Author Peter Janssen

Charter
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Actor Matthew Rhys Restores 1939 Wheeler

One night four years ago, Matthew Rhys, the actor, was at home in New York, drinking a whisky and scrolling through eBay, killing time, when he saw an ad for a wooden 38-foot, 1939 Wheeler Playmate. It wasn’t in very good shape, and it was in California, but it was the same model as Ernest Hemingway’s Pilar, and Rhys was a Hemingway fan. It also was one of the four documented Wheeler Playmates in the world. And both Rhys and his partner, Keri Russell (his KGB wife in The Americans), liked chartering wooden boats. They had just celebrated her 40th…

Charter
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Moorings Adding New 464 PC to BVI Fleet

The Moorings just announced that it’s adding the new 464 Powercat to its charter fleet in the British Virgin Islands. The 464 is The Moorings’ second in its new generation of Leopard power catamarans from Robertson & Caine, after the 53. The 464 is designed to be a home-away-from home for people who are chartering in the BVI; it’s also available for a charter ownership, with significant advantages, for anyone interested in buying it. The new cat has more interior space than in previous version, plus redesigned cabins and furnishings, zoned air conditioning and separate engine rooms for its twin…

Cruising Life
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Vikings’ 1440 Map of Greenland a Fake: Yale

Scientists and cartographers at Yale University have decided once and for all that the Vinland Map, purportedly showing Norse settlements in North America in 1440, half a century before Columbus, is a fraud. For one thing, they have determined that the ink used on the map contains a titanium compound that wasn’t invented until the 1920s. For another, the map is just too good, the coast too detailed, for even expert seamen like the Vikings to have charted in 1440. Finally, seamen didn’t use maps to navigate back then anyway; navigation details were passed on largely by word of mouth.…

Cruising Life
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MarineMax Gets Bigger, Buys Intrepid

The big just got bigger. Indeed, MarineMax, the largest boat retailer in the world, just announced that it will buy Intrepid Powerboats. The two companies said they had signed a definitive agreement for the sale that will take place by the end of this year. This is the second acquisition for MarineMax recently. In May, it bought the privately held Cruisers Yachts, which had just bought Carver and Marquis, the late Irwin Jacobs’ brands. Founded in 1998 in Clearwater, Florida, MarineMax has 100 locations around the world, including 77 retail dealers and 31 marinas or storage operations. It says it…

Boat Reviews
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Fountaine-Pajot Launches Upscale 67 Powercat

Fountaine-Pajot has launched its most luxurious powercat yet, a 67-foot flagship that even has a Jacuzzi on the foredeck. In keeping with the French builder’s reputation for creating comfortable, seaworthy and blue-water boats, the new 67 also has a cruising range of 1,700 nm powered by twin 435-hp straight-shaft Volvo diesels. Everything about the new Fountaine-Pajot is massive and impressive. The volume comes not only from the overall length but also the more than 32-foot beam that makes the salon seem like a living room in a seaside home and the foredeck and aft cockpit like spas and entertaining areas…

Boat Reviews
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Back Cove 372 Debuts at Annapolis Show

Back Cove just launched its newly redesigned 372 family cruiser at the Annapolis powerboat show, running through Sunday, Oct. 10. The 372 is a new iteration of the original Back Cove 37 that was first launched in 2009; that turned out to be one of the Maine builder’s most  popular models. More than 200 of them were sold, and the tooling was getting worn out. With a single diesel engine, a low profile and its Down East lines, the 37 was popular because it was a Goldilocks boat – not too big, not too small. A single person could handle…

Cruising Life
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Salem To Become New Wind Farm Center

Salem, Massachusetts, hasn’t really been the same ever since the witch trials back in 1692. Now, the face of Salem is going to change again. Vineyard Wind, the developer of the first big offshore wind farm in the U.S., just announced it will transform the port of Salem into a hub to support the new wind projects off the Massachusetts’ coast. Indeed, Vineyard Wind has partnered with the City of Salem and Crowley Maritime Corporation to create a private-public partnership to establish Salem Harbor as the state’s second major offshore wind port, along with a similar site in New Bedford.…

Cruising Life
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Yamaha Introduces 9.9-hp Electric Outboard

Yamaha just introduced its HARMO electric outboard to the U.S. at the big International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX) in Tampa. The outboard couples a 48-volt power supply with a high-yield, low-drag 3.7 kilowatt motor. The rim-drive electric motor and specially encased impeller provide 225 pounds of static thrust. Yamaha says that is the equivalent of a conventional 9.9-hp gasoline outboard. The electric outboard’s running time depends on the type of battery, the size, configuration and other parameters. Rim motors have been used for thrusters and some other marine applications in the past, but Yamaha says this this the first…

Cruising Life
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11 Winners for IBEX Innovation Awards

The International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX) just announced the 11 winners and three runners-up of their annual Innovation Awards in Tampa. The awards were announced at a keynote breakfast celebrating IBEX’s 30th anniversary attended by 800 people. The awards program is managed by the National Marine Manufacturers Association with judging by members of Boating Writers International. Dozens of manufacturers submitted entries to the contest. “This year’s Innovation Awards program saw an incredible collection of entries,” said Anne Dunbar, the show director. She said the judges “had their work cut out for them to select winners to join the ranks…

Destinations
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Branson Opens Second Island Resort in BVI

Sir Richard Branson’s original resort on Necker Island in the BVI wasn’t all that shabby. Indeed, you could relax there with the Private Family Hideaway package, including a six-person private jet, private pool, a DJ, and a Great House with 20 bedrooms, for $137,000 a week. But now Branson has opened a smaller and even more upscale resort on Moskito Island, only two miles away, where offseason rates start at $19,000 a night for the Oasis Estate and $17,500 a night for the Point Estate. But those rates include an estate manager, private chef and staff, all meals, drinks and…

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