For those who still dont get it.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX-D05A-9rA#t=25
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.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsxWy61OgF4
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For those who still dont get it.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX-D05A-9rA#t=25
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.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsxWy61OgF4
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Posted in News Events, Photographs, Updates | Tagged Australia, Boat, Boat Review, Maritimo, Maritimo 48, Maritimo 50, POD Drives, POD's, Riviera, Riviera 50 | Leave a Comment »
Read the original here at http://www.boatpoint.com.au/reviews/2013/maritimo-m50-cruising-motoryacht-36720
First Australian test of revolutionary, best-ever Maritimo
Posted in News Events, Photographs, Updates | Tagged Australia, Boat, Boat Review, Maritimo, Maritimo 48, Maritimo 50, POD Drives, POD's, Riviera, Riviera 50 | Leave a Comment »
Read the original here at http://www.tradeaboat.com.au/reviews/boat/1310/maritimo-m50-motor-yacht-review/
The successful Maritimo 48 has been replaced by the new Maritimo M50 and there’s a lot more than just a little extra hull length in the new boat, discovers Allan Whiting.
The enclosed flybridge Maritimo 48 has been the company’s best-seller since it was introduced in 2006 and upgraded in 2011. With more than 100 boats sold worldwide the 48 obviously didn’t have too much that buyers disliked, so its replacement, the new M50, was designed with great care.
The aim was to introduce a full-beam master stateroom, as fitted to the new, larger Maritimos, while retaining the popular layout of the 48. The result of clever juggling of internal volumes is a boat that’s only 600mm longer with 100mm more freeboard, yet boasts a master stateroom that’s more than double the size of the 48’s, along with a flybridge that has 15 per cent more area, a saloon with nearly 10 per cent more space and a larger cockpit. How is that possible?
The master stateroom expansion trick lies in relocating the fuel stowage from transverse, forward of the engine position, to twin longitudinal tanks flanking the engineroom. The location is still in the desirable place, just aft of amidships, to reduce trim changes as the fuel load diminishes, but with the tanks paralleling the engines the M50’s engineroom is shorter. The fuel stowage space in the 48 becomes the M50’s increased master stateroom area, but there’s no fuel-capacity compromise with the M50 tanks totalling 4000lt – up 500lt on the 48’s.
Saloon space has been increased by the additional boat length and by extending the port side of the saloon farther forward. This has also allowed fitment of two L-shaped settees in the M50’s saloon, in comparison with the 48’s one L and a short two-seater.
Flybridge area increases are also down to increased overall length and an extension of the aft flybridge balcony. Because the hull length has been increased the longer flybridge looks fine, where a longer one on the 48 could make it look a tad stumpy.
However, there’s no doubt that the M50 is tall for its length. Our test boat had a light blue hull, which did much to break-up the expanse of the M50’s gelcoat when viewed in profile.
MARITIMO M50 CLOSE UP
Our test boat was fully loaded, including a lifting swimplatform, so the step height when boarding was ergonomically adjustable. The platform was fitted with rails making it a safe extension of the cockpit area and a possible easily-cleaned fishing zone – just add clamp-on rodholders and table. Maritimo’s aft pod housed an electric barbecue, sink and fridge/freezer, as well as aft-facing, cushion-topped seats and a garage door. Access to the watertoy bin was also via a hatch in the cockpit floor.
A second hatch reveals the typical Maritimo engineroom, with meticulous finish and layout. Side fuel tanks restrict engine access compared with the 48’s forward tank location, but regular service items were easily reached. The optional watermaker was located well aft with access on three sides.
Cockpit space in the M50 is larger than the 48’s and has teak decking, a 3/4-seat lounge, pedestal table and two lazarettes for rope storage or rubbish bins. The portside one on the test boat had a pressure cleaner outlet spigot. To port was a cupboard with duplicate engine and thruster controls. The deckhead was high-gloss gelcoat ‘planked’ moulding with inset LED lights.
Most modern boats strive for a seamless join between cockpit and saloon and the new M50 achieves this desirable feature with a large, three-piece, black-framed tri-fold door that opens and closes with little effort.
A trademark aft galley makes a buffer zone between the wet-area cockpit and the carpeted lounge. Galley flooring is practical wenge/holly and also practical is an island bench with serving-space top and large grabrails. The bench houses a full-sized dishwasher.
The test boat had a Miele fitout option – Dynacool fridge with bottom freezer, four-zone induction cooktop, range hood and microwave – and all were home-sized appliances. Galley kit included a Zip Hydrotap to deliver chilled or boiling water at the press of a button. Fortunately, my better half couldn’t join me for this test, so she didn’t see the M50’s German pantry that’s simply outstanding.
Opposite the L-shaped galley is a varnished high-gloss teak-stainless steel staircase leading to the flybridge. Beneath the stairs is a cocktail cabinet with a Vitrifridge cooler and icemaker, three soft-close drawers and partitioned wine storage bins.
High-gloss stairway cupboard doors open to reveal large electrical control panels; two ceiling cupboards hide more controls and the air-con plumbing, while water pumps and filters are easily reached behind the saloon lounge backs.
The M50’s saloon is more inviting than the 48’s, thanks to lounges that wraparound the space and a larger flip-over table. This carpeted area is a step up from the galley level, making an obvious demarcation between work/play zones and the relaxation region. If you can’t make the long journey back to the wine cupboard opposite the galley there’s additional bottle space under the saloon dashboard and in the table pedestal.
Access to the three cabins is via a carpeted, four-step companionway with LED lighting in the stair risers and a vinyl-faced, stainless steel handrail. The starboard twin-bunk kids’ cabin is similar to that in the 48, as is the forward VIP island-bed stateroom.
However, the master stateroom is a revelation that wouldn’t look out of place in an 80-footer. It’s full-beam in width with ports on both sides and spacious enough to boast two dressing tables, wall mirror, three-seat lounge and ample wardrobe, drawer and cupboard space. Additional storage volume is available under the island bed.
Entry is at the level of the other cabins, through a dressing area and a three-step stairway leads to the cabin proper. The space is divided, so there’s room for his-and-hers dressing spaces and the upper dressing table can be fitted with a full-size folding mirror.
A large-screen TV faces the bed and mounts to the upper dressing table kick panel, while a Miele washer/dryer hides behind a wardrobe door.
The forward and bunk cabins share a large bathroom with separate shower recess and vacuum-flush toilets, but the master stateroom has its own. The bathrooms have ‘planked’ ceilings and ‘tiled’ floors in GRP for a homely feeling. There are LED lights, air-conditioning ducts and 240V outlets in all cabins.
Fit and finish in the three cabins is beautiful and we loved a neat trick the designers have done with the deck support posts that are integrated into the cabin dividing walls. Instead of a traditional metal finish the M50’s posts are printed in woodgrain finish and I defy anyone to pick the difference between real wood and the lookalike. Classy.
Above all this is an enclosed flybridge with easy stairway access, sliding sunroof and teak balcony with railing. The dashboard and instrument panel area was covered in leather-look vinyl with contrasting stitching. Our test boat had optional twin Recaro seats and a flip-over pedestal table, similar to the one fitted in the saloon.
Walkaround decks with moulded bulwarks and fat rails make moving around the M50 quite safe and the foredeck space is ample for a large sunlounge or a tender and crane. There’s a crane pad integrated into the deck moulding.
Large foot switches control the Muir Cheetah windlass and there’s an anchor washer nozzle as well.
ON THE PLANE
Okay, so the M50 looks the goods but how does it go? It goes very well indeed, in the best Maritimo tradition we discovered. The test boat was powered by Cummins QSM engines driving five-blade props via ZF transmissions and shafts mounted at eight degrees. Trim tabs are electrically powered and steering is a one-turn, lock-to-lock power system.
Our test day was fine and calm but an old chop lingered and it was enough to get spray bursts on the screens at WOT. The M50 behaved like other Maritimo hulls in these conditions, feeling solid as a rock. The additional centre of gravity height wasn’t detectable, even when we laid it motionless across the swells to encourage some sway.
This solidity is designed in, with hull, interior moulding and deck bonded together into a monocoque structure and a separate bonded-in engineroom liner. Maritimo hulls are built utilising monolithic FRP below the spray chines with a layer of balsa sandwich from the chine to just under the hull-deck joint.
Despite its bulk the M50 could be thrown into tight turns without any drama: it turned neatly, didn’t lean-in excessively and wasn’t put offline when we deliberately ran through our own wake and that of the photo boat – a Maritimo 58.
At WOT there was engine noise in the saloon and cockpit but on the flybridge, all was serene with the diesels emitting a reassuring hum as the boat tore across the chop. The raised swimplatform deflected most of the stern spray, so the cockpit floor and lounge were only lightly spattered after our performance runs and turns.
Manoeuvring in and out of the tight berths at The Spit in Sydney’s Middle Harbour was a doddle, thanks to cockpit controls and instant engine and remote-control thruster response. Maritimo has never been tempted by pod drives, relying on proved shaftdrives, with bow and stern thrusters.
Like all the models that have gone before it the Maritimo M50 is designed to be seaworthy in the real sense, not a floating entertainment suite.
ENGINE CHOICES
The standard powerplants are two Volvo Penta D11s set at 670hp. Optional are Cummins QSM11s set at 715hp and powering the test boat. Using both engine makers’ sea-trial data there’s little to choose between these engines, with buyers’ preferences probably coming down to personal choice or service backup. In some areas of Australia, Volvo has the edge and in other regions Cummins’s support is better.
WOT speed is just short of 30kts with Volvo or Cummins power, but we suspect the gruntier QSMs might get there a tad quicker. Claimed economy honours go Volvo’s way with a cruising range estimate of 460nm-plus at 26kts, compared with the Cummins estimate of 420nm-plus. Back at 18.6 to 19kts the range estimate extends to 520nm-plus for the Volvos and 490nm-plus for the Cummins pair.
[HIGHS]
› Space-clever interior design
› Performance and handling
› Equipment levels
› Fit and finish
[LOWS]
› All-white boat looks somewhat bulky
› Transom garage access is restricted
[TRADE-A-BOAT SAYS…]
Four years ago Maritimo achieved ISO9001 accreditation, the internationally recognised standard of manufacturing and management excellence. The company claims to be the only production boatbuilder in Australia to be thus accredited. Maritimo says ISO9001 ensures a commitment to total quality management (TQM) and allows the company to diagnose any deficiencies in the supply and manufacturing process and to rectify them immediately.
Maritimo also employs a quality control audit process that we think is unique. Independent surveyors inspect the boats at different production stages and are paid on the basis of reduced warranty claims: they’re actually encouraged to find faults before Maritimo customers do.
MARITIMO M50 MOTORYACHT SPECIFICATIONS
PRICE AS TESTED
$1,682,000
PRICED FROM
$1,390,000
GENERAL
MATERIAL Handlaid FRP, solid below waterline and laminate above
TYPE Planing monohull
LENGTH 16.15m
BEAM 5.2m
DRAFT 1.3m
WEIGHT 22,000kg
CAPACITIES
PEOPLE (NIGHT) 6
FUEL 4000lt
WATER 800lt
ENGINE
MAKE/MODEL 2 x Volvo Penta D11-670; 2 x 715hp Cummins QSM11
TYPE Electronically injected turbo-diesel
RATED HP 670hp (each)
PROPS Five-blade
SUPPLIED BY
Maritimo Offshore,
15 Waterway Drive,
Coomera, QLD, 4209
Phone: +61 7 5588 6000
Web: www.maritimo.com.au
Originally published in Trade-a-Boat #444, September/October 2013
Posted in News Events, Photographs, Specifications, Updates | Tagged Australia, Boat, Boat Review, Maritimo, Maritimo 48, Maritimo 50, POD Drives, Review, Riviera, Riviera 50 | Leave a Comment »
David Lockwood of Boatpoint has come along with his Best 13 boat picks for 2013.
His pick for Best Australia Flybridge is as expected the Maritimo 50. No doubt he picked the Maritimo over the Riviera 50 for all the same reasons that I have laid out in my own previous posts.
This is what he had to say.
Posted in News Events, Updates | Tagged Australia, Maritimo, Maritimo 48, Maritimo 50, POD Drives, POD's, Riviera, Riviera 50 | Leave a Comment »
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 10,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Posted in News Events, Updates | Tagged Blog, Maritimo 48, Singapore, Wordpress | Leave a Comment »
The following article was recently published over at Boatpoint.com.au
Read the original at http://www.boatpoint.com.au/news/2013/maritimo-2013-wrap-40493
Full steam ahead with a new 65 in 2014 with quad-engine option and four shaftdrives!
Australian boat-building doyen Bill Barry-Cotter hasn’t re-invented the wheel but he has created a new lean Maritimo manufacturing model that is paying dividends.
The markets in America and, to a much lesser degree, Europe have rebounded; his revised Maritimo formula focussing on efficiency and quality is being well received; and the three key new models released in 2013 were runaways in at least relative terms.
At the annual end-of-year media press conference on the Gold Coast last Friday (December 6), Barry-Cotter looked relaxed with Maritimo’s achievements, direction and future. He will tell you, as indeed he did us, that this year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show was the “best ever for Maritimo, with multiple sales recorded.”
There’s a lot else to share, not least being an all-new 65-footer in a “custom line” with an interesting quad-engine option. Barry-Cotter says he has tried it before and, espousing its efficiency once up and running and switched to twin-engine-only operation, will now seek to create the ultimate long-range motorcruiser. Never a dull moment as long as he’s at the helm!
A NEW TEAM – Experience and enthusiasm led the way Launched 10 years ago, Maritimo has seen something of a changing of the guard of its management team of late. Barry-Cotter has brought in new blood, namely Greg Haines (a Maritimo owner) from the eponymous Haines Signature boat brand to handle marketing, CEO Garth Corbitt, and most recently Phil Candler, a new General Manager of Operations, who worked for Barry-Cotter at Riviera for 15 years.
Suffice to say, it’s a formidable team, with a great depth of experience, not only from unsung shipwrights in the background, but from Barry-Cotter (72), who might hint at slowing down, although there’s no sign of that yet. In fact, there seems to be a spring in the step from the boatbuilder and his new team.
The big hits in 2013 have been the M58, which has been embraced in America especially, the M50 that replaced the M48 (108 sold), and the low-profile S50 Sedan variant sans flying bridge.
The story goes that Barry-Cotter had the first S50 lined up for his own use, with a new upgraded Miele appliance package and more tweaks — the boat fits under the bridge downstream from his waterfront home — until the sales team found a buyer and off it went.
THE WINNING FORMULA – The full-beam stateroom, walkaround decks and efficiency Maritimo says its success with these boats rests with the combination of walkaround decks, aft galley, enclosed flybridge with internal staircase — and the big one — a full-beam master stateroom. Achieving that in the M50 and S50 with traditional shaftdrives instead of pod drives has impressed the market and rightly so. The stateroom is said to be 230 per cent bigger than in the M48 it replaces.
Some time ago, as fuel prices started heading north, Barry-Cotter made the decision to work even harder on efficiency and economy. His slippery and easily-driven hulls with low shaft angles and large fuel capacities lay claim to “as much as 17 per cent better fuel efficiency than the competitors [in the 50-footer and 58-footer classes],” declares Haines. Maritimo has also run its fuel figures up against a Nordhavn of [presumably] a similar size and, at 9.8 knots, claims their M58 is 40 per cent more fuel efficient. So fast or slow, the Maritimo’s are aggressively pushing fuel efficiency.
The other big thing for Maritimo has been the focus on fit and finish. The push to greater quality has been well received by the big-boat market especially. The growth in sales of these bigger 50-60 footers has been largely to pre-existing customers moving up to bigger and more luxurious Maritimos.
“Central to the whole review has been the design and performance of all our boats, greater fuel efficiency, sea-keeping capabilities and finally fitout and finishes,” Haines says.
NEW YEAR LAUNCHES – Exciting new 65 with quad-engine option coming! To the year ahead. Against the improving climate, CEO Corbitt says 2014 is looking promising for Maritimo, with a full order book and two new models planned for release.
“We have looked at everything that we do and we have developed systems that now see us doing it better and that ranges from the design of the boats to the layouts and right through to soft furnishings and the interior fitouts,” he said.
The first of the new boats will be the S58 Sedan, which shares the platform of the M58, but without the flying bridge. Not only is this welcome in some canal areas of the Gold Coast, but the single-level Sedans appear to be a hit with seasoned boaters who know how they use their boats — rafted up alongside like-minded company.
The single-level aft-galley layouts work very well for entertaining. Two pre-sold 58s are now in the making. The first one is headed to the Gold Coast, the second M58 to Canada.
But in Barry-Cotter’s inimitable style, the M65 (concept now in development) is truly unique. The deck is due in early 2014, with the boat launch expected to be in the third-quarter of 2014. The revolutionary four-cabin 65 will have oodles of accommodation: a VIP that is as big as a stateroom in a 50, the option of scissor berths in the bow, his and her heads behind the full-beam stateroom bedhead, and optional crew quarters.
What looks to be an enormous saloon on the renderings has three stools fronting the galley/bar, a three-metre long lounge, with an optional second island amenities centre on the flybridge balcony, plus possible internal engine-room access so owners can check on things from their stateroom.
We’re told engine options will include 900hp Volvos, 900hp (continuously rated) Scanias, 1150hp Cats or, get this, a quad engine set-up with smaller engines, costing a similar initial outlay to bigger twins, but offering greatly reduced running costs. Propped light, you will be able to run on two engines at a time at 18-20 knots and enjoy super-long range, says Barry-Cotter.
Barry-Cotter says he’s built boats with four (shaft-drive) engines before. The outboard engines go forward , the aft ones back, and there are two rudders. Effectively, by switching between engine pairs, you’ll be halving running hours and servicing intervals, he says.
Meantime, the new Maritimo raceboat has hit the water and is undergoing fine tuning. The boat will contest the European circuit next year. Its engines alone were three years in the making. Maritimo won the world championships in America last year. In 2014 or 2015, the new boat will compete internationally running UIM engines rated at 850hp.
The boat has been designed by Michael Peters and overseen by Bill Barry-Cotter and the fine tuning and adjustments that have been made to increase its performance have come from Bill and, until his passing this year, Phil Frazer.
AMERICAN MARKETS – Big boat sales lead the way in USA Maritimo USA President, Dave Northtrop, shared his views on the rapidly improving American market, saying the Maritimos are coveted by experienced boaters who enjoy spending serious time aboard. He even set records this year, with more pre-sold Maritimos in the month of December than at any other time in the States before. Sales for the month were up 700 per cent year on year. He said Maritimo now has the enthusiasm and momentum on its side.
Indeed, the stats Northrop mentioned suggest the American market has certainly improved. He said sales of inboard 41-62 foot boats in October were up 60 per cent on the previous year, and up 50 per cent in the same period for 63-99 footers. They’re still talking hundreds not thousands of boats, but it’s the first big increase in several years.
Northrop said he wrote sales for three Maritimo 50s in one day at the 2013 Fort Lauderdale show. “We’ve gone from one of the smallest to the largest staterooms in our class… it’s been a godsend,” he said, adding that more and more American owners are taking delivery in Australia and cruising the Whitsundays before shipping their Maritimos home.
Why buy a boat built in Australia? Northrop answers the question asked of him many times. It’s not a financial decision, he says, as Maritimos are priced as a premium product in the US…
“There are two things: these are unique boats from Bill Barry-Cotter with ingenuity and functionality; and it’s the labour force. In Australia, boatbuilding is a profession not just a job. The result is the boater’s boat. ur average USA customer is clocking up 300-400 hours per year. And there are more than 150 of them in America now.”
Candler, the new operations manager, points to the depth of experience at Maritimo, hints at expansion and a reinvigoration of the apprentice-training program.
BILL’S TAKE – Improving fortunes but steady as she goes in Oz Barry-Cotter says he’s going to keep the momentum going in 2014. The US is on the mend and Europe is coming out of it, he says. “We’re the last into recession and probably the last out of it. Property prices are improving so that will help,” he adds.
“We’re pushing efficiency and will keep working on that. We’ll definitely expand into the 60-footer-plus market for our existing customers. He forecasts doing three to four 65s a year. The market right now is all 50-footer and above. Mustang sales are slowing and I can see that coming to an end,” he says.
So bigger boats rather than lots of smaller ones appears to be the trend. Maritimo doesn’t talk numbers but did around 30 boats in 2012, a few more this year, and is looking at ways to expand a bit without compromising quality. Exports accounted for 60 per cent of sales in 2013, but 70 per cent of sales in the last few months of the year.
“I don’t see that changing and if the dollar pulls back it could be improving,” Barry Cotter wraps up before lunch is served.
Posted in News Events, Photographs, Updates | Tagged Maritimo, Maritimo 48, Maritimo 50, Riviera, Riviera 50 | Leave a Comment »
Not much……just freakin HAILSTONES…at the Equator n all !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzUjghLO3qc
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Enjoy your Christmas!!
Posted in News Events, Updates | Tagged Singapore | Leave a Comment »
The latest update on the fate of Sealine from Boatpoint.com.au. Read the original article over at http://www.boatpoint.com.au/news/2013/hanseyachts-buys-sealine-40438
Also read the previous story on SEALINE here https://maritimo48.com/2013/06/02/another-one-bites-the-dust-sealine/
German yacht manufacturer purchases English powerboat company
HanseYachts, the second-largest manufacturer of sailing boats in the world, has taken over Sealine GmbH and entered the powerboat market ranked number 12.
In a statement announcing the acquisition, Hanse said that the move marks the consistent expansion of the HanseGroup’s multi-brand strategy and the acquisition of Sealine is a quick way to gain a share of the powerboat market.
“The motorboat market is not only larger than the sailing market, but has also been experiencing growth for some years now contrary to the trend in the sailing sector. Motorboats are also a good way of opening doors to the newer nautical markets, such as China and Brazil.” said Jens Gerhardt, CEO of HanseYachts AG. “I am sure that the sales of both our Fjord motorboats and our sailing boats will benefit from adding the Sealines to our range,” he added.
Following the acquisition of Moody in 2007, Sealine is now the second traditional English brand and the sixth brand overall in the company: Hanse, Dehler, Moody, Fjord, Varianta and now Sealine.
Previously Hanse’s only entry in the motorboat market was the sporty Fjord boats. Hanse said that Sealine now marks a step into the mass-market. For over 40 years, Sealine has been manufacturing luxury motoryachts. The company recently achieved a turnover of around 40 million Euros, however a weak capital base meant the company was forced to file for administration earlier this year.
Production of Sealine boats will be moved to the Hanse production facility in the city of Greifswald situated on the Baltic Sea in Germany. The F380 model announced by Sealine will be completed and is due to celebrate its world premiere at the Düsseldorf Boat Show. There are plans to expand the product range even further in 2014 and details will be announced after Düsseldorf.
Hanse says that worldwide sales will be handled “mainly via the existing Sealine dealers.”
Posted in News Events, Updates | Tagged Boat, Boating, Sealine | 1 Comment »
Enjoyed this article by Alan Grant published over at inSing.com
Singaporeans needs to take a long hard look at wherever they think the grass is greener, and remember Grass grows on BS !!
by Alan Grant inSing.com – 17 December 2013 1:15 PM
There are complaints aplenty in this little city Singapore (Photo: Wikimedia)
People like to moan. Even when things are going well, we’re not able to fully embrace the good. Instead, we complain about the little annoyances in life.
I am a “glass half-full” type of guy, but a poorly thought-out protest will still emit from my mouth on occasion.
It’s just human nature.
SINGAPORE’S GOT (FOREIGN) TALENT
Singaporeans love to moan about the growing number and influence of “foreign talent” (FT) here.
I’m not here to restart that xenophobic debate (although I’m sure I’ve already incited a few FT haters), but I wonder if Singaporeans have ever stopped to think why foreigners are so attracted to this country in the first place.
After all, with our long list of gripes about the economy, the crowded trains and buses, traffic jams and the ERP (Electronic Road Pricing) system, elusive taxis, domestic helpers, the weather — why the heck would people want to come live on this overcrowded little red dot?
The answer is because life here to most non-Singaporeans seems to be in many ways better than in their home countries.
Most foreigners are economic immigrants because Singapore has one of the most vibrant economies in the world.
Whether the many manual labourers who help to build the gleaming edifices symbolising Singapore’s boom, or the more educated foreigners helping to service it, most are here because they can earn more money in Singapore than they can in their own countries.
SHE ‘CAN’T FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS’
Of course, not all Singaporeans are thriving in this bustling metropolis, but this is by no means a poor country.
The sheer number of foreign domestic workers highlights this. The Ministry of Manpower estimated that at year-end of 2010, there were 201,000 of them. Yet, this group of people is so often the target of complaints by Singaporeans and residents.
When my family and I moved to Singapore in 2004 from New York, one of the upsides was the prospect of hiring a helper. Having spent four years in the Big Apple, we did what most Americans do: we cleaned, cooked and raised our child up by ourselves.
It has been great having help on hand here in Singapore, and my family has hired the same lovely Filipina for nearly nine years.
She is not perfect, but then again, who is? To our shame, we’ve moaned about her occasionally, but we’ve never seriously considered replacing her.
I always cringe when I hear people talk down to their maids, or giving up on them after a few weeks or months because their English isn’t good enough or that they can’t quite get the floors clean enough.
I’ve heard the dreaded phrase, “Can’t follow instructions”, too many times.
We’re talking about human beings, not commodities to be traded. So the next time you moan about your maid, remember that many families in other countries, rich or poor, can only fantasise about such a luxury.
TRANSPORT SYSTEM, WHERE GOT WORLD CLASS?
Another perennial gripe here is about the taxis, or the lack of them when we need them most. Whether it is this, the taxi booking systems, the perception of taxi drivers as lazy, or a combination of other factors, we should step back for a minute and think.
Is it the end of the world if we have to wait 15 minutes to get our ride home? Can’t find a taxi? Get on the bus or catch the train.
Yes, the MRT is crowded and there have been occasional delays, but we still have a world-class mass transit system in Singapore.
The MRT should be held up as a national treasure, and while it doesn’t quite go everywhere yet, it’s quick, clean, safe and efficient.
I wish the same could be said for the Tube in London, the Subway in New York or the pathetic little single line that serves my native Glasgow, a city of 600,000 people.
These systems are old and creaking, perennially dirty, rarely on time and due to generally smaller car sizes, much more overcrowded than the Singapore MRT.
The bus network here, too, is splendid compared to other cities in which I’ve lived.
Sure, a rush-hour trip in the rain might take longer than normal, but a standing-room-only ride in Singapore beats the cramped, dirty and slow journeys on a daily basis in cities such as Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila.
The other target of public ire, the ERP, plays a part in making sure we don’t have the monstrous traffic jams that our regional Asian neighbours have.
What’s wrong with paying a few dollars to get to work in the comfort of your own car? If you can afford the huge expense that is a car in Singapore, you can well afford the ERP charges. And it’s cheap compared to the other ERPs around the world. The Congestion Charge that covers central London from 7am till 6pm on weekdays is a whopping flat fee of £10 (S$20) a day, for instance.
We’ve also been known to moan about the cost of parking our cars in Singapore. The average cost of parking in the heartlands — 50 cents to $1 every 30 minutes — is so cheap that it’s hardly worth talking about it. Even the hefty $5.50 an hour for parking near Raffles Place, Marina Bay etc, is low compared to cities in Australia.
ALWAYS RAINING, SO HOT
Then, there is our daily gripe about the weather. People complain about it worldwide, but in Singapore, we have it made when it comes to weather.
But you know what, residents of Singapore, next time the entrance to your favourite shopping mall gets flooded or a fallen tree blocks your path, be thankful that the waters will quickly recede. The Land Transport Authority will have that tree cut up and removed in a comparative jiffy.
Think of the poor people in places like Dhaka, Mumbai or even Kuantan, who put up with yearly devastating floods, or the millions displaced by the typhoons that strike the Philippines, Vietnam and China every year. Or the Americans who lose their homes to destructive tornados on a regular basis.
So as we sit here in a relative cocoon surrounded by countries plagued by typhoons, earthquakes, mudslides and volcanoes, let’s not moan about the weather.
Let’s all try to stop and think the next time we’re about to open our mouths to wail about some small irritation that, in the grand scheme of things, is a mere blip.
I love living in Singapore, it has so much going for it, and I’m going to try and concentrate on those positives rather than the minor annoyances. You should, too.
Alan Grant has been in Singapore for nearly eight years. He first visited in 1991, then again in 1996 before his latest arrival in 2004. He has placed his journalistic hat down at such legendary Singaporean spots such as The Straits Times and I-S Magazine. He loves the local food, with his favourite haunts being the Indian vegetarian joints dotted around town.
(The views and opinions expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of inSing.com and SingTel Digital Media Ptd Ltd.)
Posted in News Events, Updates | Tagged Singapore | Leave a Comment »
This Video is a few years old, but it is still just as powerful.
Don’t Drink and Drive. Think before you Drink.
Especially with the holidays a few weeks away.
It’s not about screwing up your own life, it’s about wrecking the lives of others. Think Before you Drink.
Click the picture and watch the Video and think about your loved one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2mf8DtWWd8&list=TLKEJsBrEf3MXgTHzSN1iPE8sYk4qktILe
Posted in News Events, Updates, Video | Tagged Dont Drink and Drive, Drink, Drive | Leave a Comment »