NEWS & NOTES
NGA CHARTS ARE BACK AT
LANDFALL
Good news for cruisers heading to
Bermuda, the Caribbean, and points
south: international nautical charts are
available once again to the general
public thanks to OceanGrafix and
Landfall.
After a nine-month hiatus, National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
(NGA) charts are back—this time in
convenient print-on-demand format
with the most up-to-date information
for mariners who value the
readability, durability, security, and
cost effectiveness of the paper chart.
Landfall, the nation’s top offshore
outfitter and marine safety expert,
offers boaters the latest versions of
both NOAA (NOS) and NGA
(NIMA/DMA) nautical charts using
state-of-the art OceanGrafix
technology. OceanGrafix NOAA
charts are updated weekly using the
latest NOAA data, including the most
current Notice to Mariners. The
company is currently working with
NGA to implement a similar update
system, but for now, only current
editions of NGA charts are available.
To learn more, visit www.landfall
nav.com.—T.C.
DATA COMES TO THE ISATPHONE
PRO
Last year we reported the
introduction of the new, less
expensive handheld satellite phone
from Inmarsat, the IsatPhone Pro.
The list price was $699, but
promotional prices bring that down
to under $600, about half of what the
latest Iridium phone costs. The big
drawback was that even though the
phone was data capable, the people at
Inmarsat did not see fit to enable this
feature.
Marketplace reaction convinced
them otherwise. Inmarsat has worked
with several providers that offer email
and weather forecast services through
their servers, including those of
OCENS or XGate by Global Marine
Networks.
Using compression technology
IsatPhone Pro users can achieve an
effective data rate of up to 20kbps,
enabling them to access emails, jpegs,
documents, or PDFs. To connect,
place the handset on its side with the
antenna deployed with a micro USB
cable connecting it to your PC then
follow the prompts to communicate
through the Inmarsat satellite.
Visit www.inmarsat.com and
www.ocens.com for more info and
pricing.—P.S.
WATERMAKER MADE TO FIT
The Racor Division of Parker
Hannifin Corp. has begun marketing
a series of high-volume Village
Marine watermakers that can be
mounted in tight spaces thanks to a
new modular design.
With flow ratings of 500 to 1,800
gallons a day, the modular systems
are powered by AC power from a
generator.
Labeled the LTM series, the units
offer “high-quality Racor Village
Marine-engineered components with
straightforward manual operation,”
said Steve Yoshimura, engineering
manager. For details, visit
www.villagemarine.com.—R.M.L.
LEAN, GREEN, CRUISING
MACHINE
Who doesn’t want better fuel
efficiency and cleaner, greener
waterways? Now cruisers can reap the
benefits of hybrid boating with Nord
Star USA’s new Nord Star Hybrid 31.
Making its North American debut,
the 31 incorporates a C.F.R. 5.5k Wh,
300-amp, 24-volt electric motor
mounted between twin Volvo Penta
D3 190hp diesel engines. The
batteries can be recharged three
ways—by shorepower, by running
the Volvo diesels, or by using the
optional solar panels. Range will be 8
hours at 8 knots. Putting safety first,
Nord Star has mounted the driveshaft
and prop above the keel line, so if the
main propellers are damaged, the
electric motor and prop provide
redundancy.
BOATU.S. APP SHARES LOCATION
Now when you need assistance
from BoatU.S. towing, you can use a
new app to transmit your position
from any iPhone or Android device.
“The new BoatU.S. app can greatly
improve towboat response times due
to the accuracy of the GPS latitude
and longitude technology built into
