Category Archives: BFSSmackTalk

Beware Garmin’s ActiveCaptain!

Are you a member of Garmin’s ActiveCaptain? Or are you considering becoming one? If so, have you actually read the new Terms of Use you must to agree to?

The bottom line is that you should be extremely careful what information (“User Submissions”) you share on that platform. Why?

Because you are taking on a virtually unprecedented amount of liability in doing so.

For example, if you were the one that placed one of these anchorage markers on the north side of Vieques several years ago…

That picture above of the exploding boat above could very well happen.

And YOU’LL be legally liable for it…not Garmin.

Continue reading Beware Garmin’s ActiveCaptain!

iNavX and SEAiq Comparison…

Here is a post from Sailnet with my good friend, Colemj, where we are discussing the differences between iNavX and SEAiq. I’d just said I didn’t think SEAiq was nearly as good as iNavX. Colemj then explained why he used and liked it. And since Colemj is definitely NOT an idiot – and actually HAS an open mind and TONS of first-hand experience with this stuff – I listen…


Hey Mark – thanks for your input. Yours is an opinion/viewpoint I definitely respect.

I guess I should qualify my comments a bit. My newer iPad is at the office so I downloaded the Free SEAiq app (which gives you a trial of the full USA version) on my iPhone8 and that might have been part of the issue in terms of display. (Note: I had to do this because SEAiq is only available for iOS 10 which the iPad2 doesn’t support – where iNavX supports both).

So first let me address the info I found on this (which shaped my opinion) and then what I saw (which made me draw the above conclusion).

Continue reading iNavX and SEAiq Comparison…

Out-of-Control Multihulls

After a bunch of typical chuckleheaded hullabaloo over on SN, we FINALLY got a multihull thread started that has some promise. You can find it here:

Multihull Popularity and Interesting Designs

Now, along with what appears to be a strong (and irrational) general bias against multihulls on SN (which we intend to change) – there is also a metric crap-ton of ignorance. Fortunately, there are a small handful of dudes over there who actually know what they are talking about…long-time cruisers who previously sailed monos and now sail multis.

Continue reading Out-of-Control Multihulls