A new innovative business has started in Thrumster, with help from Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise (CASE).

Jo Bartlett - who moved with her husband Paul to the area from Leicester last year - has taken the family's passion for sailing and identified a gap in the market for waterproof data recording equipment.

Operating as MICS Ltd (www.marinecard.com), Jo and Paul have invented a waterproof system to allow fellow sailors to take and record vital information on the water.  One method currently used by watersports enthusiasts is pen and paper - which is obviously unsuitable in wet conditions - but the MARINECARD will allow them to print and record data on laminated pouches, which are secured in a moulded plastic holder and attached to the wrist or equipment with a Velcro strap.

CASE has awarded MICS Ltd a HIE Starts grant totalling £4,100.  HIE-Starts is a European-funded initiative designed to help new businesses in their first year with valuable advice, assistance and financial support.  In addition the business received a development grant of £2,300 for vital equipment.

The business is based in the family home in Thrumster with Jo working full-time on the project and Paul continuing to work at Dounreay but helping out in his spare time.

Commenting on the new business, Jo said: "With 1.8 million people participating in some form of water sports in the UK, there is definitely a market for the MARINECARD.  We have already received a considerable amount of interest from sailing suppliers and yacht clubs and we also plan to sell our product over the internet."

Business counsellor at CASE, Ian Thomson said: "MICS Ltd is a very innovative and enterprising project and therefore worthy of support via the HIE Starts programme.  We wish MICS Ltd every success."

For more information on the MARINECARD contact Jo on tel: 01955 651 745 or email: jo@micsltd.com.