Garmin introduces the GPS 73 marine handheld

Meet the new GPS 73, a low-cost marine handheld designed for mariners who want a simple, rugged, and reliable navigation solution. This easy-to-use handheld is packed with marine-specific features like man overboard (MOB), marine alarms, routing planning, and navigation. New SailAssist has also been added, offering sailing-inspired features like virtual starting line, race countdown times, distance to start line, speed history graph, and tack assist.

“The GPS 73 is an update to the existing GPS 72 series that’s proven to be a powerful, yet low-cost, solution for mariners for over a decade,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president for worldwide sales. “Now, with even more features, the GPS 73 is the perfect handheld GPS for power boats, sailboats or small watercraft that don’t have a chartplotter on board, or as an important emergency navigation backup for all vessels.”    

The SailAssist features in the GPS 73 provide a competitive edge while racing. Sailors can have a perfect start by marking the starting line of a race and the predictive heading line, then use the built-in countdown timer to calculate both distance to the line and burn time, enabling the vessel to cross the line at maximum speed at the exact starting time. Once the race has begun, the GPS 73 automatically switches to tack assist mode. This gives the sailor information on whether the boat is being headed or lifted based on the optimal tack angle, which helps them to be the fist around the windward mark.  

With its high-sensitivity receiver, boaters can acquire a position fix quickly and easily with the GPS 73. It marks and stores up to 1,000 waypoints and 100 tracks, which can be transferred to other devices via its fast USB interface, as well as the tried-and-true NMEA 0183. Users can also connect the GPS 73 to a computer to utilize the free Garmin HomePort trip planning software to plan upcoming routes, and to backup and store tracks, routes and waypoints.

Battery life has also been improved to more than 18 hours on two AA batteries (not included). Like the legacy GPS 72, the updated GPS 73 is water resistant to IPX-7 standards (submersible in up to one meter of water for up to 30 minutes), and best of all, the unit floats in case of an accidental dunking. The GPS 73 features a high-contrast, sunlight readable display with a built-in backlight, and is easy to read in all lighting conditions. It also features built-in celestial data, including sunrise/sunset times and a fishing and hunting almanac. 

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