Cruising Life

MJM Building New 42 Couples Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on May 31, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

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…

Miami Tiki Hut Captain Busted!

By Peter Janssen on May 31, 2022 Cruising Life

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…

Electrical Fire Probably Sank Yacht: NTSB

By Peter Janssen on May 31, 2022 Cruising Life

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…

Boating Collision Kills 5 in Georgia

By Peter Janssen on May 30, 2022 Cruising Life

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…

Lyman-Morse Tests New LM Hood 35

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

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…

Coast Guard Rescues 7, Dog, from Burning Boat

By Peter Janssen on May 28, 2022 Cruising Life

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,…

NOAA: Above-Average Hurricane Season, Again

By Peter Janssen on May 25, 2022 Cruising Life

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…

New ZEN 50 Powercat: No Fossil Fuel At All

By Peter Janssen on May 25, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

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…

New H-100 Electric Inboard Motor for Cruisers

By Peter Janssen on May 25, 2022 Cruising Life, Engine Room

A young, creative company that calls itself an “innovator for water-related fun,” ePropulsion, from Somerset, New Jersey, just unveiled its new, powerful H-100 electric inboard. The new motor will make its public debut at the Electric & Hybrid Marine Expo starting June 21 in Amsterdam. The H-100 is a 100kW inboard motor, aimed at the OEM market, for power and sail boats from 60 to 100 feet and with a displacement of up to 200 tons. ePropulsion said it would be appropriate for a wide range of boats, including cruisers, fishing boats, work boats and even ferries, and it would…

Navy Report: Nuclear Sub Grounding “Preventable”

By Peter Janssen on May 24, 2022 Cruising Life

The Navy just released its report on the investigation of the grounding of the USS Connecticut, a 353-foot-long, billion-dollar nuclear submarine in the South China Sea last October, finding that “an accumulation of errors” caused it. The sub’s commanding officer, executive officer and the chief of the boat had already been relieved of their commands “due to a loss of confidence,” the Navy said. The accident occurred last October 2 when the sub hit an uncharted seamount “while operating submerged in a poorly surveyed area in international waters,” the report said. The accident ripped off the entire forward sonar dome…

Browsing: Cruising Life