As normal I was in the doors early and was pleased to note that my HBYC membership card still gave me a 50% entrance discount, my thanks to the organisers for this offer.
As always Richard Crocket of Sailing magazine has a very well set out and double stand, just check how he has used those overhead lights to good effect.
Richard was talking to Jan Hofmeyer of SAS, I wonder was it about the new ideas that SAMSA has on our Restricted Radio licence? in a nutshell it may be made obsolete? and we will be forced to sit a long and very expensive new licence that also covers the DSC on a VHF.
Note, I have owned an Icom VHF with DSC for some years, ICASA who licence such things refused to give me the required MMSI number the DSC part needs, mind you the NSRI station 8 here in Hout Bay told me they had the same response from ICASA.
In fairness to SAMSA I spoke to the man in charge and he advised me that its still far too early to know what the new rules may be and who would control them, he also thinks that asking about 70,000 VHF and HF marine radio users to sit a new exam is probably not workable?
Another I spoke to at the same show suspects that certain marine education (sailing schools) may well be behind the idea and that SAMSA just happen to be the body who may have to try and enforce it?
There may well be a situation where SAMSA seeing that smaller ski boats and rubber ducks are more the issue, then ask SAS to work with the yacht clubs and promote the new licence with them, I would hope its an extention of the licence we now hold.
SAS means South African Sailing, this really is where we are at, we need to control our own sport or way of recreation and not be dictated to by a larger body that includes vessels of all types.
Roy
Note, I see that Sailing magazine has a very special special offer posted on their stand, 12 magazines at just R210 and a saving of R150 off as a twelve month subscription, so go and sign up for a year now!
