
MaritimeLinks.net (a must see site) brings us what is reportedly “The Worlds Sexiest Sextant” or less smashingly called the Cassens & Plath Horizon Ultra. Why? Here’s their answer:
WIRED magazine ran an article that was a real surprise to me: It was about a sextant, and a very good looking sextant at that! This old school navigational device has some sexy styling that any nautical buff would be proud to get their hands on. Take a look at the story and the picture of this excellent piece of retro nautical tech. Read More
Wired’s Take: [Continue Reading →]
Tags: · celestial-navigation, Gear, gifts, Navigation, sailing, sextant

Navagear points us to “Rite in the Rain”:
The folks from “Rite in the Rain” were at the Pacific Marine Expo, and I picked up a brochure, an all-weather pen, and another pocket-sized spiral notebook…thanks guys!
See, I use these products every day. Into my pockets each morning go my keys, wallet, coin purse, cell phone, and my little Weems & Plath-branded Rite in the Rain 3″ x 5″ all-weather spiral notebook.
I have been using these products for many years in fairly harsh environments aboard ship and highly recommend them for use on deck.
“Rite in the Rain” Product Links;
Also be sure to check out another gCaptain favorite;
Tags: · christmas, Gear, gifts, holiday, marine_expo, notebook, notes, pockets, rain, rite_in_the_rain, spiral_notebook, usefull, Weather
Need it by Dec. 24?
Order by Dec. 14
Fit: Standard
Not too tight, not too loose.
Fabric Thickness:

Or send a check / money order & $4 shipping to:
Unofficial Networks
1079 Balboa Street
Morro Bay, CA 93442
Tags: · gCaptain, gifts, t_shirt

Our Favorite Maritime Photographer, Houston Pilot Lou Vest, has donated a few of his amazing photos to the pilot association’s charitable foundation, Anchor Watch. They will use the images to produce a 2008 calendar with the proceeds funding scholarships to maritime schools, sea scout troops, the Houston maritime museum and other worthy causes.
Purchase details and a preview of the images can be found on Lou’s Flickr page: LINK
Tags: · amazing_photos, anchor_watch, charitable_foundation, flickr, gifts, images, maritime_museum, maritime_photographer, maritime_schools, Photo, pilot_association, purchase_details, scholarships, sea_scout_troops, worthy_causes

gCaptain readers know we are big fans of Pelican Cases and Flashlights and may also know that we have destroyed memory cards in the past. This is why we are excited about a simple new product from our favorite tough guys; Pelican’s Memory Card Cases.
Our plan; purchase Sanyo’s Xacti Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder protect it in a Pelican Micro Case
and start taking video this blog. In our opinion $20 is a low price to pay for piece of mind.
Pelican Product Links;
Tags: · case, Gear, gifts, hard_work, harsh_enviroments, memory_card_protection, ocean, pelican, pelican_case, protection, seas, tough

Panbo, the marine electronics blog, brings us today’s gCaptain Holiday Gift Suggestion. The unit is the SPOT Satellite Messenger & Emergency Locater
and it’s fairly amazing.
First a note. This is not a substitute for the most important safety item aboard ship an EPIRB. If you are looking for the best personal emergency solution we recommend the ACR - ResQFix 406 GPS Personal Locater Beacon (PLB)
. (EPIRBS are know as PLB’s when used for personal use and ELT’s in aviation).
So what can the SPOT do? Basically it is a unit that updates your position on a google map which your friends can log into and track your position. It also has extensive emergency locating features at a fraction of the price of a PLB
or EPIRB. Panbo tells us;
The just announced Spot is a waterproof Globalstar messenger and GPS combo that will purportedly let you alert the authorities (at least the U.S. ones) [we know it uses GEOS SAR but doesn't have global coverage) with your position, or ask for help from your friends or just notify them of where you are, or build an online track of your travels. It will be available in November for $149 with an annual service contract ranging from $99 upwards depending on what features you want to use. There’s not much detail on the Spot site yet, except for some pretty extreme fear marketing, but I’d guess that this product will get some real attention, even from some boaters. And I’m glad that, unlike TracMe, Spot is not confusing the market place by using the term Personal Locator Beacon (PLB).
For $149 at Amazon
this seems like a bargain to give your family some extra peace of mind and let your kids track your position at sea from your home computer (check with your ISPS DP for your company's policy). [Continue Reading →]
Tags: · amazon, Communication, elt, emergency, epirb, Gear, gifts, Globalstar, holiday_gift_suggestion, inmarsat, marine_electronics, plb, spot, survival, Uncategorized

I continuation of our gift guide we have teamed up with chitika to bring you some great deals from around the web. Just search in our new holiday portal to find great prices and gift ideas.
Links:
gCaptain’s Holiday Deals
gCaptain’s Holiday Gift Ideas
(The amazing photo above is by anacm.silva)
Tags: · gifts
Tags: · dvd, gifts, great_white_sharks, planet_earth, shark_attack, Video
Over the next few weeks we are going to be sharing gift ideas. So if you have a loved on who is a Captain, Mate, Engineer or just a boater sailing the ocean keep an eye on our new Gifts Section.
Our first pick is a device that has made my life at sea significantly more enjoyable, the Tivo DVD Burner
. Sure you could buy a video ipod
which we also highly recommend but nothing is better than having a device connected to your TV, downloading TV shows for FREE.
The best part is how easy this unit is to use. It hooks up and operates just like a normal TIVO allowing you to pause and record live TV but insert a blank DVD-R/RW
and it burns your shows to a disk he can take with him to work.
Bonus features:
- The Burned DVD’s work on any DVD play.
- The unit can record and burn movies from HBO, Starz…
- If your tivo runs out of space simply burn the extra shows to DVD and keep them for later.
- Select the option “Season Pass” and tivo will record the entire season of your show to disc. Perfect for catching up on series while you were away at sea.
- DVD’s are cheap to mail. Send your the burned DVD’s to his ship’s agent at the next port of call and we promise he will be the most popular guy on movie night.
- The unit also lets you transfer and burn movies from your old camcorder to DVD.
[Continue Reading →]
Tags: · amazon, boater, boating, boats, christmas, dvd, engineer, gifts, gifts_section, gift_ideas, holidays, mate, sailing, shopping, tivo
Tags: · boater, boating, christmas, flashlights, Gear, gifts, holiday, knifes, mariner, pelican