Author Peter Janssen

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Hamiltons in Mid-Atlantic, Heading Home on Nordhavn 52

After cruising in northern Europe for the past four years, James and Jennifer Hamilton are heading back home to the United States on their Nordhavn 52, Dirona. They’re now in mid-Atlantic, about half way between their last stop, Horta in the Azores, and their final destination, Charleston, South Carolina. The Hamiltons already have a circumnavigation and two Atlantic crossings under Dirona’s hull. A high-tech couple from Seattle, they bought Dirona new in 2009 and have been living aboard and cruising since 2012. On this latest venture, they left Newport, Rhode Island, in May, 2017, and have been cruising in the…

Cruising Life
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Brunswick Building Electric Outboards, Self-Driving Boats

At its annual Investors’ Day conference, Brunswick Corp., the boating industry giant, just announced that it will launch new electric outboard engines starting next year, and that it will produce its first Driver Assistance System, leading to autonomous boats, later this year. Chris Drees, the president of Mercury Marine, said the company is already developing electric outboards, and will have the first ready by the end of 2022 and four more by the first quarter of 2023. “We intend for Mercury to be the market leader in both conventional and electric marine propulsion by the end of that year,” he…

Cruising Life
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NTSB Report: Seacore Power Hit by Violent Conditions

The National Transportation Safety Board  just released its preliminary report about the capsizing of the Seacore Power lift boat in the Gulf of Mexico last month, revealing that the boat capsized as the helmsman tried to put its legs down when it was swept by a sudden, violent storm. The boat had 19 people on board when it left Port Fourchon, the southernmost port in Louisiana, on April 13. Six were rescued after the accident by Good Samaritan boats and the Coast Guard, six others died, and seven are still missing. The NTSB report made clear how fast conditions changed,…

Boat Reviews
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Lindell 38: Sturdy and Fast with Very Long Legs

The new Lindell 38 is a sturdy, fast, long-legged cruiser that has a range of 700 nm at about 30 knots. That means it can go from La Conner, Washington, to Ketchikan, Alaska, without refueling, or from New York to Miami with one stop, or just about anywhere on the Great Loop without having to worry about fuel or, because of its low profile, having to wait for a lot of bridge openings. Lindell is well known on the West Coast, and is just starting to spread to the East Coast (a new owner plans to cruise the Northeast). The…

Cruising Life
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EU Rolls Back Tariff Increase on U.S. Boats

The European Union will not double its tariffs on boats made in the U.S. to 50 percent on June 1 after all. Earlier this week, negotiators for the EU and the U.S. announced that the retaliatory tariffs on U.S. boats and some other American-made products would remain at 25 percent for the next six months or so. The temporary truce was regarded as a victory for Frank Hugelmeyer, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, and Gina M. Romando, the new Secretary of Commerce and former Governor of Rhode Island, who is particularly responsive to the needs of American boat…

Charter
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Captain of Dream Charter “Odorous” and “Abusive” Suits Say

Here’s a story about a dream charter in the Bahamas over the Christmas holidays that went terribly wrong, ending with two lawsuits seeking $10 million in damages and charging that the captain was “odorous, ill-tempered, curt and dismissive, outright angry and abusive.” The suits also say that instead of dropping the passengers off on Exuma Island, he cruised back to Nassau, leading to “false imprisonment” and “panic attacks, trauma, fear of death.” The name of the yacht is Dream, and it’s a 196’9” Abeking & Rasmussen launched in 2001. It charters from Burgess for $420,000 a week, and it has…

Cruising Life
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Mississippi Reopens After Crack Found in Memphis Bridge

The Coast Guard has reopened the Mississippi to river traffic three days after it was closed because of a structural crack in the Hernando de Soto Bridge in Memphis. More than 45 tugs hauling 700 barges had been waiting for clearance on both sides of the bridge. We don’t have any word about how many recreational boats also were affected by the closure. The Coast Guard closed the river to all traffic between mile 736 and 737 after a crack was found in one of two 900-feet-long  horizontal steel beams that are critical to the bridge’s integrity. Authorities said repairs…

Boat Reviews
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Zeelander Building New, Quiet, High-End 48

Zeelander, the Dutch builder of high-end yachts, just announced that it’s building a new 48-foot Zeelander 5, replacing the award-winning Z44. The Zeelander fleet also includes a 55 and a 72. A rendering of the new Z5 is shown above. The new Z5 will be the second in a new generation of yachts for Zeelander, following the 72 (pictured below) that was launched in 2019. The company announced that it is changing its naming convention, so the Z72 will be rebranded as the Zeelander 7. Zeelander owner Sietse Koopmans says the new yacht will be made for people who want…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Grumpy About Half Way Through Loop, Again

Here’s an update about John Hauck, the retired Army Special Forces major and helicopter pilot who says he’s going to celebrate his 82nd year by completing the Great Loop, solo, for the second time, on his 25-foot Rosborough Grumpy. Hauck completed his first trip around the Great Loop on Aug. 2, 2019, crossing his wake back in his home port of Demopolis, Alabama, traveling 6,303 miles in 110 days. He started his second trip, also in Demopolis, on March 10. Earlier this week, Hauck was tied up at the marina at the Naval Air Station in Norfolk, Virginia, having run…

Cruising Life
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NAPS: Largest Gathering of Nordhavns Ever

Nordhavn owners got together in Poulsbo, Washington, last week, for their annual event called Nordhavn Across Puget Sound (NAPS). As it turned out, 37 Nordhavns came to the Port of Poulsbo Marina, and 13 more Nordhavn owners came without their boats. This was the largest gathering of Nordhavns ever, and more probably would have come except the border with Canada is closed because of the Covid-19 crisis. The NAPS rendezvous was started by Nordhavn owners in 2018 simply as a way to get together and share notes about their boats, stories about their adventures, and plans for voyages to come.…

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