Dear John,
On holiday in Denmark to visit my brother, my wife and I went to Helsingor to see the famous castle where Hamlet is played each year.
Having a spot of lunch before visiting the castle I went to pay my bill and there at the counter was Roger New, captain of Atalante a steel sailing yacht that I had repaired the water tanks with Belzona when she was in Porto Portals several years ago.
We had not seen each other for several years and it turned out that he was in the Baltic Sail 2002 regatta, and had just arrived from Rostock.He invited us both back on board for a drink and we were shown over the yacht which was in fine condition. Apparently the ports all give free berths for the regatta and many tall ships join in this fun event. Next year they will go to Rostock, Helsingor, Kariskrona (Sweden), Norrkoping (Sweden) and Gdansk(Poland) At each port they invite people to see the ships and have some outings with locals.
Roger tells me that he now berths in London and has done this regatta for several years.
It was a nice end for our day out and shows how small the world is .
Niels Svendsen
Dear John,
Thank you for your kind invitation to send a few words on the golf.
" The Fourteenth Annual Pinmar Yachtsmanīs Golf Tournament will take place on Friday 25th October with an overflow day on Thursday 24th.
The Prizegiving Dinner will be held on Saturday 26.
The venues will be Poniente Golf Course and the Casino de Mallorca as usual.
Thanks to the change in the dates of the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show (they just couldnīt stand the competition!) we have moved the tournament into October which means that not only do we gain an hourīs daylight on the main golf day but also that - among others - Boat International and Yachting Partners International, who have supported us for many years, are now able to send a team for the first time.
Once again, there will be a Jaguar as a Hole-in One prize, the Casino has a new show and we have a few surprises up our sleeves so we hope this year will be better than ever.
For more information or to participate as a player, sponsor, volunteer helper or simply attend the gala dinner and show, please contact Nick Entwisle at Pinmar on 971 713844 - nick@pinmar.com"
Many thanks - Nick
Dear John.
As you know there were unfortunate fires that occured this year in ship yards in Barcelona and Palma. With this in mind I thought your readers would be interested to know that we at Varadero Palma have installed a number of fire extinguisher points around their office area. Each "fire point" contains dry powder, foam, and pressured water. All the berths and hard standing areas at Varadero Palma are within a short distance from one of these points. The fire points can be opened quickly by breaking the sacrificial glass door.
Regards,
Bobby Cooper