REVIEW The hi-tech ideas for sleeping soundly in port or roadstead

Whether at berth in port or at anchor in the roadstead, the “2.0” captain knows he has technology on his side to enhance safety. Here are four products to help you sleep soundly.

IN PORT

BRIGHT MOORING LINES
It is not bad to be able to assess by eye the state and tension of the mooring lines (and most importantly, not stumble) in the dark of night. The idea comes from the Maltese company Camilleri Marine: it is called Glow Wormy Rope and is a range of electroluminescent floating ropes ideal for mooring. The top lights up thanks to an internal 12V battery that provides brightness for up to 40 hours: then it will need to be recharged via USB. Of course, it is not cheap: the price is 271 euros for 7.5 meters, you can find it HERE

WHEN THE SEA BEATS
When the sea is rough and you find yourself in an exposed harbor, elastic mooring lines are the ideal solution. This line from Lalizas is made of rubber threads that allow it to absorb the force of waves. The splice already made at one end facilitates docking at the bollards on the dock and prevents the cordage from unraveling. It costs 29.99 euros and you can find it HERE

IN RADA

AT ANCHOR SAFE
To avoid anxiety when you leave the boat at anchor, there is a dedicated monitoring system: it is Anchor Safe Monitor, developed by Astra Yacht, which uses the signal from your device’s GPS antenna. Thanks to the system, you will also be able to set the anchor point and check whether the anchoring has been done correctly through the dedicated function that exploits the values of calumo length and bottom depth or distance to anchor and heading. Find out HERE

CALUMO ALWAYS UNDER CONTROL
If, on the other hand, you want to know the status of your anchor haul (or mooring lines) directly from your smartphone, there’s a device for you: it’s called Connected Rope and it’s the latest innovation from Luxembourg-based Largowind. Waterproof and lightweight, you place it on the peak you are interested in monitoring and through a sophisticated algorithm it will send an alarm to your smartphone (you will need to download the free app for iOS or Android) if it detects suspicious loads, which could indicate that the anchor is not holding properly. You can order it HERE

DISCOVER ALL TECH, ACCESSORIES & PRACTICE NEWS

OUR ACCESSORIES “BIBLE”
On-board equipment has had a truly impressive technological surge in recent years; tools and accessories have arrived that are affordable for everyone and that until recently seemed suitable only for megayachts or superboats. To help you better “untangle” the world of accessorizing, we have put together a 164-page guide where you can find everything for you, with the best that has been presented by companies and with some unreleased surprises that we found while touring trade shows around the world.

The 2019 Accessory Special contains the best accessories on the market all to be discovered in categories by product type (navigational tools, safety, anchoring, propulsion, power, systems, sailing equipment, other accessories) with fact sheets and insights from our experts, useful for choosing the best model for your boat. For €3.99 you can find it here and you can read it from your computer (and automatically, if you have downloaded them, also on the Sailing Newspaper apps for iOS and Android)