Once I overhead a yacht owner say that the only thing he didn't like about his trawler was that he couldn't fish the flats with it.

Hey, Captain, how about a new flats boat which can pull duty as a dingy? Why not, indeed, said Noah Parry at Fort Myers Marine. He totaled it up for us. A new Maverick 18-foot Master Angler with a Mercury OptiMax Saltwater screamer goes out the door for just $34,600. Now, that's a dingy!

In my Holiday Gift Guide, I'm putting that one in the expensive gift category, along with a Rolex watch you can find behind the glass at Congress Jewelers on Sanibel Island. The Yacht Master, water resistant to 330 feet, has a platinum dial face and dive-depth bezel. Just $6,900. If you're really feeling flush you could get that same watch with an 18-carat gold band for $21,000. That's for the captain from his first mate. Now, Captain, a very personal thank you note is appropriate. Something shiny could fall from the envelope. Oh, look, a bracelet with charms for the nautical, symbols of your love for boating and each other. Ask for Mara.

Our friend David Westra at Lehr's Economy Tackle in Fort Myers is the go-to guy for serious anglers around here. He told us he expects the hot item this season, as it was last season, to be the Boga Grip, a device which makes landing and weighing fish easy and safe. The grippers hold the fish by the lip so you can remove the hook, shoot the picture and, of course, gently put your trophy back into the water. $119 for the 30-pound lifter.

The number one recommended fishing rod at Lehr's is the all-purpose Falcon LowRider 7-footer, a one-piece graphite spinning rod that Dave says casts light to medium weight lures and catches monster fish. $115.

Guided fishing trips are hot tickets in our area, ask Tarpon Capital of the World. Westra will write up any gift certificate so you can have a guided fishing trip with his son, Captain Mark Westra, in demand for tarpon, mackerel, snook, redfish, cobia, you name it. $400 for two, for the whole day and perhaps a silver king memory that will last a lifetime.

Dave tells me that Leatherman tools are still hot but now there's a new gadget from Dakota Watch Company, a small multi-tool with screw drivers and files and all the right stuff plus a little flashlights. $25.

One of our favorite places to browse, not counting the internet, is West Marine. Of course, Vic's first stop is the electronics display to see the latest high tech. You might want to write Santa and ask him to bring you a RayNav 300 GPS plotter which gathers signals from satellites as well as ground stations to deliver positions and course calculations that are more accurate than regular GPS navigators. $579.

While at West Marine I also took notes on some decidedly low-tech but highly functional and stylish items to put under the tree. I saw nautical clocks, barometers, prints and frames, charts, books and many other fine gifts for less than $50. I can see Vic wearing Bora Bora Booney Fishing Hat, a wide brimmed deal. Check it out. $27. For myself, I have to say I was taken by the Crochet Raffia hat with a chin strap. In red. Hint, hint. $30.

Nicely outfitted, you'll be in style for an on-the-water excursion and may I recommend to you what I call the Cheeseburger in Paradise Cruise by our friends at Captiva Cruises, based at South Seas Plantation. It's a five-hour excursion to Cabbage Key where you can order -- that's right -- the cheeseburger that inspired Jimmy Buffett. $27.50 plus lunch. Somebody, please, order the burger with cheese.

How about awarding yourselves a vacation cruise in 2003? I don't meant he kind of cruise with several hundred cabins and lots of strangers. I mean a private yacht cruise. Here at Southwest Florida Yachts we can arrange a relaxing cruise on a trawler or sailing yacht. You and yours can cruise on our Grand Banks 36 for five days for about $3,600 and that includes the captain. Or, give yourselves a boating course, one of our famous live-aboard courses. They're limited to four students, two per cabin, and we schedule courses at your convenience. Tuition for a three-day, three-night course is $795 to $995, depending on the vessel. Gift certificates are available.

Call me. I know the owner.