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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 →]

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;

• All Weather Pen
• Adventure Travel Journal All Weather Writing
• All-Weather Pocket Journal
• All Rite in the Rain Products

Also be sure to check out another gCaptain favorite;

• Fisher Bullet Space Pen

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

For more Anchor Logo gear visit gCaptain’s CafePress Store

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

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;

• Memory Card Cases by Pelican
• Super Sabrelite by Pelican
• Pelican Cases
• Sanyo Xacti Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder

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 →]

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)

We continue our gCaptain gift guide with Planet Earth DVD Series. This series by the BBC is simply amazing and looks stunning on a plasma TV. For those not familiar the show is appropriately called “the definitive look at the diversity of our planet”. The clip above is shown in the first of 11 hour long episodes titled “From Pole to Pole” and is followed by an equally impressive look at storm systems growing offshore. Mariners will also want to check out episode 9 “Shallow Seas” and the grand finally, episode 11 titled “Ocean Deep”.

Want to splurge on yourself or loved one this Christmas? Buy Planet Earth & The Blue Planet Seas of Life Special Collector’s Edition or the complete series on HD-DVD (just make sure you have an HD-DVD player).

[Continue Reading →]

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 →]

I carry three things with me every time I go on deck. A Pelican Flashlight, Channel Locks and my knife. I have tried many and my absolute favorite knife is the Spyderco Assist!
What makes this the best knife?

• Thanks to the sheepsfoot blade I know I’m not going to acciently stab myself in bad weather
• It has a built in (really loud) whistle in case I go overboard.
• It’s designed to open with one hand
• Sypderco are simply the best quality knifes.
• The combotip allows you to have the benefits of both a straight and serrated edge.
• See the ridges on the back of the blade and again on the front of the handle? If you open the blade just enough to get a line in then squeeze the blade against the handle you’ll very safely cut the line.

How sharp does the knife have to be for the last “trick”? Very sharp but spyderco has Free Sharpening for life and a broken blade will never cost you more than $25 to replace. If you are looking for a simpler/thinner knife be sure to check out the Leatherman Rescue.

If I don’t have my spyderco on me it means I’m carrying my second favorite knife; the Leatherman Wave. A great multipurpose knife since leatherman has an excellent warranty, each knife has both a straight edge and serrated blade. These blades are located on the outside of the knife so they are easily accessible with one hand.

With the Spyderco Assist being sold at Amazon for $59 and the Leatherman Wave on sale for $65 you can probably afford both and thank us the next time a storm rolls through during lines.

[Continue Reading →]