Cruising Life

Historic Annapolis Show Starts Oct. 6

By Peter Janssen on September 28, 2022 Annapolis Boat Show, Cruising Life

The United States Powerboat Show will start Thursday, Oct. 6, and run through Sunday, Oct. 9, in Annapolis, the heart of cruising in the Chesapeake and one of the premiere cruising destinations in the world. The Annapolis show is always popular, for a whole lot of reasons. It’s easy to get to (less than an hour’s drive from Washington, D.C., or Baltimore); it’s easy to see a lot of new boats and gear displayed there, and it’s in Annapolis, with boatyards, marinas, waterfront restaurants and watering holes all around. And then there’s the U.S. Naval Academy with grounds next to…

First Fleming 85 Arrives in U.S.

By Peter Janssen on September 28, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Designed to be the ultimate cruising yacht, hull number one of the new Fleming 85 just arrived at Burr Yacht Sales in Stuart, Florida. The newest (and largest) Fleming was three years in the making, ending up with a completely new design while keeping the Fleming family lines and character. The company says the goal was “to build the finest ocean-going pilothouse motor yacht,” so its owners could cruise safely and comfortably anywhere in the world. Flemings are made in Taiwan. The hull was designed by Norman R. Wright & Sons in Australia. Standard power comes from twin 1,550-hp MAN…

New High-Tech Buoys Protect Whales

By Peter Janssen on September 27, 2022 Cruising Life

A new system of high-tech offshore buoys is designed to warn ship captains when whales are swimming nearby. The trouble is, some captains pay attention to it, and some don’t. Four whales have been killed by collisions with boats so far this year near San Francisco Bay. The number is probably higher; dead whales often sink to the ocean floor. Last week, an organization called Whale Safe launched a whale-detection system of buoys in known whale feeding areas outside the bay. The system uses a buoy with a microphone 280 feet underwater to listen for whales. It then relays that…

Pearl To Launch Striking New 72 in Lauderdale

By Peter Janssen on September 27, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Pearl 72, with its striking lines and light-filled interior, will make its worldwide debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show starting Oct. 26. Built in the UK, this latest Pearl has several unique features, including two master cabins designed for co-owners who want to be on the yacht together or simply for favored guests who truly want to be treated like VIPs. Pearl was founded in 1998 with the goal of creating a new range of luxury motor yachts with opulent and voluminous interiors and excellent designs. The fleet now runs from 62 to 95 feet. The…

North Pacific Unveils New 53 Euro Pilothouse

By Peter Janssen on September 26, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

North Pacific Yachts just introduced its new 53 Euro Pilothouse at the Boats Afloat show in Seattle. It’s an updated version of a low-maintenance, modern, long-range cruiser built for the waters of the Pacific Northwest or just about anywhere else. Trevor Brice, the president of North Pacific Yachts, wrote me that the 53 (pictured above) is the same as the builder’s 49 Euro Pilothouse except that the cockpit was extended. North Pacific first introduced a 49 Pilothouse model in 2013, and then launched a more modern version, the 49 Euro Pilothouse, in early 2021 (pictured below). The Euro version has…

Sargo Launches New All-Weather 45 Explorer

By Peter Janssen on September 26, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sargo Boats just launched its new 45 Explorer, the Finnish builder’s largest yet, a safe, tough, all-weather cruiser, just like its predecessors. The new 45 features wide doors on both sides of the light-filled, modern wheelhouse for easy access to the high walkaround decks, a forward raked windshield, a large sliding sun roof, and social areas fore and aft. Sargo’s new flagship comes with either two or three cabins, sleeping four or six people, and two heads below. Sargo offers several Volvo power options for the 45: twin 440-hp stern drives; twin 440-hp IPS600 pod drives, or twin 480-hp IPS650…

Where To Keep Your Boat in a Hurricane: BoatUS

By co_admin on September 25, 2022 Cruising Life

Here’s some great, and very timely, advice from BoatUS about where to keep your boat in a hurricane, with specific recommendations if you plan to keep it ashore, on a fixed dock, a floating dock, a canal or river, on a trailer, a lift or a storage rack. Scroll down: Going back as far as Hurricane Alicia in 1983, our BoatUS Hurricane Catastrophe Team (CAT) professionals have spent thousands of hours working to identify and recover damaged boats. They’ve seen firsthand what works and what doesn’t when a boat is prepared for a hurricane. When asked where CAT team members…

Fiona Tracking North; Destructive Storm Surge

By Peter Janssen on September 22, 2022 Cruising Life

After devastating Puerto Rico and the Turks and Caicos, Hurricane Fiona was set to sideswipe Bermuda as a Category 4 storm with winds of up to 73 mph and then continue churning north toward Nova Scotia and the Canadian Maritimes. The Atlantic hurricane season got off to a slow start this year, but Fiona made up for lost time. It killed at least five people in the Caribbean as it tore through last weekend, including one in Guadeloupe, two in Puerto Rico, and two in the Dominican Republic. (It slipped past the Virgin Islands.) Fiona hit Puerto Rico as a…

MIT Develops Portable Push-Button Desalinator

By Peter Janssen on September 21, 2022 Cruising Life, Gear

A group of scientists at MIT has developed a portable desalination unit that turns seawater into drinking water at the press of a button. The new unit weighs about 22 pounds, is the size of a small suitcase, takes less power to run than a cellphone charger, and can be run by a portable solar panel. The scientists, from MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics, published information about the desalinator in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. The new desalination unit does not use filters or high-pressure pumps that are found on most portable desalinators today. Instead, it uses electrical power…

New Cosmopolitan 66 Electric Cat

By Peter Janssen on September 20, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The aluminum-hulled Cosmopolitan 66 is a new player in the rapidly growing electric catamaran scene. Built by Cosmopolitan Yachts, a Spanish company, the 66 is designed for unlimited offshore cruising, with a focus on its sea-keeping abilities, electric technology and respect for the environment. The company founders, Christian Braun, a German entrepreneur and active yachtsman, and Ivan Salas Jefferson of Iddes Yachts, chose aluminum because of its ability to be recycled, as well as for its light weight. The new cat has foils between its hulls to provide lift and deliver a soft ride. The Cosmopolitan 66 has two propulsion…

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