College guide for aspiring boaters

BoatU.S. created a guide to the "Boatiest Colleges in America," which helps students find the top marine programs and extracurricular boating activities offered by four-year schools.

The one-of-a-kind guide premieres in the July 2009 issue of BoatU.S. Magazine, along with a list of "The 25 Boatiest Schools in America" — those that offer at least three different accredited marine-related programs, both academic and extracurricular.

Students can search the database by state or by program, such as fisheries, marine engineering, oceanography, marine biology, sailing or waterskiing.

"This is the information our adult members tell us they wish they had when they were headed off to college," BoatU.S. consulting editor Bernadette Bernon said in a statement. "Now their teens have an easy way to find out how to continue boating, sailing or fishing and get a relevant, in-demand college degree at the same time."

Click here for information.

Boating game available for iPhone and iPod

AtomSoftware released Boat Mania, a new game at the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Your marina has three different colored piers. Boats will appear on the screen at a constantly higher rate. Trace a path for each boat to land at the correctly colored pier.

But don't let them crash into each other or you'll lose a life. Steer boats over treasures to earn extra points.

Boat Mania works with iPhone and iPod touch and requires the iPhone v2.2.1 or newer versions.

The app is available at the App Store for 99 cents.

Soundings e-newsletter launches with ethanol focus

Soundings magazine launched its new e-newsletter Tuesday, and the focus of the first issue is the controversial topic of ethanol-blended gasoline.

"Dispatches" is a new electronic publication from the Essex, Conn.-based consumer boating magazine. This first issue examines ethanol and its effect on marine engines, and encourages readers to speak out.
"Soundings has always been out in front on news and issues that affect boaters, and this new e-newsletter lets us inform readers immediately about breaking news," said editor Bill Sisson.

"The proposed increase of ethanol levels is not just a matter of maintenance problems; it also raises safety questions. That's why we're using the premier issue of Dispatches to inform our readers and encourage them to speak out by the July 20 deadline," he added.

Stories include:
• Coping with ethanol - tips to help protect your engine
• The rise of E10 - problems since 2005
• Editorial: Ethanol and boats are a bad marriage, by Bill Sisson
• 17 ways to save fuel

The print edition of Soundings magazine will continue to offer more in-depth analysis of news and issues that impact recreational boating, plus the features, columns, and how-to and safety advice that, for more than 45 years, readers have come to expect from Soundings.

"Dispatches keeps recreational boaters informed about issues, incidents and interesting developments across the country and around the world," said Sisson.

For information, contact Bill Sisson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Awful seafaring tale wins bad writing contest

A shambling sentence about screaming seafarers on the sturdy whaler Ellie May stood shoulders above the rest in an annual bad writing contest. David McKenzie, 55, of Federal Way, Wash., won the grand prize in San Jose State University's annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest with this:

"Folks say that if you listen real close at the height of the full moon, when the wind is blowin' off Nantucket Sound from the nor' east and the dogs are howlin' for no earthly reason, you can hear the awful screams of the crew of the "Ellie May," a sturdy whaler Captained by John McTavish; for it was on just such a night when the rum was flowin' and, Davey Jones be damned, big John brought his men on deck for the first of several screaming contests."

The contest, a parody of prose, invites entrants to submit bad opening sentences to imaginary novels. It is named after Victorian writer Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton, who opened his 1830 novel "Paul Clifford," with the much-quoted, "It was a dark and stormy night ..."

Click here for the contest Web site and here for the full report in the Washington Post.