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How many times have you heard the VHF airwaves flooded with boaters looking for a radio check? Well, Sea Tow of Fort Lauderdale believes it has the solution to clear the VHF airwaves for south Florida boaters that will enable them to check their own radios. It's an automated marine radio-check system offered on VHF marine channel 27.

According to Sea Tow, "Many boaters continually request radio checks on VHF channel 16 , which is the hailing and distress frequency, monitored by the Coast Guard and Sea Tow, 24/7. Radio checks on channel 16 are a safety issue and a violation of the Communications Act. Often, distress calls to the Coast Guard are interrupted by boaters requesting radio checks. Imagine a boater who is having a medical emergency or sinking, then tries to use his radio to call for help but can’t get through due to boaters doing radio checks on channel 16."

Sea Tow of Fort Lauderdale, working with MariTel, are prividing the Broward County area with this service. To check your vessel's radio, simply put your "VHF to channel 27, key the microphone and ask for a radio check. The system will record your radio check and then replay your transmission back to you, allowing you to hear how well your radio is working."

For more information on the radio check service, contact Donna Martinson with Sea Tow Fort Lauderdale at (954) 525-0037 or via email at dmartinson@seatow.com.

European builder Arcoa Yachts recently launched its new 62-footer, which is powered with twin 800-hp Caterpillar diesel inboards. She's designed with a deep-V hull form and is reportedly making 28 knots (32.2 mph) out of the box.The boat also features a full-beam master and a teak interior.

Viking Yacht's latest launch, the 70 Convertble, is currently streaking her way down the mid-Atlantic coast. Fresh from the factory in New Gretna, New Jersey, she's powered with a pair of 2,600-mhp MTU V-16 Series 2000 M94 diesels. During the initial sea trials, the 70 made a top hop of 43 knots (49.5 mph). The Viking crew will be campaigning their latest battelwagon at the White Marlin Open in two weeks, followed by some fishing out of Pirate's Cove before returning to Cape May, New Jersey, for the Mid-Atlantic 500. If you're competing, be sure to take a stroll down the docks and take a look at the new flagship, which is outfitted with a Palm Beach Towers' tuna tower, outriggers, and an Atlantic Marine Electronics' navigation package.

A winning 883-pound, record-setting blue marlin worth just about $912,000 caught on the first day of last week's The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament out of Morehead City, North Carolina, was disqualified by the tournament's board of directors yesterday.

The massive first-place marlin caught by the team onboard Citation, which had been sitting atop the leaderboard since day one of the weeklong event, was called into question on the evening of thewards at the colucsion of the tournamnet last Saturday. The controversey surrounded the whether or not the mate onboard possessed a valid North Caorlina.

In a press release from the tournament on June 22, 2010, the board said:

"After interviewing members of the crew of the fishing vessel “Citation,” review of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament rules, consulting the division of Marine Fisheries as well as the North Carolina Attorney General’s office, it is apparent that there has been a substantial violation of Tournament rules. The Board of Directors has unanimously determined that they have no choice but to disqualify the 883 pound blue marlin caught on June 14, 2010. The rule violation did not involve “dishonesty” or “cheating” on the part of the owners or angler of the “Citation”.

The rule violation involves the “mate” not having a Coastal Recreational Fishing License. This license is required by North Carolina law. It is required by the Tournament as written in our rules. Participants and crew were reminded of the license requirement at the Captains meeting prior to the Tournament. The mate engaged in fishing activities without a valid license and later obtained a license at 5:51 pm while heading to the weigh station. The fish was boated at 3:16 pm."

As a result of this action, the crew of declare Carnivore, which weighed in a 528.3-pound blue marlin, will now move into first place and is going from about a $240,000  payday to perhaps a million-plus. The team onboard Wet-N-Wild, which nabbed a 460-pound blue marlin, moves from third place to second place. 

The Big Rock Goes Big!

Congratulations go out to Morehead City, North Carolina's, Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament this week for seeing a record-size blue marlin come to the scales and for seeing an uptick in participation at this year's event.

That's right, in spite of the still struggling-to-get-to-its-feet economy, this tournament is enjoying a slight rise in competing boats, which number 156. The event even saw a few boats travel up the coast from the Gulf of Mexico as many of that area's tourmaments, thanks to the oil spill, have been cancelled. And at the end of the day, passionate anglers want to fish, and they'll do what it takes to make that happen. Even if it means moving a boat a couple of thousand nautical miles.

With 156 teams in the event, which continues through Saturday, June 19, total prize money is more than $1.6 million. Right now, a boat called Citation, out of Hatteras, N.C., is sitting atop the leaderboard with a tournament-record-setting 883-pound blue marlin that it caught on Monday, the first day of compeitition. It's the biggest blue marlin brought to the scales in the event's 52-year hstory. You could call it beginners luck as the boat's captain Eric Holmes is participating in his first Big Rock tournament. Yesterday, a second place fish, weighing 528.3 pounds, which would've been good enough to win last year's tourmament, was brought in by the team onbard Carnivore.

For more information, photos, updates, and live streaming video from the weigh-in daily from 4pm-7 pm, visit The BIg Rock's Web Site.

With a million-plus iPads already sold domestically, one would think there are a lot of boaters onboard with this technology. And if you are on of them, Navionics now has its charts available for your iPad. The Navionics apps (there are 29 to choose from) will run you about $19.99 and you can choose marine charts from around the world and lake maps of the United States and Canada. You can build routes, set waypoints, and share them on Facebook or see them on Google Earth. In addition, you'll get tide and current data as well as moon-phase information. If you have a Wi-Fi-model iPad, you can also get your GPS position.

Today, while "heavy mud" was sent streaming down a mile of pipe to hopefully stop the catastrophic and ever-growing oil plume from the increasingly worrying BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, NOAA has expanded its previous fishing closures in that region (see map from NOAA below).

"NOAA has extended the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico to match the Louisiana state waters closure west of the current boundaries, and to incorporate an area reportedly with oil in the southwest. Closing fishing in these areas is a precautionary measure to ensure that seafood from the Gulf will remain safe for consumers."

The closed-off area now represents 54,096 square miles, which is slightly more than 22 percent of Gulf of Mexico federal waters. Details can be found at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/. 

For Cheapeake Bay-area Hatteras owners and fans, the 1510 owner's club is having a rendezvous September 9-12, 2010. Here are the details:

The Hatteras 1510 Club will be holding its annual owners' rendezvous at the Cambridge Yacht Club on the Choptank River in Cambridge, Maryland. The Club was formed in 2000 by a handful of dedicated owners of these classic vessels that are either 50’, 53’ or 58’ long and have a beam of 15’ 10” hence the clubs name.  Additionally you don’t have to own a Hatteras Yacht with a 15'10" beam to be a member.  In fact, some members don’t have a Hatteras at all.

This year's rendezvous will consist of a 10th Annual Meet and Greet reception, a day trip to St. Michaels followed by a dinner at Snappers Restaurant in Cambridge,  presentations by event sponsors, restoration and maintenance tips by club members, and a yacht open house. Non members of the club are encouraged to attend the yacht open house at the docks from 2pm – 5pm at no cost.  Members and non members alike are invited to attend the entire rendezvous at a cost of $125.00 per person.

For further information, click here.

It was touch and go for a while, but the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic Tournament is slated to proceed as scheduled next month, oil spill or no oil spill, according to its director Shawna Meisner.

Here's a statement from the tournament:

"The Annual Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic at Sandestin®, one of the Top Ten Big Money Fishing Tournaments in the world, will take place as planned this June 22-27.

Conditions have been in our favor, and we listened to what sponsors and participants had to say. Proceeding with the ECBC sends a positive signal to not only the fishing community, but also to the world that Florida’s Emerald Coast is open for tourism and fishing.

The ECBC will be the first major fishing tournament in the region for the season. We hope you'll join us for this exciting and very popular event. For information, entries or sponsorship information call Shawna Meisner at 850-267-6168 or email shawnameisner@sandestin.com."

While I was at Cap Cana in the DR this week, I came across this in-process, to-be-IPS-equipped power catamaran. I was told by Cap Cana's Marina Manager, Andrew New, that this boat was built locally and features a Donald Blount-designed hull, and that Buddy Davis provided some input and is lending his name to this model. As you can see, this boat is still in its early stages and while I was there she was awating transport to Puerto Rico to finish getting fitted out. Pretty neat: A Carolina-inspired, IPS-powered catamaran sportfisherman built in the Dominican Republic.

Both myself and PMY's Capt. Bill Pike were invited to particpate in last week's 30th-Anniversary Bertram-Hatteras Shootout at the Abacos Beach Resort in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas. To say that we had a great time with both builders on the water and off would be a massive understatement. This is a top-notch event from the catering to the tournament teams. We also got an up-close-and-personal look at Bertram's new 800 Enclosed Bridge Convertible. And while my team (Hatteras) lost by a close margin to Pike's team (Bertram), there is no second place here. It's all just an awesome and friendly competition in a beautiful bluewater locale (We'll get you next time, Bill). Here are a few highlights from my team's view of the event. Many thanks go out to Capt. Jeff Donahue and Hatteras Yachts for sending me these great pics.

I just received this update from the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic about the status of its tournament, which is slated to start June 22. Below is a letter from the tournament director Shawna Meisner about the event's status.

Good Morning,

I'm sure you're all aware of the situation in the Gulf, and are curious about our position so, first of all, I want to thank you for your patience.

We're monitoring the situation in the Gulf of Mexico very closely, and working with government officials and private sector resources to get the most accurate information about our local waterways.

I understand there have been tournament changes in areas nearby the impacted waterways, but the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic (ECBC) will continue evaluating all factors and make a decision by Tuesday, May 18, or sooner, about whether or not to hold our tournament this June 22-27.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have comments, input or questions.

In the meantime, the ECBC fully supports the anticipated efforts of all conservation oriented groups to protect and restore our coastal environment and waterways, and extend our sympathies to the families of those lost at sea.

If you want to keep track of current developments, for charts, graphs and other facts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) And Joint Response Groups visit Gulf of Mexico - Deepwater Horizon Incident.

Thanks again for being a supporter of the ECBC.

Warmest regards,

Shawna Meisner

Florida is considering a tax break on boat purchases in an effort to boost the region's sagging marine industry. The bill, (HB 711, SB 2454 CS/SB-1752 ), would mean the sales tax on boats bought in the Sunshine State would not exceed $18,000, which, according to a recent article in the Miami Herald, is about the current tax cost on a $300,000 boat.

An April 19 article on the bill in the Sun Sentinel stated that Florida's boating industry is currently an $18.4 billion buiness that supports more than 200,00 jobs, jobs that could benefit substantially from its passing. Obviously, yacht brokers are behind this intitiative as it will hopefully keep boat buyers from registering their boats offshore. The Sentinel article also stated that due to the current sales-tax climate in Florida about "4.9 percent" of all marine-industry jobs have been eliminated. And this is in a State where unemployment is hovering around 12 precent.

In the Miami Herald article one broker saw it this way: ``It's not a tax break,'' said Jeff Erdmann, president of Bollman Yachts in Fort Lauderdale. ``It's a revenue generator. Nobody's getting a break here because they're not paying the tax at all. We're asking them to pay the revenues to the state of Florida.''

While reaction to the bill is mixed among the representatives voting on it, the Florida Yacht Brokers' Association is voicing strong support for the its passing, which it hopes to see get the green light by May 15, 2010.

Quay side in La Spezia, Italy, Sanlorenzo recently launched its latest SL108. Dubbed Dandy Six, this 33-meter (108 feet LOA) head-turner also sports a 24'3" beam, and she's constructed of fiberglass. This mega is the flagship of the well-known builder's flying-bridge motoryachts. As impressive as her exterior lines are, Dandy Six's interior is equally eye-catching displayng an ash interior with birch accents. Her main deck also features a media room for you Sunday gameday fans.

 BertramYachts' will deubt its new 800 enclosed-bridge convertible at the Bertram-Hatteras Shootout later this month. This vessel, which measures 82'8" LOA, has been years in the planning, according to the builder, adding that the yacht will feature "...new advanced forward and hull window design that is constructed with multiple layers of tempered glass. The forward window design actually brightens the interior of the salon while the hull windows are reinforced directly into the fiberglass hull for optimal hull strength."

The 800 is also equipped with ARG (Anti-Roll Gyro) technology, which is reported to reduce roll angle by up to 50 percent, and the vessel's struts have been modfiied to keep cavitation issues at bay. This should help with the 800's overall performance and operating efficiency. Power options for this yacht come from MTU: twin 2,000-hp MTU 16V 2000s or 2/2,400-hp MTU 16V 2000s.

Accomodations for the 800 include a full-beam master—part of a four-cabin layout—and large porthole windows in this space offer great ocean views. The master stateroom can also be customized to an owner's wants and/or needs.

Bertram says that the 800 is built for "supreme sport fishing." To that end, this yacht offers longitudinal fishboxes next to the fighting chair. Rod locker stowage on the port side is incorporated under the spiral staircase for access from the cockpit mezzanine area, which sports and L-shape lounge. 

Pricing has not been set.