Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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New Luxe Version of 26-foot Jet Capsule Holds 12, Hits 62 Knots

If you’re worried about your boat looking like everyone else’s boat, think about the Jet Capsule. It may look like an egg, but the new Royal Version 001 is 26 feet long, 12 feet wide, can carry up to 12 people, and tops out at 62 knots, according to the company. The new Royal Version 001 is a larger, faster and more luxurious version of the original Jet Capsule pod craft. A carbon-fiber door at the rear, opened at the touch of a button, leads to the teak-trimmed interior, with a head, a wet bar and leather seats. The futuristic Jet…

Cruising Life
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From ProPublica: A Thorough Account of How Two Navy Destroyers Collided with Container Ships, Killing 17 U.S. Sailors

Here’s a thorough – and thoroughly chilling – account from ProPublica of two separate collisions in the far Pacific involving the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. McCain, both Navy destroyers, causing the death of 17 American sailors and injuries to many more. It’s called: Years of Warnings, Then Death and Disaster. How the Navy Failed Its Sailors. Read it here: When Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin was elevated to lead the vaunted 7th Fleet in 2015, he expected it to be the pinnacle of his nearly four-decade Navy career. The fleet was the largest and most powerful in the world,…

On Watch
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Miami Shows Open Soon: Here Are Some New Boats, and New Trends, To See There

With the huge Miami boat shows rapidly approaching, they start on Feb. 14, I’ve put three brand-new cruising boats, and two brand-new artificial intelligence docking systems, at the top of my must-see list. The three boats are all quite different from each other, but each one in its own way illustrates particular trends that spill over to many of the other 2,000 boats on display in Miami. (There are actually two separate shows going on at the same time in Miami. One is on Virginia Key, and the other has one location downtown between the MacArthur Causeway and the Venetian…

Cruising Life
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Catalina Buys True North. Will Make a True North 38 with Outboards

Catalina Yachts, which has been making sailboats for the past 50 years, just bought True North Powerboats as an entry into the growing Downeast-styled powerboat market. Catalina also said they would introduce a new True North 38 with twin outboard power to go with True North’s 34 Outboard Express model (pictured above). Sharon Day, the vice president of sales and marketing for Catalina, said the sailboat maker had been talking to its dealers and owners and found that “the True North line is a brand that appeals to sailors, making it a good fit for Catalina yachts.” True North was…

Cruising Life
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New Schiller Water Bike: Have Some Fun and Get Some Exercise on Your Next Cruise

If you want to get some exercise on you next cruise, take a look at this new Schiller water bike. It’s essentially a portable bike sitting between two inflatable pontoons, and it looks like it’s a lot of fun. The Schiller water bike is easy to assemble, use and store. You can put it together in about ten minutes, and that includes inflating the two pontoons. Once it’s launched, you pedal it, just like any other bike, except that you don’t have to worry about tipping over; the two pontoons will keep you upright. When you’re done, you can store…

On Watch
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How Warmer Water in the Gulf of Maine is Affecting Lobstermen, for Better and for Worse

Here’s a dramatic video-story from The Washington Post about how the warming waters in the Gulf of Maine are changing people’s lives and disrupting economies there, for better or worse. The Continental U.S. is 1.8 degrees F warmer now than it was a century ago; seas on the coasts are nine inches higher. Water in the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than water in 99 percent of the world’s oceans, changing patterns of marine life, particularly for lobster fisheries, and upsetting a way of life that many families enjoyed for generations. “There’s no doubt things are changing,” one lobsterman…

Cruising Life
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Is Your Anchor Dragging? Five Ways To Find Out

So you’ve finally reached that dreamed-of cove or anchorage, you’ve dropped the hook, and you’re ready to relax. But is the anchor really set? Will it hold if the wind or current change? Will you have to get up in the middle of the night (we’ve all been there) to reset it at zero dark thirty? The best thing to do before you call it a day and totally relax is to check to make sure the anchor is set and not dragging. Any anchor will drag at one time or another, and then it’s not fun. So once you’ve…

Cruising Life
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Torqueedo and Avon Launch New 31-Knot All-Electric Tender

Torqueedo and Zodiac have just launched a 31-knot, all-electric Avon eJET 450 tender, powered by a Torqueedo Deep Blue 55kW motor and a BMW i3 battery. The new Avon is quiet and does not use any fossil fuel. It is designed to appeal to the yacht market, where owners would not have to worry about carrying fuel or oil for the tender, but it serves equally well as a sport boat or a runabout. The eJet 450 has head-snapping acceleration from the Torqueedo’s instant torque, and benefits in speed and range from proprietary Hydrojet technology developed specifically to work with…

Cruising Life
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Jeanneau Launches New Leader 33 Cruiser with Twin 250-hp Outboards

In a bow to the ever-increasing move to outboard power in cruising boats, Jeanneau is introducing its new Leader 33 Outboard, with twin 250-hp Yamahas, at the Miami boat show starting Feb. 14. It is designed to be a faster, quieter and easier-to-service version of the previous Leader 33, which had inboard engines. It also can cruise into thinner waters or serve as a picnic boat on a beach; just tilt up the outboards. The new Leader 33 Outboard is a twin-cabin, one-head cruiser, with an open, light-filled salon and a cockpit that simply invites entertaining and lounging in the…

Cruising Life
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Just in Time for Valentine’s Day: The Ten Most Romantic Island Resorts in the World

If you want to get in the mood for Valentine’s Day on Feb.14, take a look at what Forbes calls the most romantic island resorts in the world. Here are ten, from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, where you can relax with your Valentine at any time of the year. The amenities range from Robinson Crusoe-type spare to over-the-top luxurious. Take a look, and start packing your bathing suit. If you want to go far afield, the Anantara Medjumbe Island Resort in Mozambique in the Indian Ocean offers some of the most beautiful water on the planet. Here you’ll find…

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