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2018 September October Marina World

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Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) www.grupolindley.com Cascais, PORTUGAL +351 214 692 024 Barcelona, SPAIN +34 933 601 101 Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL +55 21 97254 1894 Products Installation The marina specialist since 1963 Consultancy www.seijsener.com

Marina course in Canada The International Marina Institute (IMI), a subsidiary of the Association of Marina Industries (AMI) has worked with its affiliate partner Boating BC Association to arrange an Intermediate Marina Management (IMM) course in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The course will be held 2nd-6th December 2018. “I am delighted to not only be bringing the IMM course back to the West Coast but to also be bringing it to our neighbours in Canada. Education is the key to success of any business and IMI is always looking for new regions to train marina industry professionals,” said IMI training coordinator Merritt Alves. The IMM course is ideal for marina managers and operation managers with a minimum of one year’s marina management experience who are looking to further their careers and increase their network. The course is the first step towards the highly recognised Certified Marina Manager (CMM) or Certified Marina Operator (CMO) designations. Upon successful completion of the course, students must then attend the Advanced Marina Management (AMM) course before applying for certification. The Intermediate course covers marina-specific topics including marina law, contracts, risks and liabilities, staff management, fire and emergency response planning, environmental management, health and safety compliance, and marketing. E: imitraining@ marinaassociation.org PRODUCTS, SERVICES & PEOPLE Simulation game helps boaters hone berthing skills The difficulties boaters experience when mooring up in a marina berth are universal and different technical innovations have been developed to guide and protect boats and berths in recent years. Australian student Tommy Vaux was challenged by his father, Darren Vaux, director of Empire Marinas, to develop a boat parking simulation game that could help boaters hone their skills. “Dad’s experience at the marina [Empire Marina Bobbin Head] is that some people don’t relax as much as they should when they are out on their boat as they are worried about berthing the boat back in the marina at the end of the day,” Tommy told Marina World. “They often come home early just to get it out of the way. The main reason for this is that they don’t get much experience of doing it. Most people only use their boats less than 20 times a year so they don’t get to practice different conditions.” Vaux initially created a PC version of the game he’s called Boat Master and then developed it into a more complete experience on Android and iOS. “One of the key objectives was to make the simulation experience as realistic as possible, so I spent a lot of time working on the physics of how the boat moves in the water and reacts to user input. This included the engines exhibiting realistic delay, and the changes in the way the boat moves in the water (the amount of drift and ease of turning) based on the current velocity of the boat, with other minor physics details also contributing to the realism,” he explained. “The relatively realistic 3D environment and boats are also designed to contribute towards this goal.” The first boat to be developed was a twin engine, 14m (45ft) flybridge cruiser with bow and stern thrusters as this is a typical boat at Bobbin Head marina. It can be driven in a tutorial and at five levels of varying difficulty, with wind, current, different times of day and randomly failing thrusters changing the berthing conditions. The second vessel was a superyacht, with its own five levels of varying conditions, four of which are in a new location. More boats and locations will be added in the future, with single engine boats with helms, like yachts and speedboats, coming soon. “I undertook this project primarily to challenge myself to create a realistic simulation game,” Vaux admits. “But my hope is that people use it to improve their skills and understanding of boats in marinas in a convenient and practical way, revealing the importance of taking it slowly and using the momentum of the boat while berthing.” Tommy Vaux is a mechatronics engineering university student and says the project provided him with a good opportunity to test and refine his coding and development skills. The game can be downloaded for free on the App Store and Google Play, with links to both stores available on: www.flatwombatstudios.com www.marinaworld.com - September/October 2018 53

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