General

Anyone in Port Erin last Saturday may well have spotted Dennis.  Dennis is a 6.5m basking shark who was ‘basking’ in Port Erin Bay from about 11am to 5pm last Saturday.

And what a fantastic site, Juan took one of our kayaks out and was paddling around with the shark for about an hour.  At the same time a handful of people ventured out to it with only a surfboard to hang on to.  Myself and Ffinlo were out sailing in one of the RS Teras (which turned out to be about one third of the size of the shark itself!).  We decided we’d ‘go and check the shark out’ as it is not often that they venture into the Bay, so off we went headed in it’s direction.  Then we got scared!! This enormous creature also decided to check us out – we figured that to a shark the underside of our boat could easily look like another shark.  And so it swam toward us and came right past the side of our boat – nose, fin and tail – this thing was really big, yet incredibly sensitive to it’s surroundings, it could have easily capsized us or knocked the boat with it’s powerful tail, but it didn’t, it came real close and than dropped underneath us to avoid us completely.  This was an amazing encounter!

More amazing still was later in that afternoon Jon, Juan and Ruth all got wetsuited up and actually went snorkeling with it.  A larger group of us stayed within the safety of our boat – helpfully shouting “it’s behind you” to the swimmers!!  One ambition realised for Jon, who since we opened 7th Wave has been saying “one day I’m gonna swim with one of them”.
The shark turned out to be one of the two sharks tagged recently by the Manx Basking Shark Watch, hence we know it is called Dennis.  It was fantastic that Juan had been able to get  close enough to it in the kayak and he had seen the tag.  This enabled the shark to be identified – a great result for all concerned.

For further information about these amazing creatures go to www.manxbaskingsharkwatch.com and if you want to get out in a boat to see them please contact us….

Jon and I have now got our ‘Boatman’s Licenses’!  Our new 5.1m Tornado has been surveyed, swamp tested and half sunk by the IOM Marine Administration Surveyor and the Harbours Division.  It passed all the safety tests and has been approved to carry up to 5 passengers on journeys within 3 miles of the coast and within 15 miles of Port Erin.  So it’s all official 7th Wave can now offer trips around the Calf & up the coast here!!

Anyone fancying trips out to see basking sharks, porpoises, dolphins, seals, puffins, dragons etc – please contact us!!

Yes it’s that time of year again, Port Erin Regatta is this weekend.  Jack is entering ‘Scrufts’ Dog Show on Saturday morning!  Then Sunday afternoon is the Soapbox Derby!

Last year 7th Wave finished a very apt 7th place!  However, 7th place is not good enough in the eyes of the creator, who since last year seems have spent every spare moment pondering on what he can do to improve the kart for this year…….

And so this year Captain Pugwash & Roger the Cabin Boy will be driving the ‘Black Pig’ down the hill, to who knows what end?

And the competition seems to be hotting up this year – Kristian & Mark our pit crew / pushers from last year have split and signed up with the Grenaby Lime Works Lime Green Racing Machine!! And we’ve got the Post Office who just pipped us to the ‘post!’ last year. Jon is keeping his loyalties with us and not Port Erin Lifeboat Crew, so we could do with beating them too!

Look forward to seeing you all over the weekend!

We are 1 today!!

This Week….

Honda / RYA R.I.B. Challenge Training
Wednesday 4.30pm to 6.30pm  £30 per person.

The final opportunity for anyone wishing to enter the Honda / RYA Youth R.I.B. Challenge to receive training and practice time prior to the 7th Wave Heat on 23rd May.  The IOM Regional Finals for this National Competition will be held in Douglas Bay on 16th June in conjunction with the Honda Formula Four-Stroke Racing weekend.

This Weekend…..

Youth Race Training Weekend
10am to 4.30pm Saturday & Sunday  £149 per person.

There are still a couple of places left for this RYA Start Racing course.  This will be an intensive sailing weekend designed to refine existing skills and introduce students to the fun of competitive dinghy racing!  Start Sailing Stage 2 is a pre-requisite for the course, any students currently working toward Stages 3 and 4 should consider joining in this weekend as it will be of enormous benefit to them in the future.

RYA Safety Boat Course
10am to 4.30pm Saturday & Sunday  £189.00 per person.

This course provides the skills required for acting as an escort, safety or coaching boat for a fleet of dinghies, windsurfers or kayaks.  The course consists of two full days of teaching, including sessions where you will assist in safety boat duties for the Youth Race Training course.  RYA Powerboat Level 2 is a pre-requisite for this course, minimum age 16.

Later this month…..

Youth Sailing Weeks

Our summer Youth Sailing Weeks are almost fully booked already!  If you are still hoping your children will be able to get on a course please contact us as soon as possible.  We do have some availability for Practice Week and TT Week – again, please book early to avoid disappointment.  Courses run 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday during all school holidays, fees are £229 per person.  The Youth Sailing Weeks are suitable for all levels of sailing, for novices we run the Start Sailing Stage 1 Course, for those already holding RYA qualifications we will pick up from where you finished last season.

Powerboat Level 2
26th & 27th May  £189 per person

This two day course provides the skills and background needed to drive a powerboat.  It includes close quarters handling, high speed manoeuvres, man overboard recovery, collision regulations and some basic navigation.  This course is a must for anyone wanting to be self-sufficient in a powerboat in reasonable conditions.

We have a busy calendar of “on the water” courses and activities running until October and shore based courses to follow in the winter.  For brochures, bookings and further information please contact us.

The Honda RYA Youth Rib Championship 2007 sponsored by Honda, Ribcraft, Icom and Indespension Trailers is a National Championship in which 8 – 16 year old Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) drivers, can demonstrate their skills with the goal of winning a 4.8m Ribcraft RIB with a Honda 50hp engine on an Indespension trailer for their training centre.

This year 7th Wave will participate in the competition.  Local heats will be held at 7th Wave to determine who we will put forward for the regional finals. There are 16 regional finals and winner in each age group (8-12 and 13-16) takes part in the national final.   The Isle of Man Regional Finals will be held in Douglas on 16th June, this will be a high profile event, being run at the same time as the Honda Formula Four Stroke Racing Series.  Winners from the IOM Regional Final will go on to compete at the National Final.  Trophies and other prizes are presented for the first, second and third places in each category.

The National Final is held at the Southampton International Boatshow in September. The RYA organises and co-ordinates all aspects of this final stage of the competition.   At the National final the Ribcraft RIBs are awarded to the winners respective club/organisation and the winners receive a trophy and further prizes.

For full competition details please see the following link.

http://www.rya.org.uk/Youth/hondaryayouthrib/abouthyr.htm

For anyone interested in entering the competition, 7th Wave will be providing training and practice time prior to our local heat.  Training will take place on Wednesdays from 4.30 to 6pm during May.  The local heat will be run on Wednesday 23rd May.  Training sessions will cost £30 per session.  In order to enter our local heat competitors must attend at least one of the training sessions prior to the local heat. There is an entry fee of £10 for the local heat.  Competitors can attend as many training sessions as they wish to improve their chances of winning.  The competition is not about who can drive the boat the fastest, it is a test of safe boat handling skills and an instructor will be onboard with competitors at all times.

If your child would like to enter and be a part of this National Competition or if you would like any further information please contact us.

Spring is here, the nights are lighter and the shop will be opening again on Saturday 31st March!!

We’ve got loads of new stock: the howies spring gear has arrived, the boats and kayaks are ready to get out on the water and our new RIB should be with us tomorrow!  We’ve also got a new range of wetsuits, beach shoes, gloves and rash vests,  we’ve got bodyboards, snorkells & fins and coming next week…..MORE NEW PRODUCTS!  We will be stocking dry kit bags, rucksacks and phone/GPS and pouches from ‘Overboard’.

Shop open 11am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 1pm to 5pm Sundays.

Well, we took a risk and printed the new brochure advertising our new Shorebased Courses, before I had actually taken the Shorebased Instructor Course!  Fortunately it is all alright – I was away last week on an RNLI Sea Survival Course (but that’s another story) and following that course I attended an RYA Shorebased Instructor Course in Southampton.  Good news all round – I passed the course so am now an RYA Shorebased Instructor, which means that we will be running theory courses for basic navigation through to Dayskipper and Yachtmaster Theory and most important of all our brochure is correct!! (A big sigh of relief for Dave and I!)

We’ve just got this season’s brochures from Quine & Cubbon and they look really nice!  Thanks to Dave Kneale for his hard work designing and putting it together and also for letting us use his photies in it!  If you want a copy of it give us a call or send us an email with your address on it and we’ll mail one to you.

The shop will be open again later this month and our first course begins on 2nd April.  We have a busy calendar for courses including RYA Level 2 Powerboat courses and Dinghy Sailing courses on most weekends.  A new fleet of kayaks is on order and will be with us for hire from 31st March and we still have some places left on Youth Sailing Weeks at Easter.  Contact us for more details…..
Looking forward to the season!

pictures from associated press just come in… this sea creature seen wandering the shores of port st mary…

if you see it… be sure to wave your hands above your head in wide circles and shout “Begone Foul Smeeeeeeeg!” and you should be safe …

ing.