Author Peter Janssen

Boat Reviews
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Naval Yachts Finishing 78 Hybrid Explorer

Naval Yachts is getting ready to launch hull number one of its 78-foot XPM 78 explorer catamaran series, designed for high-latitude cruising and comfort on board. The new, low-profile cat, from Naval Yacht’s large yard in Antalya, Turkey, features some creative design work, including a split-level salon with 16-foot high ceilings, an internal balcony and windows all around with panoramic views. The yacht has four cabins for guests, but Master Stateroom 1 and Master Stateroom 2 are both on the main deck, each with a queen-sized bed and sofa, and luxurious en suite heads. That deck also has an owner’s…

Boat Reviews
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MJM Building New 42 Couples Cruiser

MJM just announced that it’s making a new 42, an all-weather, all-conditions 48-knot cruiser with what the company calls a “Carolina Downeast” design and more than a touch of class. The company, now based in Washington, North Carolina, says the 42 is the evolution of a couple’s liveaboard performance cruiser. They developed it with Michael Peters, the Sarasota designer who’s done everything from Hinckleys and superyachts to speedboats, and input from the owners of MJM 40s, one of the builder’s most popular cruisers. The 42’s helm deck is enclosed for total climate control and comfort, but it can be opened…

Cruising Life
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Miami Tiki Hut Captain Busted!

The Coast Guard and other law enforcement authorities have cracked down on illegal boat charters in Miami lately. Indeed, they cited the captain of a 42-foot powerboat in Miami Beach and charged him with operating an illegal uninspected passenger vessel. They cited the captain of a 53-foot powerboat near the Miami River on the same charges. And they busted the captain of a 15-foot floating Tiki Hut, also near the Miami River, for operating an uninspected passenger vessel, as well as operating under the influence of alcohol The Coast Guard said that a Coast Guard law enforcement team from Miami…

Cruising Life
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Electrical Fire Probably Sank Yacht: NTSB

About 1 in the afternoon of March 16, 2001, the 100-foot yacht La Dolce Vita anchored near the largest islet in the Marquesas, the start of a four-day charter from Key West, just 17 miles away, with four crew and two guests on board. Everything was fine until about 5:30, when the mate smelled something; a fire had started in the engine room. Despite the captain’s efforts to fight it, first with dry chemical extinguishers and then with the boat’s own fire-suppression system, the entire yacht caught fire; it sank the next day, a $3.9 million total loss.  Fortunately all…

Cruising Life
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Boating Collision Kills 5 in Georgia

Five people, including four from the same family, were killed in a two-boat collision at the start of the Memorial Day weekend in Georgia. The accident occurred about 10:30 on Saturday morning on the Wilmington River near Savannah. A good Samaritan called the Coast Guard. You can see its helicopter rescue video below. Six people, including the family, were on one boat. Three, including Mark Stegall, 45, from Savannah, who was charged with driving under the influence, were on the other. One person, Robert Chauncey, 37, on his boat was killed. The boats were traveling in opposite directions at the…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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After Stroke, Nordhavn Owner To Cross Atlantic

In May, 2015, Philippe Guglielmetti, who was then running a 3-D printing business in San Francisco, was taking a vacation in Paris. He suffered a hemorrhagic stroke; it was so bad that when he got to the hospital he could only move a finger. Now, after years of rehab, therapy and a spirit that doesn’t know how to quit, Guglielmetti is starting a trip from his new home in Miami across the Atlantic on his 2001 Nordhavn 40, appropriately named Embracing Life. He’s not only going across the Atlantic, to Lisbon, but he’s making a roundtrip, coming back to New…

Boat Reviews
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Lyman-Morse Tests New LM Hood 35

Lyman-Morse has float tested hull number one of its new Hood 35 LM series, and the graceful new express cruiser with classic Down East lines is getting ready for its owner soon. Lyman-Morse, in Thomaston, Maine, is collaborating with C.W. Hood, in Marblehead, Massachusetts, on the new boat, incorporating quite a few innovations. The boat will be the first recreational in the U.S., for example, to use the new Hamilton HJX29 water jets. Its powerful, military-grade controls are paired to twin 480-hp Yanmars, producing a top speed of 40 knots. The new Hood 35 LM, named Shadow, also will use…

Cruising Life
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Coast Guard Rescues 7, Dog, from Burning Boat

The Coast Guard just rescued seven people and their dog after their boat caught fire off the coast of Gulfport, Mississippi. Even though the boat ended up being engulfed in flames, none of the people (or the dog) were injured. You can see the story from beginning to end in the video below. It starts with several people already in the water as the boat starts to burn. They’re wearing life jackets, one is hanging into the anchor line. The fire spreads, and you can see the shadow of the Coast Guard plane as it passes overhead. At this point,…

Cruising Life
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NOAA: Above-Average Hurricane Season, Again

NOAA just predicted that we’ll have another above-average hurricane season this year, the seventh one in a row. Read their announcement: Forecasters at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, are predicting above-average hurricane activity this year — which would make it the seventh consecutive above-average hurricane season. NOAA’s outlook for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which extends from June 1 to November 30, predicts a 65% chance of an above-normal season, a 25% chance of a near-normal season and a 10% chance of a below-normal season. For the 2022 hurricane season, NOAA is forecasting a…

Boat Reviews
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New ZEN 50 Powercat: No Fossil Fuel At All

The new ZEN 50, currently being built in Spain, is truly a different boat. It is basically a solar-powered electric power catamaran, although you can order one with an innovative wing sail. And it is totally fossil-fuel free. It has no back-up generator or diesel or gas engine at all. It doesn’t even carry fossil fuel. The tender is powered by a battery that can be recharged from the mothership. The ZEN company, based in Malta, says the ZEN 50 is “a game changer,” certainly an overused term. But in this case, it appears to be true. The ZEN 50…

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