If you enjoy a glass of vino every so often, but don’t care to deal with the storage (and taste effects) of uncorked wine, the EuroCave SoWine Home Wine Bar is a clever solution. Ideal for either the yacht bar or home bar, the SoWine will preserve and chill two bottles for up to 10 days, keeping them at-the-ready for a quick pour. Simply place an uncorked bottle of wine in the chamber, close the door, push down on the vacuum cylinder and set the temperature. Each chamber operates separately so you can chill red and white to their respective temperatures. Perfect for drop-in guests, a quick glass with dinner, or if you and your spouse prefer a different varietal. The SoWine can also be used as a traditional wine fridge to chill unopened bottles.

Keep your digits toasty while tapping away on your touch screens with the ETIP Gloves from The North Face. Made of form-fitting stretch knit, these gloves feature X-Static fabric at the tips of the index finger and thumb, allowing you agile operation of touch-sensitive devices. The palms are patterned with a layer of silicone gripper, providing traction to keep your device firmly in your hand. Great for iPhone & Android, iPod & MP3 players, laptop mouse touchpads and marine electronics’ screens. Available in black, asphalt grey and snow white.

Every once in awhile you run across a cool tool that makes you so giddy you want to order one for everyone you know. (sorry mates, said want to ) The cool tool here:  Joby GorillaPod. A creative twist on the classic camera tripod, Joby’s innovation uses flexible legs to mold to almost any surface, giving you hands-free photography wherever you are. Wrap around railings, pilings, handlebars, seat backs, tree limbs, human limbs — basically if it’s solid, it’s possible.

Particularly handy to the boater, the GorillaPod opens up a range of photographic possibilities. Get aerial shots, action shots, self-images, video footage while underway — capture angles and areas you’d never get with a traditional tripod. (bonus: no longer at the mercy of photographer’s sea legs) The GorillaPod’s flexible leg joints bend 360 degrees and have rubberized feet for stability and traction. There’s even a GorillaPod Magnetic line — attach your camera to any metallic surface with the ease of sticking a magnet.

The GorillaPod is available in several sizes and can secure most any size camera or camcorder. Joby also makes the GorillaMobile for the smartphone, iPod and GPS, as well as the equally-handy GorillaTorch — a line of LED lights with magnetic feet.

Every so often, a new product comes along that makes you want to slap your forehead and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”  These are always the simple things, like paper clips or Post-It notes.  I was a judge for the IBEX Innovation Awards and, when our judging panel saw the combination rod and drink holder from Mate Series, we all had red marks on our foreheads.  I can’t remember how many nearly-full beer cans I’ve thrown onto a cockpit floor when a big fish struck, simply because there was no place to put the can.  Now when the reel whines, just lift out the rod and put the beer in its place.  Available in polished stainless or ABS plastic, the combo rod/drink holder also eliminates the tricky angled hole-saw cut by requiring only a round hole.  These come in vertical or rod angles of either 15- or 30-degrees.  Obviously, the beer can stays upright.  Prices start at about fifteen bucks.  Wow!

www.mateseries.com

Chris Caswell has been an award-winning boating journalist for four decades (no kidding!), during which time he’s owned more boats than he wants his wife or his banker to find out about.

So you’ve got the gorgeous boat…now you want some eye candy, right? If you want your first mate to look his/her best, get them the perfect gift for the nautically-inclined – a gift of jewelry by Style Newport.

I had the opportunity to take SN jewelry out for a test drive at the recent Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. I was curious how they would perform and pleased by the head-turning response they received.

“Great Style!” one woman commented.

“Those are lovely! Where’s their booth?” another inquired.

Handcrafted in Rhode Island, Style Newport creates nautical flag charms that can be worn either or bracelets or necklaces. Fine hand-crafting out of gold vermeil and enamel or Sterling Silver makes this jewelry something they will treasure forever. Silver charms start at $50, while gold sells for $70.

Conclusions: Style Newport has definitely got it going with their new line.
Is your mate signaling for something extra special this Holiday Season? Visit them online at http://www.stylenewport.com/.

New @ Newport

Both Simrad and B&G are debuting exciting new products at the Newport Boat Show.

Zeus Multifunction Displays

The powerful, feature-packed Zeus multifunction navigation displays provide dedicated functions designed specifically for sailors and offer full integration with GPS, Broadband Radar, AIS, weather, entertainment and digital switching. Sailors will appreciate the new GRIB weather-file display and animation, along with true wind speed and direction, and barometric pressure. And, something every voyaging sailor needs – forecast planning! The new system allows users to scroll through forecasts to plan navigation consistent with conditions along with powerful WindPlot histogram displays for analyzing breezes allowing sailors to make better-informed navigation decisions.

NSO Offshore Navigation System

Simrad introduces the new NSO Offshore new premium series of large multifunction display systems, based on the Simrad NSE platform and offering astute yachtsmen best-in-class radar, autosteering and sonar and chartplotter technology from Simrad Yachting. The new system gives boaters complete access to a range of integrated functions and is compatible with previous Simrad technology like Simrad BR24 Broadband Radar™, HD Digital Radar and BSM-1 Broadband Sounder™ module; StructureScan™ sonar imaging; WM-2 SIRIUSâ satellite weather module; the Simrad GS15 High Speed 5Hz GPS antenna and SonicHubÔ multi-zone audio entertainment system. In addition the navigation system is fully Navionicsâ Platinum+ compatible and incorporates TurboView™ for enhanced 2D and 3D viewing capabilities.

Simrad also will introduce a new VHF Range – the RS10U, RS25U and HH33
Three rugged and reliable VHF radios — the fixed-mount, single-station RS10U, the multi-station capable RS25U, and the handheld HH33U VHF/GPS incorporate proven marine radio technology and signature Simrad engineering for the high-tech boater. The Simrad RS10U fixed-mount VHF offers fully compliant Digital Select Calling (DSC) capabilities. Featuring a custom LCD screen with a static 4-line display, the VHF provides channel names, GPS position, GPS speed, GPS course or time, and DSC messages. The RS10U allows boaters to program three favorite channels for easy selection and features call logs with instant call back capability. When connected to a GPS, boat position is also displayed. You want innovation…The new RS25U has a super-large custom LCD screen and is the only VHF on the market that accommodates up to two optional wireless handsets via 2.4 GHz Bluetooth for control over both DSC and basic radio functionality. Using DSC capabilities, the RS25U also offers the “Track-Your-Buddy” function that allow buddy-boaters to pinpoint and display on the radio the exact location of up to three other vessels at user-programmable time intervals. Additional features include a rotary channel selector knob with an easy press-to-enter function, instant access to three favorite channels, weather forecasts and a “happy fish” fishing condition indicator.

www.simrad-yachting.com

Out This Week @ IBEX

Aquatic AV Sports Alert

Look Ma! No hand signals! Sports Alert from Aquatic AV is a unique wireless remote system that allows a waterskier or wakeboarder to communicate effectively with the boat driver.

Sports Alert installs on a ski rope. The skier can press red or green buttons to blink green or red LEDs on the boat dash to tell the driver to speed up, slow down or stop. There is also an audio timed alert. The system also alerts the boat driver when a skier has fallen. An IBEX 2010 Innovation Awards nominee.

www.aquaticav.com

Garmin GPSMAP 740/740S

The GPSMAP 740/740s is the first touchscreen controlled standalone marine chartplotter with radar capability and built-in sonar (“s” models only). Their extra-wide panoramic displays bring fully menu-drive touchscreen control and radar interface to a compact standalone chartplotter. Now you can add a new level of functionality to your vessel. Featuring a 7-inch WVGA color display, the GPSMAP 740/740s has a built-in high sensitivity GPS receiver for fast satellite acquisition times, and offers unprecedented extremes of brightness for daytime readability and super low-level dimming for optimum night vision. An IBEX 2010 Innovation Awards nominee.

www.Garmin.com

AnchorSuit “Designed with the Discerning Boater in Mind”

The AnchorSuit™ is a neoprene wet suit-type cover for the fluke anchor, which softens all impact points of the anchor.  We all know just how sharp the fluke anchor is with all those pointed and jagged edges. They can damage our topsides as well as our selves! So with this in mind, the AnchorSuit™ was created to prevent the anchor from causing damage and injury to boats and boaters alike. The AnchorSuit™ comes in three sizes – small, medium and large, to accommodate fluke anchors up to 13 pounds, which makes it applicable for most boats under 30 feet.

www.anchorsuit.com