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If you are in the marine business, enjoy boating or are a watersports enthusiast, the Green Blue has practical advice and information to help you think and act in an environmentally conscious way. Inland or coastal, individual or boating business, there is something here for you.
By taking a few simple steps, you can keep future costs down and sustain high quality water and local environments. Backed by the British Marine Federation and the Royal Yachting Association, The Green Blue is testing out practical projects, conducting research and providing advice, to help recreational boating go green.
The London International Boat Show returns to ExCeL from 9-18 January 2009, celebrating 55 years of bringing the best of boating to the nation’s capital.
Come along and enjoy the thrill of being onboard one of the hundreds of fascinating boats on display; from historic replica vessels to the latest in marine technology. With over 500 exhibitors showcasing power and sail boats, inland craft, dinghies, engines and electronics, deck equipment, clothing, sailing courses, holidays and more, the Show promises to offer something for everyone, whether you’re an enthusiast or a first time visitor.
The focus of The Green Blue Stand this year will be Wildlife Awareness and how to avoid unnecessary disturbance. We will have a number of activities taking place on the stand for children. Face painting (weekend's only) and create your own sea creature from scrap. Whilst on the main stage "Question Time" with Tom Cunliff takes place on Friday 9th Jan and a SeaSkool occurs daily. The Green Blue can be found on the RYA stand (B2) again this year.
There are a lot of other things to see and do at the Show too, with the interactive Deck Games area (supported by Team Dorset and Yachts & Yachting) now featuring a 20m indoor pool where you can try your hand at model boat racing as well as various watersports. And when your feet need a rest you can sit back and enjoy a Guinness at the Black & White Bar, which is back by popular demand.
If you’re interested in older, traditional boats, catch an update on the progression of the Cutty Sark restoration project which is part of the popular Classic Boat feature (sponsored by Classic Boat, Old Pulteney and International Paints).
The Main Stage – Powered by Fairline will host the sequel to last year’s star attraction, the Sea Queen Stage Show. The new show, ‘A Mermaid’s Tale’, will amaze visitors with daring aerial displays, extreme acrobatics, energetic dance and uplifting music. The stage will also be used for the official Show opening and will be central to numerous launches, activities and announcements throughout the 10 days, including the winner of the Design a Sail competition.
Make sure you head out to the Marina, which will feature a selection of inland craft as well as some of the largest exhibitor boats in production which physically cannot fit through the doors of ExCeL.
National Boats Shows are offering readers a 20% discount offer (normal ticket price is £15). This offer is only available by calling the hotline number on 0844 209 0333 or logging onto »www.londonboatshow.com and quoting ‘L21’. Discounted tickets are valid from 10-18 January and offer fantastic value for money, with each ticket admitting one adult and two children aged 15 and under.
To find out more information about the Show, along with terms and conditions, visit www.londonboatshow.com.
In August 2008 Andy Pag will start out on an apic drive around the world WITHOUT USING FOSSIL FUELS on an expedition which will explore and document our globes attitide towards energy.
The Truck will be powered by sustainably produced fuels, waste plant oils, second generation oils and even solar generated hydrogen.
This got us at The Green Blue thinking... Would the same thing be possible for yachts crossing the worlds oceans? Unfortunatley we have no nformation about the use of sustainably produced fuels for marine engines, and wondered if any of our news readers would know of such a thing. So if any of you knows of a boat doing a similar trip, or perhaps a company producing new sustainable fuels or engines for boats then we would love to hear from you.
You can contact us at info@thegreenblue.org.uk
To read more about Andy Pag's expedition click here:
Four hundred delegates from 28 countries around the world converged on Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 14th and 15th November, for the International Sail Training and Tall ships Conference 2008.
Sarah Black, The Green Blue Project Manager, was invited to host a workshop at the conference. Sarah's interactive workshop was well attended and warmly received. She was delighted to see so many of the delegates had environmental issues at the forfront of their minds. Delegates found the workshop both informative and inspirational.
The workshop started by outlining the reasons for looking after the environment and then how to go about doing just that. Delegates were then split into three groups and asked to develop a list of actions relevant to improving the environmental impact of sail training vessels.
Issues such as why we should change our behaviour and how difficult it is to get people to behave in an environmentaly friendly way were discussed. Finally the unique role of instructors on vessels was reviewed to see what a hugely powerful role they play in changing behaviour.
To read more about the conference visit www.sailtraininginternational.org
Click here for a copy of Sarah's presentation.
