It is not yet dawn. The only light is the green gleam of the compass, and the ruby-diamond-and-emerald glow of the masthead trilight, and the occasional flash of a white horse on a black swell. The mind, tired, wanders into a dark labyrinth, made evil-smelling by the thought of Southern Water’s enormous pouring of raw sewage into the Beaulieu river (amongst other waterways).
The water boards were privatised a while ago, and the results have been splendid for shareholders, if disastrous for rivers; but hey, everyone needs money, and to hell with trout and damselflies. In the absence of a budget for the Environment Agency, the water companies have been allowed to report their own pollution incidents, and it is entirely understandable if reprehensible that they have lied like troopers. It is only a matter of time until some original thinker, inspired by this, decides to privatise the sea.
Incidents of pollution at sea should of course be reported to the Coastguard, but the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (in defiance of best practice) is still funded by the Government. Sold off to G4S or Serco, the Coastguard would choose what to report, and any fatalities or oil spills... well, you can’t make omelettes without breaking eggs, for goodness’ sake, or indeed stand in the way of progress.
Esta historia es de la edición October 2021 de Practical Boat Owner.
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Esta historia es de la edición October 2021 de Practical Boat Owner.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
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Shearwater sloop sailing in the 1960s
Genevieve Leaper shares her late father John Leaper's recollections-compiled from handwritten notes-of cruising the Channel
Timing an Atlantic crossing
Professional meteorologist and sailor Chris Tibbs shares his knowledge of how to choose the best time to sail 'across the pond'
Transatlantic first
It's 70 years since Ann Davison became the first woman to sail solo across the Atlantic. Katy Stickland looks back at her achievement
Going dizzy on an island sailing odyssey
Ken Fowler becomes the first sailor to circumnavigate every island in England and Wales-and all done in a 4m dinghy!
Boats for coastal cruising
Duncan Kent chooses a selection of the best sail and motor boats under 40ft most suitable for adventurous cruising along the coast
Industry view on HVO
The RYA, IWA and CA are working to help recreational boating transition to a Net Zero future, as the CA's
HVO RENEWABLE DIESEL Myth or miracle?
A new generation of biofuel that's cleaner, greener, better for your engine and less prone to microbial growth sounds too good to be true... but the facts beg to differ
Little ships and the wrong sort of waves
Why the correct manoeuvres for the sea conditions will reduce hogging and sagging stress on both ship and crew
Watching boats, saving jerseys
It's amazing what you can see from a hospital window if it's the right hospital
Sweating the mooring asset
Sam Llewellyn looks at ways of getting top value out of his boat's swinging mooring