A marine survey can prove invaluable. The key is to know what type of survey you need, how to best prep the boat, the time required and what a survey report can offer.

There are different types of marine surveys, “One is a Pre-Purchase inspection, which is the most extensive. The Condition & Valuation inspection, which is the one most requested, is mainly used for financial and insurance purposes. Specifically, it’s very useful to insurance companies to determine if the vessel is an acceptable insurance risk. It will also include the valuation to determine the fair market value of the boat. The Damage inspection consists of an inspection that will help establish the cause of a loss and settle on the extent of the damage.”

It’s a good idea to ask a surveyor if they are familiar with the type of boat to be surveyed.

Some surveyors may only survey modern boats typically used in charter, and may lack the specific knowledge of boats built using unusual materials, or older boats. If a boat is wood, or steel or alloy, then finding a surveyor with experience with these materials is important. Ask them for a sample survey too. Most surveyors will be happy to provide this.”

Prepare the boat for a survey

The boat should always be clean and free of miscellaneous items. Paperwork should be on hand and available to present to the surveyor. If it is required to have the boat hauled out or to undergo a sea trial, the arrangements should be made and scheduled by the owner. 

How long does a survey take?

It depends on the size of the vessel. I can take one full day to inspect a typical 45-foot sail boat. It takes then probably another half-day to write the report. Length of time also depends on the vessel’s overall condition.

A 24-foot runabout can likely have a survey completed in a few hours. A 140-foot mega yacht survey could take a week.

It’s not mandatory for a boat owner or potential buyer to attend a survey. 

The most common question marine surveyors are asked?

How Much? What’s the cost? Owners and buyers all too often look at a survey as merely a logistical ‘hoop’ to jump through. However, a good survey report serves as a tool to highlight deficiencies and plan future maintenance pre-purchase, to determine the cause and scope of damage (particularly if a third party is involved in an incident) as well as study costs for a complete claim and to represent the owner’s interest during the repair process

The new Chinese year arrived Monday, and its one to go bananas over. On Feb. 8, the zodiac calendar entered the Year of the Monkey — the ninth of 12 animal signs.

Having a baby in the Year of the Monkey is generally thought to be more auspicious than in that of its predecessor, the sheep, and the cute creature is in any case largely beloved by the masses for its playful and human-like characteristics, despite a penchant for stealing food.

The new lunar year is already boosting a fighting style that imitates the movements of a monkey. It also offers an excuse to cash in on China's most famous monkey — Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King — a fabled demon-slayer.

Those born in the Year of the Monkey are held to be playful, mischievous and clever — much like a monkey.

"Many people say people born in the Year of the Monkey are smart and have a very good imagination, but it is thought that their chances of achieving success are not very good as they are less capable of executing things," said Beijing resident Wang Jinping, whose zodiac sign is the monkey.

Groundhog Day, February 2nd, is a popular tradition in the United States. It is also a legend that traverses centuries, its origins clouded in the mists of time with ethnic cultures and animals awakening on specific dates. Myths like this tie us to the distant past when nature did, indeed, influence our lives. It is the day that the Groundhog comes out of his hole after a long winter sleep to look for his shadow.

If he sees it, he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his hole.

If the day is cloudy and, hence, shadowless, he takes it as a sign of spring and stays above ground.

The groundhog tradition stems from similar beliefs associated with Candlemas Day and the days of early Christians in Europe, and for centuries the custom was to have the clergy bless candles and distribute them to the people. Even then, it marked a milestone in the winter and the weather that day was important.

This New Year, Instead of giving something up, consider taking on one of these healthy habits (Based on an article from our friends at MTV)

   Hit the gym (or some place similar)

Working out is one of the best things anyone can do for themselves, but the challenge is being consistent. Even if you’re only working out for 10 minutes, if you’re doing it five days a week it totally counts as a healthy habit. The options are endlessly easy from joining gym, taking a class, downloading a workout app or just following a fitness-based Instagram account. Pick something you can stick to and the only thing you’ll be giving up is inches.

Try meditating

You don’t have to be a monk to meditate or experience the anxiety- and stress-reducing benefits of meditation. There are a variety of different ways to meditate, which can make it easy to get overwhelmed. Rest assured, it’s just as easy to practice. Meditation apps like Headspace will guide you through short exercises and teach you gradually how to turn off your brain for your benefit.

Eat more vegetables and drink more water

So much of New Year’s resolutions are about keeping food out of your mouth, we frequently forget about putting good stuff in it. Research shows that nearly half of Americans don’t drink enough water, and don’t even get us started on vegetables. So before you give up carbs or chocolate, consider diluting it with eight glasses of water and some spinach.

Start volunteering

While giving up something in the New Year can make you feel crazy, giving something back will make you feel great. Donating money, food and clothing are all awesome contributions, but those feel-good moments don’t always stick with you. Volunteering for a cause you’re passionate about allows you to feel that for as long as you can commit to it, while giving you a chance to become a part of a larger community. Those experiences could lead to new friendships, career opportunities and more in the coming year. One thing is for sure — taking action will get you further than deprivation ever did, no matter where you end up.

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A History of the New Year

Ever wonder the history of the New Year?

Well i did.....

Here's an interesting article to review.

A move from March to January

by Borgna Brunner

The celebration of the new year on January 1st is a relatively new phenomenon. The earliest recording of a new year celebration is believed to have been in Mesopotamia, c. 2000 B.C. and was celebrated around the time of the vernal equinox, in mid-March. A variety of other dates tied to the seasons were also used by various ancient cultures. The Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians began their new year with the fall equinox, and the Greeks celebrated it on the winter solstice.

Early Roman Calendar: March 1st Rings in the New Year

The early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the new year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March. That the new year once began with the month of March is still reflected in some of the names of the months. September through December, our ninth through twelfth months, were originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months (septem is Latin for "seven," octo is "eight," novem is "nine," and decem is "ten."

 January Joins the Calendar

The first time the new year was celebrated on January 1st was in Rome in 153 B.C. (In fact, the month of January did not even exist until around 700 B.C., when the second king of Rome, Numa Pontilius, added the months of January and February.) The new year was moved from March to January because that was the beginning of the civil year, the month that the two newly elected Roman consuls—the highest officials in the Roman republic—began their one-year tenure. But this new year date was not always strictly and widely observed, and the new year was still sometimes celebrated on March 1.

Julian Calendar: January 1st Officially Instituted as the New Year

In 46 B.C. Julius Caesar introduced a new, solar-based calendar that was a vast improvement on the ancient Roman calendar, which was a lunar system that had become wildly inaccurate over the years. The Julian calendar decreed that the new year would occur with January 1, and within the Roman world, January 1 became the consistently observed start of the new year.

Middle Ages: January 1st Abolished

In medieval Europe, however, the celebrations accompanying the new year were considered pagan and unchristian like, and in 567 the Council of Tours abolished January 1 as the beginning of the year. At various times and in various places throughout medieval Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on Dec. 25, the birth of Jesus; March 1; March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation; and Easter.

Gregorian Calendar: January 1st Restored

In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reform restored January 1 as new year's day. Although most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately, it was only gradually adopted among Protestant countries. The British, for example, did not adopt the reformed calendar until 1752. Until then, the British Empire —and their American colonies— still celebrated the new year in March.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas
(or A Visit from St. Nicholas)
by Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.
And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
tore open the shutter, and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
gave the lustre of midday to objects below,
when, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles, his coursers they came,
and he whistled and shouted and called them by name:

"Now Dasher! Now Dancer!
Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid!
On, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch!
To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away!
Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky
so up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
with the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head and was turning around,
down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes--how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Christmas Trees

In 16th-century Germany fir trees were decorated, both indoors and out, with apples, roses, gilded candies, and colored paper. In the Middle Ages, a popular religious play depicted the story of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

A fir tree hung with apples was used to symbolize the Garden of Eden — the Paradise Tree. The play ended with the prophecy of a saviour coming, and so was often performed during the Advent season.

It is held that Protestant reformer Martin Luther first adorned trees with light. While coming home one December evening, the beauty of the stars shining through the branches of a fir inspired him to recreate the effect by placing candles on the branches of a small fir tree inside his home

The Christmas Tree was brought to England by Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert from his native Germany. The famous Illustrated News etching in 1848, featuring the Royal Family of Victoria, Albert and their children gathered around a Christmas tree in Windsor Castle, popularized the tree throughout Victorian England. Brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans, the Christmas tree became by the late 19th century.

A New Nasa study finds Antarctic ice growing, countering earlier studies

Snow that began piling up 10,000 years ago in Antarctica is adding enough ice to offset the increased losses due to thinning glaciers, according to a NASA study

The latest findings appear to challenge other studies including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2013 report, which found that Antarctica is overall losing 

“We’re essentially in agreement with other studies that show an increase in ice discharge in the Antarctic Peninsula and the Thwaites and Pine Island region of West Antarctica,” Jay Zwally, a glaciologist with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and lead author of the study, which was published on Oct. 30 in the Journal of Glaciology, said in a statement.

“Our main disagreement is for East Antarctica and the interior of West Antarctica – there, we see an ice gain that exceeds the losses in the other areas.”  Zwally said, adding that his team “measured small height changes over large areas, as well as the large changes observed over smaller areas.”