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RecCom

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1. What We Do

RecCom has been established to deal with as-

pects directly related to recreational, leisure, sport

and tourism navigation, to develop facilities for this

kind of navigation, and to facilitate its integration

with other types of navigation (commercial and

fishing). Sustainable planning, design and man-

agement of all recreational navigation infrastruc-

ture – including marinas – and their integration into

waterfronts, are matters in which the Commission

gives support to the technical community. It is the

policy of the Commission to produce a regular

flow of studies and reports and to contribute in

training of professionals involved. RecCom works

closely together with other organisations with simi-

lar and complementary objectives, such as the In-

ternational Council of Marina Industry Associations

(ICOMIA).

A specific Position Paper, ‘Recreational Naviga-

tion in Coastal and Inland Waters’, translated in

several languages, was prepared and updated

and is freely downloadable from http://reccom.

pianc.org/.

The Commission has set up and manages:

- International Working Groups for the production

of high-quality technical reports and guidelines

- The Marina Excellence Design ‘Jack Nichol’

Award (MEDA), for promoting excellence in ma-

rina design

- The Marina Designer Training Programme (MDTP),

for organising specific courses for marina de-

signers at an international level; a specific edu-

cational network was created with other organ-

isations.

2. Who We Are

In 2015 the Commission welcomed some new

members:

- Mr Stig Jansson from Sweden

- Ms Sara Calvo from Spain

- Mr Jonathan Armbruster, Mr Matthew Trammell

and Mr Mark Pirrello from the USA

Mr Simone Lanzalone from Italy was appointed as

new Secretary of the Commission.

In 2015, Mr Jack Cox, Mr Robert Nathan and Mrs

Jessica McIntyre from the USA, Mr Lars Odhe from

Sweden and Mr Marius Tomè i Covelo from Spain

left RecCom. The Commission thanks them for their

valuable and appreciated contributions.

At the end of 2015 the PIANC Recreational Navi-

gation Commission was composed by:

- Mr Elio Ciralli, Chairman, Italy

- Mr Simone Lanzalone, Secretary, Italy

- Mr Harald Andreassen, Member, Norway

- Mr Tim Beckett, Member, UK

- Ms Kathleen Bernaert, Member, Belgium

- Mr Esteban Biondi, Member, Argentina

- Mr Gian Battista Borea d’Olmo, Principality of

Monaco

- Mr René Bouchet, Principality of Monaco

- Mr Michiel de Jong, Member, the Netherlands

- Mr Arnaud Guillard, Member, France

- Mr Hong-Yeon Cho, Member, Korea

- Mr John Kwong, Member, China

- Ms Fabiana Maccarini, Member, Italy

- Mr Hans Friedrich Nickels, Member, Germany

- Mr Brad Saunders, Member, Australia

- Mr Masato Yamashita, Member, Japan

- Mr Peter Jansen, ICOMIA/IMC Delegate in

PIANC RecCom, Germany

- Mr Oscar Siches, ICOMIA/IMC Delegate in

PIANC RecCom, Spain

- Mr Roberto Perocchio, ICOMIA/IMC Delegate

in PIANC RecCom, Italy

- Mr Stig Jansson, Member, Sweden

- Mr Jonathan Armbruster, Member, USA

- Mr Matthew Trammell, Observer YP-Com, USA

- Ms Sara Calvo, Member, Spain

- Mr Mark Pirrello, Member, USA

3. Meetings

Two statutory meetings were held in 2015.

65th RecCom Meeting on February 3-4, 2015 at Flanders Coast, Belgium

The meeting (with 15 participants from Belgium,

Italy, Sweden, Monaco, China, Japan, Spain,

Finland, the Netherlands, Argentina, and some

representing ICOMIA) started with an interesting

technical visit at the marina in Blankenberge and

its new clubhouse.

PIANC RECCOM

RECREATIONAL NAVIGATION COMMISSION

2015

47

A number of very interesting presentations by engi-

neers of the Flemish Coastal Department showed

how the area had developed since 1863, when

the canal and the basins were dredged original-

ly for trade and fishing fleet, the protection and

renewal works of side slopes and quays, and the

dangers and counter measures for the dreaded

North Sea storms, an old danger not to be taken

lightly.

Mrs Katleen Bernaert, organiser of the successful

meeting, and RecCom in Blankenberge

After the work time the group enjoyed a ‘biertoren’,

a three-level transport for beer glasses, featuring

16 different types of beer.

The very nice dinner was hosted by Captain Jacques D’Havé, General Director of the Agency for Maritime and Coastal Services under the Min-

istre of Public Works. The Commission enjoyed the evening and the local ‘gezelligheid’ (i.e. cosiness, warmth, well-being). All Delegates were offered a copy of ‘Flanders Coast’, a book by Belgian pho-

tographer Tom D’Haenens, a beautiful and very complete view on the reality of the coastal areas of Belgium. The motto of the Agency for Maritime and Coastal Services is ‘living together with the sea’, and it is not a new marketing or good sound-

ing superficial phrase: it is the motto of the Agency since 1898.

On the second day the Commission went to Nieuw-poort, the closest yacht harbour to the French bor-der and the biggest in Belgium. There, RecCom visited the temporary offices of Jan de Nul, the dredging contractor dealing with the cleaning of the silt in the channel and marina basin. After an explanation of the ongoing operations the group was taken aboard of the dredger to look at the operations until the discharge in the barges.

A specific stop was made in Ostend afterwards, in order to see

the progress of the construction of the sea barriers that would guarantee the safety of the Belgian coast when facing the North Sea storms and the rise of the sea level.

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RecCom in Nieuwpoort and demonstration of dredger

operations in marina

During lunch, Mr Lars Odhe from ‘SF Marina’ ex-

plained the innovative production of concrete pontoons using basalt fibres instead or rebar, and sadly announced that this was his last meeting as

a Swedish delegate. At the same time, he intro-

duced his successor, Mr Stig Jansson. All members of RecCom miss Lars’ contributions and wonderful personality.

After lunch, the Commission moved to the office of the harbour manager and enjoyed an interest-ing presentation about the marina management software they developed.

From there, the RecCom proceeded to the VVV Nieuwpoort, managed by Mr Steven Desloovere, one of the oldest CMM (Certified Marina Manag-

er) who is still active, where the RecCom statutory business meeting was held.

Mr Ciralli and all the members of RecCom thanked Mrs Katleen Bernaert for the highly appreciated organisation of the event and for being a very kind host.

66th RecCom Meeting on September 7, 2015

at the Pontifical Catholic University of

Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina

In 2015 RecCom had is first meeting in Latin Amer-ica in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Several members from Asia and Europe met with representatives of the Americas.

Organised during the PIANC-SMART Rivers 2015 Conference, the presence of RecCom was thought as a perfect occasion to present the Commission’s matters during a congress mainly dedicated to infrastructure for inland navigation. It was RecCom’s objective to demonstrate how the need for safe, sustainable and pleasant proj-ects for recovering waterfronts, with the support of infrastructures dedicated to recreational navi-gation, should be worthwhile to be considered for inland waterways, as well as for the sea.

Mrs Cecilia Norman, invited guest, gave a presen-

tation about the status of recreational navigation infrastructure in Latin America. Young Professionals from Brazil and Argentina were invited as Observ-

ers.

Mr Elio Ciralli, RecCom Chairman

Mr Lars Odhe (left) and a moment of the statutory meeting

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A moment of the meeting (right)

During the successful PIANC-SMART Rivers 2015 Conference, a specifi c session was dedicated to the matters related to the RecCom activities, un-der the title ‘Inland Recreational Navigation and Waterfront Areas”.

Elio Ciralli, Chairman of RecCom, chaired the ses-sion and presented his paper, as well as Mr Este-ban Biondi and Mr Michiel De Jong, who are also members of RecCom. Mr Claudio Fassardi com-pleted the session with his presentation.

On September 12, 2015, some members of the Commission joined the SR2015 Technical Visit, which gave them the opportunity to navigate some kilometres on the Paraná River to its estuary, showing tens of marinas hosting several thousands of recreational boats.

An impressive number of recreational boats are

sheltered and navigate the Paraná River Estuary

4. Publication of Technical Reports

Published Report

• WG 130 – ‘Anti-Sedimentation Systems for

Marinas and Yacht Harbours’ Chairman: Mr Constantine Memos (Greece)

This report was released on September 9, 2015.

Progress of Active Working Groups

In 2015 RecCom continued to encourage its ac-tive Working Groups to come up with their fi nal re-ports.

• WG 147 – ‘Guidelines for the Management

of Recreational Navigation Activities within

Fishing and Commercial Ports’ (RecCom members and other experts – in cooperation with MarCom) – Chairman: Mr E. Ciralli (Italy).

This WG collects and analyses a series of case histories, trying to recognise successful and/or unsuccessful examples. Moreover, the WG will recognise common best practices and prepare guidelines. The fi nal draft is expected in the sec-ond part of 2016.

• WG 148 – ‘Reccomendations for

Environmentally Sustainable Recreational

Navigation Infrastructures’ (PIANC RecCom-ICOMIA joint WG in cooperation with EnviCom) – Chairman: Mr Ignacio Berenguer (Spain).

Former fi nal draft already discussed and ap-proved by RecCom, received further relevant comments; publication is expected in mid-2016.

• WG 149 – ‘PIANC Guidelines for Marina

Design’ – Chairman: Mr E. Ciralli (Italy) This is considered a ‘fl agship’ Working Group for

the Commission. The report will be published in chapters, the fi rst block of chapters will be re-leased in spring 2016, the other chapters will be published progressively.

• WG 168 – ‘Single Point Yacht Mooring

Design’ – Chairman: Mr C. Fassardi (Argentina) The fi nal draft is expected by the end of 2016.

• WG 169 – ‘Fire System Detection and

Controls in Marinas’ – Chairman to be ap-pointed.

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• WG 177 – ‘Marina Excellence Design: 10

years of the ‘Jack Nichol’ (MEDA) Award’ (RecCom internal WG) – Chairman: Mr Robert Nathan (USA) and Mrs Fabiana Maccarini (Ita-ly). The fi nal draft is expected in the fi rst half of 2016.

• WG 182 – ‘Underwater Acoustic Imaging of

Waterborne Transport Infrastructure’ (Rec-Com, MarCom, InCom with support of EnviCom Joint WG) – Chairman: Mr T. Browne (USA)

The kick-off meeting was held on July 27-28, 2015 at PIANC HQ in Brussels, Belgium.

• WG 183 – ‘Innovative Products and

Technologies in Marinas’ – Chairman to be appointed.

New Terms of Reference (ToR)

In 2015 the ToR of WG 182 and WG 183 were duly approved by ExCom. In 2015 several new topics were discussed by the Commission that will be ob-ject of further new ToR in 2016.

5. Activities of RecCom

Some important activities managed by RecCom are monitored and carried out by Subcommittees, established in 2009. Each member of RecCom can join one or more Subcommittees.

Communication and Editing (C&E)

Subcommittee

This Subcommittee continues the preparation of press releases, as well as news and articles for ‘Sail-ing Ahead’, news and articles for the specialised press (such as Marina World – a mutual endorse-ment was defi ned in 2011) and others.

A completely new subsite, dedicated entirely to the activities of RecCom, was prepared at http://reccom.pianc.org. At the end of 2015 the second test phase was carried out by the RecCom mem-bers and other experts.

The fi nal version of the site was released in Febru-ary 2016, after the fi nal approval of the Commis-sion.

RecCom thanks ‘Envitek – Progetti e Opere srl’ (www.progettieopere.it), that sponsored the prep-aration of this website.

PIANC Marina Excellence Design

‘Jack Nichol’ Award (MEDA) Subcommittee

Also in 2015, the MEDA was promoted and pub-lished around the world, thanks to the support of specialised magazines and web portals. In 2015 the following applications for the MEDA 2016 were received:

1. D-Marin Didim Marina, Turkey2. D-Marin Marina Mandalina, Croatia3. D-Marin Marina Turgutreis, Turkey4. Marina at Keppel Bay, Singapore5. Marina di Stabia, Italy

A part of the new reccom.pianc.org homepage

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The Subcommittee checked the completeness of the application and the compliance with the MEDA rules and decided during the RecCom meeting on February 3, 2016 that the MEDA 2016 will be granted to Marina at Keppel Bay in Singa-

pore.

PIANC Marina Designer Training Programme

(MDTP) Subcommittee

Specific actions were undertaken in order to en-

large and enforce a specific ‘Marina Designer Training Programme Educational Network’ at an international level, joining other organisations involved in professional education for the recre-

ational navigation market. Other bodies will follow after ICOMIA, sister organisation of PIANC, TYHA, and the Global Marina Institute (GMI) already joined under the common goals of the MDTP. Uni-versities like the University of Wisconsin (USA) are already using MDTP guidelines for their courses.

In 2015 a MDTP Workshop on ‘Waterfront Rehabili-tation Projects and Marinas’ was held on Septem-

ber 10, 2015 at the UCA, Pontifical Catholic Univer-sity in Buenos Aires. Fourteen participants, mainly from the Americas, attended the course and en-

joyed the training presentations of Mr Elio Ciralli, Mr Esteban Biondi, Mr Claudio Fassardi and Mrs Diana Giambiagi. Mrs Mariana Fernández gave an im-

portant support during the exercitation time.

The course was compliant with the format, stan-

dard and quality level typical for PIANC MDTP. The

written feedbacks received from the attendees demonstrated a high appreciation.

Other RecCom Related Events

Some other important RecCom related events took place in 2015:

- ICOMIA Marina Group meetings - METS, in Amsterdam, where Mr Michiel De Jong

and other RecCom members were present

Promoting RecCom and its Activities

In 2015 RecCom continued to promote PIANC and its activities around the world, through sister organisations, companies and magazines with the specific intent to reach a wider audience with news on RecCom activities and initiatives, such as MEDA, MDTP, reports and events.

Elio Ciralli & Simone Lanzalone

C&E SubcommitteeChairman and Secretary of PIANC RecCom

Attendees and trainers of the MDTP WorkShop in Buenos Aires on September 10, 2015