Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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New Street-Legal Boatcar for Sale for $55,000

If you want to arrive at your marina in style, or turn a lot of heads the next time you cruise down your local turnpike, take a look at the Boatcar, a marriage of a 24-foot Sea Ray Sundancer and a Ford passenger van. The innovative Boatcar is now listed on eBay under the heading “1995 Other Make Boat Car,” and it’s for sale for $55,000. The seller says it’s street legal. The Boatcar was created by Mark Ray of Mark’s Custom Cruisers in Georgia. They have built several vehicles out of boat hulls and airplane fuselages, but this is…

On Watch
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How To Stay Sane in a Time of Crisis

For those of us who love to go cruising, these are trying times. We’re all heading into uncharted waters here, roiled by confusion and often competing narratives, and we don’t know how long this will last or how it will end. Many of us live in areas where we have been urged, or ordered, to stay in place, or at the very least to practice social distancing. Now, it seems to me that cruising people are unusually independent people, self-sufficient and capable on the water; we can take care of ourselves, our crew, and our vessels. On land, however, it’s…

Cruising Life
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The Best-Laid Plans: Dirona Changes Course

Ever since they bought Dirona, their Nordhavn 52 in 2009, James and Jennifer Hamilton, a high-tech couple from Seattle, have been cruising. At first they concentrated on the Pacific Northwest while still working in shore, but in 2012 they started cruising full time. Since then they’ve completed a circumnavigation and much more. Indeed, they’ve put more than 74,000 miles under their hull. The Hamiltons know how to plan, and to plan well. But now, in a time of the coronavirus, even the best-laid plans go by the wayside. Last summer and fall the Hamiltons cruised through Scandinavia, and ended up…

Boat Reviews
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Grand Banks Building New Flagship 85, a Long-Range Cruiser

Grand Banks is building its new 85-foot flagship at its factory in Malaysia. The new highly efficient, long-range cruiser is scheduled to be delivered to its new owner by Christmas, in time for him to watch the next America’s Cup in New Zealand next year. The new 85, with its low profile, long sheerline and gorgeous tumblehome, comes after the successful launch of the Grand Banks 60 and 60 Skylounge models. With its 22-foot beam, the 85 will have lots of wide-open space, inside and out, for comfortable living and on-board entertaining. Powered by a pair of 1,000-hp Volvo IPS1350…

Cruising Life
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Boat Hits Charleston Jetty at Night: All Rescued

A 52-foot sportfishing boat hit the Charleston, South Carolina, jetty early Sunday morning, but a fast response by the Coast Guard and other organizations saved all five people on board. No one was injured in the accident. The Charleston Coast Guard station received a call from Sea Tow at 2:10 a.m. on Sunday, saying that the boat, Strike Finder, had hit the southern jetty leading into the harbor with five people on board. The Coast Guard sent a 45-foot response boat and a Dolphin helicopter out to help. It also contacted the MSC Antonia, which was heading into the harbor…

Boat Reviews
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Sunreef Building New Transatlantic 100-Foot Power Cat

If you want to see what’s possible in the growing field of power catamarans, take a look at the new 100 Sunreef Power. It’s simply huge; the salon, making use of the boat’s 44’ 2” beam, reminds me of a New York City penthouse. We don’t have many details about this new 100-footer yet, although the Polish yard says it has already sold one and will start building it soon. All told, the 100 Sunreef will have more than 5,000 square feet of living space. (By comparison, the average New York City one-bedroom apartment has 700 square feet.) The luxurious…

Boat Reviews
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New Monte Carlo 6: French Flair, Room for Relaxing

The new high-end Monte Carlo 6 flybridge cruiser from Beneteau offers a combination of contemporary European styling, comfortable cruising and luxurious living. With twin 600-hp Cummins diesels and Zeus pod drives, the three-stateroom, three-head cruiser tops out at 28 knots and cruises at 20 knots. The Monte Carlo 6 is designed by the highly regarded firm of Nuvolari and Lenard, and it features large open spaces that you’d expect on a much larger yacht. The flybridge is particularly spacious, and it’s meant to be the major living and relaxing area on board. Most notable up there is a large U-shaped…

Cruising Life
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Captive Whales Get New Retirement Home in Canada

There are now more than 300 captive beluga whales and 60 orcas living out their days in aquariums and entertainment parks around the world. Now they have a place to go for their golden years. The Whale Sanctuary Project, based in Utah, just announced it is creating a virtual whale retirement home in 100 acres of a sheltered bay in Port Hilford, about 125 miles north of Halifax in Nova Scotia. It says it should be ready for the first whales by the end of 2021, and the whale retirement community will be safe with a meal plan that’s heavy…

Cruising Life
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With No Traffic, Clear Water Returns to Venice

Swans, in Venice? Well, anything is possible. Right now the water in Venice is clearer than it’s been in more than half a century. There’s no way to minimize the tragic toll that the coronavirus has exacted in Italy, where more than 5,500 people have died so far. But the story of clean water in Venice falls under the heading of the laws of unintended consequences. The first time I was in Venice I was 21 years old, and that was a very long time ago. The water in the canals was less-than-clear even then. The last time I was…

Destinations
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Eastport, Maine: All the Way Down East

If you’re cruising Down East this summer, you might want to think about heading all the way Down East, to Eastport, Maine. It’s as far as you can go in the United States, just across the bay from New Brunswick, Canada, and near the top of the Bay of Fundy, with its powerful currents and 23-feet tidal range. But if you want to experience real cruising, away from the crowds, where you can travel for hours without seeing another vessel, it’s the place to go. You won’t see many people either; Eastport’s population is only about 1,300, but you probably…

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