Porpoises, whales, dolphins, sturgeon… any of these within three miles of the UK coast technically belong to Queen Elizabeth II, and she’ll have you in the Tower for a swift height-reduction operation if you bother them. Well, maybe the punishment isn’t really that extreme – but anyone who harasses, injures or kills a cetacean in …
Read more “Environment: don’t disturb the dolphins (or the Queen will be very angry)”
Gone are the days when a skipper in the UK could hop aboard their own boat and go exploring Europe without a care in the world. Brexit has locked British sailors into not so splendid isolation, effectively making any passage more than 12 miles from shore a bureaucratic nightmare. So what’s changed? And who is …
Read more “Captain’s notes: how Brexit bombed British sailing (and who to blame)”
Sailors are among those perfectly placed to witness the extent of marine life in UK and Irish waters. That includes sharks of various species, of which there are at least 21 permanently resident, 11 deep-water visitors, and several more than might drop by once in a while. Of all shark species that do put in …
Read more “Environment: fancy sailing with sharks? British Waters might be a good place to start”