February 2012 - SAFETY NOTICE UML Cartridges
United Moulders has announced a Safety Review of some UML Cartridges marked with replace by date 08 2014. Please check your UML Cartridge, and if you have a replace by date of 08 2014 please visit www.uml.co.uk for information on how to replace your cartridge. Please note, this only affects UML Cartidges with the replace by date 08 2014. If you have any concerns, please contact UML through their website.
November 2011 - Gael Force owner completes two year round the world sail
Read Stewart's Round the World Blog here...
Gael Force owner Stewart Graham has successfully completed the final 6,000-mile leg of his journey single handedly through the South Atlantic winter from South Africa to the Canary Islands.
He had to sail away from the coast of Mauritania, where he had been heading to make some repairs after learning of threats of piracy and Al Qaeda activities in the area. He then repaired the boat at sea and experienced a gruelling 600-mile beat into five days of strong winds before finally arriving in the Canary Islands.
The west-about journey has taken Stewart from Gibraltar to the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, adventuring 10,000 miles across the many remote islands and countries of the Pacific Ocean to Australia, South East Asia, across the Bay of Bengal and to Sri Lanka.
A thirteen thousand mile detour to avoid the Somalian piracy threat took him south to the Maldives, Chagos, Mauritius and Reunion Island before reaching South Africa.
Owner of Highland-based marine equipment, supply and engineering group Gael Force, Stornoway-born Stewart, 47, had been sailing his Discovery 67 mono hull yacht the Rhiann Marie, named after his daughter, since September 2009.
Though finding friendship with people all over the world, he experienced a number of “threatening encounters”, including having the yacht approached at high speed at dawn by a boat with masked men wearing balaclavas, off Columbia. His yacht was hit by lightening in the Caribbean, which destroyed electronics including its essential autopilot system, and he had to cope with storm conditions, high seas, ripped sails and damage to his rigging, plus the constant repairs required to keep a circumnavigation on track, with a minimum amount of sleep.
In February this year, Stewart had eight nuts and bolts, two rods and a metal plate permanently fitted into his spine after an off road motorcycle accident in the jungle in Malaysia. However he was back at the helm just one week after the accident proving his determination to succeed.
Despite suffering the set backs of a broken back and finding that his return route through the Gulf of Aden was a no go zone, due to the activities of Somalian pirates who have murdered other yachts people, Stewart refused to give up, showing characteristic grit and determination in continuing through a Southern hemisphere winter.
Stewart, who took up sailing 10 years ago and now has more than 50,000 miles’ experience, said he had found the journey both physically and mentally challenging.
“It is hard to believe that the two-year adventure has come to an end. The final stage of the journey from the tip of Africa was particularly challenging, however I found the determination to push myself harder as I neared my final destination – home. Family and friends have joined me throughout various stages of the journey and acted as my crew, but sailing the Atlantic single-handed brought new greater challenges, both physically and mentally,” he said.
“The 6,000 miles is almost a third of the circumference of the globe and it was extremely challenging with winter weather conditions. I had to be a sailor, fisherman, cook, plumber, rigger, boat repairer, doctor and navigator and company director all in one. I pushed myself and the perseverance paid off as I completed my circumnavigation.”
“You have to be optimistic and have a great deal of will-power when sailing solo as there is always a new challenge to face. When my sail chafed from the halyard and dropped to the water, it was a gut busting job to recover with only one pair of hands and my injured back.”
Stewart admitted that his wife, Trish, and two adult children were against his plans to sail home solo, but knew him too well to try and change his mind.
He started Gael Force when he was 18 years old, but always has a desire to sail round the world and decided that he had to undertake the task while he was still physically strong enough to enjoy it.
“I would like to thank everyone who has helped and enabled me to complete my journey, not least of which is my wife who sailed 30,000 miles of the journey with me and who accompanied me on the very final leg of the adventure from the Canaries to Gibraltar’
he said.
“We both now have a huge sense of achievement and feel that we need to let the reality and wondrous magnitude of our adventure over the past two years sink in.”
Stewart has written a blog of his two-year journey, which has attracted more than 24,000 readers so far, many of whom have encouraged him to produce a book of his adventures, which he is now considering. Visit his blog at http://blog.mailasail.com/rhiann.marie
September 2011 - Look what's arrived in the door...
It's finally here! The Reeds 2012 Nautical Almanac is now available to grab in-store and online. The Authors have improved the layout for easier reference, plus there are over 45,000 annual changes, so they really have had their work cut out! It's commonly regarded as the bible of almanacs for anyone going to sea and includes: 700 chartlets, Harbour facilities, Tide tables and streams, 7500 waypoints, International codes and flags, Weather, Distance tables, Passage advice, Area planning charts, Rules of the road, Maritime Radio information, Sea Communications, Sea Safety, First Aid at Sea, Documentation and Customs - as well as a free Reeds Marina Guide.
September 2011 - Gael Force owner to sail final 7,000 miles of world voyage single-handed
A businessman from the Highlands of Scotland who has already broken his back and had to avoid pirates on a two-year round the world voyage, is to sail the final 7,000 miles of the journey from South Africa back to the UK single-handedly.
Father-of-two Stewart Graham, 47, owner of Highland-based marine equipment, supply and engineering group Gael Force, is to sail his Discovery 67 mono hull yacht the Rhiann Marie through the South Atlantic winter, hopefully avoiding the hurricane season and being battered by huge seas as he returns home.
If all goes well, Stornoway-born Stewart, who lives in Inverness, expects to make the journey in two months. But if trade winds force him from West Africa across the Atlantic to the Caribbean it will be next spring before he can return with Rhiann Marie.
Stewart had eight nuts and bolts, two rods and a metal plate permanently fitted into his spine after an off road motorcycle accident in the jungle in Malaysia in February on an earlier part of his trip. However he was back at the helm just one week after the accident.
He has also experienced a number of “threatening encounters”, including having the yacht approached at high speed at dawn by a boat with masked men wearing balaclavas, off Columbia. His yacht was hit by lightning in the Caribbean, which destroyed electronics including its essential autopilot system, and he has had to cope with high seas, ripped sails and damage to his rigging, plus the constant repairs required to keep a circumnavigation on track, with a minimum amount of sleep.
Continue reading this article by clicking here...
August 2011 - New Website!
Welcome to the new Gael Force Marine Website! After months of preparation and years of listening to customer feedback we've finally upgraded our website. You will notice a considerable and positive difference in our new website compared to our previous site;
- We've improved marine product images;
- Product datasheets will become more accessible at the click of a button;
- There's an easier and faster ordering system;
- Order tracking to point of dispatch is now available;
However, just because we've changed our website doesn't mean we'll be changing our prices for worse... we'll still be delivering the most competitive prices in the UK Chandlery Market offering the best in leisure marine and commercial marine product.
For regular users of our previous website we hope you will quickly see the benefits of the change quickly. If you have any feedback on our new website then we would love to hear from you... We believe the best way for us to assist our customers is to listen to them - it's pretty simple really! You can contact us at sales@gaelforce.net.
Loch Awe safety message sinking in
A drive to get more water-users to wear life jackets is starting to pay off, according to Loch Awe Safety Company. But the volunteers will not rest until everyone has got the message, according to director Murray Humphries. They have embarked on a innovative project with life jacket supplier Gael Force Marine to provide top quality jackets at affordable prices, increasing the number of fishermen and boaters who have the appropriate safety equipment.
Article courtesy of Oban Times (11 August 2011)
New Chandlery in Plymouth's Sutton Harbour
Gael Force Marine is pleased to announce the opening of the new UK Commercial Chandlery in Plymouth's Sutton Harbour. You will find a stocked range of commercial fishing gear and some boat bits, including Lifejackets, Marine Paint, Marine VHF, Gill Nets, Fishing Chain, Smocks and Bib & Braces - plus much much more! Not only that, our experienced rigger overs and excellent rigging service.