The newest tool available for cruisers features "talking" instructions for treating a wide variety of injuries and illnesses. The kit is separated into individually labeled and color-coded injury packs so the user has all the supplies and easy to follow instructions for managing a specific injury. The audio module in each injury card takes the technology a step further. By the squeeze of a button, the module narrates step-by-step instructions to manage the injury, pausing and repeating when necessary for accurate response.

By combining the necessary supplies with the new audio technology, the IntelligentFirstAid Kits are the most dependable tool for providing rapid and accurate first aid guidance in the event of an injury. The case includes a guidebook, with first aid instructions for additional medical emergencies, such as choking, frost bite, heatstroke, asthma. Also included is a product manual with audio instructions, a book light/flashlight and a shoulder strap. Read More

Bennett started sailing at the age of seven in dinghies in his native Yorkshire.  Turning down a chance to become a professional rugby player, he became a professional sailor at the age of 19.  A few months later he entered a youth team in the Fastnet race from Cowes to the Fastnet Rock in southern Ireland and back to Plymouth and came second in his class.  He followed that with a third in the round Britain race and in 1999 he came fifth in the Mini Transat, sailing the Atlantic single handed in a boat not much bigger than a Ford Mondeo.  Now he faces his toughest challenge yet, sailing solo 2,800 miles across the Atlantic.

Lloyd's List, May 8 2008-- THE crewing crisis facing the shipping industry is going to get worse before it gets better, warn some of the world’s top ship managers. “To say that the shipping industry is facing an unprecedented crisis in terms of the quality and number of seafarers is an understatement. The crisis is now squarely upon us,” said Brian Martis, human resource director-marine for V. Ships told the Lloyd’s List Seafarers 2008 conference in Singapore. As the shortage of qualified senior officers grows, the vast numbers of newbuildings on order at the world’s shipbuilders is a major cause for concern in terms of how they will adequately crewed. Ole Stene, president of Intermanger and managing director of Aboitiz Jebsen Bulk Transport, noted that 10,000 ships were being built that would require 400,000 seafarers. “This is a frightening scenario given the problems the industry is facing today,” he said. “The chickens have come home to roost.”

A shadow yacht is a trailer yacht for your megayacht — a floating garage of a sort that tags along with your main yacht to carry your collection of helicopters, cars, motorcycles, jet skis and motorboats. That way, when you pull up to the docks of Monaco in your 350-foot main yacht, you can also pull into the local restaurants in your personalized drophead Rolls, without having to endure the indignity of a rented limo. The boats can also pack fuel, water, spare parts and supplies, allowing more remote travel. Shadow Marine, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., is the main builder of shadow yachts, and they’ve sold two already — both to Middle Eastern clients. The company recently released a new model, called the Allure, which is much more plush than the earlier versions. Replacing the garage-like décor is an interior complete with six staterooms, a pool, sky lounge, theater, game room and mini gym.

Many mariners have been contacting us to ask about the new TWIC program that is being implemented by the Department of Homeland Security. Although not the simplest thing you'll ever do, the TWIC process is easily navigated when armed with the right information.

What is the TWIC?

The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) was developed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in response to the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. The MTSA requires the use of a biometric identification credential by individuals who require unescrted access to secure areas of maritime facilities and vessels. Before issuing a TWIC, TSA conducts a security threat assessment on the applicant, and works with the FBI and DHS to conduct a criminal background check, terrorist threat assessment, and immigration check.

Who needs a TWIC?

An estimated one million individuals will be required to obtain a TWIC. This includes Coast Guard-credentialed merchant mariners, port facility employees, longshoremen, truck drivers, and others requiring unescorted access to secure areas of maritime facilities and vessels regulated by MTSA. In other words, if you hold a Captains License or MMD you need to get a TWIC.

"I have been just immeasurably excited and impressed about how well it's worked," saysChristopher Clark, a senior scientist at Cornell University, who helped develop the system. Spring is the busiest season for right whales in the waters of New England. "For the last couple of months, it's just been bonkers," Clark says. "There's a lot more going on out here in the shipping lanes than we ever thought."