Hey savvy friends,
How’s it going out there? We’ve got some fun stories to light up your mid-week entertainment, from kites vs. traditional sails to Panama crossing tips and 14 year old sailing legends in the making. But lets start with lightning…
Sailing in Lightning: How to Keep your Yacht Safe
As the summer heat kicks into full gear for many of us, so too do the inevitable thunderstorms.
With that in mind, you’d be absolutely right to wonder how much of a concern a lightning strike might be to your boat, and importantly, how you can avoid it and/or what you should do about it should the worst occur.
Wherever you go boating, lightning needs to be taken seriously. Understanding how lighting works will help you make an informed decision about the level of protection you need on your boat as well as what preventative measures you can undertake.
Let’s get lightning smart. Yachting Monthly Feature
Say Hello to the Stand-Up Electric Foil Scooter
Is it a scooter, a jet ski or a foiling watercraft? Honestly, I’m not sure!
Check out the FlyWay, an electric foiling scooter developed by a Slovenian company that can be driven whilst standing up or sitting down. In addition, as if that wasn’t enough, the water scooter comes with integrated Bluetooth speakers so you can connect your smartphone and rock out to some of your favourite beats whilst you glide above the water!
Totally crazy or super exciting? You decide.
Foiling e-scooter for the water
14-Year-Old Girl and Her Father Win Bayview Mackinac Race
How old were you when you first got into sailing? How about racing? Well for Merritt Sellers, her debut race was with her father in their J/111 “nosurprise” for the Bayview Mackinac Race which they proceeded to take the win.
“Merritt Sellers needed to sail the boat at night alone on the 204-nautical-mile journey (235 land miles) while her father rested below deck.
"I sat there, trimming the sail, eating Sun Chips, and thinking about how much I wanted to go to bed," Merritt said afterwards.
14 Year Old Wins Bayview Mackinac Race
The Kite Wing that Creates up to 10X More Power than a Sail
If you’re into kiting of any kind then you might like this latest development.
The light, easy-to-use, compact kite wing generates up to 10 times more power per square meter than a conventional sail. The kite is launched from a fold-away mast on the foredeck and is said to enhance the already Green credentials of this Silent 60.
The solar-powered catamaran carries 42 solar panels for 17 kWp of solar energy to drive two electric motors of up to 2x340kw.
Could kites be the future of green boating?
Discover more about Kite Wing.
Through the Panama Canal in a yacht
Some say that transiting through the Panama Canal is one of those experiences you remember for life and possibly even bore your grandchildren reminiscing about in the future!
Here we share Yachting World's handy advice on planning this incredible passage from skippers who’ve recently made the crossing.
Get your Panama crossing tips here.
Citizen Science on Yachts – How You Can Help Effect Change
Would you be open to help collect information for scientific research whilst out on your boaty adventures? It’s easier than you think and can help boost essential environmental research that’s needed to help us better understand and protect our beloved big blue.
Even Golden Globe Race competitor, Susie Goodall, took a Secchi disk with her when she was making a transatlantic crossing in preparation for the race.
So, could you embrace your inner marine biologist?
That’s all for now…
Thank you all for joining us for this week's edition of the savvy news. We hope savvy navvy is helping everyone enjoy some much needed time on the water this summer.
Please share your adventures with us with #savvyadventures!
Until next time,
Hannah and the savvy navvy crew
P.S. Read the articles from last months Newsletter
