Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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EU Tariffs on U.S. Boats To Double on June 1

The European Union’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. boats is scheduled to increase, up to 50 percent, on June 1, a move that will cut even deeper into U.S. exports to that market. The current tariff is 25 percent. The National Marine Manufacturers Association says that since the tariff went into effect in 2018, U.S. boat exports to the EU have fallen by 42 percent. The EU is the U.S. boating industry’s second largest international market, after Canada. Earlier this year, the Biden Administration and the EU agreed to a four-month pause on tariffs related to World Trade Organization aircraft disputes,…

Boat Reviews
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Ocean Alexander Launches 27E Tri-Deck Cruiser

Ocean Alexander has launched its new 27E, an 88-foot tri-deck motoryacht, the first in its Explorer series. Powered by twin V12, 1,650-hp MANs, the new 27E (it’s 27 meters long) registers a top speed of about 23 knots. Dial back to 8.5 knots, and it has a range of 1,260 nm. The new Ocean Alexander also has a relatively shallow (4’1”) draft, which means it can get into a lot of places that other large boats might have to bypass. The company says the new yacht, developed with British designer Evan K. Marshall, is meant for long-range cruising performance, comfort…

Cruising Life
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Garmin Making New GPS-Based Marine Compass

Garmin just announced that it’s offering a new marine satellite compass to help make navigation safer and more accurate. The new MSC 10 has multi-band GNSS and a fully integrated attitude and reference system to provide accurate heading and position information. Garmin says the MSC 10 provides precise positioning and heading accuracy within 2 degrees. The system is based on information from GPS, so it will not be affected by any magnetic interference. “An advanced navigation tool, the GPS-based MSC 10 won’t be impacted by magnetic interference, so even in challenging situations, you’ll know exactly where you’re headed,” said Dan…

Cruising Life
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New Upgrades at Champlin’s on Block Island

If you’re thinking about cruising in New England this summer, you’ll want to know about this: Among many other changes, the new owners of Champlin’s Marina and Resort on Block Island are offering seasonal dockage for the first time. Also, for transients, the marina will not allow rafting up. In the past, the marina had rafted boats three or four deep in crowded periods during the summer. Now, some boats will dock Med-style, stern-to, and occupants will get off on floating wooden docks that adjoin the fixed pier. Champlin’s, on Great Salt Pond, has been a major cruising destination for…

Cruising Life
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Coast Guard Grounds Helicopters: Spare Parts Shortage

The Coast Guard has grounded some helicopters, including those used in search-and-rescue operations, because it doesn’t have enough spare parts. And the situation can get worse with the coming of hurricane season. Read this story in military.com: The Coast Guard’s short-range search-and-rescue helicopters are flying at 70% of their potential scheduled hours due to a parts shortage, a situation that could worsen as hurricane season approaches, the service’s top officer told Congress on Wednesday. Six Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopters are currently grounded, with four more expected to be out of circulation by June. That’s roughly 10% of the fleet,…

Cruising Life
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The Williams, Veteran Cruisers, Buy a Grand Banks 60

Ken and Roberta Williams have a lot of blue-water miles under their hulls. Indeed, the Williams have crossed the Atlantic and the Pacific and cruised just about everywhere from Alaska to Turkey on their two Nordhavns, first a 62 and then a 68, both named Sans Souci. They sold the 68 a few years ago and spent last summer writing books. Ken’s was about Sierra On-Line, the computer-game company they started together and sold in 1996; Roberta’s was a historical novel about Ireland. But cruising beckoned. For their new boat, they downsized, to a Grand Banks 60 (pictured above), even…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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MarineMax Buys Cruisers, Gets Bigger and Bigger

About 20 years ago, I sat next to Bill McGill, the founder and president of MarineMax, at a black-tie dinner in Rimini, on the Atlantic coast of Italy, a gorgeous seaside resort often seen in Fellini movies. We were at a Ferretti Yachts presentation, and McGill, who had just started MarineMax in 1998, was in an expansive mood. From its headquarters in Clearwater, Florida, MarineMax has indeed grown during the intervening years. It is now the largest boat retailer in the world, with 77 dealers at 100 locations. This week MarineMax got even bigger: It just bought Cruisers Yachts in…

Cruising Life
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Greenline Launches New Hybrid 68 Flagship

Greenline, the innovative Slovenian builder, has launched its new flagship, a 68 OceanClass cruiser. The latest OceanClass yacht, the 68 offers a combination of diesel, hybrid or all-electric power in a three-stateroom, three-head yacht built for comfortable cruising anywhere in the world. The Greenline fleet now has eight models, starting at 33 feet. The new 68 is aimed at experienced cruisers who are looking for comfort, quality and ecologically responsible boating. In its basic diesel mode, the 68 OceanClass is driven by two 850-hp Cats, delivering a top speed of 22 knots. With optional 1,150-hp Cats, the top speed is…

Cruising Life
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Tom Brady Trades Up to $6 million Wajer 77

Most of us think about trading up after we’ve had our boats for a few years. Not Tom Brady. But then Brady, who’s arguably the Greatest of All Time NFL quarterback, is probably working on a different timetable than the rest of us. Indeed, two weeks after he moved from New England to Tampa last year to play for the Bucs (after winning six Super Bowls with the Patriots), Brady ordered a $2 million Wajer 55 yacht and kept it behind his house on Tampa Bay. Brady then cruised it in Tampa’s water parade after the Bucs won the Super…

Cruising Life
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25,000 Barrels Perhaps With DDT Found Near Catalina

Here’s an alarming story from The Guardian. Researchers from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography just found about 25,000 barrels that might contain the toxic chemical DDT in the ocean near Catalina Island off Southern California. DDT has multi-generational impacts on humans and perhaps on marine animals as well. Marine scientists say they have found what they believe to be as many as 25,000 barrels possibly containing DDT dumped off the southern California coast near Catalina Island, where a massive underwater toxic waste site dating back to the Second World War has long been suspected. The 27,345 “barrel-like’” images were captured…

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