NEWS FROM AROUND THE SOUTH AND THE WORLD OF SAILING Send us news, including business press releases, to editor@southwindsmagazine.com. We need to receive them by the 1st of the month preceding publication. Contact us if later (it most likely will get in, but not certain).
Okeechobee Water Level Stays Same Height Since October As of press date in early November, Lake Okeechobee was at 16.83 feet above sea level. This makes the navigational depth for Route 1, which crosses the lake, 10.77 feet, and the navigational depth for Route 2, which goes around the southern coast of the lake, 8.97 feet. Bridge clearance at Myakka was at 46.60 feet. For those interested in seeing the daily height of the lake, navigation route depths and bridge clearance, go to http://w3.saj.usace.army.mil/h2o/currentLL.shtml (copy this address exactly as it is here with upper and lower cases). This link is also available on our website, www.southwindsmagazine.com. See the left column.
Nice Dinghy By Steve Morrell Fred Braman took this photo while cruising the waters of Jacksonville in his 30-foot sloop. Shown here is Le Grand Bleu, a 370-foot mega yacht, which obviously has a very large sailboat on board, one of the boat’s two “main” tenders. On the same side of the ship, more forward of the sailboat, are a couple of small runabout “tenders.” But hard to see is the other big tender, a 67-foot Sunseeker powerboat, which has three private cabins. Le Grand Bleu is owned by Roman Abramovich, a Russian industrialist who is said to be worth over $18 billion. He currently owns two other mega yachts: One at 377 feet and another at 282 feet. It is rumored that he gave Le Grand Bleu to a Russian-American friend who was a former partner in a Russian oil company. The sailboat is no small “dinghy.” It’s a custom-made 74-footer, named Bellatrix, built by New England Boatworks (NEB) of Portsmouth, RI. The NEB website gives some News & Views for Southern Sailors
information about the boat. Here is a small excerpt: Because of the unique nature of Bellatrix—the project called for a fast, luxurious 74-foot sailing yacht that also could function as a “tender” and be lifted aboard a world-cruising mother ship—Bellatrix’s construction needed to be both light and strong. To achieve this, the yacht’s hull, deck, and structural elements were engineered and built utilizing carbon fiber/Nomex honeycomb/structural foam composite construction. Because the yacht’s owner did not want to compromise the luxury or aesthetics of the interior in order to save weight, New England Boatworks used an elegant cherry-veneer paneling with a weight-saving Nomex honeycomb core. To lift Bellatrix to the deck of the mother ship, NEB fashioned two carbon-fiber “chain plates.” In order to make sure that Bellatrix fitted to the deck SOUTHWINDS December 2017
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