The 2009 Payette Lakes Antique and Classic Wooden Boat Show, presented by the Payette Lakes Chapter of the ACBS at the Shore Lodge, in McCall, Idaho home of McCall Boat Works was a great success.

The road trip to Mt Dora, Florida begins in Northern Washington State near the USA - Canadian border. This leg of the trip was around 1,460 miles starting from Oroville, Washington with a short stop in Portland, Oregon and on to Bakersfield, California - which is where I am tonight.

Texx is on his way to Dora.. Our trusty roving reporter is now in Southern Oregon en route to MT Dora.

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The folks at Rose Point Navigation Systems have released a beta of the new Coastal Explorer 2010 product. Navagear readers already know that I use Coastal Explorer 2009 aboard my boat. So my "executive summary" of Coastal Explorer 2010 should come as no surprise: the best navigation software on the market is getting better.

No, I'm not paid by Rose Point. My only compensation is that I get free software to test and review, which I then put to use aboard my boat, if I like it. And I like it. Of course, I am obligated to remind readers that this discussion encompasses my experience with unreleased beta software that may or may not include all the features discussed.

So what's new in Coastal Explorer 2010?

The list of new features is actually quite short. Jeff Hummel, Rose Point's Director of Sales and Marketing, explains why: "It's not about features, features, features. It's about making the features you already have better and easier to use."

Imagine walking up to a estate auction and seeing this.

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Sometimes I hear long-range cruisers suggest that a flare gun could be a suitable pirate-defense weapon. While I’m in no position to offer a judgment on the merits of such a strategy, how about a flare gun Arnold Schwarzenegger would be proud of? :-)

Captain Richard Rodriguez over at BitterEnd seems to be featuring gear and gadgets recently. He periodically posts quick reviews of products he uses under the heading “Things That Work.”