Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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How To Stay Safe During Lightning Strikes

Here’s some solid advice from the U.S. Power Squadrons about how to stay safe during lightning strikes on the water:  Lightning strikes kill more people in the United States in a year than tornadoes, and boaters are particularly vulnerable. You can stay safe on and off the water by learning more about lightning safety. Many people wait far too long to seek shelter when thunderstorms threaten. Unfortunately, this delayed response leads to many lightning deaths and injuries in the U.S. Lightning dangers for boaters Often the tallest object in a large open space, a boat can be a dangerous place…

Cruising Life
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Coast Guard, Good Samaritan, Rescue 10 As Boat Sinks. See Video

The Coast Guard and a Good Samaritan boat rescued ten people from Grand Traverse Bay in northern Michigan when their 30-foot boat started to sink. A Coast Guard rescue swimmer was able to get all ten to the Good Samaritan boat just before their boat sank. No one was injured in the accident. The Coast Guard said they received a distress call about 2:30 on Friday afternoon saying that a boat was taking on water in the bay along Lake Michigan. In response, the Coast Guard sent a 45-foot boat and a Jayhawk helicopter. The helicopter arrived about 20 minutes…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Boat Sales Soaring This Summer, Reaction to Pandemic

Boating, it seems, is the perfect answer. In a time of COVID-19 crises and social distancing, taking to the water is an increasingly attractive proposition. At least that seems to be the case for a lot of people buying new and used boats. Across the country, many dealers are reporting near record boat sales for the past month or so. MarineMax in Quincy, Massachusetts, for example, says they sold 100 boats in May, a 30 percent increase from last year. In Clinton, Connecticut, John Benchimol, the owner of Harborside Marina and Yacht Sales, told WTNH that when the pandemic hit…

Charter
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How To See Amsterdam by Boat This Summer

This isn’t exactly blue-water cruising, but it sure looks like fun, for a whole lot of reasons. First, Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in the world, which isn’t surprising given my Dutch-derived last name and the fact that a great-great-grandfather was a Dutch sea captain (or so the story goes). But Amsterdam is so full of history, art, and fascinating architecture that wandering along its ever-present canals is a pleasure, no matter what your family heritage. Here’s a great story from Dutch News about how to see the city by water, even for a short visit: There is,…

Boat Reviews
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MCM To Manage Build of New 70-Foot Zurn Cruiser

An experienced owner has just hired MCM yacht management in Newport, Rhode Island, to oversee the construction of his new Doug Zurn-designed 70-foot Down East express cruiser at Delta Marine in Seattle. The new boat is a clean, classic Zurn design, with a low profile, long sheerline, and state-of-the-art lightweight construction. Powered by twin 1,000-hp Volvo IPS pod drives, it is expected to deliver a top speed of 38 knots. Peter Wilson, the co-founder of MCM, said the owner had several production boats in the past, and currently has a Down East boat with IPS power. But, Wilson said, “he…

Cruising Life
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Yamaha Launches First Joystick for Single-Outboard Boats

After three years of R&D, Yamaha just introduced the first joystick for boats with a single outboard. Until now, joystick controls were available only on boats with multiple engines. Yamaha’s new Helm Master EX makes it easier for drivers of single-outboard boats to control and steer their vessels. It gives captains fingertip control of steering, throttle and shifting. With its power steering, you can turn the motor from lock-to-lock in less than two seconds. You maneuver the joystick in easy intervals. One short twist equals 1 degree of heading. A long twist produces 5 degrees of heading. A hold-and-twist repositions…

Cruising Life
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Wealthy Dad Charged in Boating Death of Son

Marin County Prosecutors, just across the Bay from San Francisco, have charged a wealthy real estate developer with manslaughter and boating under the influence of alcohol in the tragic death of his 11-year-old son last September. Javier Burillo Azcarraga, 58, from one of the wealthiest families in Mexico, was driving his 33-foot Targa Protector (pictured above) near Angel Island in San Francisco Bay when his 11-year-old son and a 27-year-old son were thrown out of the boat. Prosecutors say that in his effort to retrieve them, Burillo injured the older son and killed the younger one. Burillo is scheduled to…

Cruising Life
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How Did This Happen? See Video Reenactment

August 17, 2018, was a clear, calm day on the Chesapeake when a 34-foot powerboat ran into the side of a 35-foot sailboat near Annapolis. Fortunately, none of the seven people on the powerboat, or the two people on the sailboat, were seriously injured. But once the picture of the accident, taken by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, was released, it went viral. Boaters and non-boaters alike asked, how did this happen? The powerboat, a 34-foot deadrise charter boat named Hunter, was brand new. It was on its very first day in the water, with a licensed captain on…

Cruising Life
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New Study: Great Whites Like Shallow Water on Cape Cod

The next time you go to Cape Cod, you may want to stay on your boat. New studies show that great white sharks spend half their time there swimming in water less than 15 feet deep, hunting for seals to eat. That behavior, of course, puts them in the same water as human swimmers and surfers. And the number of sharks swimming in those waters is staggering. A research buoy close to shore off North Truro detected 70 individual sharks last summer. One off Nauset Beach in Orleans recorded 69; Eastham, 62. The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, a non-profit organization…

Cruising Life
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New Records for Start of Hurricane Season

Records have already been broken, and hurricane season just started By Allison Chinchar, CNN Meteorologist (CNN)The Atlantic hurricane season is already one for the record books and it’s only just getting started. With an early jump-start to the season, a record number of named storms, and a storm reaching states that don’t normally see tropical systems, this season is off to a fast and interesting start. Record three named storms Before the season officially began on June 1, we already had two named storms: Arthur and Bertha, which is impressive in and of itself. Then we added Cristobal, the third…

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