New IIMS Membership Secretary appointed

Camella Robertson has been appointed as the new IIMS Membership Secretary to succeed Jan Cox
Camella Robertson has been appointed as the new IIMS Membership Secretary to succeed Jan Cox

The search to find and recruit a replacement for the popular current IIMS membership Secretary, Jan Cox, has reached its conclusion. Jan, who formally retires from the Institute in February after many years’ service, was herself part of the interview process to find her successor. Two excellent candidates emerged as front-runners following the first round of interviews. Both were invited back for second and final meetings.

IIMS is delighted to announce that Camella (Cam) Robertson is the new Membership Secretary and will formally take up her new position on Monday 9 January 2017. Cam will work side by side with Jan for six weeks to enable her to learn about the role in depth. Cam brings with her a wealth of experience in managing a membership organisation, general administration and event management too. For the past four years, she has been Club Manager at the Royal Naval Club and Royal Albert Yacht Club, located in nearby Portsmouth.

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The magnitude of what we do

METSRADE Show
METSRADE Show

It is a while since I last posted to my blog here. In truth, my time has not been my own since the IIMS London Conference on the first day of September. There are busy fools of course and people who are busy with a purpose. I certainly identify with the latter. The past couple of months have seen IIMS meeting, training and sharing knowledge with dozens of marine surveyors, both members as well as others in the marine world.

Only after the delivery of a presentation, or a paper, does the magnitude of what we do or say become apparent as the audience assesses and gives feedback. But what exactly do I mean by that? In my role as CEO of IIMS I have a duty to think carefully before I speak, to ensure I strike the right chord and to deliver a message that is relevant. It is a responsibility I take very seriously and I always check and double check my content before releasing it in whatever format.

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IIMS Small Craft Working Group 2016 ‘super’ training day report

Conference Delegates sat in a room
Conference Delegates sat in a room

Over 30 yacht and small craft surveyors converged on Boathouse No.4 at the iconic Portsmouth Historic Dockyard for the 2016 ‘super’ training day on Monday 24 October and were joined by half a dozen more who came to the event remotely using video conferencing.

Chairman of yacht and small craft surveying, John Excell, welcomed guests to the day and particularly thanked Cygnus Instruments Ltd and Matrix Insurance Ltd for their generous sponsorship support of the day.

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IIMS India Branch Silver Jubilee Conference report

India Delegates at the conference
India Delegates at the conference

An unusually wet October day in the bustling city of Mumbai, India experienced an unusually large gathering of the representatives from Marine Surveying Companies, P&I Clubs, Correspondents, Vessel Owners, Agents and Equipment Manufacturers for the Silver Jubilee Conference. It was the 5th of October 2016 at the Majestic Ballroom of ‘The Lalit’ Hotel near the new swanky T2 terminal of Mumbai’s International Airport.

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Golden Globe Race – stepping back to the golden age of solo sailing 50 years on

Painting of SUHAILI by Melbourne Smith. Published by Rudder Magazine in September 1974
Painting of SUHAILI by Melbourne Smith. Published by Rudder Magazine in September 1974

Like the original Sunday Times event back in 1968/9, the 2018 Golden Globe Race is very simple. Depart Falmouth, England on June 16th 2018 and sail solo, non-stop around the world, via the five Great Capes and return to Falmouth. Entrants are limited to use the same type of yachts and equipment that were available to Robin Knox-Johnston in that first race. That means sailing without modern technology or benefit of satellite based navigation aids. Competitors must sail in production boats between 32ft and 36ft overall (9.75 – 10.97m) designed prior to 1988 and having a full-length keel with rudder attached to their trailing edge. These yachts will be heavily built, strong and steady, similar in concept to Robin’s 32ft vessel Suhaili.

In contrast to the current professional world of elite ocean racing, this edition travels back to a time known as the ‘Golden Age’ of solo sailing. Suhaili was a slow and steady 32ft double-ended ketch based on a William Atkins ERIC design. She is heavily built of teak and carried no computers, GPS, satellite phone nor water-maker, and Robin completed the challenge without the aid of modern day shore-based weather routing advice. He had only a wind-up chronometer and a barograph to face the world alone, and caught rainwater to survive, but was at one with the ocean, able to contemplate and absorb all that this epic voyage had to offer.

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Joop Ellenbroek, IIMS member, passes away after a lengthy battle with illness

The death of IIMS member, Joop Ellenbroek, following a long illness has been announced
The death of IIMS member, Joop Ellenbroek, following a long illness has been announced

It is with deep sadness and regret that we announce the passing away of IIMS member and CCS founder Mr Johannes Wilhelmus ‘Joop’ Ellenbroek. Although Joop passed away on September 9 after a lengthy illness, news has only just reached the IIMS office of his death.

Joop was well known within the coatings, chemicals and superyacht industry and much respected by all he worked with. After many years of working for paint manufacturers, he began his career in the superyacht industry in 1994 when he founded CCS (Coating Consultants for Superyachts), which due to his efforts is now one of the most well-known and respected coating surveying companies in the world.

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Report on the IIMS 2016 Annual General Meeting

Capt Bertrand Apperry hands the President's medal over to Adam Brancher at the AGM. Photo by Kirk Schwarz - www.kirkschwarz.co.uk
Capt Bertrand Apperry hands the President’s medal over to Adam Brancher at the AGM. Photo by Kirk Schwarz – www.kirkschwarz.co.uk

The 2016 Annual General Meeting of the International Institute of Marine Surveying took place at Herringham Hall, Regent’s University on Wednesday 31 August at 14.45. The meeting was called to order and opened by President, Capt Bertrand Apperry.

Acceptance of the minutes of the 2015 Annual General Meeting were proposed by Capt Khalil Khan and seconded by Capt Syed Humail.

The President gave his verbal report to those in attendance, his final one before stepping down. He said:
“It has given me great pleasure to have been your President for the last two years. It is special that my presidency has coincided with the Institute’s twenty fifth anniversary in 2016. Since our formation in 1991, the organisation has grown steadily and we have reached this significant milestone in good shape.

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Eight months to prepare, two days to deliver

Never before have I been dwarfed by two such menacing looking pirates!
Never before have I been dwarfed by two such menacing looking pirates!

It is hard to know where to begin as the dust starts to slowly settle on the IIMS 25th Anniversary Conference and AGM. I am sure I speak on behalf of my colleagues at head office, as well as myself, when I say how humbled we are by some of the kind comments people have made about the past couple of days.

The issue is that over eight months one gets far too close to these things and it is hard to see the wood from the trees. It is all about meticulous planning and envisaging the outcome of course. But ultimately it falls to others, the participants and delegates, to provide true feedback – and they have in the dozens and I am most grateful. If I sound emotional, then it is because I am. My colleagues and I put everything we had into organising this conference and I truly believe it was a fitting occasion to celebrate our silver jubilee.

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IIMS 25th Anniversary Conference voted a great success

Delegates in The Old Library at Lloyd's
Delegates in The Old Library at Lloyd’s

This is a brief overview of what took place in London on 31 August and 1 September as events to celebrate the Institute’s 25th  anniversary conference.

Conference Day 1 – Technical presentations
Five presentations covering a variety of topics had been arranged, each lasting around 50 minutes. Nick Smith from Charles Taylor Adjusting covered the fascinating subject of commonly breached warranties for small craft and their implications for insurers and insured. IIMS member, Luc Verley talked passionately about dredging technology.

The next two presentations of the morning could best be described as ‘chalk and cheese’. Representing FLIR UK, the leading provider of thermal imaging equipment, John Reynolds gave an overview of the thermography products currently available to surveyors and their potential uses. Whilst over in the Knapp Gallery, Sam Ignarski, extolled the virtues of social media to an eager audience of budding Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter users.

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Winners of the IIMS Silver Jubilee Awards for Excellence announced

Sir Alan Massey, MCA CEO, (right), is thanked by IIMS CEO, Mike Schwarz, for presenting the IIMS Silver Jubilee Awards
Sir Alan Massey, MCA CEO, (right), is thanked by IIMS CEO, Mike Schwarz, for presenting the IIMS Silver Jubilee Awards

Following a search lasting six months to discover and recognise excellence in marine surveying, the IIMS Silver Jubilee Awards for Excellence were announced on 31 August 2016 at Regent’s University in central London as part of the Institute’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

Presentations of the crystal trophies were made by Sir Alan Massey during a splendid luncheon and ceremony. Sir Alan, who is Chief Executive Officer of the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, also addressed around 100 delegates at the end of the ceremony when he gave a short key note speech.

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25th Anniversary Conference and AGM are upon on

Tug Boat on the sea
Tug Boat on the sea

August is generally the time for holidays in the UK; but not this year! My colleagues and I are exceedingly busy preparing for the forthcoming 25th Anniversary Conference at London (AGM) on 31 August and 1 September, which at the time of writing is just 21 days away. By the way, you can book right up until a couple of days before the event. As our slogan for the event says, three iconic venues, one great Conference – and the event is relevant to both small craft as well as commercial surveyors. I had the pleasure of visiting all three venues last week to check and make the final arrangements and I was reminded of the sense of history each of these three venues provides and am delighted with the original choices. Those who choose to attend the various events are in for an interesting and full on couple of days with some great networking opportunities too. Videos will be released after the event of the presentations.

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Well done to the IIMS Muddy Rudders for raising money for Cancer Research

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The Pretty Muddy event took place on Saturday 9 July in Portsmouth and the IIMS team of Muddy Rudders had great fun in their quest to raise funds for Cancer Research. The girls (Sam Legg, Sam Owen, Vicky Lawrence, Tania Bernice and Elle Hardham) had to manage a range of different obstacles as well as enduring a lot of water and mud too!

As the above photos show, the IIMS Muddy Rudders rose superbly to the challenge and we are very proud of them. And if you needed proof, there it is to show they really did get very muddy indeed. All photos are courtesy of Ray Bernice.

The team are so very grateful to all those IIMS members who have generously donated money already. If you have yet to do so, but would like to help boost the team’s total you can do so by clicking through to the Muddy Rudders Just Giving Page to make your donation online – it is simple.

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