Blue Book of Boats

For Canadian and US cruisers, the “Magic Jack” is a good way to save money on long distance phone calls. It’s been more than a year since I’ve heard of the “Magic Jack” and several of my friends are already using it. However, I did not have to phone long distance, so I just didn’t care.

Last week, I made a few long distance tech support calls (not unusual for big companies to keep you waiting on the phone) and was shocked to see my long distance phone bill. That’s it! I finally bought myself a “Magic Jack”, and can think of many occasions where I could save money when travelling. ‘Coz hotels charge exorbitant fees on long distance, some even charging a per-call fee on local calls.

With internet access and a laptop computer, you can enjoy unlimited telephone calls to anywhere in North America, or any country in the world. I have friends who are now using “Magic Jack” as their main phone line, since you can keep your main phone number for use with “Magic Jack”. I haven’t gone that far yet, but this is definitely an option.

So, what is “Magic Jack”. Simply it is a VOIP phone (Voice over IP) which allows you to make phone calls over the internet. There are reports that it sometimes can be unreliable, and this really depends on your internet. If you have a slow connection, chances are that the “Magic Jack” may not be an ideal set up for your primary phone line. If you travel a lot, simply take the “Magic Jack” with you along with your laptop, and as long as there is internet access, you can make your phone calls. If you do not want to carry a phone with you on your travel, then take a headset.

Suffering a heart attack while boating is becoming common as more baby boomers engage in boating activities. If you are travelling in remote areas, and emergency help not instantaneous, this can be a problem.

In June 2008, Kelsey Grammer, famous TV star of “Cheers” and “Frasier” suffered a mild heart attack while paddleboating with his wife Camille in Hawaii. He survived the attack. In July 2010, Former Detroit Red Wing Bob Probert died of an apparent heart attack Monday while boating on Lake St. Clair with one of his children. It has been told that he collapsed during boating and he was immediately taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Bob Probert was just 45 year old.

What to do in an emergency case like this, when you are the only person around when another boater suffers a cardiac arrest. You can lessen this recurring loss by learning Continuous Chest Compression CPR, a hands-only CPR method that doubles a person’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest. It’s easy and does not require mouth-to-mouth contact, making it more likely bystanders will try to help, and it was developed at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

This new method of CPR is now advocated by the American Heart Foundation. Named “continuous chest compressions”, and described as “high-quality chest compressions by pushing hard and fast in the middle of the victim’s chest, with minimal interruptions.”

Here is a video explaining the process.

“This video is worth sharing,” said Gordon A. Ewy, MD, director of the UA Sarver Heart Center and one of the research pioneers who developed this method.

The world’s largest aluminum luxury motor yacht NOMAD (ex Floridian and Aussie Rules) was featured in the movie “Killers” starring Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl. Nomad was built in 2003 by OceanFast of Australia, and has undergone a superb refit in mid 2005. Designed for long range exploration and comfortable cruising, it has a cruising range of 8,000 nautical miles. She is one of the most impressive and famous yachts available for charter with a massive collection of toys, tenders, fishing and dive equipment; in addition to swimming pool, wet bar, cinema and a helicopter landing pad.

In the movie Killers, there is a scene showing Spencer Aimes (Ashton Kutcher) sneaking onto a boat (The Nomad), putting a time bomb on the bottom of a helicopter, then taking out a guard. He then swims back and goes on the date with Jen (Katherine Heigl). (Photo on left shows Spencer (Ashton Kutcher) getting out of the boat through the anchor hawsepipe by grabbing hold of the anchor chain.

For technical data and interior photos on the yacht Nomad, check out Blue Book of Boat Listing. Charter rate for this yacht – ball park figures around $490,000 to $650,000 US dollars per week depending on hi or low season.

Imagine James Bond in the movie Casino Royale, sailing on the Spirit 54, entering the canal of Venice with glamour Bond girl Vesper Lynd played by Eva Green. Charter vacationers can now share this fantasy of hot sun and turquoise water because the Spirit 54 is now available for charter in Marmaris, Turkey. At a charter rate of approx. US$5700 a week may be pricey, but the Spirit 54 has two cabins and a salon, and can easily accommodate six guests, likely four adults and two youngsters who can camp on the salon.

Surrounded by seas on 3 sides, Black Sea to the North, Aegean Sea to the West and Mediterranean Sea to the South Turkey is becoming a popular sailing charter destination.

Geographically, it has Russia to the North, Central Asia to the East, European Union to the West and the Middle East to the South.

Sailing in Turkey is smooth because there is no open sea, and no tides or currents to contend with. The sailing season starts from April and ends in October. July and August tends to get very hot.

Read more about the Spirit 54 and view photo images of James Bond and Versper Lynd aboard the Spirit 54.