Best of Boating

Getting a Boat Tow as Easy as Pressing a Button With New SPOT Assist Service

ALEXANDRIA, VA - It’s a boater’s nightmare.  After a long day at the family’s favorite fishing hole, the engine won’t start. You need to get the kids back home, but with dead batteries killing the VHF radio and the cell phone out of range, how will you make the call for a tow? A new service from Spot LLC and BoatU.S. Towing Services could have you safely back home much sooner than you think.

The new SPOT Assist Maritime service combines satellite messaging communications and GPS technology with the nation’s largest fleet of towboats for recreational boaters, BoatU.S. Towing Services. SPOT Assist Maritime gives recreational boaters the ability to summon a towboat for non-emergency assistance by pressing the “Help” button on their handheld SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger or SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker.

By pressing the Help button on the SPOT unit, an automatic communication containing the disabled vessel’s latitude and longitude along with its make, length, color, home marina, owner and family contact information is sent via satellite to the BoatU.S. 24-hour nationwide dispatch centers, alerting them to the request for urgent on-the-water towing. This GPS location information is critical for a timely towboat response, as the biggest challenge for responding towboat captains is getting accurate location information from a disabled vessel.

EPA Delays Decision on Ethanol, Boat Industry Calls for More Testing

WASHINGTON, D. C. - Today, in a clear acknowledgement of widespread concerns about E15 on the environment, engines and consumers, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will delay a final decision on Growth Energy’s waiver petition to allow ethanol blends up to E15 until more testing data is available. 

Boat manufacturers have long called for more testing given the serious concerns about the potential impacts of mid-level ethanol blends on recreational marine engines and boats, including increased air emissions, performance and durability issues, as well as warranty concerns. No recreational marine engines, fuel systems or boats are currently designed, calibrated, certified or warranted to run on any fuel with more than 10 percent ethanol.

EPA’s announcement notes that studies to date indicate that higher blends such as E15 potentially may be tolerated by newer automobiles, but that further and longer-term studies are pending. EPA has not conducted any studies on marine engines and a wide array of other non-road engines, as is required by law.

EPA suggests it may approve E15 for 2001 and newer vehicles by mid-2010 unless data reveal problems. NMMA’s view is that no decision should be made on E15 until all independent scientific studies confirm that it is compatible with both on-road and non-road engines.

Annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade Begins Dec. 16

 

NEWPORT BEACH, CA - Get ready to see those yachts twinkling at the 101st Annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade hosted by the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce.

This grand event kicks off on Dec. 16 at 6:30 pm at Bay Island Channel, and will run for five consecutive nights, ending on Dec. 20.

This long-standing tradition has garnered attention from around the world. The New York Times even hailed it “One of the top holiday happenings in the nation!”  For more information, visit www.ChristmasBoatParade.com.