Is it the older we get the more we miss, or is it the older we get the faster things happen? It feels like only yesterday I was finishing my wrapping,  stuffing stockings, preparing for the big day and now it's history. I barely remember what gifts I gave and got. We have our grand daughter with us this week and I have no idea what we got her. She keeps reminding me each time another toy/doll/game is played with by giving me a hug and saying thanks for the present.............I just nod and say "You're welcome, remember it's from grandma too!" Then 5 minutes later she's onto some other new toy. And we only have about half the presents she got for Christmas......she'll never remember who gave her what, but that's the way it is when you're 4.

As for me, I received some excellent gifts from socks, books, oven mitts and other such items to something I had been kidding about all Christmas Eve and morning......a new dinghy !!!! I almost crapped my pj's. My wife was very nervous the few days before Christmas because I was surfing the net and she figured I would have bought one....I almost did. In fact, I'd decided that after Christmas I would order one since they all looked alike and the best bet was to buy one with a good reputation. She bought it from West Marine and it says it's made by Zodiak, so I presume it must be a safe buy. The seams are thermobonded and not glued.....what ever that means. Then I figured I'm not going to row it and I bought a 6hp Mercury to propel it.......can't wait for the spring to come, only 4+ months to go

I hope that the coming year will bring some stability in the world and to our economy. I know that's the usual phrase, but for some reason I truly feel it can't get anything but better. Except for the new treats from world terrorists putting bombs in their underwear.....how does one go about ensuring they can't get on board an aircraft without "feeling them up" The next thing will be making everybody strip and put on one of those paper robes from the hospital and wear it until the flight ends.....maybe not the stupidest idea.

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Newport, RI -- Sprague Theobald, an Emmy-award winning filmmaker, returned
to his Newport, Rhode Island home this week after completing an arduous fivemonth,
8,500mi filmmaking expedition through the Arctic in order to capture HD
footage and stories for his next documentary. While footage that leaked through
the filmmaker's blog has been deemed "stunning" and "other worldly", the biggest
treasure Theobald found in the Arctic was his renewed family ties.

Aboard his specially outfitted 57'  Nordhavn, Theobald brought with him a team of
professional divers, sailors and filmmakers. He also hired three family members -
son Sefton Theobald, stepdaughter Dominique Tanton, and stepson Chauncey
Tanton. The four family members had not had the luxury of living together for
many years and grew incredibly close amid the danger, desolation, and close
quarters of the five-month voyage across the Arctic Circle. In the end, the family
aspect added a profound dynamic to his story.

"Words can not express how proud I am of you,” said Theobald, at a final crew
meeting in Seattle, WA last week. "Every one of you did your job above and
beyond what was expected... and you kept it together and looked after one
another when we were stuck in the ice."

By "keeping it together" and "stuck in the ice" Theobald refers to a harrowing twoday
experience as the crew made their attempt through Canada's narrow and ice
clogged Northwest Passage. No sooner did they enter the 30-degree water as it
began to freeze around them. They were trapped and frozen in. They tried
everything to escape and at one point the boat was being driven towards a rocky
coast and the crew prepared to abandon ship.

“The sound was horrific,” Theobald said Oct. 26 while talking about being trapped
in the ice with a reporter from Alaska's Bar Harbor. “I thought it was the hull —
itʼs that grinding, cracking noise (like) youʼd think fiberglass would sound like if it
was breaking...It finally dawned on me. Its the ice around us thatʼs making that all
that noise,” Theobald said.

Ultimately, skillful maneuvering and a bit of luck landed them safely on the other
side of the Passage intact where they proceeded across the Bering Sea, around
Alaska and down the coast to their final port of Seattle, WA. Crew members regrouped
in Seattle for boat repairs, family matters, and to meet with film and TV
producers about the project.

Theobald's expedition included more dramatic events that pitted the crew against
foul weather, technical issues, icebergs the size of Manhattan skyscrapers,
wildlife encounters, personality conflicts, and so on... all of which are driving
interest from several TV networks. Theobald asks we keep an eye on his blog --
for developing news about the project, and for readers who want to chime-in and
vote for scenes to be included or excluded from the documentary and TV series.
###
Interviews, high-resolution photography, video clips and a teaser of Theobald's
upcoming documentary are available at NorthwestPassageFilm.com. For more
information contact Matt@NorthwestPassageFilm.com.
Matthew D. Dutra
Co-Producer
Northwest Passage Film
c/o Hole in the Wall Productions
Newport, Rhode Island 02840
Mobile: 401-935-8831
Matt@NorthwestPassageFilm.com
www.NorthwestPassageFilm.com
www.HitwProductions.com

HTML MessageBoatU.S. Questions Need for Marine Automatic Identification System

ALEXANDRIA, Va., December 10, 2009 - Airplane transponders allow air traffic controllers to "see" who is in the sky. Yesterday, in speaking before the U.S. House of Representatives Coast Guard Subcommittee, BoatU.S. testified that any potential requirement for this type of technology on boats is not practical, nor would it reduce the threat of a waterborne attack. "Contrary to what Hollywood has portrayed, the average boat in this country is 16-feet. Requiring some type of transponder on recreational boats -- many of whom don't even have a battery to power it -- would only be window dressing for a potential homeland security problem that will not be reduced, despite the outlay of billions of dollars," said BoatU.S.Vice President of Government Affairs Margaret Podlich.

Marine Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) have long been used as a collision avoidance tool for commercial ships and provides important vessel identification, position, speed and course information to fellow mariners as well as land-based vessel traffic control systems. Since 9/11, the Coast Guard has been tasked by the Dept. of Homeland Security to develop a small-boat threat assessment and strategy to reduce the possibility of small watercraft being used by terrorists.

"The challenge with AIS is that it does not provide the ability to reduce the small boat threat," said Podlich. "For starters, the AIS unit on a small boat can simply be turned off. And more importantly, how could the U.S. Coast Guard monitor the millions of new vessel traffic movements? The monitoring would be overwhelming, on-the-water force response inadequate, and it would be costly to taxpayers to build and operate the system," said Podlich. She also mentioned boaters would be forced to pick up the tab for the AIS units, which currently starts at about $600.

"Even if a would-be terrorist would go to the trouble of complying with an AIS requirement, they would merely have to pull the AIS unit's electrical plug moments before the attack," Podlich testified. She also mentioned a terrorist could simply steal a boat. "AIS does not recognize if people aboard a vessel are on a watch list." In addition, AIS can be easily "spoofed," or manipulated to make every AIS transponder in a certain area report inaccurate data.

The Better Solution: America's Waterway Watch

BoatU.S. believes the U.S. Coast Guard would have better results addressing the small boat threat if the agency's own America's Waterway Watch program(AWW) had better funding and infrastructure support. Similar to a neighborhood watch program, America's Waterway Watch treats boaters as part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

"Several government reports have concluded that working with recreational and commercial vessel operators is a key to increasing our domestic maritime security. Boaters need to know they have the ability to report to the US Coast Guard when they see something looks suspicious on the water by calling 1-877-24WATCH. We hope Congress will bolster this program since it's so critical in reducing the small boat threat," added Podlich. Additional funding for AWW was written into the Coast Guard Authorization Act (HR 3619) which passed out of the House last month and is now awaiting action by the Senate.
To review Podlich's testimony, go to www.BoatUS.com/gov. To learn more about America's Waterway Watch program, go to www.AmericasWaterwayWatch.com .

After pumping the bilge, there's usually still some water left behind, resulting in odors, mildew and damage from the condensation.  Now owners can stop worrying and relax in a boat that doesn't smell like a boat.  Arid Bilge Systems' patented Series 4 automatically maintains a dry bilge at all times.

            Eliminating wet vacs and bilge diapers, small, customized pickups are placed throughout the different bilge compartments where they act like the perfect crew member an owner never had.  All the residual water will be gone in a matter of hours, maintaining the bilges bone dry.

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Tuesday, 01 December 2009 17:04

Stranded Boaters Can Notify BoatU.S. On-Water Vessel Assistance with SPOT Satellite Messenger Products Despite Remote Locations or Limited Communications  

 MILPITAS, CA - (December 1, 2009) – Spot LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globalstar Inc. (NASDAQ: GSAT) and a leader in personal satellite messaging communications today announced the availability of SPOT Assist Maritime, a new on-water towing service dedicated exclusively to the boating community.  SPOT Assist Maritime combines satellite-messaging communications and GPS technology with BoatU.S. Towing Services, who operate the nation’s largest fleet of towboats for recreational boaters. 

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Panama City, Fla., December 1, 2009 — Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. announced today it will discontinue production of Century Boats effective immediately. All Century Boats were being produced at the facility in Panama City, Florida. Yamaha, Century’s parent company, is focusing on streamlining their operations and concentrating on improving their core product categories’ performance.
“The Century brand has a long history in the marine industry, and the decision to discontinue production was difficult to make,” said Phil Dyskow, President of Yamaha Marine Group and Century Boat Company, “but market conditions have made it difficult to sustain an acceptable level of performance at the Panama City based facility.”
The decision comes after an economic downturn that has ravaged the marine industry, particularly in the offshore segment of the boating market where Century competes. Century Boats has seen its wholesale and retail sales decline sharply over the last 12 months.
The company will continue to provide its dealers and customers with parts and service and will honor warranties through its existing network of dealers. The company has 45 dealers in 18 states.
“Century has come to be known for a high level of customer satisfaction and has consistently been recognized for high CSI,” said Dyskow. “That tradition will continue, despite production ending.”
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. purchased the Panama City-based Century in 1995 as part of a strategic plan to grow market share for its outboard motors in the offshore category. Yamaha invested in the company’s production facility and manufacturing processes. Annual sales for Century peaked in 2007 at over 1000 boats annually.
The company currently has 63 full-time employees. Those affected by the shutdown were notified earlier today.
Yamaha Motor Corporation also owns Skeeter Boats, of Kilgore, Texas and G3 Boats of Lebanon, Missouri. Skeeter and G3 were not impacted.
Yamaha Marine Group, based in Kennesaw, Ga., supports its 2,000 U.S. dealers and OEM partners with marketing, training and parts for Yamaha’s full line of products and strives to be the industry leader in reliability, technology and customer service. Yamaha Marine is the only outboard company to have earned NMMA®’s C.S.I. Customer Satisfaction Index award every year since its inception. Visit www.yamahaoutboards.com.

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Torqeedo is always looking to push the envelope in developing the most efficient and powerful electric outboard motors in the marine industry.  That's why they created the Torqeedo Catalina Solar/Electric Boat Challenge, proving that electric outboards are destination motors.  It also honors Bob Nordskog, a man who took the challenge 30 years ago to travel the intimidating Pacific Ocean over 26.5 nautical miles from Long Beach Harbor to Catalina Island in the first electric boat ever built.

            The first successful Torqeedo Catalina Challenge took place on October 24 in a 16'7" Hobie® Getaway Catamaran named the Kona Concept®, modified to accommodate batteries and a solar panel and powered by the Cruise 4.0R Torqeedo Electric Outboard Motor.  Captain of Kona Concept and grandson of Bob Nordskog, Erik Robert Nordskog, and navigator Jim Czarnowski, director of engineering for Hobie Cat, were very proud to recreate the crossing.  They completed it in just 6 hours and 41 minutes and with 35% battery power remaining.

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The daily build-up of condensation in a diesel fuel system can lead to fuel contamination through bacteria growth.  Parker Energy System's new FPM Installation Kits, FPM-051 Kit and FPM-052-A Kit, combat this daily water accumulation, preventing corrosion and other problems.

            Both Installation Kits include everything needed to install a dedicated fuel polishing loop, including the FPM-050 Fuel Polishing Module, a Parker Racor 500 Series Turbine Filter, a fuel hose and fittings.  The FPM-052-A Kit also comes with a stylish, black anodized FPM timer, enabling owners to program the new polishing system to run while unattended.

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Olathe, Kan./November 16, 2009/Business Wire — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced its next generation in large-format multi-function displays – the GPSMAP® 6000 and GPSMAP 7000 series with Garmin G Motion technology that represents a graphic breakthrough in speed, smoothness and clarity, delivering ultra-smooth map panning and zooming with virtually seamless graphical updating in all dimensions.  These new chartplotters also feature an unmatched low-level backlight display that dims to 0.5 nits, and a backlit keypad for use in low-light conditions without compromising vision.

“The evolution of marine navigation continues with these new top-of-the-line network chartplotters that feature the smoothest, most detail-rich displays in Garmin’s chartplotter lineup,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales.  “Utilizing Garmin’s G Motion technology, we’re setting the new standard in speed in a self-contained unit – it’s some of the most stunning marine cartographic technology you’ve ever seen in this class of equipment.”

The GPSMAP 7x15 series offers a huge 15-inch diagonal XGA (1024 x 768 pixel) sunlight readable touchscreen display, and is offered in two models – the GPSMAP 7015 with an enhanced worldwide satellite imagery basemap; and the GPSMAP 7215, which comes pre-loaded with highly detailed U.S. coastal charts and Explorer Charts for the Bahamas.  Both models have a PC monitor input, so you can use it for display of digital presentations, internet browsers, or other computer applications. In addition, these units also offer four composite video inputs for multimedia use.  Mariners can also opt for the same XGA resolution in a 12-inch diagonal screen configuration with the GPSMAP 7012 and GPSMAP 7212 with a worldwide basemap and coastal charts respectively.  All models are compatible with an optional wireless remote and a wireless mouse for additional flexibility. 

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