Xquisite X5 Plus. Tour, review, and ideas

Описание: 2022 Xquisite X5 Plus

Xquisite: Phoenix Marine Manufacturing, Corner Johns van Niekerk and, Christopher Starke St, Atlantis, Cape Town, 7539, South Africa

From high above Vancouver, we head east across the continent, the Atlantic and all. The way across France to its Mediterranean shores and the home of last weeks guest Yacht the Gunboat 57 in picturesque La Grande-Motte. From here we head way South down to the Western side of South Africa and the yards of Phoenix Marine where each Xquisite X5 is born. Finally we head Southeast to the Stellenbosch wine region for our wine pairing this week, the Stellenbosch The Mentors Cabernet Franc 2018 by KWV.

With access to grapes from more than 50 farms and 400 vineyard sites across the Western Cape's Paarl, Stellenbosch, Swartland, Perdeberg, Malmesbury, Darling, Elgin, Robertson and Wellington regions, KWV's ability as a commercial producer to source the finest quality grapes for a premium expression of the Cape Winelands is unrivalled.

The winemaking team handle the grapes expertly before and during transport to KWV's cellar facilities in Paarl. This site covers nearly 32 hectares, at the heart of which stands KWV's imposing Cathedral Cellar, built in 1930.


Innovation Corner

• Xquisite X5 Plus: https://x5.xquisiteyachts.com


Direct and indirect lightning prevention
https://www.dinnteco.com/marine.php

Lightning is a natural phenomenon in which electrical charges that accumulate on the clouds, are discharged to the ground when the lightning strike connects to the mast (ascending leader) releasing an enormous current. This is called neutralization or instantaneous compensation of the electric field.

Traditional lightning protection tools use a lightning rod, cables and grounding materials on the bottom of the hull to try and conduct that huge amount of current to ground with as little damage to the vessel as possible.

But a direct lightening strike is only half the equation. The high frequency electricity that forms even an indirect strike near your vessel, can travel through the water and the air and still cause catastrophic damage to electronics and boat systems.

According to reports from our BoatUS Marine Insurance claim files, the odds of your boat being struck by lightning in any year are about one in 1,000. Some states, such as Idaho, have no lightning claims (no surprise). But for those of you with boats in Florida, nobody has to tell you that the odds there are greater. Much greater.

Thirty-three percent of all lightning claims are from the Sunshine State, and the strike rate there is 3.3 boats per 1,000. Not surprisingly, the majority of strikes are on sailboats (four per 1,000), but powerboats get struck also (five per 10,000). Trawlers have the highest rate for powerboats (two per 1,000), and lightning has struck houseboats, bass boats, and even PWCs. Lightning-strike repairs tend to be expensive and time-consuming, but there are things you can do to lessen the damage after a strike.

NOAA estimates a strike contains around 30,000,000 volts, and a quick zap to a 12-volt device will certainly destroy it. But lightning is like horseshoes: "Close" counts. There can sometimes be collateral damage when a nearby boat gets hit, either the result of the lightning's powerful electromagnetic field or the current induced by the field running through the boat's shore-power cord. This can create strange problems; some electronics may work fine, others that are adjacent might not, and still others may only work partially. In some cases, compasses have been off by 100 degrees.

Repair costs are significant and typical repair times are from six to eight months. Owners are without their boats for extended periods but continue to pay crew, dockage, insurance and other ongoing expenses.

DDCE Lightening Strike Prevention and Indirect Lightening Strike Damage Protection

As opposed to trying to control or redirect the massive energy of a direct lightning strike, the DDCE lightning suppressor is designed to prevent the direct impact of lightning on the protected boat.

Theoretically, it does this by collecting the positive charges that flow from the surrounding area and from the grounding plate on the bottom of the unit, and the negative charges from the atmosphere on the upper part of the unit. Both positive and negative charges are neutralized gradually sending a weak current back to the grounding plate.

Art of The Region

For our art of the region this week we have Errol Boyley's "Fishing"

Errol Boyley was a well-known South African landscape painter who primarily worked with oil paint. He was born in East London, South Africa, on 31 May 1918 and studied at the South African School of Arts. After completing his studies, he began a career as a commercial artist, which he pursued for several years before turning to painting.