| 21st
November : Police Clampdown On Speeding Waterway Users. |
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By Nishan Wijeratne
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A stark and stern message has
been sent to all personal watercraft users in Essex after several were
heavily fined for speeding on the River Blackwater.
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Police receive numerous
complaints of speeding and dangerous use of personal watercraft and
Jet Skis on the River Blackwater near Mayland and Lawling Creeks
throughout the year.
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The area is governed by a
byelaw where the speed limit is eight knots.
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The offenders have been
operating far in excess of this limit, with some caught travelling as
fast as 40knots.
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Following court hearings in
November, five men from Essex were fined a total of £1,700 for
speeding on the river.
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Investigating Officer, Dc
Simon Lofting, said:
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“The fines vary due to the
different speeds each individual displayed on the water.
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We work closely with the
Maldon River baliff in a bid to promote safe usage on the water and
prevent further incidents for all watercraft and boat users.
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We use our police RHIB and
personal watercraft to carry out operations in areas of the Essex
coastline where we have received the most complaints from members of
the public and the boating community.”
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In October, three men were
also found guilty and fined for speeding on the River Blackwater,
bringing the number of convictions so far this year to 15 with others
still awaiting trial.
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Following numerous injuries
to people across the coastline this year and a fatality in 2007,
police will continue to work hard to educate those that want to use
the water and officers will assist Maldon District Council with
prosecutions against those who refuse to abide by the law.
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Dc Lofting added:
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“The offending users are a
minority compared with those who use their craft within the rules and
laws, so it’s a shame that these few let down the majority of
personal watercraft users who do use their machines correctly and
safely.”
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All the men found guilty at
court have been from Essex.
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Essex.Police.uk
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| 21st
November : Ban On Deer Hunts Using Hounds A Step Closer. |
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Mary
Minihan
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Cabinet has approved heads of
a Bill which will make deer-hunting with hounds an offence, Minister
for the Environment John Gormley has confirmed.
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Quad bike and jet-ski
activities will be banned in environmentally sensitive locations, and
financial penalties for breaches of the Wildlife Acts will be doubled.
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An amendment to the 1976 and
2000 Acts will include a provision prohibiting deer hunting with a
hound or pack of hounds. This will not have implications for pursuits
such as fox-hunting, hare coursing and the shooting of deer.
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“One of the reports I
received . . . showed deer going across the road just in front of a
car. That set off alarm bells for me, and it seemed to me that
licensing this was just not feasible, particularly in a built-up,
increasingly urbanised area, and that’s why I came to this
conclusion,” Mr Gormley said.
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Bringing about an end to
stag-hunting was a commitment in the programme for government,
renegotiated between Fianna Fáil and the Greens last month.
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Prior to the agreement, Mr
Gormley issued a licence to the Ward Union Hunt in Co Meath allowing
hunting to continue until March of next year. This is the only
licensed hunt in the country.
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At that time, his spokesman
said Mr Gormley remained opposed to the practice, but that refusing to
issue the licence would require legislative change.
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The Minister will get new
powers to make regulations to prohibit or regulate the use of
jet-skis, quad bikes, scramblers and off-road 4x4 vehicles in
environmentally sensitive locations.
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He said he was amending the
legislation to address issues “in relation to which Ireland is at
present under pressure from the European Commission on foot of
judgments of the European Court of Justice”.
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Mr Gormley said Ireland had
failed to address the impact of recreational activities that were
detrimental to Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special
Protected Areas (SPAs) across the country.
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“We wanted to make sure
that we are not disturbing birds or harming protected flora and
fauna,” Mr Gormley said.
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Controversies around such
activities have arisen in locations such as Lough Derravaragh in Co
Westmeath, Mount Leinster and the Slieve Bloom Mountains.
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Mr Gormley confirmed
exemptions would be made for work vehicles, giving the example of
farmers using quad bikes.
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Meanwhile, financial
penalties for Wildlife Acts breaches will be increased for the first
time in almost a decade, having last been amended in the 2000 Act. A
breach which would have incurred a fine of €500 will result in a
€1,000 penalty, for instance.
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The Minister will have powers
to prohibit and regulate importation, transport and sale of what he
called “invasive” species – African pond weed, wild
rhododendron, zebra mussel and grey squirrel.
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IrishTimes.com
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| 20th
November : Jetski Ban At Herbrand Walk. |
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Designs for a watersports
area at Herbrand Walk no longer include jet skis.
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Beach owner Steve Hall
decided to ban the controversial machines after an exhibition of his
reworked planning application in Hamilton Hall, Eastwood Road, on
Saturday.
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The focus of the beach will
be on kayaks, windsurfers and other naturally-propelled devices,
although boats will also be allowed to launch.
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Steve said: "I can stop
people driving vehicles with jet skis on to my beach. They're not
going to be able to park on the road.
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"If the council want to
impose conditions on me it's up to them, but I'm going to say no jet
skiing down there.
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"All I want there is
kayaking, windsurfing and the manual sports I suppose you could call
them, for the schools and the people of Bexhill to enjoy. That's what
I want.
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"I'm not going to make
any money out of those jet skiers, it's just that they were there in
the first place. I automatically thought people were happy with
them."
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An access lane from the beach
for motorised vehicles including jet skis was set up some years ago by
Rother District Council, a feature of the land Steve inherited when he
bought it this year.
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Complaints about the noise of
jet skis have been a common theme in the Herbrand Walk saga.
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The initial application –
for 20 beach huts, two car parks and bollards on the beach – was
submitted in March and rejected by the district council in May after
attracting 200 objections.
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Steve hopes a number of
changes to his first application will appease some objectors.
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The new designs, to be
submitted this week, create free parking parallel to Herbrand Walk,
meaning vehicles will not have to reverse on to a small, but busy,
stretch of road.
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Free public toilets will be
available in season.
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The beach huts have been
reduced to standard size and will be removed for the winter.
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Consultations with the
Environment Agency, Natural England, Network Rail, Pevensey Coastal
Defences and Sussex Police have resulted in the backing of authorities
that had not previously signed up to the scheme.
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Reclaimed timber replaces
concrete bollards, and new fencing will be erected along the railway
line in place of the current dilapidated wire-mesh.
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Schools can use the kayaking
facilities for free during the week.
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Of the exhibition on
Saturday, Steve said: "We had around 60 or 70 people turn up.
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"It got to about 2pm and
it started hammering it down, but they kept coming in.
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"The feedback from the
people who turned up was excellent. Plus it gave me a chance to put my
point across face to face."
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Madeleine Gorman, Rother
District Council head of amenities, said:
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"The council has no
powers to make by-laws on the water and we are not accountable for the
regulation of jet skis.
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"As a responsible local
council we can advise jet ski owners, which is why we installed a
nominated area away from swimmers.
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"Pending the outcome of
the planning application we will continue to work with Mr Hall to
manage activities in this area appropriately."
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Speaking on Saturday, Keith
Rhodes, of Southcliff, said:
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"I am happy to see some
controlled development on the beach with provision for safe kayaking
and watersports that enable the youth to enjoy themselves.
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"But I welcome also the
ability that Mr Hall has to control the current unregulated access for
motor sports.
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"I wish him every
success with the project.
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He's engaging all the right
authorities and it's a privately funded initiative.
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"We cannot stop
progress. The town's been treading water for 12 years."
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Richard Wheeler, of Osbern
Close, Cooden, owns a beach hut on Herbrand Walk. He said:
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"We are trying to take a
balanced view of things. We think its good he's put this exhibition
on, but one reason why we are still mindful to object is the amount of
traffic.
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"It's a good dialogue
and we appreciate him putting it forward but our concerns still
remain."
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Jeanne Bini, of Millfield
Rise, said:
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"I came along with an
open mind. As long as there's adequate parking facilities I won't
mind.
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"It sounds like a
reasonable idea if certain things are taken into consideration."
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Councillor Paul Lendon, who
along with Cllrs Christopher Starnes and Patrick Douart visited on
Saturday, said: "Credit to someone who's prepared to put this
together.
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"It's good to see both
sides of the argument. I commend anybody who goes to these lengths to
put an exhibition on."
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BexhillObserver.net
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| 10th
November : New Jetskier.co.uk. |
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Jet
Skier&PW is proud to introduce an exciting new website.
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The
community based website offers jet skiers a world of interaction and
entertainment.
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With
sharp navigation, a user-friendly layout, masses of content, and a
wicked new forum - you're going to love www.jetskier.co.uk.
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The
new website has stacks of content with all the latest news, craft
tests, kit reviews, competition reports and technical advice.
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And
a new system allows you to comment on stories, and rate articles to
show what you think of them.
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This
means that you can have your say, give weight to an argument, and add
personal opinion to a piece.
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Communicating
with other riders is the key to the new site.
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You
can customise your own profile, tell people what you ride, where you
ride, upload up to 500 personal images, form connections with other
jet skiers, and send private messages to other users.
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And
a cool new forum links to your profile.
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Plus
extensive photo galleries give you access to stacks of great images,
which you can download for free.
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Knowing
how much you like watching skis in action, they now have an entire page
dedicated to videos, with short films produced by Jet Skier&PW,
plus a wide selection of mini movies of craft tests, racing, freestyle
and freeride footage to keep you entertained for hours.
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The
new site also has a Jet Skier&PW magazine preview with ultra
smooth page turning software and crystal clear visibility.
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Plus
there is a new classified ads section, which is currently FREE for you
to advertise all of your PW related gear.
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So
you can put up free ads of skis, trailers, accessories, or anything
that you want to sell.
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Visit www.jetskier.co.uk now
and bring your world to life.
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| 3rd
November : Go Pro Helmet Hero Wide Camera. |
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The worlds smallest, wireless
helmet and gear mountable video camera for outdoor sports.
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The Helmet HERO Wide
quick-release attaches to vented and non-vented helmets, bikes,
kayaks, skis, snowboards, and even includes a head strap for wearing
like a headlamp.
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Features the industry's
widest 170º wide angle lens and 5 megapixel sensor for the most
immersive point of view video and photos possible from a wearable
sports camera, period.
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Shoot 56 minutes of
high-resolution video and 5 megapixel photos automatically in
"photo every 2 seconds" mode. Use as a hand held camera,
too. Shockproof and waterproof to 100 feet/30 meters. Sets up in
seconds and is easily moved between different mount locations.
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Based on the best selling
original Helmet HERO camera, this updated 5MP Helmet HERO Wide camera
features improved video, photo, audio, and low light performance.
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Reliability in ultra-high
vibration environments has been improved with an entirely new internal
circuit design.
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Battery life is improved to 3
hours of video record time when using Lithium batteries and 2 hours
when using NiMH rechargeable batteries.
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Four quick-release adhesive
mounts, a vented helmet strap, headlamp style head strap, and
associated accessories are included.
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Adhesive mounts are removable
but require purposeful removal by user. Safe on painted surface.
Additional expansion mounts available separately, including handlebar/seatpost,
chest harness, roll bar, and surfboard mounts.
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More mounts are always being
developed for your convenience.
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Works with a 2GB max SD card.
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4GB SD card compatibility,
allowing for 1 hour 52 minutes of continuous video recording, will be
available soon via free downloadable software upgrade from GoPro.
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What's Included:
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5 Megapixel HERO Wide Camera
with 170º Wide Angle Lens
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1 Shockproof/Waterproof
Quick-Release Housing
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1 Headlamp-Style Head Strap
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1 Vented Helmet Strap
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2 Curved, 3M™ Adhesive
Mounts
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2 Flat, 3M™ Adhesive Mounts
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1 Three-Way Pivoting Side Arm
Assembly
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2 Quick-Release Buckles
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1 USB/RCA Combo Cable
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Warranty: Two Year
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£169.99
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www.ncjetski.co.uk
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