Safety at Sea

Since Mother Nature can be treacherous and dangerous, even on the safest of vessels. We bring you a couple of new devices that may help keep guests and crew out of danger when the unexpected happens.

By Erica Cooper

January 11, 2013

Since Mother Nature can be treacherous and dangerous, even on the safest of vessels. We bring you a couple of new devices that may help keep guests and crew out of danger when the unexpected happens.

The Bad Elf GPS

Whether you are cruising on a small vessel or traveling on land through relatively unchartered territory, the ability to keep accurate GPS locations is important. Now that almost everyone carries some kind of Apple product, Bad Elf’s small GPS device may be another great tool in your safety arsenal. This American company works with Apple’s “Made-for-iPod” program to turn you iPod, iPad or iPhone into a GPS locator. The Bad Elf GPS connects to a USB port and the GPS Pro connects via Bluetooth to up to five devices. The Bad Elf GPS system works with any app utilizing Apple’s iOS Core Location framework. ComMar Sales and Coast Marine Marketing distribute Bad Elf in the United States.

For more information, visit bad-elf.com

Immersion Suits Ends Hypothermia at Sea

Expedition vessels give us the ability to travel further and stay at sea for longer period of times. We are also traveling to more remote locations than ever and discovering new destinations. If you are traveling to cooler climates, Antarctica, Patagonia or the now popular Northwest Passage, you may consider keeping immersion suits on board as added safety. Pilmic, an Argentinean company based in Buenos Aires, has worked to improve immersion suits. Its layered and fire-proof suit design helps conserve body heat, allows the swimmer to keep full mobility and remain afloat for extended period of times. The company’s patented suit meets IMO, LSA Code and SOLAS requirements. Currently the company website is available in Spanish only.

For more information, visit pilmic.com

For less than $2, this app could save your life

Maintenance software manufacturer Intelligent Maintenance has developed a simple Man-Overboard app for all Apple devices. How does it work? Downloaded on your phone or tablet, the App displays a large MOB button that, once pressed, records longitude and latitude information and saves it to your device. Of course, for this to work effectively you have to have received the alert and pressed the button as soon as someone or something falls off the decks. The ability of recording and delivering accurate coordinates has other helpful uses, such as guiding rescue or tow boats to an incapacitated vessel. For larger yachts equipped with GPS and other tracking devices, it is an inexpensive backup that could prove invaluable.