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Home :: Newsletter |
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From the Bridge
The focus of the boating world is shifting to the north right now. At Armchair Sailor, our Newport, RI, store, plans are in full swing for a massive sale event over Memorial Day weekend. Some books will be marked down as much as 50%, and the Armchair Crew will be giving demonstrations of electronic charts and software. Armchair's inventory has grown dramatically over the past few years, so if you're going to be in Newport this summer please stop by and check it out. The sale will run from May 27-May 29. Summer in New England is incredible. I started sailing on the waters of Long Island Sound, and the crisp breeze and warm sunshine makes me understand why people want to leave Florida in the summers and head up north. This was one of the reasons why we purchased Armchair Sailor five years ago—Newport and Fort Lauderdale seem like the two polar ends of the East Coast's boating world. It seems like the ideal situation in life would be to do what many of our customers do—sail up to New England in the summer and return to Florida for the winter. |
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By now, you have probably received your copy of our 2006/2007 catalog. One of the things you will notice about it is that it features, in addition to all the new products, profiles of many of our Crew Members. We wanted to let you know a little more about the people that you reach by phone or email when you contact us, and to show you the breadth of boating experience that Bluewater Crew Members have. If you haven't received your catalog, call us or click on the catalog icon on the right side of our home page. If you do have our catalog, be sure to let us know what you think of it when you call! We sent our Large Yacht Captains and Crew off in style last month, with the Piracy and Security discussion that we co-hosted with The Triton Newspaper. About 80 participants gathered in our store on Wednesday, April 5, for an evening event featuring three industry experts on Yacht Security. The discussion ranged in topic from the politics of carrying firearms aboard to strategies for making your vessel less visible to pirates. Besides the discussion, there was also a fair amount of socializing. For our local boaters, I received a report from the Lauderdale Yacht Club about shoaling at Baker's Haulover inlet in North Biscayne Bay. Yacht Club members who spent a recent Sunday anchored at the Sand Bar (a famous local hangout), reported seeing six boats run aground inside the ICW channel between Red Nun # 6B and #8. There appeared to be no more than four feet in the channel. They also mentioned that several boats used the deeper water west of 6B to avoid the shallow spot, but we recommend seeking local knowledge or an updated chart before trying this. The Baker's Haulover inlet has always been a bad place for shoaling, and it changes constantly. Even though most of us would rather not think about it, hurricane season is a month away. For more about what the experts are saying on this summer's predictions, see Melanie Neale's article in this newsletter. Don't forget that we're the best source for your hurricane tracking charts, weather instruments and books, and more. We're also your best source of information. On June 3, we're hosting a huge event in our Fort Lauderdale store. It's called Hurricane Expo, and it will feature an afternoon of speakers giving seminars on various things such as hurricane prediction and preparing your vessel for a storm. Chris Parker is just one of the great speakers we have lined up for the event. See the article for more. Users of Nobeltec's Admiral or Visual Navigation Suite will want to read up on some changes regarding World Folio 29, so be sure to read the New Products article in this newsletter. Remember to let us know where your travels take you this summer! John Mann In this Issue... The Netherlands are full of surprises for Susi Frances. Join her as she cruises the locks, meets some colorful people, samples the local cuisine, and experiences tides that leave everybody high and dry. At a recent panel discussion on piracy and security aboard large yachts, tempers flared and the discussion was heated. But attendees walked away with some good advice that we hope will help those headed towards piracy prone waters. John and Dulcie Harris left Colorado and purchased a Nordhavn specifically so they could cross the Atlantic in 2004 with the Nordhavn Atlantic Rally. Here, they share their log entries and some great photos from the coast of Italy. Hurricane Event in a Category of its Own Bluewater is bringing three masterminds in storm prediction and damage avoidance to the Fort Lauderdale store on June 3, 2006. Bob Adriance, Captain Marti Brown, and Chris Parker will give free seminars at Hurricane Expo, an all-day event. Don't miss it! Pirate Ships, Monkeys and a Darn Good Boatyard Dania, Florida, has it all. Melanie Neale shares her experiences from one of the best boat yards in South Florida. Who knew that blue bottom paint on one's toenails could be a fashion statement? Nobeltec's World Folio 29 and 30 are new. If you plan to use them and have a version of Nobeltec's Admiral or Visual Navigation Suite that's older than Version 7.0, then you must read this. Also, A. Manette Ansay, a bestselling author who teaches in the University of Miami's Creative Writing Program, now has a book out about living aboard a sailboat! And Bluewater's flagship vessel database product, Vessel Management System Professional, is now available in a single vessel version (SVE) for 99 bucks! It's a slimmed down version of Pro and therefore very stable and mature. A perfect companion to any vessel using a computer navigation product.
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