Author Peter Janssen

Boat Reviews
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New Absolute Navetta 64: Prize-Winning Cruiser

The new, award-winning Absolute Navetta 64 is a large, comfortable cruiser with a few surprises that will only make it hard to leave once you’ve spent much time on board. You can immediately see some of the best features of the Italian-built yacht, including the unusually large, uninterrupted side windows that extend all the way back from the helm to the aft deck. And you’ll also focus on the enlarged windows in the bow. But what you won’t realize until you’re on the Navetta is that those bow windows admit an enormous amount of light to the master stateroom, which…

Cruising Life
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Meet Orca, Your New Marine Co-Pilot

Orca, a brand-new Norwegian startup, just introduced its new wireless navigation system that is designed to become your “marine co-pilot.” A combination of hardware and software, Orca is organized around a built-from-scratch interface that is meant to make your cruising life safer, easier and more up-to-date. Orca’s founders say they started with a blank slate to rethink the entire design of marine electronics, looking for an iPhone moment. They ended up with a system that includes a rugged tablet from Samsung, a mounting arm, an interface for quick attachment and charging, and an Orca Core computing base unit that connects…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Computers Fail: Yacht Crashes into Dock. See Video

With an LOA of 251’ 8” and a displacement of 1,952 tons, Go was the largest yacht ever built by Turquoise Yachts in Turkey when it was launched in 2018. It had a master suite, eight guest cabins, a helipad, gym, Jacuzzi, beach club, sauna, hospital, elevator, swimming pool with a waterfall and a crew of 18. It also had twin 2,570-hp Cat diesels producing a top speed of 17 knots. What it did not have at 10:15 one recent morning, was steering or reverse, and it slowly crashed into a dock, and then another dock, at the Sint Maarten…

Boat Reviews
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Apollonian 52: A Totally New Raised Pilothouse Yacht

Meet the new Apollonian 52, a three-stateroom, solidly built, affordable raised pilothouse motoryacht that’s built for the owner-operator. Apollonian Yachts, a totally new brand, is the result of a collaboration between storied naval architect Howard Apollonio and veteran broker Vic Parcells. Built in Shanghai, China, hull number one has already been sold in Seattle, and hull number two is ready for viewing there. Apollonio has been designing yachts for more than 50 years; his credits include Diaship/Heesen, Hampton/Regency, Cheoy Lee, Christensen, Westport, West Bay/SonShip and many others. For his part, Parcells is a partner at Crow’s Nest Yacht Sales in…

Cruising Life
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New Study: Gulf Stream Weakest in 1,000 Years

A new study says the Gulf Stream is now the weakest in more than 1,000 years, with major implications for future storms in Europe and sea-level rise along the east coast of the United States. Some of the world’s leading experts studied the circulation patterns of the Atlantic Ocean, including the currents of the Gulf Stream flowing from south of Florida up to Greenland, and published their results in the journal Nature Geoscience. The circulation, they said, is now “in its weakest state in over a millennium.” Their research showed that the current has slowed by 15 percent since 1950,…

Gear
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Weego Offers New Compact Jump Starter

Weego has just introduced a new portable N44s Jump Starter for boats, cars, trucks and motorcycles. It’s based on the success of Weego’s N22 model, and it delivers 50 percent more power for the same relatively low price. All told, the new N44S provides 44 cranking amps in an ultra-compact design. The charger is about the size of most cell phones (just 5.6 inches high) and it weighs less than a pound. The N44s can start vehicles with up to 7L gas engines or 3.5L diesels. It holds a year of standby power on a single charge, and its lithium…

Cruising Life
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NOAA Starts Transition to All Electronic Charts

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is starting its transition to all electronic charts. It announced its Sunsetting of Raster Nautical Charts in the Federal Register in 2019, spelling out a five-year plan to gradually end production of traditional paper and raster charts starting this year. The sunset plan starts this month with the end of the current paper chart, number 18665, of Lake Tahoe, on the California/Nevada border. After August, NOAA’s electronic chart will be the only NOAA chart of the area. NOAA says the electronic charts are easier to update and maintain than paper charts and they will…

Destinations
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A Possible Comeback for Historic Miami Marine Stadium

Miami’s historic Marine Stadium, closed since it was condemned in 1992, may be in for a revival – finally. But it’s been a long time coming. The 6,566-seat stadium opened in 1963 as a venue for powerboat racing, and then special events. Located on Virginia Key and accessible by Rickenbacker Causeway, it offered spectacular views of downtown Miami and Biscayne Bay. The stadium was designed  by Hilario Candela, then 27 and a Cuban immigrant, and featured a 326-foot-long cantilevered roof, supported by eight slanted columns. It was the longest span of cantilevered concrete in the world at the time. And…

Cruising Life
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After a Year in Mexico, Tangaroa Heads North

Tom Campbell and Beth Davidow have spent the past year cruising, diving and filming on their Maritimo 51 in Mexico, primarily in the Sea of Cortez. Now, the couple (he’s 80 and a wildlife and underwater cinematographer, she’s a scientist and documentary filmmaker) are heading north, up the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula, ready to pursue the next stage in their five-year cruising adventure. Campbell and Davidow bought their new Maritimo, named Tangaroa, last February from Bill King of Maritimo Yacht Sales in Newport Harbor, California. They decided to live aboard full time, cruising and producing documentaries, starting in…

Boat Reviews
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S&S Redesigns Classic Downeast Peapods

Sparkman & Stephens just redesigned the iconic Downeast Peapod double-ended row boat and tender, and they launched the first one in Newport, Rhode Island, on Valentine’s Day. It was S&S Design Number 2838. The boats are called peapods because they are shaped like a pod of peas with a stem at each end. They were first used by Maine lobstermen in the 1800s for inshore work because of their shallow draft and easy maneuverability. The lobstermen often rowed them standing up and they could row easily in both directions. In subsequent years, peapods became popular as recreational rowing boats and…

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