Onboard Rán for a test sail in the Sydney Harbour, before the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race 2009.
Rán is the sea goddess in the Norse mythology. Rán II is a 72 foot Judel Vrolijk designed racing yacht built by Green Marine in 2009.
Posts tagged Australia
15
Dec 09
Dec 09
Sydney Opera House
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 33º51’87″S 151º12’47″E
Sydney Opera House, Location: Sydney, Australia
Date: 1957 to 1973
Building Type: opera house
Construction System: tile-clad concrete and precast concrete
Climate: temperate
Context: urban waterfront
Style: Expressionist Modern
Notes: Great stairway, family of forms in spherical section roofs, pure curving shapes that across the harbor in great heroic harmony
Source: www.archiplanet.org 
03
Dec 09
Dec 09
Onboard Alfa Romeo
Tasman Sea, New South Wales, Australia 33º50’85″S 151º24’46″E
Onboard Alfa Romeo during a test sail in Sydney, Australia in preparation for the Rolex Sydney to Hobart 2009.
‘Alfa Romeo’, the second yacht built by New Zealand skipper and owner, Neville Crichton, to carry the name of the Italian car maker, was penned by leading American yacht designers, Reichel/Pugh and built in Sydney by McConaghy Boats.
26
Nov 09
Nov 09
Moth Mach 2
Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia 33º51’06″S 151º15’59″E
Scott Babbage in a training session on his Moth Mach 2 in Sydney Harbour, Single-handed sailing dinghy with hydro-foils.
McConaghy Boats understand strong, light and fast and in no time at all McConaghy partnered with McDougall and began to build the next generation of foiling moths. Drawing upon the two names McDougall / McConaghy and acknowledging the name of the 2nd moth ever built by founder John McConaghy, they formed Mach 2 Boats Pty Ltd.
10
Oct 09
Oct 09
Onboard living Doll – Flinders Islet Race
Tasman Sea 34º27’35″S 150º55’57″E
Onboard Living Doll, Farr 55, built by Cookson Boats for Melbourne yachtsman Michael Hiatt competing in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s (CYCA) dramatic 92 nautical-miles Flinders Islet Race that started off Point Piper on Sydney Harbour, where a yacht, Shock Wave, sponsored by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, crashed into rocks off Flinders Islet and ran aground at about 3am. Two yachts competing in the race, Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin and Bob Steel’s Quest, both from the CYCA in Sydney, went to the aid of the PriceWaterhouseCoopers crew. Two other yachts in the vicinity at the time of the incident, Geoff Ross’ Yendys, also from the CYCA, and Michael Hiatt’s Living Doll from Melbourne also stood by to give assistance.
Experienced sailors Sally Gordon, 47, of Darling Point, and Andrew Short, 48, of The Spit, were pulled unconscious from the water but couldn’t be revived.
My deepest and heartfelt condolences goes out to the families that have lost their loved ones.
23
Sep 09
Sep 09
Sydney Sand Storm
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 33º51’63″S 151º12’50″E
Apocalyptic vision of Sydney, shrouded in red dust blown in by winds from the deserts of the outback.
Sydneysiders woke to a red dawn this morning as a thick dust storm caused havoc with transport and raised health fears.
The size of the dust cloud surprised weather experts, who say it has covered half of NSW.
08
Jun 09
Jun 09
Galapagos Shark
Middleton Reef, Tasman Sea, Australia 29º25’24″S 159º03’35″E
The Galapagos shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis) is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, found worldwide. This species favors clear reef environments around oceanic islands, where it is often the most abundant shark species. A large species that grows to 3.7 m (12 ft), the Galapagos reef shark has a typical fusiform “reef shark” shape and is very difficult to distinguish from the dusky shark (C. obscurus) and the grey reef shark (C. amblyrhynchos). An identifying character of this species is its tall first dorsal fin, which has a slightly rounded tip and originates over the rear tips of the pectoral fins.
Galapagos sharks are active predators often encountered in large groups. They feed mainly on bottom-dwelling bony fishes and cephalopods; larger individuals have a much more varied diet, consuming other sharks, marine iguanas, sea lions, and even garbage. As in other requiem sharks, reproduction is viviparous, with females bearing litters of 4–16 pups every 2–3 years. The juveniles tend to remain in shallow water to avoid predation by the adults. Galapagos sharks are bold and have behaved aggressively towards humans, and are thus regarded as dangerous. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this species as Near Threatened, as it has a slow reproductive rate and there is heavy fishing pressure across its range.
07
Jun 09
Jun 09
Middleton Reef
Tasman Sea, Australia 29º26’52″S 159º05’01″E
Shipwrecks aground on Middleton Reef.
Middleton Reef is a coral reef in the Tasman Sea. It is separated by a deep oceanic pass some 45 km wide from nearby Elizabeth Reef, forming part of the Lord Howe Rise underwater plateau. Middleton Reef is around 220 km from Lord Howe Island and 555 km from the coast of New South Wales. In 1997 the Environment, Sport and Territories Legislation Amendment Bill 1996 included Middelton Reef in Australia’s Coral Sea Islands Territory.This island is included also in Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs
Middleton Reef is a platform reef and is among the southernmost platform reefs in the world. However, despite its relatively high latitude, a wide variety of flora and fauna exists both on the island and in the surrounding waters. This is due to its location where tropical and temperate ocean currents converge.
Middleton reef is about 8.9 km long by 6.3 km wide and is usually submerged. However, at low tide most of the reef flat is exposed. At high tide only one cay on the reef is visible, at one metre above sea level. The cay is called The Sound and is 100 m by 70 m.
The reefs form the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Park Reserve managed by the Government of Australia under the Natural Heritage Trust.
Surveys by the Australian Institute of Marine Science have highlighted healthy number of Black Cod Epinephelus daemelii which is now a threatened species in NSW waters. The survey in 2003 highlighted some 111 species of coral and at the same time identified 181 species of fish. The total number of recorded fish species on the reef is 311 across several surveys. High numbers of Galapagos sharks Carcharhinus galapagensis were observed at Elizabeth Reef.
24
May 09
May 09
Bide a Wee
Balgowlah Heights, New South Wales, Australia 33º49’93″S 151º15’70″E
A 13m vessel, the Bide a Wee, on her side with holes in her timber hull, having been battered by heavy seas. The ketch went aground after leaving North Harbour under sail, it was was marooned on the rocks at Grotto Point near Dobroyd Head at Balgowlah Heights, Sydney.
A Maritime vessel and a police boat were both unable to reach two men on the ketch because of the wild waves and strong winds.An officer was winched down onto the stranded vessel from police helicopter PolAir to rescue the two.
They were winched to safety and flown to Manly Hospital for treatment.
The men did not appear to be injured.
17
May 09
May 09
Lauryn Eagle
Manly, New South Whales, Australia 33º48’57″S 151º16’33″E
Lauryn Eagle attempted to be the first female to water ski continuously from Sydney to Newcastle and back in a record time of under three and a half hours.
Lauryn Eagle is an Australian water ski champion, stunning model (Miss Teen Australia 2004, miss Teen International 2004), Foxtel presenter and social and community entrepreneur.
