In the pictures:

Yael Eisner and her husband Marco, Yael and Marco’s yacht two weeks ago on their arrival at a safe beach in Maryland after an escape from Belize and a race against the clock and against closure in America.
Chris’ girlfriend, Carl Dimitri, who she and her husband have been on anchor for three weeks on the island of Curacao and are considering a nonstop cruise to Australia, 8000 miles.
A picture of Carl with Nirit when she visited Israel in 2015 and fell in love with the Galilee.
Picture of Chris.
Some background:
Carl and Phil, Australian sailors who have been around the world for 8 years and have known many different and weird situations along the way.
The corona caught them in the southern Caribbean and under pressure had to decide where to shut themselves off. They and 4 other boats have been standing on anchor on the island of Curacao in harsh conditions of closure for 3 weeks.
Yaeli Eisner, an Israeli cruiser and photographer who sails with her husband Marco for about 6 months a year. They decided in mid-March to extricate themselves and the boat from Belize and sail quickly back to North America (1,700 miles) in urban conditions with one unsuccessful stop in Florida.

הפוסט Chris with Corona stories from around the world הופיע לראשונה ב-SKIPPERS.

הפוסט A place around a buoy. How do the rules work and who has the right of way next to obstacle markings? הופיע לראשונה ב-SKIPPERS.

Spitsbergen – The land of polar bears

Lecturer: Roy Glitz

A lecture not to be missed !!!

The North Pole has always attracted him, and especially the special animals that call this extreme environment a house headed by the largest terrestrial predator in the world – the polar bear.
After 12 trips to the Land of the Polar Bear, 6 of them riding a snowmobile and entering an area closed to humans, nature photographer Roy Glitz documented countless special moments published in the world’s leading magazines and his photographs won international awards. But beyond that, Glitz also became an environmental diplomat who met with senior government officials, appeared in 3 TED talks and even lectured to the UN last March.

The sailing promotion forum in collaboration with the SKIPPERS website invites you to a fascinating lecture with one of the leading lecturers in Israel and a world-renowned nature photographer, who also leads cruise delegations to this special area.

Attached is a recording of the lecture:

הפוסט Spitsbergen – The Land of Polar Bears, Roy Glitz הופיע לראשונה ב-SKIPPERS.

Our victory begins with Bainen and Skipper who decided to spice up life with a hobby that has become a major occupation – growing grape vineyards and wine production.
So what makes Scoria Winery wine a competition winner?
The grapes? Maybe the production process? Maybe in fact everything is just in image and reputation …?
At Scoria Winery it is believed that a winning wine begins where the grapes are grown (the trout). And we were happy to find out that they are not wrong.

How it all began….

Our story begins with Ofer Turgeman – a wine lover. Ofer Winan, a graduate of Tel Hai College, began producing wine from his vineyards in 2008 for self-consumption, for family and friends.

In 2014, Amos Melnikov joined the winery as a partner – a former high-tech man in a variety of senior positions, an avid wine lover, who also trained in wine at the Bonn College in France. Amos is connected to the sea with an international skipper license, crossed the Atlantic as a skipper, also sailed in the Pacific in Australia and Papua New Guinea, and wherever he goes on his voyages he learns about the local wine industry and visits wineries to expand his wine-related knowledge.

46 acres of vineyards

Scoria Winery is located in Moshav Kanaf, on the road that ascends from the Ma’ale Gamla junction to the Golan. Today, Skoria Winery owns 36 dunams of vineyards where Ofer and Amos grow grapes of various varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Syrah, Muscat, Gewurztraminer, Chenin Blanc and Roseanne,

“It was important for us to choose traditional varieties, both to preserve the tradition of the areas from which the varieties come, and also to look for the variety that will be most suitable for our area – weather, soil, climate, Golan Heights, Tel Fares, our specific vineyard.”
The same varieties were selected after careful research to locate those that would suit the combination of volcanic soil along with the cool and dry climate of the area and the people themselves in the area, for that matter Ofer set up a meteorological station in the vineyards from which he collected data and analyzed them.

A winning wine begins where the grapes are grown
We at the winery believe that there is a huge advantage in growing the grapes from which the wine is made, the complete control of all stages of the vineyards and production allows us to produce boutique wines whose taste drives all the senses crazy.

We chose to work in a winery in the French-traditional style, in a manual vintage where the clusters are removed from the vine with shears which ensures that only clean grape clusters will reach the winery compared to an industrial vintage by a fortifier that everything on the vine reaches the container by shaking the vine and everything on it.

Pick the first places

We participated in several wine competitions and also won them, including the “Golden Cluster” competition, which has a great reputation and great influence among professionals and wine lovers alike. In the competition, the best wines in each category are selected in order to win a quality stamp.
The wines that won are – Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 – first place in the boutique wineries category, about which the judges said “an aromatic wine, with flavors rich in herbs, cherries and berries. A wine that will enhance any meal in its presence ”
And Roseanne 2019 – second place in the Rhone Valley variety category, “one of the best rosés that can be tasted today. Mineral. Clean, powerful fruits, fill the mouth with happiness …” Alon Gonen criticizes Wine 2020.

Wine, sea and everything in between

On board his ship in the Herzliya Marina, Amos holds winemaking meetings and wine tastings, accompanied by explanations about the wine and the process of making it whose special taste and aroma are carried in the distance and the winery and its special operations.

Come visit and taste

The Skoria Winery in the Golan Heights hosts events, tours and workshops, such as a unique fragrance workshop, a visit to the vineyards and a tour of the ancient synagogue on the wing and the spring next to it. These are accompanied by detailed explanations of the history of the place, the nature that surrounds it and the complex production process of the wine.
Our WhatsApp – 054-5486566

For more details and reservations –

To the winery site

To the boat site

הפוסט Wine tasting from the boutique winery – Skoria – on board the boat Muza הופיע לראשונה ב-SKIPPERS.

Hello everyone, the forum is happy to invite you to raise a glass of sailors.

When on Wednesday 8/4 at 14:00.

Meet for mingling with a glass of buzzing wine. The glass of wine is on you, the blessing on us.

הפוסט Raising a glass for Passover הופיע לראשונה ב-SKIPPERS.

Hello everyone, the forum is back to sea. Raise a series of lectures, once a week on Thursday at 19:00
This time we meet for a mingling with a glass of Zum wine. The glass of wine on you, a lecture by the Honorable Justice Shlomo Goldstein (Goldi), on us.
On those days when it is forbidden to approach less than 2 meters, it is just the time to talk about proximity between boats.
The topic of the lecture is about the proximity of boats and the significance of the sailing constitution.
Equal to anyone who loves sailing in general and is interested in a deeper understanding of the rules of sailing.

הפוסט Proximity between boats and the meaning of the sailing constitution הופיע לראשונה ב-SKIPPERS.

Hello everyone, the forum continues to be professional and professional. Raises a series of lectures.
This week a lecture by Samson Brockman on aerodynamics of sails.
The lecture will deal with basic concepts, understanding the lifting mechanisms that operate on the sails, which allows us to sail to the source of the wind and even sail faster than the wind.

Equal to anyone who loves sailing at all and is interested in a deeper understanding of interpretation.

הפוסט Aerodynamics of Sails – Samson Brockman הופיע לראשונה ב-SKIPPERS.

Equal to anyone who loves sailing at all and is interested in travel and distant lands.

הפוסט Prof. Aharon Primerman talks about medicine from the sea, a medical delegation on a vessel to help remote islands in Papua New Guinea הופיע לראשונה ב-SKIPPERS.

The project is being promoted by the countries involved with EU backing. Marine preparation surveys have already been conducted for the project, and the final decision on investment in it is expected in the coming year.

[1] משרד האנרגיה – הקמת צינור תת–ימי מישראל לאירופה

[2] EastMed – IGI Poseidon

[3] נתיבי הגז הטבעי לישראל (נתג“ז) – צריכה בפועל, ביקושים והפרשי מדידה של גז טבעי

Map of the Istamed pipeline route

The position of a green trend towards the Istamed project

Green Trend along with many other environmental organizations oppose the Istamed project and demand its cancellation for the many reasons now detailed.

Mediterranean Sea Risk: The Mediterranean Sea is a “biological hotspot” that is, an ecological area, where there is a biodiversity of great importance that is threatened by human activity, and requires special protection [5]. The pipeline may pose a danger to the habitats of marine creatures, both in its construction process and especially in the event of a malfunction or accident. As the recent oil disaster has shown us, the damage to animals and ecosystems can be enormous, and the economic burden of repairing the damage is expected to fall on the state, at the expense of the citizens of Israel. [6]

The development of the Istamed pipeline is expected to lead to the acceleration and expansion of the search for many more gas and oil reservoirs. The search processes are very harmful to marine animals, including endangered species due to the use of sound in seismic surveys, and conducting exploration or production drilling can cause extensive environmental destruction to marine life due to noise, light and chemical pollution associated with drilling operations [7]. Unique habitats such as those in the area called Palmach Disruption are likely to be endangered in light of the drilling licenses already granted to Energian, which has an interest and rights in the gas capacity exported through the Istmed pipeline [8] [9].

The increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels, including gas, increases the acidity of the sea, which leads to severe damage to corals, oysters, snails and other animals that build a calcareous skeleton. These creatures form the basis of marine ecosystems. The rise in sea acidity together with global warming which raises the temperature of the sea create conditions that endanger the continuation of life in the sea [10].

Aggravation of the climate crisis: Israel’s energy policy promotes 34 infrastructure projects in fossil fuels, of which Istmed is one of the most significant in terms of the implications for greenhouse gas emissions.

It is important to remember that the planet is in a severe global climate crisis, the consequences of which are expected to be particularly devastating in the State of Israel, since our region is considered a “hot spot” for climate change. Temperatures here rise at a rate almost twice as fast as the world average [11]. Global warming and the climate crisis are the result of the emission of huge amounts of greenhouse gases and mainly carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas [12]. As for fossil gas, it turns out that it is increasing global warming even more than the use of coal and oil. This is because it is composed of methane, which is 84 times more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a period of 20 years [13] [14]. The scientific community warns that gas cannot be the solution to the crisis, not even temporarily [15], and states that reducing methane use should play a greater role in curbing the devastating consequences of the crisis [16]. Israel’s commitment to the fight against the climate crisis does not stem solely from the international agreements it has signed. First and foremost, it is a moral obligation of the state towards its citizens, to contribute its share to the global effort and to work for the protection of their lives and the lives of their children. At the height of the climate crisis, Israel is choosing to expand its use of gas instead of reducing it, and is promoting the huge Istamed project.

The project is expected to lead to a dramatic increase in methane and carbon dioxide emissions for which Israel is responsible as a gas exporter, thus positioning Israel as a significant factor in exacerbating the climate crisis [17] [18]. This is because a commercial policy of gas export is expected to increase the amount of gas pumped from existing gas reservoirs and lead to an acceleration and increase in the search for additional reservoirs, far beyond what is required for supplying the needs of the Israeli energy economy. Also, methane emissions begin long before the gas is burned in the destination country, as a result of leaks throughout the gas production and transmission process. The flow of gas in the pipeline for thousands of kilometers until it is produced overseas, has the potential for leaks on a huge scale, especially in the event of a malfunction.

A short-term investment that will not pay off in the future: One of the main considerations in promoting the project is economic development, but in fact, the economic damage outweighs the benefit. The global trend is clear: more than 120 countries have already begun the transition to a zero-emission economy by 2050. A new report by the International Energy Agency, which has a major impact on global energy policy, has adopted this approach and states unequivocally that “from today Do not invest in new fossil fuel supply projects. “[19] And in order to meet the ambitious targets it has set for itself to wean fossil fuels and beyond renewable energies, it will have to abandon gas completely in the coming decades. Also, solar energy, including storage, is cheaper than gas today. [21] There is a reasonable chance that the infrastructure of the project will be abandoned by the developers in the not-too-distant future, due to lack of economic viability. , At the expense of investing in the more massive promotion and development of renewable energies, and with risk It is likely to create economic dependence on a project that will become a stuck asset and an environmental “white elephant” within a few years.

Damage to Israel-Turkey relations:

הסכם האיסטמד מכתיב מסגרת נוקשה מבחינה פוליטית, ו”נועל” את ישראל יחד עם המדינות המעורבות במיזם תוך ניכורן של אלה המודרות ממנ

The Istamed agreement dictates a politically rigid framework, and “locks” Israel together with the countries involved in the project, alienating those who are excluded from it, especially Turkey. As a result, the already existing political tensions between Turkey and Greece and Cyprus are exacerbated, and Israel is forced to be dragged into a confrontation and take sides. Turkey has already begun to pursue a sharp counter-policy, promoting countermeasures that pose a strategic danger to the State of Israel, inter alia by creating an exclusive maritime economic zone that could infringe on the State of Israel’s freedom of action in the Mediterranean. [22] Continued promotion of the agreement could damage the already sensitive relations between Israel and Turkey, and place it at the heart of a geopolitical conflict.

Summary

The State of Israel must immediately withdraw from the Istamed project and lead to its cancellation, as it is an environmental, economic, and geopolitical disaster in the making. In order to become an energy power, Israel must strive to lead the global trend towards the transition to renewable energies, and not invest in exporting a polluting and irrelevant energy source in order to deplete recent profits from an obsolete field.

[1] משרד האנרגיה – הקמת צינור תת–ימי מישראל לאירופה

[2] EastMed – IGI Poseidon

[3] נתיבי הגז הטבעי לישראל (נתג“ז) – צריכה בפועל, ביקושים והפרשי מדידה של גז טבעי

[4] Global Witness – Hot under the collar: Energean and the EastMed gas pipeline  

[5] THE MEDITERRANEAN: A BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT UNDER THREAT

[6]  גלובס: פניה של הרשלנות הסביבתית בישראל: הנזקים שאפשר לראות עד היום מאירועי העבר

[7]  סקר אסטרטגי סביבתי לחיפוש והפקה של נפט ושל גז טבעי בים

[8]  כאן: המערב הפרוע של הים: פנינת הטבע שהפכה לאתר קידוח

[9]  כלכליסט: החברה להגנת הטבע עתרה נגד משרד האנרגיה: לבטל מכרז לקידוח בים

[10] הארץ: חוקרים: עלייה בחומציות ובטמפרטורת הים התיכון מסכנת את החיים בו

[11] המשרד להגנת הסביבה על השפעות משבר האקלים על ישראל, מומחים: אגן הים התיכון מתחמם כמעט פי שניים

[12] NASA – Causes | Facts – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet

[13] Union of Concerned Scientists: Environmental Impacts of Natural Gas

[14] ד”ר דניאל מדר על השפעות המתאן על משבר האקלים

[15] קריאה של הקהילה המדעית לשקול מחדש את הרחבת השימוש בגז הטבעי במשק האנרגיה

[16] הארץ: ‘האו“ם: חיוני לבלום את הפליטה הנרחבת של מתאן כדי לבלום את משבר האקלים‘

[17] גלובס: תגובה להערכת משרד האנרגיה על פליטות מתאן בישראל

[18] דו”ח אדם טבע ודין על פליטות מתאן ממאגרי הגז תמר ולוויתן

[19] IEA: Net Zero by 2050 – A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector

[20] European Commission: The European Green Deal

[21] BloombergNEF: Solar-plus-storage is a ‘zero-emissions threat’ to gas-burning power plants in the US

[22]YNET : אולי כדאי לשכוח מצינור הגז לאירופה

הפוסט The Eastmed Pipe Project הופיע לראשונה ב-SKIPPERS.

The race, organized by the Hellenic Offshore Sailing Club, will begin on July 4, 2021 and run continuously through July 10 over 600 miles.

The race will open in Sounio, near the Temple of Homer, and opposite the pillars of the Temple of Poseidon. The boats will sail to Milos, the home of Venus. Thence to the Gate which is in the magnificent Caldera of Santorini. From here the competitors will continue towards the southernmost island of the Aegean Sea, Kassos, and will overtake Karpathos and Rhodes on the left. From there they will take a course to Kandelioussa and pass it on its right side and then pass Kos, Kalymnos, Leros, and Patmos when they are on their left.

Another gate will be between Mykonos and Dilos, Apollo’s birthplace. And from there to the finish they will pass Kea on the left and return to the finish point in Sounio.

Undoubtedly much to suffice in six days. The sailing community was faithfully represented by Yehuda Altman and Chris Sleeney, equipped with three Go-Pro cameras and other media, we can expect live reports from the race itself. The team embarked on a competitive Pogo-36 boat and will equip it before heading out for the race.
Wishing the team good luck and keeping their fingers crossed. We will follow them closely.

Website: https://aegean600.com/

הפוסט Aegean 600 Race הופיע לראשונה ב-SKIPPERS.