Boat Radio

Just how important is your boat's name? Well, actually, it's much more important than you think. In fact, Carolyn Shearlock has a cautionary tale to tell about getting the right boat name. She didn't and she paid the price.

This month’s guests are Brad Robertson, President of marine conservation organisation Asociación Ondine, Pete Lucas, Captain and co-owner of Bonnie Lass, a classic Scottish former fishing trawler which now serves as a charter vessel based in Port de Sóller, and Doctor Sergio Ruiz-Halpern, resident marine scientist at the Seabin Project, an innovative solution to the problem of floating garbage in ports and harbours. Topics under discussion include the Marine Protected Areas or MPAs around the Balearic Islands, the problems of communicating the urgency of marine conservation to the public and, of course, the Seabin, which could soon be cleaning a marina or yacht club near you. This programme was made at The Boathouse, Palma de Mallorca.

Stories from The International Boat Builders Exhibition and Conference in Tampa, Florida. Plus, Captain Bob chats to West Marine CEO Matt Hyde. There’s also advice about de-icers and, did we mention that Bob attended the IBEX in Tampa? Plenty to talk about from that amazing event, despite Hurricane Matthew threatening to sink the whole shebang.

Agustín Risco is General Manager of Es Moli – The Mill – the oldest hotel in the village of Deia on Mallorca’s spectacular north coast. He chatted to Shirley Roberts at a table next to the hotel’s enormous swimming pool which is hidden from prying eyes on a magnificent terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. Agustín is from the village of Felanitx which, it is claimed, is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. Certainly the nearby harbour is Port Colomb. And so we present his story on this, Columbus Day. Most people think Columbus was Italian. Agustín invites them, and you, to think again.

Did Santorini inspire Plato’s Atlantis? Host Brandon Huebner focuses on three main topics, all related to the Minoan Civilization in the Aegean. First, he talks in detail about the exquisite Fleet Fresco found in the West House at Akrotiri. Then he considers the volcanic eruption that buried Akrotiri, destroyed much of Thera (Santorini), and effected large swathes of the Bronze Age Aegean. He ends by looking at the arguments of those who claim that the Minoan Civilization was Plato's basis for Atlantis when he discussed Atlantis in Timaeus and Critias. Hop aboard for this fact filled episode about the Bronze Age Minoans.

Malin and Johan are sailing the world in their very smart looking sailboat, Ran. They left their home town of Malmö, Sweden during some pretty heavy winter weather but now they’re en route to the considerably warmer waters of the Cape Verde islands, out in the Atlantic Ocean, about 350 miles off the coast of Senegal. Johan is a seasoned sailor, having already crossed oceans and rounded Cape Horn. Malin, on the other hand, is a novice. They document their travels in a series of very professional looking videos, complete with drone footage. Mike McDowall spoke to them as they prepared to set sail from the Canaries.

It’s the 2016 Lake of the Ozarks Fall Harbor Hop – the last big event of the boating season. Pick up your poker hand at seven of forty sponsored locations. Boaters win vouchers for a good hand. Todd Wilkinson explains the difference between the US Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Plus, how to book a boat safety check from the US Coastguard. David Kennedy from Boat US is in the studio to talk about ethanol and there’s a good helping of waterfront news too.