PMY - Power&Motoryacht

What is it about sea monsters that captures the imagination of the world? When the 30-foot-long carcass (shown in the video below) washed ashore on a New Zealand beach, this video began to show signs of going viral. Now thought to be an orca decomposed into something strange and otherworldly, the body’s discovery lit the fire of imagination around the world: What could it be? Some new species or one thought long extinct? Boy I wouldn’t want to swim anywhere near that guy! Look at those teeth.

Written by Ben Ellison on May 3, 2013 for Panbo, The Marine Electronics Hub

Looks like New York City’s Fleet Week is not quite as lucky as air-traffic controllers—the U.S. military has announced that they will cancel this year’s event due to the sequester. Nearly every year since 1984, Fleet Week has brought Navy ships carrying sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen to New York Harbor, an event that typically costs the U.S. Navy between $7 and $10 million (and generates around $20 million for the city).

Written by Ben Ellison on Apr 29, 2013 for Panbo, The Marine Electronics Hub

In my opinion it was the Garmin GMI 10 that trail blazed the wonderful world of color NMEA 2000 all-in-one displays, but it's gotten major competition from the Raymarine i70 (comparison here), the B&G Triton (first look here), and the Furuno RD-33 (hand's on here). And when Garmin demoed its new 800 Glass Bridge Series in Miami, the GMI 10 also installed on the dash looked decidedly out of place. So it was really no surprise when they announced the new GMI 20 and its GHC 20 sibling last Tuesday. It will be interesting to see if they've outdone the competition but that's hard to judge as these all-in-ones can potentially do so much, though not necessarily exactly what you want... 

The Nature Conservancy, Puntacana Ecological Foundation, the commercial venture Seascape Caribbean, and other conservationists have begun seeding Caribbean coral reefs with fast-growing coral species in hopes of reversing a trend of dying coral coverage as a result of ocean acidification and other factors.

I was, nine or 10, living in Annapolis, Maryland. Yet, I still remember the crisp, blustery, sunny afternoon like it was last week. It was one of those perfect fall days that remind you how rewarding it can be to live in a four-season climate.  

My dad was motivated by the stellar weather to practice a little carpe diem and take my brother, sister, and I for an impromptu sail on his well-preserved 26-foot Swedish-built Folk Boat. We spent a lot of time on that boat in the late ’70s creating memories that are still fresh today.

Written by Ben Ellison on Apr 22, 2013 for Panbo, The Marine Electronics Hub

—Just Another Delivery For Our Intrepid Captain.

It was 2007, and I had recently returned home from a nine-month stint running a relief kitchen in Waveland, Mississippi, after Hurricane Katrina. I was asked by a fellow captain to deliver a Hinckley 36 from the Tampa area to Stuart, Florida. I eagerly took the delivery and asked my beautiful, dear friend Liz to join me.  

Written by Ben Ellison on Apr 18, 2013 for Panbo, The Marine Electronics Hub

Since leaving Myrtle Beach on April 1, I've spent a fairly ridiculous amount of time messing around with WiFi and cellular Internet connections, and not only is Gizmo quite well equipped in those categories but she's stayed within a mostly first world country (just kidding, North Carolina). Admittedly my thirst for connectivity is high, but I might trade a small body part for a system that simply put me online 24/7/wherever. That's the promise of KVH's latest TracPhone mini-VSAT V3-IP, and 'simply' is the key word. KVH has for a while offered high-speed, 'reasonably' priced satellite Internet with a 17.6-inch high V3 dome antenna that can purportedly work on boats as small as 30-feet. What's new here is the unified antenna controller and modem known as the CommBox (above), which not only looks simple but can even be installed out of sight because as the "ip" in the product name suggests, you can check into this system with most any browser on a PC or tablet connected to the CommBox by Ethernet or WiFi...