Author George Day

On Watch with Peter Janssen
By

An In-Depth Look at Fire Prevention on Our Boats

Several years ago, I got a phone call from our yacht club’s manager in the middle of the day. He was looking for my son’s phone number because, he said, “His boat is on fire on its mooring off the club.” On fire? I called my son and then raced down to the water front and low and behold his 21-footer was engulfed in flames, If you have never seen a fiberglass boat with full fuel tanks burn, it is a terrifying sight. The fired burned through the mooring lines and the flaming hulk began drifting with the wind toward…

Cruising Life
By

Dramatic Florida Speedboat Crash Kills Three

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…

Boat Reviews
By

New Santasevera 42 Sport Exudes Italian Style and Craftsmanship

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…

Boat Reviews
By

The Ockelbo 25 Cab is a Rough and Tumble Four-Season Cruiser

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…

Cruising Life
By

The Christmas Winds in the Bahamas Make Life Afloat Difficult

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…

Boat Reviews
By

New Pearl 63 Introduced with Three Distinct Interior Styles

The boutique British builder Pearl Yachts announced this week that the company will be introducing their all-new 63 family cruiser at boot Dusseldorf on January 15. Pearl builds four models from 63 to 100 so the new 63 is their smallest offering. It replaces the 62. The new 63 is a remarkably spacious cruiser in this size range and features four commodious social areas on the main deck plus the hydraulic swim platform aft and the roomy lounge and dinette on the flybridge. There is a wide sun bed on the fore deck that has a tilting back rest for…

Cruising Life
By

For Want of a Nail: The Dali’s Demise and Bridge Collapse in Baltimore Explained

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…

Cruising Life
By

YANMAR Launches New Third Generation VC 30 Vessel Control System

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 Watch with Peter Janssen
By

New Aquila 46 Yacht Luxury Power Cat Introduced

At the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show last month, I had the chance to visit with the Aquila team and have a look at the brand new 46 Yacht that was being introduced to the North American market. The cruising cat had made its debut at the Cannes, France, boat show in September to great acclaim. The new 46 is replacing the 44 in the Yacht line which is no small ask since the 44 has seen 200 cats delivered. But from a first look, the new boat will be up to the task. The whole Aquila concept is to…

Boat Reviews
By

Nordhavn 71 Designed for Adventurous Couples

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…

1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 39