Author Peter Janssen

On Watch with Peter Janssen
By

After Three Months in Mexico, the Schultes Head South on Their Grand Banks 42 Bumfuzzle

After three months in Mexico, Pat Schulte, his wife Ali, daughter Ouest, 9, and son Lowe, 7, are heading south on their 1986 Grand Banks 42 Bumfuzzle, continuing to live the dream, no matter what country they’re in. They arrived in Isla Mujeres from Key West in January. Pat took the boat over by himself since Ali and the kids were back home in Minnesota visiting family. (That wasn’t exactly the way they planned it, but a weather window opened up, and he took advantage of it.) They enjoyed their time there, touring the Yucatan, celebrating Carnaval (it was pretty…

Cruising Life
By

Cruise the Windwards on a One-Way Charter from St. Lucia to Grenada

Here’s a new way to enjoy a charter vacation: Take a one-way charter down the Windward Islands from St. Lucia to Grenada, enjoying the wind at your back and exploring a handful of smaller islands along the way. The Windwards are at the southeastern border of the Caribbean, with basically a north to south layout. They got their name because they were more to windward for sailing ships arriving in the New World many centuries ago than the Leeward Islands, farther north and west. The currents and winds that provide the fastest sailing lanes across the Atlantic usually led to…

Cruising Life
By

Nordhavn Building New 80 with More Contemporary Styling and 12-Knot Performance

Nordhavn is building its first 80, another battleship-solid, blue-water cruiser but with a new, more contemporary look and styling. Powered by twin 375-hp John Deere diesels, the new Nordhavn 80 will top out at 12 knots and cruise at 9 knots, and it will carry 4,810 gallons of fuel for an ocean-crossing range. Nordhavn says it developed the 80 in response to buyers’ demand for a new boat between the Nordhavn 76 and the Nordhavn 86. “For some, an 86 is just too big,” says Jim Leishman, the vice president of PAE, Nordhavn’s parent company. “At 80 feet, this boat…

Cruising Life
By

Miss Costa, a 1,668-pound Great White Shark and Social Media Star, Takes Spring Break in Gulf of Mexico. Tweets: “Pure Bliss”

Miss Costa, a prolific 12’ 5” great white shark with a sizeable social media following, is taking her annual spring break in the Gulf of Mexico, cruising down the Atlantic from Nantucket, Massachusetts. And she’s tweeting about it. Miss Costa is being tracked by OCEARCH, the ocean research organization that originally tagged her on September 23, 2016, off Nantucket, and which created a Twitter account for her; the 1,668-pound shark now has 9,500 Twitter followers. A few days ago, as Miss Costa swam up the Gulf toward the Florida Panhandle, she tweeted: “gulf life = pure bliss.” Earlier, when she…

Cruising Life
By

Lost in the Antarctic

By CW4 Michael W. Carr – They were lost. Lost in the open ocean off Antarctica. Two miles to their starboard should be the Ross Ice Shelf, a 200-foot high vertical wall of ice running for hundreds of miles along Antarctica. Instead, there was just open ocean. This situation was definitely not part of their DeepFreeze79 operation. Ensign Bill Davis, the USCG Glacier’s (WAGB-4) Navigation Officer, had just come to the bridge to relieve the mid-watch and assume OOD for the 4-8 watch. Bill was looking forward to an easy and uneventful watch, as they steamed east along the edge…

Cruising Life
By

New Documents Reveal Duck Boat Never Should Have Left the Dock Before It Sank, Killing 17

The duck boat tragedy last summer in Branson Missouri , when 17 people were killed, just gets worse the more we learn about it. Now, thanks to the Kansas City Star, we find out that under an agreement the boat owners had with the Coast Guard, the boat never should have left the dock on the evening it sank, and it had bilge pumps that were not adequate to discharging water that flooded into the vessel. After the accident last July 19 on Table Rock Lake, the Star asked for records and correspondence regarding the amphibious vehicles operating in Branson. It…

Cruising Life
By

Ten Best Places To Snorkel: Watch for the Spotted Eagle Rays in Belize

Here’s a great list of the ten best places to snorkel from Coastal Living, starting with Dean’s Blue Hole on Long Island in the Bahamas (see the picture, above). All of these would quality as cruising destinations in their own right; on the other hand, you may just want to spend a few extra days at one of them if you’re cruising in the area. They all look too good to miss. Dean’s Blue Hole, for example, was created when the ceiling of an ancient cave system collapsed into the ocean. Here you can swim from the beach and watch…

Cruising Life
By

California Couple Buy Maritimo 59 in Australia, Take 1,400 nm Shake-Down Cruise There

How’s this for a shakedown cruise? After Jeff and Robin Lyall, experienced cruisers from Orange County, California, took delivery of their new Maritimo M59 in Queensland, Australia, they spent 14 days and 1,400 nm cruising up the Gold Coast to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef for what he called “a once in a lifetime adventure.” The backstory to the Lyall’s adventure starts three years ago, when he sold his business and retired and realized he now had time for some serious cruising. He had always been an active boater; he was an accredited diver when he was…

Cruising Life
By

Coast Guard Saves 6 from Boat Sinking 25 Miles Off North Miami; Credits EPIRB for Rescue

The Coast Guard just rescued six people in the water 25 miles off the coast of North Miami as their boat was sinking, and it said the people were saved because they set off their EPIRB as their boat started to take on water. A crew on a Coast Guard Dolphin helicopter from Miami received the emergency alert from the boat’s EPIRB about 9 a.m. on Saturday. It located the boat while the 87-foot Coast Guard cutter Cochito raced to the scene. By the time the Cochito arrived, all six people were in the water, and the boat was almost gone. A…

Cruising Life
By

Docking Made Easy: Create a Mental “Aim Point”

Here’s some great advice from Skipper Tips about how to dock safely and securely even when the space you’re assigned is just a few feet more than the length of your boat. We’ve all been there. The face or fuel dock is full of large boats, or at least the space you’re aiming for is flanked by two of the largest, most expensive yachts in sight, and you know that a lot of people nearby will be looking to see how you pull this off. Not exactly the time to brush up on your docking skills. Here’s what to do, and…

1 … 237 238 239 240 241 … 389