Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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New Unmanned Fleet To Explore Ocean Floor

A Norwegian yard is building a fleet of unmanned exploration vessels, powered by Volvo Penta’s new D8 diesels, that will try to map the entire ocean floor by 2030. This will be the first time that a fleet of autonomous surface vessels, called Armada, will be used for underwater exploration. The Armada fleet will be run by Ocean Infinity, one of the world’s leading marine robotics companies. Founded in 2017, it is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with offices in Southampton, U.K. It hired Grovfjord Mek. Verksted in Norway to build the fleet of up to 13 vessels for entirely unmanned…

Cruising Life
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New Coast Guard Rules for VHF Radio Check

POSTED BY CWO KURT FREDRICKSON ON OCTOBER 19, 2020 • The Coast Guard Inspections and Compliance Directorate has issued MSIB 20-20 to inform mariners of the proper procedure for performing a VHF radio check. Sea Tow Automated Radio Check System no longer available: For several years, Sea Tow operated an Automated Radio Check System, which was available on VHF Channels 24 to 28 for the benefit of mariners in over 130 locations. However, on October 2nd, 2020 that service was discontinued. How to test a VHF Radio using Rescue 21: The U.S. Coast Guard continues to offer an automated Digital…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Beneteau Building Long-Range Grand Trawler 62

Beneteau is doubling down on the trawler market, and is now building hull number one of a Grand Trawler 62, a long-range vessel with a full-displacement hull made for safe, comfortable (and slow) cruising. The new Grand Trawler 62 follows on the popularity of Beneteau’s Swift Trawler line, which now runs from 30 to 50 feet. But while they have semi-displacement hulls and cruise easily in the 15-16 knot range, the new 62 is most efficient cruising at 9 knots, where it has a 900-nm range. Powered by twin 730-hp MAN diesels with straight shafts, the new 62 will be…

Cruising Life
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Maine: Summer of the Superyachts

Here’s a fun story from maineboats.com about the influx of superyachts this summer, largely because of the pandemic, but also because, well, Maine is simply one of the best cruising destinations in the world in any summer. MaineBoats Blog Not only did boat rentals and sales see a huge surge this summer as pandemic shutdowns sent more people out on the water. In addition more super-sized yachts than ever cruised along the Maine coast, visiting ports both big and small. Normally in the summer many of these boats head across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. But when Europe shut the…

Cruising Life
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New Dive Spot: The Museum of Underwater Art

Here’s a new cruising/diving/charter destination, although it is a bit far away: The Museum of Underwater Art, about 50 miles off the coast of Australia in the Great Barrier Reef. The non-profit museum, a highly creative venture, features sculptures of 25 people housed in a Coral Greenhouse some 53 feet under the surface (see them in the video below). The sculptures, all molded from real people and all anchored to the seafloor, were crafted by Jason deCaires Taylor, a British artist. As opposed to many other contemporary artists, Taylor used heavy-set models for his sculptures, thinking they would attract more…

Cruising Life
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Boat Fire Burns 13 in Lauderdale Music Video Shoot

By Brooke Baitinger and David Lyons Sun Sentinel FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.  — Nearly two dozen people were aboard a boat that caught fire on the New River in Fort Lauderdale Thursday, and at least 13 have burn injuries of varying degrees, authorities said. The blaze broke out just before 2 p.m. on a 41-foot Wellcraft pleasure boat that was cruising the New River toward the Intracoastal Waterway. A blast rang out over the narrow waterway, and the next thing nearby boaters knew the boat was floating down the river, engulfed in flames. Multiple boaters called 911 to report the explosion as people fell or jumped into the water to escape…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Veteran Owners Customize New Hunt Ocean 63. See Video

Hunt has launched hull number one of its new Ocean 63 series, with a lot of input from its new owners, experienced cruisers who knew just what they wanted in a blue-water yacht. The owners, Jim and Cindy Cuminale, from Darien, Connecticut, worked with Hunt during the boat’s construction in Taiwan, and during the commissioning at the Hunt yard in Portsmouth, Rhode Island (which it shares with its parent company, Hinckley Yachts). They have been boating most of their adult lives, and most recently owned an Eastbay 50. But they wanted a larger boat, one in the 60-foot range, so…

Cruising Life
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New Study: Great Barrier Reef Has Lost Half Its Coral

(CNN) — Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has lost 50% of its coral populations in the last three decades, with climate change a key driver of reef disturbance, a new study has found. Researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, in Queensland, northeastern Australia, assessed coral communities and their colony size along the length of the Great Barrier Reef between 1995 and 2017, finding depletion of virtually all coral populations, they said Tuesday. Coral reefs are some of the most vibrant marine ecosystems on the planet — between a quarter and one third of all marine species…

Boat Reviews
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Cruisers Launches New, Sporty, 42 GLS with 3 Outboards

Cruisers Yachts will introduce its new, outboard-powered 42 GLS, designed as a multi-purpose family boat, at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 28. With three 400-hp Mercury Verado outboards, the sporty new Cruisers tops out at 52 mph. Cruisers emphasizes that the new 42 GLS is made for fun, entertaining, and enjoying your time on the water. In keeping with the current fashion, the bulwarks on both sides of the cockpit drop down to provide much more space and easy access to the water. Cruisers calls these dropdowns “beach doors,” and they connect to the swim platforms on…

Boat Reviews
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New Navetta 64: Prize-Winning Beach Club

The Absolute Yachts Navetta 64 just won the Best Innovation of 2020 award at the World Yachts Trophies event in Cannes for its creative day-and-night beach club that opens from two slightly curved, watertight doors in the transom. By day, it serves as a patio or lounge on the ocean; by night, it’s an extra VIP stateroom with its own head and shower, a lot of privacy, and a chance to go swimming whenever the mood strikes. The new Navetta 64 is distinguished by other singular design trends, particularly the super-sized windows in the hull…

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