Speed boating is fun. But any activity on water is potentially dangerous, particularly if it involves an engine! So here are four top tips to make speed boating safe and fun...

1. Driving a speed boat, power boat or motor boat can be a bumpy affair, particularly at speed and/or in choppy water. It is possible for the helmsman (boat driver) to be thrown from their seat or even overboard!

This isn't a regular occurrence - at least it hasn't happened to me (yet!)

But because of this risk, a speed boat engine will come equipped with a kill chord. One end of the kill chord is attached to the ignition. The other end has a clip to attach to the helmsman's clothing.

If the helmsman is thrown from their seat or overboard, the kill chord attached to their clothing will become detached from the ignition and will automatically turn the engine off, bringing the boat to a halt instead of driving on out of control.

So never drive a speed boat, power boat or motor boat without the kill chord attached to your clothing.

2. It's not only the helmsman who could be thrown from the boat. Anyone on board could fall overboard, or the boat might capsize or even sink! So never, never, never use your speed boat, power boat or motor boat without wearing a life jacket or buoyancy aid.

A life jacket is preferable as it has a "cushion" behind the neck designed to keep the wearer's head face up and out of the water if unconscious.

Buoyancy aids don't have this. They are designed to be less restrictive to aid water sports activity such as wakeboarding, waterskiing, kneeboarding, sailing, etc.

Everyone on board should wear a life jacket or buoyancy aid at all times.

3. Some larger power boats, speed boats and motor boats will have a second small outboard engine attached to the transom. This is for use in an emergency. If the main engine fails, this small second engine will be able to get the boat back to shore, but not at any great speed.

Smaller speed boats don't have room on their transom for a second, reserve engine. So if you drive a smaller speed boat, I strongly recommend that you keep some paddles on board as your back-up "engine".

If you are out at sea and your engine stops and won't restart, it would be very difficult to paddle your speed boat against the wind or tide for any distance, but having paddles on board is better than nothing, as I found out (see point 4 below).

So I strongly recommend that you keep some paddles on board in case of emergency.

4. It is very exhilarating speeding across the open sea in your power boat, speed boat or motor boat but please heed this warning...

If no one can see you, no one can come to your rescue if you get in to difficulties!

Hopefully you will have your boat engine properly serviced and maintained and it will be reliable and dependable. But things can go wrong. If your engine should stop and not re-start and you are far out at sea and out of sight, you've got a problem.

So always keep as close to the shore as it is safe to do so for you and other sea-users.

This proved to be a very wise strategy when my boat engine stalled. I couldn't restart it and the off-shore breeze started to blow us out to sea.

Because we were fairly close to the shore, there were plenty of other boats about. We were able to paddle (using our "back-up engine" paddles!) to a boat that was anchored nearby and tie our boat to it. This prevented us from drifting until a passing boat kindly towed us to shore.

If we had been further out when our engine stalled, we wouldn't have been able to paddle to another boat and no-one would have been passing to tow us back in.

So always keep as close to the shore as it is safe to do so.

- M Boaden

Over the last decade or two, there has been a surge in popularity in the yachting industry, especially in the numbers of private luxury yachts being commissioned. A yachting experience is sure to surpass any expectations of glamour and many of these exquisitely designed vessels offer a self-contained world - five star dining, world-class accommodation and every amenity your heart could desire. With all this at your fingertips, whilst cruising some of the most magnificent coastlines and ports in the world, it is no wonder that the popularity and passion for luxury yachts has grown exponentially.

When it comes to purchasing or chartering a yacht, the experience does not begin with the prospective buyer. It is the relationship between a shipyard and a luxury yacht broker that is key. This is evident in the affiliation between the world-renowned Royal Huisman shipyard and Yachting Partners International, a well-established and thriving yacht brokerage.
Luxury Yacht Shipyards

A shipyard is a place where yachts are built, refitted or repaired. Shipyards take great pride in building luxury yachts, which have a reputation for encompassing a spirit of elegance and extravagance and a well established shipyard will usually draw on their years of experience and have a thorough knowledge of the best ways and materials to use to construct these vessels.

There are various roles shipyards can perform, including:

* Refitting the vessel with new parts or additional extras.
* The complete new building of luxury yachts, from conception to the final product.
* Exterior design focusing on the exterior of a luxury yacht; this could mean new colour scheme or merely adapting the façade of the vessel to suit individual owners tastes.
* Interior design entails customizing the interior of the yacht with architectural elements as well as adding extra amenities/facilities.
* Repairs which have to be carried out on luxury yachts from time to time, similar to the standard procedure of a car service. Repairs can also be made to damaged vessels.

Potential buyers or brokers of these luxury sailing yachts or power yachts have the opportunity to stipulate exactly what they want from the build.

Luxury Yacht Brokers

Yacht brokers are the party that will have the most up-to-date and detailed knowledge of the vessels produced by the shipyard. Drawing from this knowledge, they have insight into what kind of customer would be most suited to particular luxury yachts. Due to the close relationship with the shipyard, they are also able to convey all of the specifications to the client or to provide the client’s specs to the shipyard in order for them to build or refit a yacht to the client's exact needs.

Luxury yacht brokers also undertake the role of marketing the luxury yachts to expose the vessels via their established marketing channels and consumer base.

The Benefits of a Mutual Relationship

The symbiotic relationship between a shipyard and yacht broker is mutually beneficial. It is common for yacht brokers to establish a long-standing affiliation with a reputable shipyard and by building this relationship, a broker will provide a communication channel between the shipyard and buyer.

Luxury yacht brokers also take on the role of advertising the yacht to the right target market. Over time, brokers develop relationships with those who are interested in investing a yacht or chartering one for a once off holiday. By understanding their clients' requirements, brokers are able to draw on the knowledge of the yachts from the shipyard and appropriately set up potential viewings or suggest particular vessels for interested parties.

A prime example of a very successful relationship between a luxury yacht broker and a shipyard is that of the relationship between Yachting Partners International and Royal Huisman.