A 100-footer built for no other purpose than record breaking has been launched in the US. Wow! A new superfast 100ft yacht specially designed for record breaking has been launched in Maine for serial big yacht owner Dr Jim Clark, and is in Newport getting her keel and rig installed ready for sail trials. The yacht, named Comanche, is a full-on ocean speedster. Designers VPLP and Verdier were liberated from the shackles of handicap rules and tasked with creating a yacht capable ofvpure speed to smash ocean records. Dr Clark, the Silicon Valley magnate and founder of Netscape, has had a number of high profile yachts: the 47.4m Frers-designed sloop Hyperion in the late Nineties and the groundbreaking 90m Dykstra schooner Athena in 2004, and since 2009 Hanuman,...

Why the announcement of the 1851 Trust was more than just another America's Cup press conference From 107m up you get a great perspective on Britain's current America's Cup campaign. Rising high above the country's famous naval city, Portsmouth's distinctive Spinnaker Tower was the venue for Ben Ainslie Racing's (BAR) latest announcement, but it also provided a superb view of the current state of the team's new base at Camber Quay. Set to the east side of the harbour entrance in the historic part of the city you are left in no doubt as to the scale of this project. This is no slab sided industrial unit with a flashy team sign hung above a pair of painted sliding doors, this will be a building and a programme designed to last well beyond the next Cup. A ...

'Access Interdit,' says the sign on the Quai des Milliardaires in Antibes. Behind a barrier the superyachts rise like a skyline in white and royal blue. This is the smartest address in a smart town. Riff-raff are discouraged. Still, nobody pays much attention as I wander up to the first of these beasts, the motor yacht Katara. Owned by the Emir of Qatar, it is thought to have cost around $300 million. Crew in white shirts and khaki shorts swarm over its decks, making final preparations to the scene. Everything is immaculate. Glasses and cutlery are laid on tables. Sun-loungers are set out on the teak transom, towels rolled in tight cylinders. On the top deck a helicopter waits. It all gleams in the sunshine. Scroll down for video    +6 The promise of a pe...

Yotspot at the Monaco Yacht Show     The month of September is upon us once again and with it comes the Monaco Yacht Show. The team behind Yotspot are busy preparing themselves for what is always a fantastic event for meeting with clients, old and new. The only yacht show exclusively devoted to Superyachts of at least 24 meters in length, the show is not to be missed.     Steve Crawford and Daryl Bradley will be attending the show from the 24th of September and would be delighted to meet those seeking crew or employment. They will be promoting The Yotspot 24/7 Account, which is fast becoming our most popular service. The 24/7 Account gives the subscriber a tool to set their recruitment budget for the year and have access to crew options 24 hours ...

This year the world's No. 1 showcase for superyachts afloat will be the best ever, with 115 spectacular yachts and about 30 luxury tenders and an extended exhibition that will host the most renowned and finest suppliers to the industry.     The extension reflects the increasing demand for exhibiting bigger yachts in the Port. Last year's event hinted at the beginnings of a recovery in the yachting market and it seems today that some yachting statistics are approaching pre-crisis figures, in terms of volume, with order books and the demand for finance on the increase. During the last two or three years there has been a noticeable increase in the demand for vessels over 100m and from the 2014 event and into the future the Monaco Yacht Sho...

Hurricane Bertha claims first UK victim as a yachtsman is killed after being hit in the head by a boat's boom in near gale-force winds By Keith Perry 4:58PM BST 11 Aug 2014 Hurricane Bertha claimed its first victim in Britain as a yachtsman was killed after being hit in the head by a boat's boom in near gale-force winds. Coastguards, police and the RNLI scrambled to reach the injured crew member, who was onboard the yacht Remi, at Gurnard near Cowes shortly after 1pm on Monday. Rescuers winched down onto the large yacht but the man was declared dead at the scene. News of his death comes as the Met Office confirmed torrential rain brought by ex-Hurricane Bertha caused the wettest day of the year in the UK. Huge rainfall totals ...

By Gemma Fottles The 37.5 metre fast cruising sloop Escapade was delivered to her owners earlier this year, who are now well underway with a world cruise. She features an interior from Design Unlimited and was built by Fitzroy Yachts in New Zealand. The yacht is the first for these European owners and is an aluminium design with a fixed keel.       She features a raised saloon and a fixed bimini over the cockpit, which has mechanically operated sliding windows. She can accommodate up to ten guests in total, with the master cabin and two guest staterooms located aft and a 4th cabin-come-day room, galley and crew space forward.   ?   Commenting on the design process of the vessel, the owner commented, "Escapade is a totally custom design; when we we...

    With the summer season in full swing and the superyacht fleet in general experiencing it's busiest period of the year in the Mediterranean; thoughts are now beginning to turn once again towards the future. We caught up with Edward Thomas, founder of Gym Marine and Bosun aboard a 45m Heesen to talk industry and innovation. YS: Hi Ed, how are you? E: Good, thank you; I'm currently drifting around the stunning Archipélago Cabrera off the southeast tip of Mallorca- it's a beautiful day and the guests are ashore, so we're catching our breath a bit! YS: Sounds lovely, how's the season going so far? E: It's been an interesting one, that's for certain. We were hauled out in the yard at Genoa in late March to have some major structural work done having sustained damag...

1. Introduction 1.1Under the MLC Minimum Requirements Regulations all Ships Cooks, catering staff and other persons processing food in the galley are required to be suitably qualified in Food hygiene or Food safety in catering. 2. Training requirements for catering staff and other persons processing food in the galley. (Regulation 40) 2.1The ship owner must ensure that the ships cook and any person who processes food in the galley of a sea going United Kingdom ship is required to be properly trained or instructed in food and personal hygiene as well as safe handling and storage of food on board ship in accordance with the learning outcomes and assessment criteria set out in Annex 1 of Merchant Shipping Notice MSN 1846 (M)   MIN 479 (M) Maritime Labour Convention, 2006: Food ...

The approval of these amendments was a major step in establishing binding international law on these issues which are very important for the shipping industry       Government, employer and worker delegates to the International Labour Conference (ILC), at the 103rd annual meeting of International Labour Organization (ILO), overwhelmingly voted in favour of approving amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC,2006) in order to better protect abandoned seafarers, and provide financial security for compensation to seafarers and their families in cases of a seafarer's death or long-term disability. These international legal measures are aimed at improving working and living conditions for seafarers, the most globalized of the world's workers. The ...