South Wall Fire Rescue Open House

South Wall Fire Rescue Department held its annual fire safety awareness open house on Saturday, October 17th, 2009. Demonstrations such as the jaws of life, and a visit from the State of New Jersey's NorthStar went on despite the cold and rainly weather. 

New Jersey State Police NorthStar

Jaws of life demonstration.

Anyone looking for a convertible?

South Wall Fire Rescue displayed their Zodiac Grand Raid with its new lift sling. 

The sling, for some reason is purple, but it sure is heavy duty!

We liked seeing the display so much we asked them to take our photograph with it.

Read more about South Wall Fire Rescue by visting their web page at South Wall Fire Rescue Be sure to check out the photo on their home web page of their Avon boat in action for a dog in need.  Additional boat photos maybe found in their photo galleries. 

Technorati Tags: South Wall Fire Rescue,Fire Safety Month,Zodiac Grand Raid,Jaws of Life,Bay Head Marine and Safety,New Jersey State Police NorthStar helicopter

Atlantic City Air Show 2009 Thunder on the Boardwalk

On August 19th, 2009 approximately 650,000 spectators packed the beaches and boardwalk of Atlantic City, NJ while hundreds of boats anchored off the shoreline for the 2009 air show “Thunder on the Boardwalk.”Demonstrations ranged from the U.S. Army “Golden Knights” parachute team, U.S. Coast Guard, and aircraft such as the P-51 Mustang to the more modern F-22 Raptor. The real “thunder” began when the United States Air Force “Thunderbirds”took to the skies performing their famed breathtaking aerobatic maneuvers to perfection. The USAF Thunderbirds do more than dazzle the skies; in mere seconds they awe you with the strength of America’s fire power. First responders from local and state levels were out in full force as well as the Red Cross to tend to any emergencies on the boardwalk. The New Jersey State Police, U.S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary members patrolled the waters.
The Atlantic City Air Show began in 2003 with increasing attendance each year. The 2009 show was sponsored by the Borgata casino.

Technorati Tags: USAF Thunderbirds,2009 Atlantic City Air Show,US Coast Guard,NJ State Police

Squan Tri Sail Regatta 2009

The Squan Tri-Sail Regatta was held on the first weekend in August, 2009 off the shores of Bay Head, NJ under some overcast skies and light rain on day two. 2009 marked the the regatta’s 30th anniversary while Silent Maid,a reproduction 1924 A-cat class made her racing debut.

A Zodiac Hurricane FCB 22 delivers lunch to the crew of Silent Maid.

Bay Head Marine and Safety launched a Zodiac Hurricane 733 inflatable boat to watch the action and take some photos, and ended up serving as a courier to deliver messages between participating vessels.

Technorati Tags: Sailing Regatta,NJ sailing,Bay Head,Zodiac Hurricane boat

ACR PLB compared to the SPOT Messenger

There is a lot of talk about personal locator beacons (PLB’s) so which one gives you the best for your money? When we heard that the Spot Messenger was featured in a home and family type magazine we thought it may be good idea to point out the differences between ACR's 406 PLB and the Spot Messenger that mattered to us.

ACR's 406 PLB does not require a subscription; Spot Messenger does.

Coverage, ACR’s is world wide via COSPAS-SARSAT system, which is true global coverage and has rescued over 22,000 people since 1982. The Spot Messenger offers Globalstar which is limited coverage and does not connect to SAR directly but, a GEOS call center first.

Signal transmission power Spot runs on a lower frequency then the ACR 406 PLB. Spot relies on a single antenna, ACR offers two.

Spot does offer an interesting feature of the ability to track your location via Google maps with a separate subscription. ACR does not offer this feature but, we happily do without it in exchange for the stronger signal ACR's 406 PLB offers which is less likely to be absorbed by trees and snow.

ACR offers a 5 year warranty, and at the time of writing SPOT was 2 years.

ACR has one of the finest reputations in the personal safety industry.

Price ACR's 406 lists for about $550.00. the Spot Messenger lists for about $170.00, and their yearly subscription runs about $99.00 year. If you calculate that out over five years ACR's 406 PLB proves to be the better buy in price alone.

Which would we select? For us it is ACR. We think the dual antenna's, stronger signal, global coverage and direct transmission to COSPAS-SARSAT is well worth paying more for upfront when considering a device of last resort

Regardless which PLB you purchase be sure to register it immediately! No matter the brand help will be delayed if the PLB isn’t registered.

Visit our website safety pages for more information http://tinyurl.com/bayhead

http://www.acrelectronics.com/ or http://www.findmespot.com/

Technorati Tags: ACR Electronics,PLB's,Personal Locator Beacons,Spot Messenger

Aquapac waterproof bags. A water lovers must have

Aquapac® waterproof bags are simply the must have gear for water lovers, whether it's a day at the beach, boating, or snorkeling.

Aquapac has an extensive line of cases and bags for just about every piece of small electronic equipment in your arsenal; from iPods to cameras and then some.

We don't just think Aquapac® bags and cases fall into our "cool products" category we, also like what they believe in. A mindset of quality, warranty with a conscience, whimsy, fun, and respect for the environment. Being based in London seems to only add to their "hip" factor.

That said, here are some of our "faves"

1. Jumbo Whanganui. If you buy just one Aquapac case (trust us you won’t) this should be it. Aquapac really thought of everything; a handle, shoulder strap, and eyelets to secure it to your boat or whatever else strikes your fancy.

Great for the beach to keep out pesky sand while you check for missed calls or surf the web. Also good for those who can’t find a thing in their purse.

Bay Head Marine recommends Aquapac’s Jumbo Whanganui for your disaster emergency to go kit to keep your documents, phones and cameras clean and dry. Get a second for your boat’s abandon ship bag.

Large PDA Case: Need we say why?

Large Armband Case: Can hold small hand held radio or cell phone or use for cash or keys. Small Camera Case: Submersible to 15ft. Take pictures right through the case. Going boating? No worries if your camera takes a little spray, we can’t say the same for your clothes.

Waist Pack Belt Case: Okay, don’t laugh like we did at first since it reminded us of the once popular fanny packs. After we thought about it for a few minutes; this is actually another good case for your disaster emergency to go kit to hold cash, keys, identification and flash drives containing scanned copies of important papers and records. The fashion police don’t patrol during emergencies anyway.

Submersible up to 15 feet means you can snorkel or dip your toes in the ocean with your cash and credit cards on your back, literally. We wish Aquapac was next door so we could pop in anytime for tea and a chat, test products, pat "Monty" the dog and feed their hungry looking composter.

You can find Aquapac at Bay Head Marine and Safety. Visit Aquapac and read customer testimonials by clicking here

Technorati Tags: Aquapac,waterproof bags,abandon ship bag,emergency to go kit,watersports