Garmin | On the Water

New cast of characters giddy to Give-a-Garmin in holiday ads

Garmin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:55:58 -0600

As we near the holiday season, our latest and greatest Give a Garmin holiday commercials get ready to hit the airwaves. The ads this year feature a fun cast of characters – including a fitness-obsessed Leprechaun, a cool and collected Nutcracker and our in-house Yeti .... We finished shooting the spots just weeks ago, and now it’s business as usual back at Garmin. And in the coming weeks, we plan on keeping our new colleagues busy. We'll have them introduce themselves to all of our blog readers, and we've assigned some homework. Every week through December, our Wish List Wednesday will give you gift ideas from each of our product lines for those hard-to-shop-for pilots, boaters, hikers, geocachers, hunters, runners, cyclists, golfers and travelers in your life. Starting this weekend, be sure to tune in and see for yourself.

Garmin Celebrates FLIBS Golden Anniversary In Style

Garmin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:52:43 -0500

It's record high heat at the 50th annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, and the Garmin booth is the place to be to escape the heat. We've got our newxHD radars, VHF radios, and huge 15 inch touchscreen displays in the booth and customers are wowed when we show them the plug and play system integration available with our NMEA 2000 and Garmin Network products. Our new GPSMAP 400 and 500 series portrait plotters that add high sensitivity and a faster processor for map panning are also a favorite for the boater concerned about space at the helm but who want NMEA 2000 compatibility. So if you're at the show, stop by the Garmin booth (1305) in the electronics tent and we'll show you around.

HomePort PC Planning Solution now available!

Garmin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:55:56 -0500

If you own a Garmin chartplotter, your trip planning days just got a whole lot easier. HomePort, our new marine planning software that lets mariners plan and manage trips, routes, tracks and waypoints and transfer them between a PC computer and applicable Garmin chartplotter, is now available for download! To plan, plot and archive from the convenience of your computer, use your existing BlueChart preprogrammed card, or transfer the preloaded maps directly from your chartplotter to an SD card. Then simply plug the card into your computer's card reader to start planning your adventure - it's that easy. HomePort can help mariners better predict fuel usage, tides and depth profiles, and can even help you plan a route to avoid hidden obstacles and underwater hazards. If you want the complete trip planning package - don't miss out - download HomePort today.

HomePort: A mariner's planning companion

Garmin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:40:00 -0500

Our marine team has been busy this week at the NMEA Convention & Expo in Florida. Meanwhile, back at headquarters, we just announced the introduction of HomePort - our new marine planning software. This must-have tool will help mariners plan and manage trips, routes, tracks and waypoints, and transfer them between a PC computer and applicable Garmin chartplotter. We know our marine customers will find this software to be the perfect planning and data backup solution. And the best part - HomePort utilizes the charts you already have and use - no additional charts are needed! In addition to managing routes and waypoints, HomePort will also help you measure distance between waypoints and will even help calculate speed and determine and estimated time of arrival. It can even help predict fuel usage, tides, depth profiles and celestial information. HomePort will be available in November for retail purchase on an SD card, or as a download from our website.

20-year stories: Sailing ‘round the world with a Garmin

Garmin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:28:19 -0500

In celebration of Garmin’s 20-year anniversary in 2009, we’re bringing you stories from across the globe of Garmin devices in action. Today’s story goes down in the history books and we’re proud to say Garmin was there when these seafaring men set their record.

Sailing legends Sir Robin Knox Johnson and Sir Peter Blake used a Garmin GPS 75 for their round-the-world voyage in a catamaran in 1994. The team won the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest circumnavigation in a time of 74 days, 22 hours, 18 minutes and 22 seconds. This was their second attempt at the prize after their 1992 voyage was aborted when their catamaran Enza struck an object, tearing a hole in the hull. The GPS 75 used in their successful voyage was later donated to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, where it is currently on display.

To learn more about Garmin’s history, including interviews from our cofounders and other associates around the world, view our video and a collection of other stories.

Garmin named the "clear leader in GPS satisfaction"

Garmin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:30:00 -0500

PC Magazine has posted the results of their GPS Device Service and Reliability Survey. Readers have voted Garmin as as the "clear leader in GPS satisfaction." We also received top marks for reliability, map quality, ease of use, and more. According to the survey, "based on the number of responses, the company [Garmin] has 3.5 times as many users among PCMag readers as the next vendor."

We're thankful for and humbled by this recognition, but we also know it never would have been possible without our customers. Thank you to all Garmin users and a special thanks to the 1,508 Garmin customers that gave PC Mag their opinion on our products.

Download S&R2009_GPSDevices

In water and on bike, Oregon outlasts the worst of the great outdoors

Garmin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Since we shared a few recent stories about the durability of our rugged outdoor handhelds and marine devices, more proud Garmin customers have been quick to share their experiences. Here's a note from Randy Clark of New Mexico, who knows a thing or two about great adventures.

Last November I took off on a nine month, 3,200 mile kayak/bicycle trip from Key West, Florida to San Diego, CA and back to my home in Rio Rancho, NM. For the first month the Oregon 400c was mounted on the deck of the kayak as I paddled up the coast of Florida. Despite numerous submersions in salt water, occasional bangs with the paddle and two bad squalls, the Oregon never failed me. After 30 days on the kayak I then mounted it on the handlebars of my touring bicycle. For the ensuing eight months it endured constant vibration and weather off all sorts 24/7 and even a misadventure where the bicycle tumbled head over heels down a 1,500 ravine in the Rocky Mountains. After dragging the bike back up the ravine with rope, the Garmin fired right up and I was back on my way!

Rare is the product that holds up to this sort of abuse, much less an electronic device. Well done! Next spring it's off to Canada and Alaska and the Garmin will lead the way.

Thanks, Randy, and we're glad that it's the Oregon and not you that's taken the brunt of the submersions, squalls, swats and spills!!

Gulf Coast Fish Story: Part Two

Garmin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:17:18 -0500

Earlier this week, we had the opportunity to fish the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Galveston, Texas. The trip was videotaped for a future airing on some outdoor TV shows hosted by Wade Middleton that Garmin sponsors. Below is part two of a pictoral essay of the trip. For part one, click here.

After getting our fill of shark fishing, Captain Bill suggested that we try one of his spots offshore. It was a 70-mile trip, and the further away from land we got, the bluer and calmer the water got.

This time of year, the Gulf waters are warm -- the GMI 10 indicated that the water way out here was 85 degrees!

Having the ability to view separate, nice, big images of your sonar and charts is helpful -- especially when you're 70 miles from land. Captain Bill located a small bit of structure with the GSD 22 sounder's powerful 1kW transducer, and then used the plotter zoomed way in to figure out his drift for the ideal spot. Then, we lowered anchor.

If you want to catch big fish, you need big hooks.

We hauled in a ton of red snapper -- many in the 15-pound class. Unfortunately, snapper season was closed, so back into the water they went. We also hauled in a vermillion snapper or two, and Bill -- a pro on the kingfish circuit -- connected with a nice king. All in all, not a bad day on the water.

Gulf Coast Fish Story: Part One

Garmin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:35:31 -0500

Thunder and menacing lightning greeted us at the marina. Our captain and pro angler Bill Platt readied the boat while we hunkered down in our truck.

You don't need to be Al Roker to know when you're in a thunderstorm, but with the boat's XM WX Weather displayed on a crisp and bright 12-inch touchscreen display, we could easily tell that this was a storm that would quickly pass, and we headed out to sea.

We hurtled across the bay with Jimmy Buffett's Son of a Sailor piping out of the 32-foot Contender's sound system. An appropriate song -- for this certainly wasn't your daddy's fishing boat. This state-of-the-art fishing rig was tricked out with the latest in electronics -- including a GPSMAP 5212, GPSMAP 4212, a GMR 24HD high-def radar, and the GHP 10 autopilot...

...to say nothing of the trio of Yamaha 350's dangling off the back end!

Our morning mission was shark fishin'. The strategy: motor up behind the shrimp trawlers combing the bay -- ideally one with gulls circling overhead -- and toss a baited hook into the propwash. The theory here is that the birds and fish are attracted to shrimp -- and bigger fish are attracted to the smaller fish. And sharks? They're pretty much willing to eat whatever they can sink their teeth into. "Master Johnny" proved to be our lucky boat.

Fish on!!!

We all pulled in as many blacktip sharks as we cared to. This was strictly a catch-and-release endeavor -- no sense in brining a five-foot, 110-pound, pissed off, toothy fish into the boat. After two or three fish apiece, our forearms stung, and we agreed it was time for our next adventure.

Stay tuned for part two!

Downloadable US TrailMaps enhance equestrian and whitewater adventures

Garmin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:00:00 -0500

If you enjoy exploring the outdoors on land and on the water, you'll be excited to hear that Garmin has teamed with US TrailMaps to offer equestrian trails and whitewater runs available for download from the Garmin website. Use the featured trail data in conjunction with Garmin topo map offerings such as TOPO 100K or TOPO U.S. 24K for a complete adventure. Conveniently download the maps to your GPS and you’ll add even more detail including complete trail information, useful points of interest, and trail and rapid names. When used with Garmin’s topo maps, US TrailMaps enhances your outdoor journey even more, plus it adds the most comprehensive whitewater or equestrian information available for your GPS.

US TrailMaps Whitewater contains 4,400 classified whitewater runs totaling over 42,000 miles. You can get detailed information such as rapids names and put-in and take-out access points for each run. US TrailMaps Equestrian contains over 20,000 miles of comprehensive equestrian trails and information for your GPS. You’ll have vital points of interest including the locations of hitching rails, watering holes, trailer parking areas, horse camping, tack shops, horse training, trailheads, visitor centers, stables, shelters, restrooms and picnic areas.

So take a moment to explore US TrailMaps and get the most out of every outing!