[We’ve had some local excitement around here with our resident orcas coming a bit further south than usual, and with salmon fishing going strong, it means lots of folks are out on the water. With cameras. This is a piece I just posted over at sister blog PugetSoundMaritime, and figured my Navagear readers might appreciate it as well. —Tim]

Christopher Dunagan has this item in his blog at the Kitsap Sun:

When killer whales swim really fast, it’s called porpoising. Some of the most dramatic orca photographs capture whales in mid-leap. If you haven’t had enough killer whale images the past few days, I’d like to share a video shot Friday by amateur videographer Arpad J. “Jay” Faher of Renton.

The resident whales, including members of J pod, were swimming north near Patos Island in the Strait of Georgia, heading toward the Canadian border. Jay said he and his wife Angela and son Dalton were aboard the whale-watch boat Peregrine, operated by Capt. Jim Maya. It was about the same time Friday evening that transient killer whales were seen in Bremerton’s Sinclair Inlet. See Saturday story in the Kitsap Sun.

Boaters are reminded that they must stay at least 200 yards away from killer whales, as required by federal regulations. Moving into the path of whales is not allowed. It’s not easy shooting video from a boat at that distance, as Jay can testify.

See original: http://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2011/08/30/amateur-video-captures-high-speed-killer-whales/#ixzz1WcQ09sKz

[USCG photo]

Tim Flanagan (hey, that’s me!) has this story at PugetSoundMaritime.com. Apparently, I must have taken a break from the Seattle Boat Show in order to take a ride on the Coast Guard’s hottest new boat this morning.

SEATTLE – Coast Guard Station Seattle invited media aboard the new, multi-mission, 45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RB-M), Friday. How could I say no?

[USCG photo]

Especially when we were given the chance to witness some serious high-performance boat handling, up close and personal? Let’s face it; I’m a hopeless Coast Guard fan-boy. I was hooked the moment I got the email.

This RB-M, manufactured by Kvichak Marine in Kent, Washington, is the first of three to be delivered to USCG Station Seattle. One notable feature even landlubbers will notice: No wheel. The “helm”, such as it is, consists of a pair of joysticks.

The marine electronics geek in me took notice of all the goodies from Furuno, Simrad, FLIR, Standard Horizon, and McMurdo.

Read more

Thanks to BitterEnd for the link:

Check out this video of Beneteau’s innovative Dock & Go system, courtesy of MadMariner. The demonstrations are being performed several times each day at the United States Sailboat show in Annapolis. Bystanders appear to be impressed.

Here’s what Beneteau says about the system:

BENETEAU is launching DOCK & GO, a revolutionary innovation to dock your boat with complete confidence.

• BENETEAU re- invents boat handling

Now maneuvering your BENETEAU into the slip or to the mooring becomes so easy a child could do it!  BENETEAU is increasing sailors’ enjoyment and confidence by totally eliminating the apprehension associated with docking.  

• An intuitive joystick makes docking precise, safe and fun

Thanks to its joystick, which simultaneously synchronizes a pivoting propeller driven base unit with a bowthruster, DOCK & GO allows you to maneuver a large sailing yacht calmly; whatever the wind and tide or marina layout.

Fun and very intuitive, the system makes docking the boat in a restricted space easy and gives a precision of movement that is incomparable.

• Safety and thrust for error-free handling

Uniting safety and thrust, DOCK & GO combines the assistance of the engine with a bowthruster, giving the same thrust whether maneuvering fore or aft, optimizing a yacht’s power for all-round maneuverability.

This new innovation will be available for Spring 2011 deliveries as an option on models with Yanmar 75HP SD engines such as the Sense (50’), Oceanis 46 and Oceanis 50.

This ground-breaking development that makes docking “child’s play” will first be seen in the North American market aboard a Beneteau 50 footer at the United States Sailboat show in Annapolis, October 7th to 11th.   Don’t miss it!

Thanks to Bob at BoatBits for the link.

I posted the press release about the new ACR AquaLink PLBs last month. I don’t own a PLB yet, but this one has just about tipped the balance for me. I’m not likely to carry an EPIRB on my little boat, but I can imagine packing one of these along while voyaging, and also while exploring ashore.

I just got a link to this video about it, which is pretty helpful, especially if you’re not really sure what a PLB is and how they work.

Sure, there are less expensive PLBs on the market, but ACR has been building all kinds of marine safety gear for a LONG time, and enjoys an enviable reputation for quality, service, and reliability.

For those of you who will attend the big Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, you can see the AquaLink PLB, along with the newly released GlobalFix PRO EPIRB, at Booth #441-442 during the course of the show.

[Here's the kind of story Navagear readers are now missing out on, because I don't run these here! I run them over at my new blog, Puget Sound Maritime. Anyway, I figure some of you maritime geeks would find this interesting nonetheless. —Tim]

The U.S. Navy wants to use Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions in Puget Sound to protect against terrorists along Naval Base Kitsap at Bangor on Hood Canal. The Navy-trained dolphins would find threatening divers, then make way for deep-diving California sea lions to clamp a cuff around the intruder’s ankle.

Michelle Ma has the story in the Seattle Times. With Navy-supplied video!

In the past, I’ve featured Coast Guard rescue videos here on Navagear, even though they are somewhat “off-topic”.

With the launch of our new sister blog, Puget Sound Maritime, it’s no longer necessary to stray off topic here to cover regional incidents we find compelling.

Except that you folks might miss out on some amazing content!

Such as the Coast Guard’s response to the current flooding we’re experiencing. Check over at Puget Sound Maritime to catch up on the latest videos from the Coast Guard’s 13th District.

I’ll continue to remind readers about Puget Sound Maritime periodically, just as I intend to direct PSM readers over to Navagear when one of our stories here might be particularly relevant to both audiences.