Friday, October 29, 2010

Catch all the Sea Songs

Fan Photo © Brad Paisley
Today's pick for Sea Song of the Week is from Brad Paisley, who celebrated his 38th birthday yesterday. (Happy Birthday Brad!)

Since we already chose his hits Water and I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song) earlier this year, we had to dig a little deeper into Brad's discography to find this track - which is one of Brad's favorites to play on the road according to this interview.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Fort Lauderdale is the place to be this weekend

The boating world invades Fort Lauderdale today through Monday for one of the biggest boat shows in the world

Biggest boat ever built in the US, by Derecktor in CT
Today is the first day of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show... so if you want to go to a boat show this weekend, you're going to have to head to south Florida. There is plenty happening at this year's show, with the boating industry hoping for a recovery sometime in the near future. This year's event boasts approximately 1,000 vessels on display, from personal watercraft to super yachts over 280 feet - including at least 120 vessels over 100 feet long.

Keep reading for free ticket and other discount offers and tips for navigating the show.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Winterizing – an Inside Job

Some things are better left to experts - perhaps prepping a boat engine for the winter is one of them

This time of year, virtually every boating website offers up tips and checklists for winterizing your boat. We even posted an article ourselves last week, with plenty of advice for readying your boat for its hibernation season.

©iStockphoto.com/Steven Miric
But let’s face it. There is a group of us boat owners that leave the engines to professional marine mechanics (or perhaps even to a handy hubby if we’ve got one.) We don’t like to get our hands dirty and we don’t want to mess anything up. What we worry about is making sure the interior of the boat is prepped properly so that it doesn’t smell like spoiled milk when returning to launch in the spring, and that the boat is completely cleaned of important valuables so that nobody has to venture to the boat in four feet of snow to fetch a toddler’s favorite toy.

If this sounds like you (and for the record, it sounds like this Daily Boater editor), then the winterizing tips from the Boater Life blog were written just for you.

###

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Sharing a Boat with Friends

New Programs Available to Help Manage Shared Boat Ownership

© iStockphoto.com / mbbirdy
Are you intrigued by the idea of sharing the costs of owning a boat with a few friends or family members without paying fees to a big time-share-like company, and without joining a club?

Before you do, you should be aware that sharing a boat with friends is not always smooth sailing. Disputes over scheduling, maintenance, and most of all – money – can ruin a friendship. Disasters can happen. Companies such as Sailtime and Windpath (both of which we have reviewed here previously) exist because there are these risks involved with shared boat ownership, even though the cost savings could be tremendous.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Less is More with Latest iPhone Boating Apps

New iPhone Apps Make Boating Safer, Boat Shows More Fun

The latest iPhone apps that we have come across are very narrow in their functionality compared to some of the more comprehensive apps that we reviewed in previous posts such as Boating Suite and BoatLoad. But that laser-like focus on just one function is exactly what makes the more recent apps stand out – and easy to remember what to use them for.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Dropkick this Sea Song

Our Sea Song of the Week Comes from Boston Once Again, but this time with a little more bite

Yes, we're still in the "spirit" of Boston (ha ha)
Okay, okay, Boston has been on our mind since we attended the Boston Fall Boat Show a couple of weeks ago. In fact, hey, here are some pics from the show, courtesy of BoatNameGear.com.

But when we mentioned in a post last week that we thought the city of Boston had just TWO theme songs, several readers gently reminded us about a song that you have definitely heard if you've watched any Boston sporting event over the past few years, or if you've seen the movie The Departed. In fact, Conan O'Brien calls this band the heart and soul of the Boston music scene.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Quiet before the Storm

It's a quiet weekend for boat shows as the marine industry prepares for Fort Lauderdale.

Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show
With boat exhibitors just coming off the huge back-to-back United States Sail and Powerboat Shows in Annapolis, and the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show® commencing next Thursday, it's no surprise there are not any boat shows happening in the US this weekend. The industry need a breather.

Even outside the US there is only one boat show this weekend that we're aware of - and it's in Istanbul. So, if you're in Turkey between now and Sunday, you should check out this show.

You can find links to the official websites, maps, and more for these and other upcoming nautical events on our calendar of boat shows.

###

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Winterizing Time

But there still may be time for one last fall foliage run!

©iStockphoto.com/Robert Rushton
The lack of rain and the extended warm weather many of us enjoyed this past year, at least here in the northeast, really enabled us to get the most out of our boats. There may even be time for one more fall foliage boating trip before we have to haul her out. Was your summer and fall boating season as good as ours in your part of the world? Well, that time is coming to an end except in the southernmost regions of the US. Now that the leaves have turned and both the real summer and the Indian summer are finally over, it's time to face the music and winterize your boat...

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Ultimate Solo Challenge

Seven-Month Round-the-World Solo Sailing Race Begins with Competitors from the US, the UK, Poland, Canada and Belgium

Photo: onEdition 2010©
This past weekend, many of us in the US were hauling our boats out of the water, winterizing them, and getting used to the fact that boating is not an option until spring of 2011. Meanwhile, across the pond on this cool October weekend, five skippers from around the world– each on their own 60-ft sailboat - set off on an ocean race that will keep them on the water until May of 2011... if they're lucky.

Monday, October 18, 2010

The Next America's Cup

Exciting Changes Announced for the 2013 America's Cup

Photographer: Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW ORACLE
By Sean McQuilken
Special to the Daily Boater

After their win in the 33rd America's Cup, BMW Oracle Racing (owned by Larry Elision of Oracle software fame) decided to create a different kind of America's Cup… one that would be exciting for the sailors, and exciting to watch both on TV and in person. In order to do this they spent some time in Valencia experimenting with different camera angles on both the RC44 (44 ft long one design monohull) and VX 40 (40 foot long one design catamaran).

Friday, October 15, 2010

Love That Dirty Water

What a year for awareness of the condition of our planet’s most precious resource

This space is usually reserved for our Sea Song of the Week on Fridays, but today is different. Today is Blog Action Day, an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking a global discussion and driving collective action. This is our first time, but it was an easy decision for us to get involved since this year's topic is water! We are thrilled to see some of our friends from the boat-blogging community get involved with posts of their own on this issue, including Boater Life, Marine Fuel and BoatFlorida.

That Dirty Water
A few weeks ago we chose one of Boston’s unofficial theme songs, Dirty Water, as our Sea Song of the Week, not because we prefer our water to be dirty, but because we were in Boston (and because the town’s other unofficial theme song, Sweet Caroline, doesn’t mention water or boats.)

Dirty Water is a fun song to sing, but does anybody really “love” polluted oceans? Boating enthusiasts enjoy the world’s waters as much as anyone else, perhaps more... so isn't it in our best interest to keep those waters clean. This has never been more evident than it has been this past year.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

United States Boat Show Week Two

It's quite a week for boat shows around the world with one of the biggest happening close to our home on the east coast of the USA.

The United States Sailboat Show came to a close a few days ago in Annapolis, Maryland, but its partner-show, the United States Powerboat Show, begins today in the same space. This is a huge show - in fact the show's website claims that it is "the nation’s oldest and largest in-water powerboat exhibition." If you are planning to attend, you might want to wait until Saturday or Sunday... Maryland is expecting a rainy start, but show-goers should enjoy some beautiful weather later in the weekend (check the Annapolis forecast).

Elsewhere in the States, there are smaller in-water boat shows on lakes in Texas and South Carolina

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Return of the Metal Shark

Metal Shark Blasts Back into Recreational Market with 35 Courageous

You may not have heard of Metal Shark, but odds are good that you’ve seen their handiwork. Whether you cruise the Intracoastal, the Great Lakes or the open ocean, you’re bound to have been under the watchful eye of Coast Guard patrols, DNR teams, Border Patrol officers, and a host of other on-water law enforcement agencies, many of whom protect the waterways aboard custom-built Metal Shark patrol craft. Now, Metal Shark has produced a boat for the rest of us...

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Top 10 Boats Made of Food

Sure, you've heard of a shrimp boat, but how about a boat made out of chocolate or wine corks?

With last month's news of what may have been the sweetest boat ever built - a recreational vessel made entirely out of chocolate - we started thinking about what other boats have been made out of edible products over the years. It turns out that there were several boats made out of either food or food and beverage containers over the years. In fact, there were so many that we were able to come up with a top ten list! Amazingly, many of the boats that made our list were on the water within just the past few months.


Top 10 Boats Made Out of Food (and food containers)
Brought to you by Boater Life and the Daily Boater

1. Chocolate Boat
This summer, a French chocolatier created a boat made entirely of chocolate and sugar – 1.2 tons of chocolate and sugar to be exact. The successful second attempt at a chocolate boat (the first one crumbled to pieces upon launch) was named “Bateau Chocolat II” (French for Chocolate Boat II). Although the chocolate boat had a bit of a rocky start, it eventually sailed for over an hour. The chocolatier now intends to create a 12 meter-long yacht made of 6 to 8 tons of chocolate sometime in 2012.



2. Pumpkin Boat
Who would have thought that boat pumpkins are so popular that the "International Pumpkin Boat Championships" recently took place for a second time in Germany?
A tradition that started in the U.S., pumpkin boats and pumpkin boat regattas like the Annual Damariscotta Pumpkinfest and Regatta in Maine can be found almost anywhere… that is, anywhere monster pumpkin patches are close to water!

Monday, October 11, 2010

From 1492 to 2010

We've learned a lot in the past 500 years, and so much is still unknown.

Photo by Eric Schultz
Although most schools and government offices are closed for today’s federal holiday in the United States, there are many things about the day’s namesake that you may not have known.

Christopher Columbus first went to sea when he was just 10 years old, according to Wikipedia. More interesting, however, are some of the tidbits we found in The Washington Post this morning. For example, did you know that Christopher Columbus never set foot in North America? It is also likely that he, and many others, knew that the world was not flat and that he would not fall off the edge of the earth.

Friday, October 08, 2010

River-Sea Song of the Week

Ever see someone sing a ballad while crowd surfing without missing a beat?

Today's Sea Song of the Week is The River by Garth Brooks... and we found a performance on the Daily Motion where Garth appears to do just that.



If you're new to Garth Brooks (like we were until recently), make sure you check out his official site (garthbrooks.com) to learn more about his enormous discography, buy some garth gear, and get tickets to one of his post-retirement shows in Vegas.

Got suggestions for future Sea Songs? Anything with a hint of a nautical nature will do. Please post your ideas at DailyBoater.com.

###

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Boat Shows from Annapolis to Australia

If you are interested in boat shows, you probably already know about the United States Sailboat Show, which starts today in Annapolis. It's a huge boat show, and is followed by the United States Powerboat Show next week in the same location. In fact, it's such a big show, it looks like nobody else in the entire country even attempted to hold a show at the same time.
View from above the Club Marine Mandurah Boat Show

However, Annapolis is not scaring organizers overseas from holding boat shows.

The week-long 50th Genoa International Boat Show, which started last Saturday and was hampered by some serious weather earlier this week, is still going strong through this Sunday (10/10/10. Yes, we said 10/10/10).

Down Under, there are two shows going on this weekend. The Club Marine Mandurah Boat Show (pictured) is Friday through Sunday in Western Australia, and the inaugural Ballina Boat and Leisure Show runs Saturday and Sunday in New South Wales.

You can find links to the show websites, maps, and more for each of these and other upcoming shows on the FirstBoat.com boat show calendar.

###

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

On the Rocks

Boat Makes Unexpected "Transition" from Water to Land
Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian
A boater hit the bank of the Willamette River in Oregon on his 48 foot powerboat last week while going about 30 mph, launching the vessel (named Transition) 50 feet and landing it upright on the rocky shore. Amazingly, nobody was hurt. The boat will cost a bundle to salvage, but the pictures Benjamin Brink took for the Oregonian are priceless.

Oregonian columnist Rick Bella reported that witnesses were surprised, not because a boat hit the embankment there – that happens all the time. They were surprised that THIS boater did, as he was apparently more familiar with the water and dangerous rocks than the many, many other boaters who have hit those rocks in the past. They were also impressed with his distance - none of the boats that crashed here previously had achieved this much air.

By the way, if you are a boater in Oregon, make sure you take a boating safety course that is approved by the Oregon State Marine Board such as the one offered by BoaterExam.com.

###

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Rocket Launcher Saves Lives

James Dyson Award goes to inventor from Sydney, Australia for Marine Rescue Device

When something goes horribly wrong and one of your boat’s passengers goes overboard, aiming a bazooka at them and squeezing the trigger is not likely to be your first reaction. But it just might save their life if the “bazooka” in question is the Longreach Buoyancy Deployment System.

The Longreach is still in the prototype stage, but just yesterday it won its 24 year old Australian inventor the James Dyson Award for international design. The award, backed by "that vacuum guy", British billionaire James Dyson, is more than just a trophy or a plaque - the winner gets £10,000 cash (more than $15,000 U.S. Dollars), and so does the University he attended. And as Co.Design points out, the second place finisher for the award was also a boating safety product. The SeaKettle is an inflatable life raft that has a built in system for using sunlight to turn sea water into drinkable fresh water

Check out this video to see the Longreach in action.


Do you think this could save lives in the US? Share your thoughts please.

###

Monday, October 04, 2010

Pirates in Texas

Unfortunately, we’re not talking about baseball...

Boating in Texas just got a little more dangerous after an American tourist was shot in the back of the head on Falcon Lake last week.

View Larger Map

The victim and his wife were riding PWCs on Falcon Lake - a dammed section of the Rio Grande that straddles the border of the US and Mexico that is popular with water skiers and fishermen – when they were ambushed by armed boaters on the Mexico side. The couple had ridden over to Mexico to see a famous church in Old Guerrero.

There are no fences or gates in the water, just markers where the boundary lies between the two countries. There had been previous run-ins with pirates on this body of water, but this is the first known case of someone being hurt or killed.

In an article about the incident in the Associated Press, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesman stated, in what may be a bit of an understatement, "I would think that, right now, the prudent boater would want to stay on the Texas side."

###

Update 10/5/10: Anderson Cooper took this story to a new level on CNN last night with witness interviews, including a man who was actually attacked on the US side of the border:



###

Friday, October 01, 2010

A Dirty Sea Song

We're live in Boston today at the Boston Fall Boat Show, and we've got pictures to prove it. Note the yellow 'Boat Show' sign blowing in the very blustery wind - what a day!

Anyway, since we're in Boston, what better nautical tune could we have picked than Dirty Water, originally done by the Standells? That's what we thought! So for our Sea Song of the Week we picked a live version of Dirty Water performed last year at Fenway by the Dave Matthews Band.



###