The U.S. Coast Guard, as a public service to holiday gift shoppers, announced Friday its recommended gift ideas for 12 nautical days of Christmas.
The singularly most important gift for mariners this year is a marine GPS navigation system. With the intended termination of Loran-C signals set for as early as Jan. 4, 2010, marine GPS units will be a necessity to any boater who currently relies on the Loran-C system for navigation.
“Nothing says ‘I love you’ to a mariner like the gift of a marine GPS navigation, a Coast Guard approved life jacket, boating safety course or 406 MHz electronic position indicating radio beacon,” said Lt. Cmdr. Chris O’Neil, the Coast Guard’s chief of media relations. “Regardless of the occasion or holiday, the gifts we recommend this year can save a loved one’s life, making them the perfect gift this season, or throughout the year. Diamonds are pretty, and big-screen, high-definition televisions are great for watching the big game, but they won’t help you prevent a boating accident, or survive after you’ve been in one.”
Among the Coast Guard’s recommended nautical gifts are:
- A Marine GPS navigation system
- A 406 MHz EPIRB (make sure you register it after purchase, or rescuers may be delayed in reaching you!)
- A Coast Guard-approved life jacket (because they float, you don’t…)
- A handheld VHF-FM radio
- A Boating Safety Course (boater education saves lives — it’s a fact)
- Vessel Safety Check (VSC) from the Coast Guard Auxiliary (it’s free!)
- A Coast Guard approved fire extinguisher
- A first aid kit in a watertight container
- A seamanship book
- Nautical charts for the areas your favorite mariner frequents
- A signaling kit
- A life raft with a survival kit
Some of the most valuable gifts don’t cost anything but time, such as scheduling a free vessel safety check with your local Coast Guard Auxiliary. For more information on scheduling a free vessel safety check visit www.safetyseal.net. To find a boating safety course in your area visit http://www.aboutboatingsafely.com/.
From the Coast Guard family to yours, Happy Holidays!
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Tags: · gift ideas, USCG
You pull into anchorage, plug your EVDO Card
into your laptop and immediately begin to map out the stores you need to visit once the ship is docked.
We know the routine and know how precious port time is and we have an answer; Amazon Prime!
What is prime?
For a modest annual charge of $79 you get Two day and Standard shipping for free on selected Amazon.com items and One Day shipping for $3.99 an item.
It’s really that simple. Sign up for the service and get any of the items sold by Amazon (doesn’t apply to all 3rd party items on Amazon) shipped 2nd day for free. If the ship is on a really tight schedule then overnight the package for only $3.99 per item… regardless of size or weight! The best part is you can ship items to any address, perfect for doing Christmas Shopping on watch (not a practice we officially condone 
.
Where does it work?
Sorry guys but it only works in the United States… for now.
How do I sign up?
Just click THIS LINK for your FREE trial.
What should I buy?
We are glad you asked! For Christmas Gifts check out our Holiday Gift Guide. For work related items visit our Gear Shop (details). All items in the shop have been approved by gCaptain editors and readers so you know it’s quality gear tested aboard ship.
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Tags: · amazon, Gear, gear guide, gift ideas
The SPOT Contest is now closed, but you can keep commenting as if it were open. Thank you everyone for your participation. We will have the winners announced shortly!
gCaptain has teamed up with the folks at SPOT to bring you this exclusive contest! The rules are simple. Each comment posted on any gCaptain blog post between now and October 1st will be entered in a random drawing to win one of 5 units and a gCaptain T-Shirt.
Rules:
- No purchase necessary, just your thoughts entered at the bottom of any blog post.
- As always, we reserve the right to pull inappropriate comments
- Comments that don’t add value to the conversation (e.g. “Love the post” or “Great Idea Guys”) will not be entered into the drawing.
- A free entry will be given to those who register and upload a photo or avatar.
- Winners will be responsible for SPOT’s annual subscription fee.
- Winners will be contacted via email by October 15th 2008.
- Limit: 3 Entries per day
What is SPOT? [Continue Reading →]
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Tags: · emergencies, epirb, gift ideas
USCG: Taylors Island
USCG: Activities Baltimore, Prevention Team 1 (2002-
USCG: Castle Rock, Main
USCG: Aids to Navigation Team Boston (1996-
Here is a look at some really cool and unique USCG Patches. If you like what you see here head over to Wess Wessling’s United Stated Coast Guard Patch Archive
If cool and unique patches are really your thing take a look at Patch Fanatic Website which is home to all sorts of military patches from around the world
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Tags: · gift ideas, Offbeat, USCG
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