Liftboats like the Seacor Power are offshore workhorses but not designed for rough weather
Tony Mcauley
The Seacor Power, the liftboat that capsized Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico off Port Fourchon, is one of the workhorses of the offshore energy industry that do maintenance and construction and ferry equipment to and from drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
But it isn t built for the rough weather it encountered seven miles off the Louisiana coast, according to Dale Mitchell, owner of Mitchell Lift Boats in New Iberia. These boats are just not designed to take that kind of severe weather; not a lot of boats are, Mitchell said. If you knew beforehand that boat would have never left the port.
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New South Welshman Adrian Walters is confident he can take out the Airlie Beach Race Week with his Rob Shaw 11m Little Nico.
The yachtie was the first to sign up for the Whitsundays Festival of Sailing event but he faces stiff competition with more than 60 competitors quickly following suit from across Queensland, NSW, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.
“I’m not surprised we’re first; I like to be organised,” the Middle Harbour Yacht Club sailor said.
“We’re coming back because I had so much fun last time we were there (in 2017).”
“We’ve come off a win at the Sydney Harbour Regatta in March, so we’re going to try to continue our winning streak at Airlie Beach, then Hamilton Island and Magnetic Island Race Weeks.
Change of dates entices the best for Club Marine Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race sail-world.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sail-world.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Cruising Division on the windward-leeward course in Race 6 - Shirley Wodson pic, ABRW 2020.
Top Gear, The Stig and Mister Magoo struggling in little breeze - Shirley Wodson pic, ABRW 2020.
Cruising Division 1 down the run - Shirley Wodson pic - ABRW 2020.
Obsession and Revival go head-to-head - Shirley Wodson, ABRW 2020.
Northerlies has planned a pizza lunch for lay day - pic courtesy ABRW.
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Airlie Beach Race Week 2021 entries open 2 March 2021
Entry to Airlie Beach Race Week 2021 is open and organisers at Whitsunday Sailing Club (WSC) are confident of large numbers following the success of last year’s event, one of the rare major sporting events to go ahead in Australia since March 2020, and yachties are keen to return to racing following a hiatus.