Blog | upffront.com

Image credit: Navico 

Anyone who has so much as dabbled in marine electronics will have come across the term NMEA, often colloquially expressed as “NEMA”. 

This is the acronym for the National Marine Electronics Association, a non-profit organisation based in the US who manage communication protocols and standards for marine electronics and promote compatibility across manufacturers. This blog aims to give a brief overview of the NMEA 2000 protocol and the basic features of a NMEA 2000 network.  

Calypso Instruments are a manufacturer of portable and small-scale installation wind meters. Based in Spain, the company provides anemometers to a range of industries where wind data is important, including marine, agriculture and renewable energy. In the world of sailing, Calypso Instruments offers the possibility to have a low cost, low impact wind meter for small sports boats and day sailors where a full-blown marine electronics package isn’t practical. In this blog we highlight the key features of the portable wind meter range which is now available at Upffront.com. 

We have previously discussed the best navigation lights set up for sailboats under 12 metres here. In this blog we look at the ideal light configuration for sailing yachts between 12 – 20m (40ft – 65ft) in length, referencing products from the Lopolight LED navigation light range.

When operating between sunset and sunrise, or in low visibility conditions, navigation lights are essential for every seagoing vessel. The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS for short) are the rules governing what lights are required on your vessel under different sailing conditions. In this blog we focus on an economical setup for boats between 7-12m (23-40ft), featuring Lopolight LED navigation lights.

© Icom 

Being a sailor comes with a lot of responsibility of which a major requirement is to be able to communicate with other boats or services in case of an emergency. That’s why having a reliable and tough handheld VHF Radio is a must.

© Lopolight

To avoid collisions at night, navigation lights are one of the most important tools. Having equipment you can rely on, provides a high level of comfort and allows you to relax a bit during a night voyage.