It turns out the Kindle is capable of delivering blog content via Amazon’s “whispernet” international 3g signal, the same way it delivers books and newspapers… no-hassle wirelessly! There is just one catch, the cost of subscribing to a blog is $2 per month. Hopefully you’ll consider this a small price to pay for getting the latest maritime news and headlines streamed to your kindle from around the world but, if you’re skeptical, the subscription comes with a 15 day free trial.

Click the following link to get started –> gCaptain Kindle Edition

(Also, if you’re a fan of gCaptain, please do us a favor and Click HERE to write a short review on our Amazon page. Many thanks! -John)

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.

We are happy to announce a partnership with amazon.com to bring you gCaptain’s gear shop.

What is it?

We have basically searched through Amazon’s offerings and added the items that we used aboard ship or have been recommended by readers in our comments.

Why shop with gCaptain?

A Ships Captain has added each item by hand so you know you will be getting quality gear and books we enjoy like Captain Kelly Sweeney’s From the Bridge: Authentic Modern Sea Stories. By using amazon as our delivery method you will have the online safety and low prices this retailer is know for.

Why not shop at Amazon directly

No cost is added to the order meaning you will get the same low prices as if you went to Amazon.com directly.

Amazon gives us a small referral fee (between 4 and 7%) for each item you order and that money goes towards adding new features to gCaptain.

What about non-maritime Amazon orders

Simply use the following link and gCaptain will benefit on all orders you place through Amazon.com:

Amazon.com via gCaptain

Categories

The following are the product categories offered at our gear shop:

Sea Stories
Maritime Industry Books
History
Publications
Tough Gear
Work Gear
Electronics
Literature
Chart Room

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).

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.