Cruising Life

Coast Guard Rescues 3 Boaters from Sharks

By Peter Janssen on October 11, 2022 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard rescued three missing boaters in the Gulf of Mexico last Sunday after their boat sank and they were attacked sharks. Two of the three had serious cuts on their hands from the sharks, and the sharks had almost eaten through one of their life jackets. “Rescued just in the nick of time,” the Coast Guard said in a release. The three men left Venice, on the southeastern coast of Louisiana, early Saturday morning for a fishing trip on their 24-foot center console. It sank about 10 that morning, leaving them in the water with life jackets but…

Photo by Nicholas Claris

Lagoon Starts Fractional Ownership with Sea Style

By Peter Janssen on October 11, 2022 Charter, Cruising Life

Lagoon Catamarans and Sea Style Partners just formed a joint venture to promote a fractional ownership program for Lagoon’s multihull power and sail yachts. The two companies announced their new partnership at the Cannes Yachting Festival, saying it will give owners access to Lagoon’s international network of yachts and Sea Style’s experience in fractional ownership, yacht management and crew services. Mathias Chouraki, the president of Sea Style, said the new partnership “shows that fractional ownership is not only trending, but also will become an important part of our industry in coming years.” The program offers owners a 25 percent or…

New Evo 43 with Ever-Expanding Beach Club

By Peter Janssen on October 11, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Evo 43 R4XT, just displayed at the Cannes Yachting Festival, takes the idea of a transforming beach club to an entirely new level. Evo, based in Naples, hired Besenzoni to create a transformer-like, expandable stern platform for its new boat. Opening in a series of steps, the new stern extends the length of the boat by three feet, and the beam by six feet. And it drops 30 inches below the waterline when you want to launch tenders or toys or go for a swim. The aft bulwarks also fold out from the cockpit to open up the…

NMEA Makes Best Electronics Awards

By Peter Janssen on October 10, 2022 Cruising Life, Electronics

The National Marine Manufacturers Association just named the winners of its annual excellence awards at its conference in Anaheim, California. The NMEA presented Products of Excellence Awards in 18 categories. In addition, it gave its Best New Product Award to the Maretron WSO200 Ultrasonic Weather Station, and its Technology Award to Airmar’s SmartBoat System. It also named Actisense as Manufacturer of the Year in the small company category, and Garmin as Manufacturer of the Year in the large company category. The Awards of Excellence were chosen by the NMEA membership, who voted on line before the conference. A panel of…

Sunreef 80 Power Cat To Debut at FLIBS

By Peter Janssen on October 10, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The extra-large and luxurious 80 Sunreef Power will make its U.S. debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 26. The hull of the new 80 was completely designed from scratch, with the idea that the massive catamaran would serve as an all-around motor yacht that could cruise long distances in safety and comfort. Powered by twin 1,200-hp MAN diesels, the Sunreef 80 has a top speed of about 24 knots and a range of 3,500 nm. Sunreef Yachts have been made in Gdansk, Poland, since 2003. With a massive beam of more than 39 feet (about half…

SamBoat, the Rental Giant, Expands to U.S.

By Peter Janssen on October 10, 2022 Charter, Cruising Life

SamBoat, the online company that’s leading the European boat rental market, is expanding to the United States. Indeed, it has started a rental fleet in Florida, in a partnership with Dream yacht Charter, and it plans to have a fleet of 2,000 rental boats across the U.S. by the end of 2023. So far, SamBoat has 50,000 boats in the water for rent at 1,400 destinations around the world. It basically is an online boat rental platform that connects boat owners and renters; it works much the same as Airbnb. The idea is that people who don’t own a boat,…

Hyundai To Debut Self-Docking System at FLIBS

By Peter Janssen on October 5, 2022 Cruising Life

Avikus, a subsidiary of Hyundai, the South Korean manufacturing giant, will debut its new autonomous boating and docking system at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 26. At the show, Avikus will introduce its Neuboat, an autonomous system using artificial intelligence for the recreational boating market. It uses the Avikus Navigation Assistant System and the Avikus Docking Assistant System. Those systems let the boat recognize and assess water situations in real time through deep learning and sensor fusion algorithms, without any human interaction. For cruising, the system creates and maintains an optimal route for safe autonomous navigation. An…

New Pardo 50: Head-Turning Walkaround

By Peter Janssen on October 4, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Walking around the Norwalk show last week, I passed the Pardo docks and then did a double-take. So did a lot of other people. The new Pardo 50 Walkaround tied up stern-to there had a simply immense aft deck, wide and inviting, with sun pads and sofas and an al fresco dining table that would make it a show-stopper wherever it went. The new Pardo had the company’s signature post-modern European minimalist look; no frills, just straight lines, with a slightly reverse bow and an open foredeck that almost rivaled the aft deck in size and sunning abilities. The large…

Riviera Launches New 645 SUV in Lauderdale

By Peter Janssen on October 4, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Riviera, the large Australian builder, just launched its new 645 SUV, the flagship of it’s all-purpose SUV fleet, and it will make its U.S. debut at the Fort Lauderdale show, starting Oct. 26. With its low profile, enormous foredeck and imaginative mezzanine deck connecting to the salon and the cockpit, this latest Riviera seems ready for some serious – and fun – cruising days ahead. Over the past 40 years, Riviera has built 5,700 yachts of various sizes and shapes. More than 170 of them have been in its SUV line, designed to be versatile, all-purpose vessels, similar to their…

Vicem To Unveil New 55 Flybridge at Lauderdale

By Peter Janssen on October 3, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Vicem, the highly regarded Turkish builder, will launch its all-new Vicem 55 Classic Flybridge at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 26. The new 55 flybridge is constructed with cold-molded mahogany and West System epoxy, giving it a semi-custom look. It’s part of Vicem’s Custom series, with boats from 46 to 80 feet; they all feature classic Downeast styling and the company says they’re designed with Maine lobster boats in mind – at least for their seakeeping abilities. But the new 55 does carry Downeast lines, even down to the touch of tumblehome aft. The 55 Classic sedan…

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