On France’s north coast, just south of the famous Normandy beaches, lies the Brittany Peninsula which is blessed with dozens of quaint seaside towns and many good harbors. But, the one hitch is the massive tides that rise and fall 20 feet twice a day. In some of the harbors, the mooring fields dry out completely at low tide so your boat has to be able to rest safely on its own bottom. The larger harbors and river mouths have locks for entry and exit which open on regular schedules. So, timing your arrival to make an open lock is…
Browsing: Cruising Life
Last Saturday, November 29, a 39-foot MTI racing-style power cat flipped on the Caloosahatchee River near Fort Myers, Florida, crashed and killed three of its passengers. A fourth is in critical condition. While official reports have yet to be issued eye witnesses and good Samaritans were near by and soon tried to come to the rescue. One person near the crash said the boat was traveling at 75 to 80 mile-per-hour when the accident occurred. No other boats appear to be involved. Trenton Zamniak, who was nearby when the boat flipped, told Gulf Coast News Now that the boat “nosed up about…
The lines of the new Santasevera 42 Sport, likes those of her 36 and 52-foot sister ships, are aggressive and modern yet somehow evoke the purposeful look of a traditional Mediterranean, plumb-bowed lobster boat. That is by intent since the designers started with a lobster boat in mind and then let their design imaginations run wild. Everything about the 42 Sport coupe could be called shapely. The hull is full forward a quite rounded sections. These are then given faux lapstrakes that give dimension to the high sides. The sheer has a slight reverse curve that melds very neatly with…
And now for something completely different, an all-aluminum workboat style cruiser from Sweden designed and built for “camper cruising.” Camper cruising is a thing in Scandinavia and cold weather vacationing is also a thing since the summers are short and the winters long. Such is the origin of the new Ockelbo 25 Cab from this purveyor of aluminum sport boats. The brand’s boats are built by the aluminum boat specialists at Anytec. The new boat is actually a multi-purpose sport boat with a cabin and the horsepower to top out at 45 knots. It comes with remarkably few amenities. There…
Hundreds of cruisers migrate to the Bahamas from North America every winter with the fleets basically splitting in two with one gang headed to the Abacos and Marsh Harbour, while the second heads south through the Exumas to Stocking Island and George Town. Veteran cruisers make their crossings of the Gulf Stream and to their Bahamian destinations before December 1 for a very good reason. The months of December and January are often plagued –and that’s not too harsh a word—by the infamous Christmas Winds. The winds during this period are driven by repeated passing cold fronts that swoop off…
We have been following the story of the 984-foot container ship Dali closing Baltimore harbor since the accident in 2024. Here’s the final finding. The wheels of inquiry, justice and determination often turn slowly but this week the National Transportation Safety Board issued their report on how and why the Singapore-flagged, 984-foot container ship Dali lost power in Baltimore, Maryland and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge that runs across the Harbor. On Tuesday this week, the NTSB determined, officially, that the terrible accident that caused the death of six bridge workers and closed the vital shipping and commuter vehicle…
YANMAR Marine International has announced the launch of its VC30 at Metstrade, a third-generation Vessel Control System, with advanced design and functionality, a newly designed precision-engineered joystickand easy installation. YANMAR’s most advanced control system to date, the VC30 is designed to simplify throttle control and docking in one integrated system, whilst making it easier to view data and create a seamless dashboard. The full system is enhanced by a high-quality display and modern design, including alarger, 4.3” 1000cd optically bonded screen, to reduce reflection and improve readability, with NMEA2000 output. The display unit has an auto dimming function for dark…
The Nordhavn 71, which was introduced in 2023, was designed for adventurous couples who want the look and feel of the builder’s larger yachts yet wants to cruise without a professional crew. As an owner-operator cruising boat, the layouts and systems have been created for ease of movement about the boat, ease of mooring and anchoring and ease of maintenance. At the Ft. Lauderdale International Boats at the end of October, I met with Jim and Eric Leishman. Jim is Nordhavn’s Director of Design and Eric handles sales and customer relations. We got talking about the Nordhavn 71 of which…
Greenline Yachts, based in Slovenia, has built a reputation for innovative designs that are intended to make the best use of sustainable hybrid-propulsion technology. They are also known for stylish lines and comfortable interiors. So, it is with some anticipation that we look forward to the huge boat show in Dusseldorf, Germany, in January where the builder will introduce the all new 42, their first new design to be launched in some time. The new 42 was designed by the Danish-Italian firm Marco Caseli Designs and bears their futuristic stamp. The sweeping sheer has a pleasing reverse curve near the…
This is a feel-good story for me due to my long association with Pacific Asian Enterprises, the builder of Nordhavn motor yachts. PAE started life in the late 1970s building the Mason line of classic cruising sailboats at the Ta Shing Boat Yard in Taiwan. Their first boat was the Mason 43 and, as it happens, I and my family bought hull number 3 and spent five years sailing Clover around the world. In 1986, PAE launched their first long-range cruising motor yacht, the N 46 that quickly set the stage for a new era of ocean voyaging for cruisers…