Boat show a safe harbor

The winds and rain associated with Hurricane Sandy as it spun north into the Bahamas barely affected the boat show, which is being held outdoors at five marinas and inside the Broward County Convention Center through Monday.

There was some standing water at the Bahia Mar Yachting Center and some wet carpets inside the tents there, but that was great for business at the Capt. Harry's Fishing Supply booth, where Kim Vernon and her crew were selling flip-flops to showgoers wearing their best leather pumps and loafers.

"We were debating even having flip-flops this year," she said. "We finally decided at the last minute, 'Let's bring some.' We are selling them like crazy. Hats, too."

Although the weather was tolerable at the show, imagine being stuck offshore in those winds and rainstorms. That's when you hope you have reliable safety gear — and there is plenty of it at the show.

Lifeline had the new two-, four- and six-person Revere Coastal Compact life rafts at its booth in the entrance tent at Bahia Mar. The rafts come in a case about the size of a briefcase, which makes them ideal for center consoles where storage space is at a premium.

Finding someone who falls overboard can be difficult, especially in bad weather, which is why Lifeline has the new Smartfind S10 AIS beacon from McMurdo (about $300). The manually activated beacon can be attached to a life jacket. A boater who falls overboard activates the Smartfind, which sends out Automatic Identification System and GPS information that can be picked up by boats with AIS equipment within a 4-mile radius. Using a chart plotter, those boats can lock in on the person's location.

One of the most important pieces of safety gear is a personal flotation device, according to Steve Baum of Boat Owners Warehouse.

"You get caught out in a storm like the one we have today, it's you and the elements," said Baum, who explained that a life jacket will keep you afloat if a storm sinks your boat. "Even if it's beautiful out, things can happen."

Another essential, Baum said, is a GPS-enabled Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon or Personal Locator Beacon. Both types are on display at the BOW booth at Bahia Mar.

BOW stores sell U.S. Coast Guard Type II-rated life jackets that sell for $6 to $8 and Type I PFDs that have more flotation and keep your head out of the water even if you're unconscious.

BOW has inflatable PFDs at the show. One you manually inflate by pulling a plastic tab, the other inflates automatically when it hits the water. The benefit of inflatable PFDs is they are so light and comfortable, boaters have a greater tendency to wear them. There's nothing worse than having your boat sink and you can't get to where the life jackets are stored.

Once you're floating in the water wearing your life jacket, you can activate your EPIRB or PLB, which sends a distress signal to satellites that are monitored by rescue agencies. Beacons with GPS allow rescuers to pinpoint your position rather than having to triangulate your position.

"They know it's you and they go right to you," Baum said, adding that ACR's ResQLink+ PLB ($300) is small enough to fit in your pocket. ACR's EPIRB is bigger and has a battery that lasts longer.

If your boat is at the dock behind your house or in a marina, the wind and waves of a storm can damage the vessel. So can a drastic increase in water level, like after a storm surge.

TideSlide eliminates the threat of boat damage due to changing water levels from storms, tides and boat wakes. It consists of stainless steel poles that are secured to a dock's pilings. A polyurethane cleat slides up and down the poles.