Looking for a Christmas gift for a gadget-mad sailor? Here are a couple of suggestions.
Marine Electronic Services Ltd has introduced a nifty little wind-up self-powered torch which uses an ultra-bright long-life LED bulb with minimal power consumption.
A wind of the handle for one minute produces more than 10 minutes of life, and you will never have to buy batteries. It measures 133 x 58 x 46 mm so is truly pocket sized and weighs just 150 grams. It even incorporates a little compass so it might be a useful addition to the grab bag.
Priced at £10, it makes a great stocking filler, and orders may be placed on-line at www.mesltd.co.uk
If you want to spend a little more, how about Garmin's Foretrex personal GPS navigators, which are worn on a strap round the wrist like a watch?
Designed with dinghy sailors, wind surfer, jetskiers and kayakers in mind, the Foretrex 101 or 201 would be just as useful for yacht crew who want to have both hands free for steering or trimming, but still keep an eye on the nav.
Garmin's UK marine specialist, Dick Stanger says: “The Foretrex is lighter than many watches yet ensures the wearer need never worry about getting lost. It constantly logs your track as a series of dots on its 3.6 by 2.3cm LCD display and can remember up to 10,000 points.
“Turn on the Foretrex TracBack function and the clever little navigator will guide you safely back along your route. A Christmas present that is not only fun but also helps keep the wearer safe. And, of course, it's versatile too since it can also be used on land for walking, trekking or mountain-biking”.
The operator can enter up to 500 waypoints and use them to create up to 20 routes of up to 125 waypoints each. For easy waypoint management, the Foretrex can be connected to a PC.
The 12-channel receiver provides position, SOG and COG data, is lightweight and waterproof to IPX7, which means it is able to withstand being submerged to a depth of 1 metre for up to 30 minutes.
For racing sailors, there is a countdown timer that can be programmed to sound alarms, and provides instant feedback on distance and speed. If need be, the alarm can be resynchronised at a press of a button - very useful if you missed the ten-minute gun!
The Foretrex 101 (£100) is powered by two AAA batteries while the Foretrex 201 (£130) has rechargeable lithium ion batteries and comes with an a/c desktop charger. Both versions will run for up to 15 hours on one set of batteries/charge.
