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Your Analog EPIRB is Now Useless

As of Sunday, the United States Coast Guard is going all digital.

Going Down With The SS Madoff

He may have "made-off" with a few billion, but at least he did it in a style. He reportedly owned no less than four boats. His favorite escape vehicle was said to be a restored Rybovich. This is a quote from a poster on another site writing about Bernie's Bull:

BULL is anything but a "run-of-the-mill powerboat." She is in fact a one of a kind masterpiece built for a paraplegic and originally named Apava, hence her cockpit elevator to the flying bridge. I was aboard her at the Rybovich Rendezvous (where the picture below was taken) and she is absolutely flawless. I've known Bernie most of my life and he has impeccable taste, hence his choice of a Rybovich. She is worth around a million dollars, but he has 3-5 times that much invested in her. Strange and sad that he cared more for her than the people in his life.

Here's what the Coasties told us about the boat:

 It's 55-1/2-foot wooden fishing boat, purchased in 1977 for $462,000 (restoration, upkeep and docking costs not included). It was built in 1969 and nicknamed "Bull." The Coast Guard-registered vessel, which weighs roughly 37 tons and goes by the call sign WY7449, is docked in Palm Beach, Florida. 

His wife also has a 2003-made, 38-footer (unknown builder) called Sitting Bull. In addition, he's rumored to have two more boats in Antibes, France. One is a 55-footer on the hook in the Med. Bet he wishes he was on one right about now. Still, whoever said crime doesn't pay was sorely mistaken. Crime does pay, but for how long?

VIDEO: We Go Shark Fishing

Editor Kevin Falvey spent time as a certified IGFA observer during last fall's Trade-Winds Environmental/Stephen Sloan Memorial Shark Tournament in Montauk, NY. Check out the hi res version and full story at www.fishboatmag.com.

The Pro-Line 23 DC Project Boat Video

Take a look at some highlights from our season with the Pro-Line 23 DC.

Take a look at some photos, too.

Read the full test in the January 2009 issue of Boating Magazine.

Hey, Check Out Our Pro-Line 23 DC Project Boat

We like toys. Pro-Line boats gave us a big one to play with all summer--the 23 Dual Console.

To find out what we thought of it, read the January 2009 issue.

To get sneak a few photographic peaks, check out our online gallery of the boat in action.

At the Show: Part 5

10:00 am Trick and Treat. This 3-wheeler was hiding in a corner of one of the tents. According to the brochure, it does 70 mph and gets 42-plus mpg. We give you the Trifun.

10:45 Had a meet and greet with the good people of Tallon Marine. They are pushing a cool, new interchangeable accessory system that I will be testing for an upcoming issue. Here's a preview of one of the receivers installed on an inflatable tube.

12:00 What recession? I know everyone is all doom and gloom about the economy. We will have to wait to see how this show actually does business-wise. But here is some anecdotal evidence.

2:00 Sessa's Open 36'. Eric Colby will have a test of this fine-looking outboard open in an issue coming soon.

At the Show: Part 4

2:00 pm Midnight Express. Phew! Now that Gas is $2.50 a gallon again, maybe you'll want one of these.

3:00 I wasn't kidding earlier when I suggested bringing your own food to the show. Look here. Keep in mind: you can still find a New York City dog for $1. The lady in this photo is clearly a big hot dog fan.

A Quick Axius Demonstration

Some footage of docking a Sea Ray 330 with the MerCruiser Axius system at the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show.

Posted at 06:38 PM in Fort Lauderdale Boat Show Special | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Four Winns 408

We will have a test coming up soon...but in the meantime to wet your appetite

And some pics after the jump.

Immaculate Concept-ion!

If you can take your eyes off the lovely hostess, here's a shot of Concept's innovative 4400 Center Console Sport Fish.

8:00 am I have to stop at a Boating Writers International press breakfast to find out about the state of our industry. Yawn. But the bacon is usually crisp. Maybe they use this excellent product.

8:30 I got through the door but was brought up short trying to sneak into the Captains' Hideout to find out what goes on in there. It looked like a bunch of people sitting around drinking coffee. Very exciting!

10:30 World Cat Press Conference in Pictures:

World Cat's three different console layouts for its new 29-footer.

11:00 Guess which builder's bowflair is pictured here.

12:00 Garden planter or venerable 17' center console Mako?

1:00 You may be surprised to learn that once you pass the blow up bottle of booze at the entrance to the Bahia Mar Yachting Center that it is packed with sportfishers, motoryachts, trawlers, picnic boats, express cruisers, and superyachts. There is also a 60,000 square foot Builders and Designers Tent and a smaller International Yacht Builders Pavilion. Plus, there’s also seven massive Accessories Tents.

2:00 Quick stop at the Boating booth and the Zodiac display then it’s off to test the fresh seafood at the Old Florida Seafood House. Tomorrow we will show you this year’s new electronics, boats, and all the other good stuff from the 49th Fort Lauderdale Boat Show.

Live Blogging from the 49th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

Welcome. Get the inside information on the latest battlewagons and other boats introduced at the 2008 Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show. Even if you don't have a ticket. How? We're live blogging it.

Wednesday 3:30 am May as well start at the beginning. It’s 35-degrees as I leave the house for my 5 am flight to sunny Lauderdale. Looking forward to normal Newark Airport hell but I have taken every precaution I can think of to make my travels as free from TSA interference as possible—quick off sandals, no metal, no liquids, no Leatherman. All I have to do now is smile and nod as Very Serious Screener Dude repeatedly yells to make clear to everyone in the tri-sate area that to forget to take your laptop out of your carryon will result in Serious time wasted. After four wheelchairs, three flight crewmembers and two mothers with strollers, I get through. Total time on line--33 minutes. That is an excellent sign.

7:00 am Lay over in Charlotte. My departing gate isn’t halfway across the state. I’m blessed.

10:00 am Although it’s in the high 60s and sunny, the Enterprise counter lady complains about the weather. It will warm up for the weekend she assures me. Thanks, I leave on Friday.

11:00 am It takes me three tries before I figure out where to park near the 600,000 square foot Broward County Convention Center. I’ve only been here once a year for the last eight and I still can’t figure the place out.. It’s the day before the festivities, so worker guys in golf carts dart around between half built displays, but most of the boats are already in residents. I manage to avoid a collision with a forklift loaded with Pro-Line boxes when I spot a counter filled with Mercury emblazed plastic bags, which reminds me of my ever faithful Boat Show Survival List. I share it for your benefit, free of charge.

1. Comfortable Shoes: From the garage to the convention floor, I have already made two wrong turns and walked probably 7 miles and I’ve been here a total of 10 minutes. By the end of the day, I’ll have done a marathon. The management frowns on roller blades or roller skates, so if you’re going to spend a day at the show wear shoes that are made for walking.

2. A Knapsack or Messenger Bag. In my home office I have a file cabinet labeled Wish List. In it are thousands of dog-eared brochures from every boat show I have every attended. Every new boat, new motor, or cool product I’ve longed for has its place. You cannot walk the show floor without picking up hundreds of these paper dreams, so instead of grabbing a plastic bag at every booth, I shove ‘em in my backpack. That way, my hands are free to grab more and more as I walk along.

3. Notebook. The beauty of a boat show is having all those boats in one place at one time. Comparisons, impressions, vital statistics, and conversations are all dutifully recorded in my Boat Show notebook. Lately, I have also been using my Blackberry voice recorder function.

4. Camera. For recording eye candy of all types.

5. Foodstuff and beverages. Why pay the steep prices when you can bring your own?

12:30 After dodging one more loaded golf cart, it’s time to head to the in-water show.

Write your entries in the comment section.

‘Color Me Free’ Extended!

Mercury Racing Extends Free Sterndrive Color Option Upgrade;

Limited Time Offer Applies To 525 EFI & 600 SCi Models

FOND DU LAC, Wis., Oct. 8, 2008 – Mercury Racing has extended the popular Color Me Free! promotion for 525 EFI and 600 SCi engine packages. The limited time program, which was launched May 15, provides purchasers of any 525 EFI or 600 SCi engine package a free color option upgrade (an over $3,100 MSRP value). The program, with an original end date of July 31, has been extended through Dec. 31, 2008.

New Color Options
Raven Black Nonmetallic and Mercury Racing Blue Metallic have been added to make a total of eight color options for the 502 cubic inch and 557 cubic inch engine families. 525 EFI, 600 SCi, EU662 SCi and 700 SCi color options, in addition to the standard Mercury Racing Blue Metallic, include Raven Black Nonmetallic, Dandy Candy Red Metallic, Devil Red-Eye Nonmetallic, Slate Grey Metallic, Fire Orange Pearl, Nanna Yeller Pearl, Hulkin’ Green Pearl and Joyze Poypole Metallic.

The 557-cubic-inch 850 SCi is now available in custom colors as well. 850 SCi, 1075 SCi and 1200 SCi color options, in addition to the standard Raven Black Nonmetallic include Mercury Racing Blue Metallic along with Dandy Candy Red Metallic, Devil Red-Eye Nonmetallic, Slate Grey Metallic, Fire OrangePearl, Nanna Yeller Pearl, Hulkin’ Green Pearl and Joyze Poypole Metallic.

The color options enable boaters to color coordinate their Mercury Racing power with the ever expanding array of paint schemes offered by today’s performance boat builders.

About Mercury Racing

Based in Fond du Lac, Wis., Mercury Racing, a division of Mercury Marine, is a leading provider of high-performance marine propulsion systems to discriminating boaters worldwide, offering an exciting and fulfilling powerboating experience on the water.

Using leading-edge technology, Mercury Racing produces high-performance outboards, sterndrives, propellers, parts and accessories. Mercury Racing-powered boats worldwide win more races and set more records than any boats powered by other marine engine manufacturers.

Mercury Marine is a division of Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC), the world’s largest manufacturer of recreational products, including pleasure boats, marine engines, fitness equipment, and bowling and billiards.

Very sad.

Cruisers West's 520 Sports Coupe will be featured on BRAVO's reality television show The Real Housewives of Orange County. Vicki Gunvalson, one of the leading ladies in the series, is considering buying the yacht. The crew was on board July 1 as Cruisers West took Gunvalson and company out to enjoy a sea trial. Fans of boats and the show can catch the scenes when the show airs for its fourth season this fall.

After years of careful study it has come to our attention that the average male falls into one of seven “captain categories” which one are you:

The Cheerleader: "Okay guys, we’re out here to have fun, fun, fun!"

The Traditionalist: "Let me lay down a few ground rules…"

The Techno-brat: "My Blackberry has a program on it that provides 3-D renderings of four-color satellite charts which show water temps and currents so that we may calculate the most probable location of fish, if we chose to fish, …"

The Realist: "In addition to all the nav equipment, I’ve taken the liberty of bringing along a handheld compass, which I will use until I am finished reading the manuals that came along with the GPS."

Mr. By-The-Book: "Look right here on page 50 of Chapman’s it says…"

The Do-it-Myselfer: "In addition to being your captain and cordial host, today I’ll be your navigator and crew. So if you need anything, don’t start roaming around the boat. Just let me know and I’ll…"

The Director: "Drinks will be served after departing the dock by my lovely wife, Marty, in the role of your official hostess. While my daughter Tara will act the part of…"

WHAT IF YOU CALL 911 AND NO ONE EVER ANSWERS?

Starting February 1, 2009 that is exactly what will happen for boaters who have the older model EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons) that transmit a distress alert on 121.5 MHz or 243 MHz. The activation of an EPIRB is like making a 911 call to search and rescue authorities. After February 1, 2009 the older model EPIRBs will no longer be monitored by satellite, and are likely to go completely undetected in an emergency. Only distress alerts from 406 MHz beacons will continue to be detected and processed by search and rescue satellites worldwide. Although February 1, 2009 is still a long time from now, the traditional start of the 2008 boating season is just a couple of weeks away and while preparing for the season the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary recommends that the new EPIRBs be part of the season start-up shopping list.
Although recreational boaters are not required to carry an EPIRB, they are strongly recommended for ALL boaters, including kayaks and other paddle craft, along with a VHF-FM marine band radio. The 406 MHz signal sent by the newer EPIRBs when a mariner encounters distress are picked up by the COSPAS/SARSAT satellite constellation, which determines the EPIRBs position through triangulation. EPIRBs with embedded GPS are even more helpful in quickly finding a distressed boater. With GPS coordinates, the position of distress is pinpointed almost immediately. Without GPS, it may take two or three satellite passes to come up with a good, triangulated position. According to Captain Chip Strangfeld, Commander of Coast Guard Sector San Diego, “the time saved by EPIRBs could mean the difference between life and death.”

As long as the new 406 MHz beacon has been registered (which is required by law), search and rescue authorities can quickly confirm that the distress is real, who they are looking for, and a description of the vessel or aircraft. This means an effective search can be initiated even before a final distress location has been determined for non-GPS EPIRBs. It also means that a false activation may be resolved with a phone call to the beacon owner, saving resources for actual distresses.

Registration is free and can be done on the internet at: www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov or it can be mailed/faxed to NOAA by calling 1-888-212-SAVE. Beacon registrations must be updated at least every two years or when information such as emergency contact phone numbers and other vital information changes. This registration information is only available to authorized search and rescue personnel. It saves lives.

For more potentially life-saving information along with how to take a boating safety course or get a free vessel safety check from the Coast Guard Auxiliary visit http://www.uscgboating.org/. The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed civilian component of the United States Coast Guard. Created by an Act of Congress in 1939, the Auxiliary directly supports the Coast Guard in all missions, except military and direct law enforcement actions. The Coast Guard Auxiliary is an integral part of the United States Coast Guard. For more information visit www.cgaux.org if you are ready to join visit http://join.cgaux.org/ .

###

At the Show: Part 3

Four Winns 408

We will have a test coming up soon...but in the meantime to wet your appetite

And some pics after the jump.

At the Show: Part 2

Immaculate Concept-ion!

If you can take your eyes off the lovely hostess, here's a shot of Concept's innovative 4400 Center Console Sport Fish.

At the Show

8:00 am I have to stop at a Boating Writers International press breakfast to find out about the state of our industry. Yawn. But the bacon is usually crisp. Maybe they use this excellent product.

8:30 I got through the door but was brought up short trying to sneak into the Captains' Hideout to find out what goes on in there. It looked like a bunch of people sitting around drinking coffee. Very exciting!

10:30 World Cat Press Conference in Pictures:

World Cat's three different console layouts for its new 29-footer.

11:00 Guess which builder's bowflair is pictured here.

12:00 Garden planter or venerable 17' center console Mako?

Setup at the Fort Lauderdale Show

1:00 You may be surprised to learn that once you pass the blow up bottle of booze at the entrance to the Bahia Mar Yachting Center that it is packed with sportfishers, motoryachts, trawlers, picnic boats, express cruisers, and superyachts. There is also a 60,000 square foot Builders and Designers Tent and a smaller International Yacht Builders Pavilion. Plus, there’s also seven massive Accessories Tents.

2:00 Quick stop at the Boating booth and the Zodiac display then it’s off to test the fresh seafood at the Old Florida Seafood House. Tomorrow we will show you this year’s new electronics, boats, and all the other good stuff from the 49th Fort Lauderdale Boat Show.

Away to Fort Lauderdale

Live Blogging from the 49th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

Welcome. Get the inside information on the latest battlewagons and other boats introduced at the 2008 Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show. Even if you don't have a ticket. How? We're live blogging it.

Wednesday 3:30 am May as well start at the beginning. It’s 35-degrees as I leave the house for my 5 am flight to sunny Lauderdale. Looking forward to normal Newark Airport hell but I have taken every precaution I can think of to make my travels as free from TSA interference as possible—quick off sandals, no metal, no liquids, no Leatherman. All I have to do now is smile and nod as Very Serious Screener Dude repeatedly yells to make clear to everyone in the tri-sate area that to forget to take your laptop out of your carryon will result in Serious time wasted. After four wheelchairs, three flight crewmembers and two mothers with strollers, I get through. Total time on line--33 minutes. That is an excellent sign.

7:00 am Lay over in Charlotte. My departing gate isn’t halfway across the state. I’m blessed.

10:00 am Although it’s in the high 60s and sunny, the Enterprise counter lady complains about the weather. It will warm up for the weekend she assures me. Thanks, I leave on Friday.

11:00 am It takes me three tries before I figure out where to park near the 600,000 square foot Broward County Convention Center. I’ve only been here once a year for the last eight and I still can’t figure the place out.. It’s the day before the festivities, so worker guys in golf carts dart around between half built displays, but most of the boats are already in residents. I manage to avoid a collision with a forklift loaded with Pro-Line boxes when I spot a counter filled with Mercury emblazed plastic bags, which reminds me of my ever faithful Boat Show Survival List. I share it for your benefit, free of charge.

1. Comfortable Shoes: From the garage to the convention floor, I have already made two wrong turns and walked probably 7 miles and I’ve been here a total of 10 minutes. By the end of the day, I’ll have done a marathon. The management frowns on roller blades or roller skates, so if you’re going to spend a day at the show wear shoes that are made for walking.

2. A Knapsack or Messenger Bag. In my home office I have a file cabinet labeled Wish List. In it are thousands of dog-eared brochures from every boat show I have every attended. Every new boat, new motor, or cool product I’ve longed for has its place. You cannot walk the show floor without picking up hundreds of these paper dreams, so instead of grabbing a plastic bag at every booth, I shove ‘em in my backpack. That way, my hands are free to grab more and more as I walk along.

3. Notebook. The beauty of a boat show is having all those boats in one place at one time. Comparisons, impressions, vital statistics, and conversations are all dutifully recorded in my Boat Show notebook. Lately, I have also been using my Blackberry voice recorder function.

4. Camera. For recording eye candy of all types.

5. Foodstuff and beverages. Why pay the steep prices when you can bring your own?

12:30 After dodging one more loaded golf cart, it’s time to head to the in-water show.

Caption Contest

Write your entries in the comment section.

News From Mercury Racing

‘Color Me Free’ Extended!

Mercury Racing Extends Free Sterndrive Color Option Upgrade;

Limited Time Offer Applies To 525 EFI & 600 SCi Models

FOND DU LAC, Wis., Oct. 8, 2008 – Mercury Racing has extended the popular Color Me Free! promotion for 525 EFI and 600 SCi engine packages. The limited time program, which was launched May 15, provides purchasers of any 525 EFI or 600 SCi engine package a free color option upgrade (an over $3,100 MSRP value). The program, with an original end date of July 31, has been extended through Dec. 31, 2008.

New Color Options
Raven Black Nonmetallic and Mercury Racing Blue Metallic have been added to make a total of eight color options for the 502 cubic inch and 557 cubic inch engine families. 525 EFI, 600 SCi, EU662 SCi and 700 SCi color options, in addition to the standard Mercury Racing Blue Metallic, include Raven Black Nonmetallic, Dandy Candy Red Metallic, Devil Red-Eye Nonmetallic, Slate Grey Metallic, Fire Orange Pearl, Nanna Yeller Pearl, Hulkin’ Green Pearl and Joyze Poypole Metallic.

The 557-cubic-inch 850 SCi is now available in custom colors as well. 850 SCi, 1075 SCi and 1200 SCi color options, in addition to the standard Raven Black Nonmetallic include Mercury Racing Blue Metallic along with Dandy Candy Red Metallic, Devil Red-Eye Nonmetallic, Slate Grey Metallic, Fire OrangePearl, Nanna Yeller Pearl, Hulkin’ Green Pearl and Joyze Poypole Metallic.

The color options enable boaters to color coordinate their Mercury Racing power with the ever expanding array of paint schemes offered by today’s performance boat builders.

About Mercury Racing

Based in Fond du Lac, Wis., Mercury Racing, a division of Mercury Marine, is a leading provider of high-performance marine propulsion systems to discriminating boaters worldwide, offering an exciting and fulfilling powerboating experience on the water.

Using leading-edge technology, Mercury Racing produces high-performance outboards, sterndrives, propellers, parts and accessories. Mercury Racing-powered boats worldwide win more races and set more records than any boats powered by other marine engine manufacturers.

Mercury Marine is a division of Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC), the world’s largest manufacturer of recreational products, including pleasure boats, marine engines, fitness equipment, and bowling and billiards.

RIP: Frank Mundus

Very sad.

Celebrity Yacht TV Spot

Cruisers West's 520 Sports Coupe will be featured on BRAVO's reality television show The Real Housewives of Orange County. Vicki Gunvalson, one of the leading ladies in the series, is considering buying the yacht. The crew was on board July 1 as Cruisers West took Gunvalson and company out to enjoy a sea trial. Fans of boats and the show can catch the scenes when the show airs for its fourth season this fall.

Role Playing

After years of careful study it has come to our attention that the average male falls into one of seven “captain categories” which one are you:

The Cheerleader: "Okay guys, we’re out here to have fun, fun, fun!"

The Traditionalist: "Let me lay down a few ground rules…"

The Techno-brat: "My Blackberry has a program on it that provides 3-D renderings of four-color satellite charts which show water temps and currents so that we may calculate the most probable location of fish, if we chose to fish, …"

The Realist: "In addition to all the nav equipment, I’ve taken the liberty of bringing along a handheld compass, which I will use until I am finished reading the manuals that came along with the GPS."

Mr. By-The-Book: "Look right here on page 50 of Chapman’s it says…"

The Do-it-Myselfer: "In addition to being your captain and cordial host, today I’ll be your navigator and crew. So if you need anything, don’t start roaming around the boat. Just let me know and I’ll…"

The Director: "Drinks will be served after departing the dock by my lovely wife, Marty, in the role of your official hostess. While my daughter Tara will act the part of…"

New EPIRB Rules

WHAT IF YOU CALL 911 AND NO ONE EVER ANSWERS?

Starting February 1, 2009 that is exactly what will happen for boaters who have the older model EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons) that transmit a distress alert on 121.5 MHz or 243 MHz. The activation of an EPIRB is like making a 911 call to search and rescue authorities. After February 1, 2009 the older model EPIRBs will no longer be monitored by satellite, and are likely to go completely undetected in an emergency. Only distress alerts from 406 MHz beacons will continue to be detected and processed by search and rescue satellites worldwide. Although February 1, 2009 is still a long time from now, the traditional start of the 2008 boating season is just a couple of weeks away and while preparing for the season the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary recommends that the new EPIRBs be part of the season start-up shopping list.
Although recreational boaters are not required to carry an EPIRB, they are strongly recommended for ALL boaters, including kayaks and other paddle craft, along with a VHF-FM marine band radio. The 406 MHz signal sent by the newer EPIRBs when a mariner encounters distress are picked up by the COSPAS/SARSAT satellite constellation, which determines the EPIRBs position through triangulation. EPIRBs with embedded GPS are even more helpful in quickly finding a distressed boater. With GPS coordinates, the position of distress is pinpointed almost immediately. Without GPS, it may take two or three satellite passes to come up with a good, triangulated position. According to Captain Chip Strangfeld, Commander of Coast Guard Sector San Diego, “the time saved by EPIRBs could mean the difference between life and death.”

As long as the new 406 MHz beacon has been registered (which is required by law), search and rescue authorities can quickly confirm that the distress is real, who they are looking for, and a description of the vessel or aircraft. This means an effective search can be initiated even before a final distress location has been determined for non-GPS EPIRBs. It also means that a false activation may be resolved with a phone call to the beacon owner, saving resources for actual distresses.

Registration is free and can be done on the internet at: www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov or it can be mailed/faxed to NOAA by calling 1-888-212-SAVE. Beacon registrations must be updated at least every two years or when information such as emergency contact phone numbers and other vital information changes. This registration information is only available to authorized search and rescue personnel. It saves lives.

For more potentially life-saving information along with how to take a boating safety course or get a free vessel safety check from the Coast Guard Auxiliary visit http://www.uscgboating.org/. The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed civilian component of the United States Coast Guard. Created by an Act of Congress in 1939, the Auxiliary directly supports the Coast Guard in all missions, except military and direct law enforcement actions. The Coast Guard Auxiliary is an integral part of the United States Coast Guard. For more information visit www.cgaux.org if you are ready to join visit http://join.cgaux.org/ .

###