Cruising Life

Ten Tips To Make Docking Easy and Safe

By Peter Janssen on May 19, 2019 Cruising Life

From Boating Safety Magazine safety tips Ten Tips to Make Docking Easy and Safe Follow these simple rules to alleviate the dread of docking By Randy Vance Docking a boat can be a dreaded task for any boater. No matter the size of the boat, the current or the wind, it’s close-quarters maneuvering that takes the most gelcoat from boats. But it doesn’t have to be that way if you follow these simple rules. 1. Never approach a dock any faster than you want to hit it. Some captains like to hot-dog around, showing how efficiently they can shift and…

Rideau Canal Opens for the Season with New Canal-Side Exhibits

By Peter Janssen on May 19, 2019 Cruising Life

Rideau Canal opens for the season with new canal-side exhibits MEGAN GILLIS Updated: May 17, 2019 SHAREADJUSTCOMMENTPRINT It’s official — the Rideau Canal is open to boaters and paddlers for the 2019 season, but Parks Canada is warning users to “exercise caution” in areas with higher-and-average flows over the Victoria Day weekend. As of 9 a.m. Friday, lock stations along the 200 km waterway, stretching from Lake Ontario at Kingston to the Ottawa River — on which boating is restricted due to flooding — were ready to receive visitors by water and land, the park service said. Water flows on…

Car Runs Over Owner on Boat Ramp, Then Sinks Next to Boat

By Peter Janssen on May 19, 2019 Cruising Life

We’ve all seen hundreds, or more, of launch-ramp videos, where things can go very wrong, very quickly. But this one, from Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada, sets a new bar. It starts with the boat owner standing on the back of his boat on the ramp. The boat’s still on the trailer, still attached to his SUV. When the SUV starts rolling backwards, he tries to jump out of the boat, but he slips and falls. The rear wheel of the SUV hits him, the open door to the SUV hits him, and the SUV rolls into the water and…

New York State Will Require All Owners of Motor Boats To Take a Safety Course

By Peter Janssen on May 16, 2019 Cruising Life

State will require all boat owners to take boating safety course By Tom Precious|Published 4:00 a.m. May 16, 2019|Updated 1 hour ago ALBANY – Owners of motorized boats – from row boats with small outboards to large cabin cruisers – will be required under a new deal at the state Capitol to take a boating safety course no matter how many years they’ve been on the water. The measure seeks to push boaters in their mid-20s and older to take a certified safety class – which can be done online in a couple hours or in person over the course…

Beneteau Starts Epic Cruise from Seattle to San Diego on New Swift Trawler 47

By Peter Janssen on May 15, 2019 Cruising Life

Beneteau’s Swift Pacific Adventure is now well underway, an epic voyage down the West Coast from Seattle to San Diego on a new Beneteau Swift Trawler 47. The boat, escorted by a Swift Trawler 35 and a Swift Trawler 44, left Lake Union and traversed the Ballard Locks, went up Puget Sound to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and then turned left. Here’s the description from Jackson Willett, the captain on board, as the boat “headed into the open swell of the Pacific and the rounding of Cape Flattery. With 10-to-12-foot rollers on the nose, the Swift Trawler unflinchingly…

New Wave Marine Remote: Control Your Boat From 492 Feet Away

By Peter Janssen on May 15, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s something new that will help you maneuver around the docks, even in a strong wind or current. The Wave Marine M880 from Nauti-Tech, a remote that fits in your hand, controls your boat’s engines, thrusters and other devices, and it’s built to work with everything from small boats or superyachts. So far, it’s offered as standard equipment on the Westport 125 and on Grand Banks and Palm Beach Motor Yachts. The company says the Wave Marine M880 is the most powerful remote available; it can control a boat from up to 492 feet away – that’s a distance equal…

Update from The Moorings: Getting Back to Normal in the BVI

By Peter Janssen on May 14, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s an update from The Moorings about their flagship marina in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, now 19 months since Hurricane Irma hit the area, causing an enormous amount of damage. Today many of the marina and its facilities are back to normal; the others are getting there. It has been 19 months since Hurricane Irma impacted the British Virgin Islands in September of 2017. The Moorings reopened our Tortola operations just three months after the storm, and since then we have been working tirelessly to restore our flagship marina and fleet. To those of you who have already…

California Woman’s Boat Hit Whale Last September; She’s Still Recovering

By Peter Janssen on May 14, 2019 Cruising Life

Last September 30, the boat that Melissa Thomas, a 48-year-old wildlife photographer, was riding in hit a 30-ton humpback whale in Monterey Bay, California. She was riding in the bow, and was thrown back into the boat’s windshield by the impact. She’s still recovering from her injuries. On that September Sunday, Thomas and three friends were heading out into the bay to scuba dive, when they saw several humpback whales lunge feeding not far away. Fascinated, they watched for about half an hour, and then started to drive away toward their dive spot. Suddenly a whale arched out of the…

Adventurer Sets New Record, 35,853 Feet, in Dive in the Pacific. Finds Plastic

By Peter Janssen on May 14, 2019 Cruising Life

Victor Vescovo, a retired Navy officer, Dallas investor, and multi-discipline adventurer, just set a new world record with a dive to 35,853 feet in the Marianas Trench in the Pacific in his Triton submarine. And he found plastic. Vescovo actually made two separate solo dives in the sub, DSV Limiting Factor. He spent about four hours exploring the ocean floor each time, another record for time spent at the bottom of the ocean. It took 3.5 hours for the sub to reach the bottom and another 3.5 hours to ascend back to the mothership. He beat the previous record for…

What To Do in a Lightning Storm

By Peter Janssen on May 14, 2019 Cruising Life

Few things are more terrifying on the water than a nearby lightning strike; the sound and the fury of the explosive electrical discharge will stir fear in the heart of the most crusty mariner. Now, with boating season getting underway, here’s some timely advice from the US Power Squadrons/America’s Boating Club about how to protect yourself if you do get caught out in a lightning storm: Most lightning strikes occur in the afternoon with 70% occurring between noon and 6 p.m. As the air temperature warms, evaporation increases. This warm, moisture-laden air rises and evaporates, forming fluffy cumulus clouds. As…

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