Saturday, December 29, 2007

I Love New York

Update Nov. 29, 2010: This page is one of the most popular on our site, even though the boat show we're discussing in the article below actually happened roughly 3 years ago, as scheduled, shortly after we wrote this post. So if you came to this page looking for NEW information about New York boating, or if you simply love NY, visit our up-to-date NY Boating Resources page on FirstBoat - we think you'll "love" it!

Here's the original post for this page:


Today is the first day of the New York National Boat Show, which has supposedly is in its 103rd round. I say "supposedly" because they also call it the 101st somewhere on the official site, but it might be an oversight. The show is also called the 98th by International Boat Industry, so who really knows. Either way, that's a lot of years to have a boat show - could you imagine the show in its infancy - 1904 or 1905 - when there were hardly any cars around?

Anyway, the NY Boat Show is one of the biggest in the world, and worth a visit. Of course it's all indoors since it's in the middle of winter. You'll find it in the Jacob Javits Center (655 West 34th Street), New York, New York.

Official New York Boat Show Site

Saturday, December 22, 2007

If You Had A Boat

Just rediscovered this song on YouTube and though I would share. Hopefully, if you've never heard it, you'll enjoy it as much as I do. Not a Christmas song, but nice to listen to - especially if you're snowed in, or looking for something soothing to help settle down during this hustle bustle time of year. Enjoy!

Lyle Lovett | If I Had a Boat

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Captain Kidd Ship Found

Researchers in the Caribbean have found what they believe to be the wreck of a pirate ship abandoned by Captain the Kidd in the 17th century.

I don't fully believe this article that the ship has remained untouched in only 10 feet of crystal clear water just 20 yards off the coast.

Is it the real deal? And how much loot do you think is on that ship anyway?

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Survival of the Fibbers

DailyBoater would like to send a warm welcome back from the dead to John Darwin, the British canoeist who went missing in 2002.

It seems that the man has been charged with fraud, as his wife - who allegedly cashed in his life insurance policy for nearly a million dollars - has known he was alive for at least four of the last five years.

In her latest interview with the UK's Daily Mirror, Mrs. Darwin now claims that her husband faked his canoe accident from the beginning and planned his disappearance in order to get his family out of debt.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Where Not To Swim

There's a new service on the web to help boaters get from point A to point B, download charts or view them online, and best of all - avoid sharks!

Entrepreneur.com told me about NavQuest and how useful their AAA-like trip planning features were. They are cool, and easy to use (though a little frustrating when trying to choose cities for which they don't yet have marinas listed.) Once I found a couple of shoreline towns for which they had data, NavQuest promptly told me the distance between the two locations, the lat and long of each, the amount of fuel I might consume and how long it should take me to get their. It also provided a bearing for my compass, a chart view and a satellite view (courtesy of Yahoo - possibly b/c Google already partners with a similar service called EarthNC).

While all of that is helpful, entrepreneur.com failed to mention NavQuest's coolest feature of all - their Shark Attack Map - which displays a map of the world marked with shark attack locations and the dates they occurred.

On the web: www.navquest.com

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Do Not Pick Up The Snakes

(alternative post title: "Snakes on a Boat")

Southern California is on alert this Wednesday for strong winds and seriously high swells of 15 feet or more. Obviously, this is a bad time to boat.

Due to the extreme weather conditions, officials also issued a warning about rattlesnakes.

LA County's Department of Beaches and Harbors warns that snakes can be carried by runoff water to the ocean and beaches, and can resemble sticks when they are on the sand or mixed in with debris.

Those snakes are gonna be pissed after that unexpected ride - watch out!

Get the latest weather conditions and snake warnings for southern California here (WatchtheWater.org)