You see it on the news all the time!

• Someone has gone for an afternoon hike and has not been seen or heard from for days.
• A persons car goes off the road and they are hidden in the bushes for days before being discovered by a passerby.

You have had it happen to you!

• Your Cruising out of communications range and your family worries about you because you have not been able to check in for days.
• The kids are traveling out of the country and you worry about them day and night while they are gone.
• A loved one is on the road and will be out of cell range for much of the trip, you pray they will arrive safely.

There is no reason for this worry to happen anymore. The SPOT personal satellite tracking unit has changed all this. The SPOT unit is extremely affordable 100% satellite technology and is readily available. I carry the unit for sale at Marine Guard Yacht Security as it is a perfect tool for boat owners. It is also available online directly from the manufacturer, at West Marine stores and Sporting good stores around the world.

The SPOT unit retails for $169.99 and the MAP (minimum advertised price allowed) is $149.99. Most retailers sell the unit at MAP pricing.

Once you purchase the unit , you go online to the SPOT website at www.findmespot.com and you register your unit and choose your annual service plan.

One year of basic monitoring with unlimited "I'm OK" and "Help" messages, along with emergency rescue request calls is $99.00 per year.

You pre- load your favorite contacts cell numbers and e-mail addresses on the web site. whenever you press the OK button, (from anywhere in the world) your friends and loved ones will receive your personal message via text and/or e-mail that you are OK. In addition to your message, they will receive a link to see on Google Maps exactly where you are in the world. (land or Sea) They can zoom in and see exactly the spot where you are by satellite imagery.

You also have a non emergency call for help button. When you press this, a message goes to only the person/s you want to receive your "please take care of that thing we arranged" request.

Most important is your 911 button. If you press this recessed button and hold it for 4 seconds (eliminates accidental presses), a call goes to GEOS dispatch and no matter where you are in the world contact will be made and rescue will be activated. If you are out of the country, a consulate will be notified and if there are no public services available, private rescue will be activated. When you activate the 911 rescue request the unit tracks your GPS movement continuously until you are rescued. Nobody has to wait around hoping to be discovered anymore!!!

Additional services offered are:

Tracking Service: If you hold the OK button down for four or more seconds, tracking is activated and your loved ones can track your locations for 24 hrs
or until you turn the unit off. These tracks are saved to review at any time and come in real handy for future float plans etc... With tracking service anyone with a pass code that you give out, can log on and see where you are during your tracking cycle. To add tracking to your unit cost $49.99 per year.

Rescue Insurance: Lloyd s of London covers up to $100,000.00 per incident for any cost incurred being rescued by activating your SPOT unit. This is particularly handy if private rescue and extradition teams are utilized to facilitate your rescue.
cost is only $7.95 per year if purchased at the time of your units activation.

The SPOT unit has already been responsible for saving a great number of lives since its release last year. It has won invention of the year and editors choice awards etc... from all the best outdoor authorities. It makes an exceptional gift for anyone you care for and yourself. The service can even be gifted with a "Service Gift Card" from the SPOT website.

Are you in the Anacortes, WA area? If you or a loved one are traveling soon and you would like to try the SPOT unit out before you buy one, It would be my pleasure to lend you my demonstration unit for the trip, and teach you how to use it. I only have one activated demo, so be sure to reserve it soon. Once you or a loved one travels with SPOT you will feel the joy of knowing you are being proactive when it comes to life safety.

There are so many boats being stolen in Florida on a daily basis, it could be considered ridiculous. Although there are boats being stolen everywhere, Florida is being targeted in particular due to the amount of fast boats kept there and its proximity to the islands where drug and human trafficking is prevalent.

It was inevitable that it was just a matter of time til the insurance companies stepped in and became pro active in enforcing a solution. I received a letter from Paradox Marine yesterday, announcing the availability of a scaled down and more affordable tracking unit in response to many requests from marine insurance companies. The new GPS tracker is to be marketed as Nav-Tracker 1.0.

Attached below is the announcement from Paradox Marine about this new GPS boat tracker, in response to letter that the boat insurance underwriters have begun sending out warning all boat owners that they will not be able to renew their boat insurance on stored or in the water boats, without proof of purchase of a GPS tracking system. A copy of an actual letter being sent out by Charter Lakes Marine Insurance Agency, is posted on the bottom of this page near the comment form.

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From: Jay Keenan, Paradox Marine
To: Marine Guard Yacht Security
Date: 11/14/08

We have designed a special L-bracket antenna installations. It is strongly recommended that you include these brackets with all NAV-TRACKERs

From: Walt Pepple, San Diego, CA
Source: Boating Magazine

At 14:00 hours on Tuesday afternoon I received a call from my wife:"Honey, someone tried to steal Joint Endeavor." What happened was that she was parking her car in the marina lot, someone heaved a line from Joint Endeavor's cockpit to the dock. She assumed it was dockhands moving the boat, until she realized she didn't recognize the men. Then they hopped on plane waaaay too close to the dock. So what did my 5'4" 100-pound wife do? She jumped in our dinghy and set out in hot pursuit, all the while scanning her blackberry for harbor patrol's number. She got through, and the brazen theves were escorted to the hoosegow.

Moral of the story: Buy a security system.
The other moral: Marry a woman crazy enough to chase down fleeing felons

Many boat owners are trailering thier boats and dinghy's this time of the year. I set out to find what's new and exciting in the category of keeping your trailer secure. For high end security there is the incredible "Tender Tag by Nav Tracker" which I have written about on this blog and posted for availability on the Marine Guard Yacht Security website, but what about plain old trailer locks?

My search did not take long as my November issue of BoatU.S. magazine arrived, and they were showcasing inventive new products that were honored this summer with the "National Marine Manufacturers Association Innovation Awards".

From the hottips and news you can use section of BoatU.S. Magazine November 2008:

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Stop Trailer Theft

short of storing your trailer boat in a bank vault, there is no 100% foolproof way to prevent boat theft. However, when BoatU.S. member Adam Pappalardo purchased his trailer boat and was looking for a secure hitch coupler lock, he wasn't impressed with what he found, so he invented his own --- The "Trailer Gator."

The Trailer Gator is designed for use when the boat is in storage. A hardened steel frame fits securely around the hitch coupler, locked in place with a coupler lock, preventing the coupler bolts from being removed or trailer ball from being inserted. A shackle guard prevents the use of bolt cutters on the lock.

Pappalardo says it's virtually indestructible and easy to install. Three sizes are available for non-surge brake trailers, starting at $110.00. For more information, go to www.TrailerGator.com

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Final Thoughts.

I'm very happy with the initial impressions of what I see at the website and the thoughtfulness that went into making a better trailer lock. If you have any experience with this product, let us know what you think about it by adding your comment.

Marine Magellan Insight from Marine Guard Yacht Security is a unique wireless security, monitoring & surveillance system with GPS satellite tracking. Insight includes all the components necessary to help protect a boat and monitor exactly what is happening onboard at all times. The system notifies a boat owner or captain if there’s security violations, high water in the bilge, low battery voltage, loss of shore power, smoke or heat detection. If the boat is moved without authorization or stolen, Insight will send a message every 15 minutes with the vessel’s speed, heading, latitude and longitude. Connected to the internet through a wireless router, Insight provides complete access to a boat from any computer with internet access or through a web-enabled mobile phone. The system has full GPS tracking through the new Inmarsat IsatM2M network, and will report in alarm notifications from anywhere in the world. Insight will report alarms with a voice message, and/or email, and/or SMS text message.

More info: Marine Guard Yacht Security

Keep Track Of Your Tender With Nav-Tracker 2.0 TenderTAG
400 Foot Range For Unique Wireless Leash

Fort Lauderdale, Florida (USA) – Boat security systems supplier Paradox Marine has introduced Nav-Tracker 2.0 TenderTAG, an enhanced model of its Nav-Tracker 2.0 wireless boat location and GPS tracking system. TenderTAG activates an alarm when a tender is separated from the master craft, which can happen if a tow line breaks, the tender sinks, or it’s stolen.

When a Nav-Tracker 2.0 TenderTAG transmitter is mounted discreetly on a tender, a wireless ‘leash’ with a programmable range from 100 to 400 feet is created. The Nav-Tracker 2.0 receiver on board the boat or yacht will not only alert you if the leash is broken - with the flick of a switch you can also disable the tender’s engine. An additional switch is available to remotely turn on the tender’s navigation lights for night time towing.

Nav-Tracker 2.0 uses Inmarsat based GPS satellite technology to monitor a boat’s location and notify up to four people by email and/or text message every 15 minutes with the latitude/longitude, speed and heading if it is moved outside of a “geo-fence” with a 500-foot radius. The system will also send several daily status reports.

A message from Nav-Tracker 2.0 would look like this:

Message From Nav-Tracker 2.0
User: Paradox Marine
Asset: M/Y Island Time
Fleet: ETI
Date/Time: 2006-07-25 15:06:28 (EDT)
Event: Geo-fence breached;
Location: 26.05767,-80.1303.3 (0.75 mi NE of Hollywood, FL 33019)
Speed/heading: 9.2 Knots, 144 deg
Google Earth Map: [KML]
This email is for notification only. Please DO NOT reply to this email.

Some insurance companies now require GPS tracking devices to be installed on certain types of boats, including high performance boats and boats with triple high-horsepower outboards.

For more information about Nav-Tracker 2.0 TT, Nav-Tracker 2.0 and other Paradox Marine boat security, monitoring, tracking and survelliance products, visit www.marineguardsecurity.com or call 360-588-2120 (Pacific)

 

It doesn’t matter if you get your on-the-water kicks from the seat of a kayak or the captain’s chair of a 60-foot powerboat, if you’re afloat, you should be stowing Spot. It’s the simplest, most convenient way to add to the pleasure and safety of boating when you’re out of cell phone reach. With the push of one button, satellite-enabled Spot can send messages and your GPS coordinates to loved ones—or even to emergency authorities who can dispatch the Coast Guard if you need emergency help. Friends can even track your journey on Google Maps as you make your way.

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In the event of a non-life threatening emergency, the help button provides you the option to notify up to 10 friends and family members exactly where you are and that you need help.	Let up to 10 friends and family members of your choice know that all is well and notify them of your location via text or email. Save waypoints so you can review your route online at a later date.	Let anyone of your choice share in your adventure in real time with online personal shared pages; or just save your tracking map so you can review later.	For life-threatening emergencies, you can notify the GEOS International Emergency Response Center of your exact location. GEOS alerts the appropriate emergency responders worldwide – for example contacting 9-1-1 responders in North America and 1-1-2 responders in Europe.