On the Web - Boat Name Gear

A new website - Boat Name Gear - launched last month, offering boaters high quality shirts and caps with their boat name custom stitched right on it.

What makes BoatNameGear different from the myriad of other custom embroidery companies out there?

First, all they do are Boat Names, so your order will be important to them - they are not worried about that next big "corporate" order.

Second, there are no minimum order sizes and no set-up fees - which is unheard of when you are buying high quality, custom-embroidered shirts and hats like these.

Third, they have their own line of premium stitched Captain and First Mate shirts - Perfect gifts for all your boater friends - even if you don't know their boat's name!

Lastly, you know you can trust them because they are part of the FirstBoat family of NauticalSites.

On the web: www.BoatNameGear.com

Just Like Titanic, Happier Ending

Over 100 people including passengers and crew were rescued overnight after their cruise ship apparently hit an iceberg in the Antarctic and started sinking.

The people had all escaped to lifeboats, and waited while a Norwegian passenger boat in the area arrived to pick them up.

The ship, listing in the first photo (Chile Air Force/AP Photo), may end up sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Luckily all lives were saved. Kudos to the brave crew for keeping cool during the accident. As of this posting, I have not found any reports that state how long the evacuees were in the lifeboats, but it looks like it was not much longer than a couple of hours. That would be a couple of hours too long for my liking, especially if you imagine yourself drifting in one of the lifeboats (as pictured below / AP photo) in that brutal cold.



Various news items about the incident:

CBC News

ABC

AP/ Google News

EarthNC Makes Google Water Friendly

If you've ever tried Google Earth, you know how cool the application could be - zooming around the globe and seeing 3D images of cities you love.

The one thing Google Earth has lacked for us boaters is accurate nautical information. Imagine if the 3D zooming coolness of Google Earth was merged with nautical charts - Now, imagine viewing the two combined on your laptop while cruising along the coast!

EarthNC, a Florida-based technology company, has delivered just that. EarthNC offers nearly 700 charts that cover the waters in and around the US, Bahamas, and Virgin Islands.

And for the holidays, EarthNC has taken their offering a step further and bundled their application with GPS, for the ultimate Google Earth experience for us nautical types!