Author George Day

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Let’s Go FLOOP’in on Florida’s Southern Loop

We all know the Great Loop, one of America’s most famous year-long cruising adventures. And, we know the Great Eastern Loop that leads from New York City up the Hudson River and then out the St. Lawrence Seaway and around the Canadian Maritimes before closing the circle back in the city. But what about the FLOOP or what’s better known as Florida’s  Southern Loop?  For snowbirds heading south in the fall along the Intracoastal Waterway to the Sunshine State, the FLOOP is a natural cruising attraction. Why stay plugged into a marina all winter when you can go exploring and…

Cruising Life
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Nordhavn 41 Meraki European Cruising Adventures Continue

We first ran into Jan and Tom Newman soon after they had taken delivery of their new Nordhavn 41 Meraki at the Nordhavn factory in Turkey. They were, as they said then, setting out to live their cruising dreams after years of working, saving and planning. We can report now, almost three years later, that those dreams have come true. Tom and Jan spent their first two years cruising the northern Med before pointing their bow northward to France’s Rhone River and the canals that would take them to Scandinavia. Along the way they thorough explored Turkey, Greece, The Adriatic,…

Cruising Life
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Living the Dream Aboard an American Tug 41

Steve Olsson was introduced to the cruising life by his parents  who, when their four children were young, moved the family aboard a 34-foot steel, modified work boat and spent a month cruising from their home in San Diego, California to San Francisco and back. “I remember that trip as just being amazing and fantastic and it was summer and we went up the Sacramento River,” Steve said. “I vividly remember Morro Bay and going under the Golden Gate Bridge. I remember swimming ashore and picking blackberries and coming back and my mom would bake pie and all this stuff…

Cruising Life
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Boat Burns Off Santa Cruz, Two Men Rescued

Last Wednesday, a 45-foot fishing boat with two men aboard caught fire a mile off Santa Cruz, California. At 7:40 a.m., Coast Guard Sector San Francisco received an alert that the boat was on fire and immediately issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast to all vessels and rescue teams in the area, The Coast Guard station in Monterey dispatched a boat crew and the Santa Cruz Harbor Patrol and a fire boat raced to the scene.  Despite the huge blaze and billows of black smoke, the Harbor Patrol crew were able to rescue to the fishermen from the burning boat…

Cruising Life
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A Personal Locator Beacon with AIS Capability Will Save Your Life

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…

Cruising Life
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The Bahamas Jacks Up Fees for Visting Cruisers

On July 1, the new Port Authorities Amendment Bill, which was passed by the Bahamian parliament earlier this year, went into effect and drastically increases the fees visiting cruisers will have to pay on entering the country. Plus, the authority has added new fees for anchoring, fishing and a new crew head tax. The new fees for private boats under 34 feet increase from $300 to $500; boats 34 to 100 feet will now pay $1,000 instead of $500; and, yachts over 100 feet will face a $3,000 fee.  The new crew head tax is $30 per person over the…

Boat Reviews
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Offshore Yachts Next Generation Designed by Baracuda Yacht Design

Offshore Yachts, one of America’s oldest and most respected boat builders, has launched a new series of modern cruisers under the CE series label from 65 to 72 feet.  For the first time, the Newport Beach, California, builder has partnered with a European design firm for the naval architecture of the new CE series. Baracuda Yacht Design, based in Spain, worked closely with the Offshore team to create a more modern and slightly European looking styling that also will improve fuel efficiency and seakeeping qualities. The new CE 65 has all of the Offshore DNA, based on a boat building…

Boat Reviews
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Stylish Riviera 4300 Sports Express Launched This Spring

This spring, Riviera, the Australian builder of fine, robust cruising boats, launched the all-new 4300 Sports Express at the big Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show. A two-cabin, one head coupe, the new design looks like an ideal couple’s cruiser. We immediately thought that this new boat would be perfect for Great Loop or inland waterway cruises. It has a bridge clearance of only 15-feet, 4-inches which is four feet less than the lowest fixed bridge on the entire Loop. With twin Volvo D6 IPS drives, each rated at 440-horsepower, the new 4300 has all the moxie it needs for fast…

Cruising Life
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Everything You Need to Know About Radar in 2025

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…

Boat Reviews
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Design Update: The Aiata Wayfinder 38 with Multiple, Modular Layouts

As we reported briefly ast March, the new Turkish builder Aiata launched their new Wayfinder 38 at the 2025 Dusseldorf Boat Show in Germany. The builder of these Finnish-designed, walk-around, center console express cruisers made a real statement by displaying three versions of the boat side by side. The most obvious innovation that Aiata is bringing to market is the unique square bow above the V-shaped entry that provides an expansive forward cockpit and deck area. Plus, the 38 has an indoor-outdoor salon with a large retracting sunroof. But the real innovation that sets the Wayfinder 38 apart lies in…

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