The Finnish builder Saxdor made a splash at the Palm Beach International Boat Show to mark two special occasions. First, they rolled out their new 460 GTC Flagship that marks their first entry into the 45 to 50-foot market. Secondly, the show marked the first major event where Saxdor appeared with their new partners, the NASDAQ-listed American builder, Malibu Boats, Inc. (MBI). Malibu’s acquisition of Saxdor adds a brand to their portfolio that has seen expansive growth in the last few years. Saxdor’s sales in 2025 increased by a whopping 78 percent and they are only just getting started in…
When it comes to interesting and innovative boat design and performance, Larry Graff, founder and CEO of Aspen Power Catamarans may well be in a league of his own. He builds proa-style cruising cats in which one hull is narrower than the other, like Polynesian sailing proas. This unusual feature reduces drag and weight which in turn minimizes the power needed from the outboard motors for maximum efficiency and speed. He builds five models from 32 to 44 feet in Bellingham, Washington, of which the 38-foot C110 is the newest addition. The boat has a three-cabin, one-head (with shower) configuration…
At 325 feet, the Christina O, once owned by shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, was in her hayday one of the world’s largest and swankiest yachts. Onassis was a gadabout socialite, political networker and a collector of the rich and famous. His lifestyle defined the European post-war rebirth of luxury and style and the parties and guest lists aboard the Christina O were legendary. And, when John F. Kennedy’s widow Jacquline Kennedy married Onassis, his status and that of his yacht soared. As a shipping tycoon, Onassis had a knack for buying, building and refurbishing ships. But it was still eyebrow…
The Dutch builder Van den Hoven Jachtbouw’s Voyager series has proven to be highly prized by experienced and adventurous cruisers. With four models from 50 to 71 feet and an 80 footer in development, the builder specializes in family-sized cruisers that have a true mega-yacht feel. The new 56 Fly is built on the platform of the 56 coupe. By adding a flybridge, they have nearly doubled the design’s open air social spaces. Yet, they have done so with a low profile bridge that sits very discretely atop the salon. The 56, like her sister Voyagers, is an artful combination…
Here’s a follow up to a story we ran a few weeks ago about an assault on Cuba by 10 Cuban-Americans based in Florida that ended in a shootout with Cuban border patrol officers and the death of four of the men. It turns out, the 24-foot fishing boat the men used to cross the Florida Strait was stolen. Angel Montera, who owns the 24-foot boat, got a call from an international news organization to ask him if he knew anything about the raid on Cuba and shootout. He did not but when he checked his marina slip, he discovered…
On Thursday May 15, the NOAA National Prediction Center issued its latest forecast indicating that there is an 82% likelihood that the developing El Nino will build into one of the largest and most disruptive in a generation The El Nino drives super-heated seawater into the eastern South Pacific off the coast of South America where it affects surface and upper-level wind and rain patterns. In general, a “monster” El Nino will strengthen tropical revolving storms in the central and western Pacific Ocean which will potentially deliver more frequent and stronger hurricanes to Mexico and the southeastern states of the…
On Wednesday night, one woman was killed and three other were injured when a speedboat carrying the group crashed against Logan Airport Pier #4 in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Elizabeth Dankert of Andover was rushed to Mass General Hospital with serious injuries. Dankert, 24, died early Thursday. According to Boston officials, Dankert and two of her friends were spending the evening at Boston’s Seaport where they boarded the center consol outboard operated by a 40-year-old man. At about 11:20 pm, the boat struck the pier throwing the four onboard out of the boat and onto the rocky shoreline. Dankert was mortally…
Founded in 1976, Kadey Krogen Yachts celebrates 50 years in business in 2026 and announced this month that they are honoring the occasion by introducing the new Krogen 53. The new boat is a next generation trawler cruising yacht with all of Krogen’s blue-water, ocean-crossing DNA. It follows in the wake of the successful Krogen 52 and advances that legacy with a hoist of innovations and new owner options. Like her Krogen sister ships, the 53 has a Pure Full Displacement hull with a fine entry at the bow, a balanced water plane for sea kindliness and the company’s iconic…
At the Palm Beach International Boat Show this spring a new yachting brand made it’s debut and did so with what Europeans call duende or ineffable style. Based in Miami and with dealers in Europe, the Middle East and China, Manari set out to create performance cruising yachts that exhibit aggressively modern looks with comfortable and elegant accommodations. Plus, it was to be an ocean-going yacht. The concept came in no small part from the founder’s early boating experience with his grandfather who built a fast, sleek power cruiser on which he and his family spent summers cruising the Med.…
Two weeks ago, at the Connecticut Spring Boat Show in Essex, we came across a new brand that seemed to fit in as though it had been created specifically for the New England Downeast audience. But, in fact, it is a British design and built by the famous bespoke builder in the west of England Cockwells Marine. Here’s our first look. The handsome 35-footer has a truly traditional, built-by-hand feel with a bright varnished transom, varnished rails all around, two varnished tables in the cockpit and you can even have the entire cabin finished in varnished teak. The boat at…
The Italina builder Bellini has been in business since the 1950s and was once a rival to Riva in the classic Lake Garda-style speedboat market. But, the company ceased building new boats in 1973 when the founder fell ill and had to retire. Fifty years later the founder’s son and nephew, who are running the Bellini boat yard, made the move to start building new boats again. Their first design, the Bellini Astor 36, came out in 2023. This is the first time a Bellini design has appeared in Cruising Odyssey since the company has kept production to a minimum.…
It has been almost six years since Elon Musk’s visionary company Starlink flipped the “on” switch and changed the way we access the internet when far from cell towers and cable hook ups. Starlink now has. 10 million subscribers and has played vital roles in all walks of life, including the Ukraine’s valiant efforts to beat back the invading Russians. For normal cruisers, Starlink has provided an affordable way to stay linked to the internet and thus allows us to work from our boats anywhere in the world. That means we can live a blended lifestyle in which we can…
At the Ft. Lauderdale International Boats Show, I had the chance to test out the performance of Seakeeper’s Ride stabilization systems aboard a 35 foot performance cruiser capable of hitting 40 knots. We took the boat to government cut and ran it in and out through a nasty washing-machine seaway. The stabilizers are mounted on the stern and make trim adjustments in micro seconds. The effect was dramatic. With the Ride system engaged, the boat leveled off, did not roll or pitch and did not yaw as it moved through the mixed up sea. Turned off, the boat’s motion was…
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…
On September 10, 1982, three passengers aboard a light aircraft crashed into the sea off the Canadian Maritimes. They were able to deploy their life raft and they had with them the earliest version an Emergency Position Indicating Beacon (EPIRB). They switched it on and set in motion the very first COSPAS-SARSAT rescue. They were found and rescued in a matter of hours instead of the days such search and rescue missions took before the satellite rescue system was in place. Since then, more than 50,000 people have been saved from a watery end by EPIRB technology. For those of…
Larry Graff, the founder and president of Aspen Catamarans, is an adventurer at heart and there are no adventure he likes better than leading a flotilla of Aspen cats and their owners to wild and wooly destinations. In this flotilla, that was the west coast of Vancouver Island off British Columbia. Twenty Aspens gathered in Anacortes, Washington and set off for a cruise in company. Aspen cats are designed for long-haul, efficient cruising and can make excellent average speeds. The design that Larry Graff developed is actually a proa configuration. In a proa, one hull is narrower than the other…
The 4500-square-mile body of water on the U.S. East Coast known as the Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North American. It is fed by freshwater rivers at its head and then flushed by oceanic tides in is lower regions. The result is an aquatic stew that can be divided into three distinct regions. Blessed with many sheltered harbors, coves and river mouths, the Chesapeake Is a cruising paradise with historic towns like Annapolis and Oxford to visit and easy access to the Potomac River and the historic attractions around Washington, DC. Famed for it seafood –oysters, shrimp and…
The coast of British Columbia in the Pacific Northwest has long held an allure for cruisers. Yet, it is hard to get to on your own boat unless you are based in the Seattle or Vancouver areas so the next obvious option is to charter a boat for an adventure cruise Every year, the Bellingham, Washington-based charter company NW Explorations runs a Mother Goose flotilla charter from their base to Desolation Sound and back. It’s a distance of roughly 300 miles. They have a fleet of mostly Grand Banks trawlers that each can take six or more passengers. The adventure…
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…
Whether you are looking to add radar to your boat or it’s just time to replace an old and out of date unit, there are a lot of considerations that should go into the decision-making process. To start, you need to be certain that a new or replacement radar is compatible with your existing marine electronics. In other words, will the radar display appear on your multifunction display so you can overlay the images onto the digital chart. For simplicity’s sake, it makes sense to stick with one brand for all electronics. The size of radar you choose depends on…
Volvo Penta introduced Joystick steering two decades ago and has continued to pioneer ways to use the combination of engines, thrusters and GPS to help skippers maneuver their boats more easily and precisely. I was involved in the early demonstrations of the Volvo Dynamic Positioning technology back then and was amazed at how well even the prototype held a boat in position and allowed the skipper to turn a boat inside its own length. Last fall at the Ft. Lauderdale show, I got to test the latest Volvo Joystick iteration with the new Assisted Docking Function that allows you to…
At last September’s Cannes Festival of Yachting in the South of France, I attended Beneteau’s annual press event and was introduced to the innovative electric Island Cruising Concept Yacht. Always an innovator, Beneteau had a vision of boating and chartering in the future. Now, Dream Yacht Charters is offering that future in the BVI. Their fleet of sail and power boats now includes the boxy-looking electric hybrid power boats that are like floating beach houses with accommodations for a normal chart6er party The Island Cruising Concept is all about indoor-outdoor living and practical sustainability. The idea is to be close…
In the last few years as I’ve been making offshore trips as crew for my friends, whether back and forth to the Caribbean from New England or across the Atlantic, it seems that a lot of the crew aboard show up with their own hand-held GPSs and an InReach or a satphone. This is a “just-in-case” level of preparation by sailors who have in fact been on boats that were hit by lightning or suffered a battery bank collapse that meant built-in marine electronics were no longer working or reliable. Garmin has long been a leader in hand-held GPSs and…
A charter aboard a fully crewed luxury 53 meter motor yacht is a dream come true. If you have ever dreamed of exploring the Greek islands aboard a vessel with the range, stability, and sheer presence to do them justice, the Persefoni yacht is the answer to that dream. This 53.8-metre motor yacht — built by the storied Italian shipyard Mariotti Yachts in 2012, comprehensively refitted in 2023, and managed by Emperio Yachting Alliance — is one of the most accomplished power cruisers operating in the Aegean today. Her full profile is at persefoniyacht.com/ Built for the Long Haul Serious…
Owning a cruising boat can be pricey to start with and then expensive to operate on an on-going basis. This is particularly true for boat owners who cannot afford the time to to get the full benefit of the cruising life. It has no doubt occurred to many of us that running our boats like charter businesses, with income to offset expenses and other benefits of business ownership, would make the whole process more attractive. But, there are wrinkles to running a charter business on your own, not just with the IRS but with handling bookings, deposits, scheduling and more.…
Here’s a story from the Moorings about a different way to own and enjoy a cruising power catamaran. Richard and Deborah Heinegger, who haul from Kanasa City, have been life long boat owners and at one point lived aboard and cruised they 76-foot motoryacht. When the big boatwas soild and the couple were reensconced in Kansas City, the hankering to own a boat and reconnect with the cruising life was just too strong to ignore. Their solution? Dive into a yacht ownership program with The Moorings. Here’s their story. For Richard and Deborah Heinegger, life has always been closely tied…
Here’s a tragic story about a young, adventurous woman whose life was cut short. Last week, while moored in the Harbour Island resort and marina in the Bahamas, the crew of the 142-foot motor yacht Far From It was preparing the vessel for a charter when they noticed that their stewardess Paige Bell was missing. A search of the yacht brought tragic results. Bell was found stabbed to death in the engine room and near her was the yacht’s engineer Birgito Munoz with self-inflicted but non-fatal knife wounds. The scene suggested a violent and likely sexual assault. Munoz was arrested,…