be the Middle East's first such facility in terms of size and scope. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive of DP World, is a yachting enthusiast who is passionately committed to making Dubai the homeport of choice for yach...

A closer look at Alex Thomson's Vendée Globe foil-borne Hugo Boss The new Hugo Boss IMOCA Open 60 race yacht skippered by Alex Thomson. Credit: Lloyd Images/ AT Racing The 2016/7 Vendée Globe race will go down as one dominated by two very different sailors, Frenchman Armel Le Cléac'h and Briton Alex Thomson in two critically different yachts. There is no doubt that the foil-borne Hugo Boss is very fast in perhaps a wider range of downwind conditions, and development of this foiling technology will be at the forefront of designers' minds as they work towards designs for the next monohull round the world races. But what exactly are the key features of Thomson's black boat, and how does it work? For the design...

Taking the official UK MCA approved (STCW ISPS) Proficiency in Security Awareness (PSA) Course online is a great way to save potentail crew memebers significant time and money. There is no need to travel to a test centre for training or to sit an exam. This can all be done through Virtual Traning Centre's eLearning platform and is 100% online.  The learner will need to upload current photographic ID and on successful completion of the course with therequired mark the learner can immediately download a proof of completion certificate. Additional official embossed certificates can be purchased for a small additional cost and posted direct http://virtual-training-centre.online/all-courses/mca-approved-stcw-isps-proficiency-in-security-awareness/  Employers ...

In 2017, John Percival Marine Associate celebrates their 20th year in the Superyacht industry. Hoylake Sailing School Ltd was established in 1996, to run RYA shorebased courses, and very shortly afterwards the Principal, Captain John Percival, was approached to run oral preparation for MCA Deck oral exams. JPMA was then formed in 1997, to deal solely with the Superyacht sector and since then the company has gone from strength to strength, providing Deck & Engineering training across a wide range of industries including Workboat and Merchant Navy. JPMA/HSS quickly outgrew their premises and relocated several years later. They now have 9 training rooms, and run almost all of the modules and oral preparation for Deck (OOW and Master) and Engineering (AEC, MEOL, Y4 to Y1) CoCs. Duri...

  Dear Members,   As some of you are aware, in late 2016 Yotspot experienced a number of job fake job posts.  As a company, we would like to offer our sincere apologies for these and any inconvenience caused. Thankfully, we work with some very talented developers who could quickly closed this loophole and protected us from any future issues.  As usual, we always insist you ONLY apply for jobs through www.yotspot.com and NEVER directly via email. This ensures your privacy and personal information is protected at all times. Again, we would also like to thank our members for remaining vigilant and informing us of any suspicious activity they've noticed. So what is a job post scam? Probably most of you already know the answer, but for those who don't, here i...

We're all aware of ensuring personnel working in confined spaces or at heights are trained to a suitable standard and since the Health and Safety Executive have endorsed the Royal Life Saving Societies' 'National Water Safety Management Programme', it appears that water safety training is going the same way.   Here at 'Birmingham & Midland Marine Services', we have been promoting water safety for those personnel working near the water along the inland waterways; our canals, river, reservoirs, brooks, streams and so forth for a number of years, and since 2016 have been running the RLSS NWSMP both at clients venues and from our training centre at Gailey Wharf on the Staffs and Worcester Canal in Staffordshire.   As specialist marine ac...