Ranger Tugs have a growing and enthusiastic group of owners, including this Annapolis couple who are on their third trip to Florida on the ICW. Here they are in Fort Myers; you’ll love these people. (I’ve done two cruises on Rangers myself in the San Juans and the Canadian Gulf islands and enjoyed them greatly.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH-E3tTQhZo
The police said it was a dark and stormy night in Ontario, Canada, when a 23-year-old woman, trusting her GPS, missed a right turn and drove straight down a boat ramp into the water of Georgian Bay. Fortunately, the woman rolled down the window of her Toyota, climbed out, swam to shore and then hiked to a hotel to call for help. The car was declared a total loss. (Photo from ABC News)
A good Samaritan boater picked up the two people on board a 52-foot Downeast powerboat from Coinjock, NC, after it took on water. See a picture and the early story here:http://outerbanksvoice.com/2016/05/08/vessel-sinks-in-currituck-sound-fellow-boater-takes-two-aboard/
No matter how long you’ve used a GPS it never hurts to get a refresher course. And if you’ve never used one, here’s a good way to start. Now the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water and the United States Power Squadrons have developed a new online course, “How to Use GPS,” to help all of us get where we want to go safely. The course is clear and makes GPS seem easy; it also can be taken anywhere – your office, your home, on your boat – when it’s most convenient for you. You can stop and…
Sean and Lois Johnson, two Brits with a lot of salt water in their veins, are now in the Dominican Republic on their Nordhavn 64, Kapowai, after a circumnavigation of the Atlantic – from Miami up to Canada, across to Europe, and then back to the Caribbean. They had already crossed the Atlantic twice since they bought Kapowai just two years ago. If you’re interested in learning about long-range cruising from the people who’ve been there, here’s their latest blog postings before they head back to Miami.http://www.kapowaicruising.com
Here’s a first look at the sea trials of the just-launched Nordhavn 59 Coastal Pilot in China. She’ll be at the company’s Dana Point, California, headquarters in a few weeks. This 20-knot Nordhavn (no, that’s not a typo) looks great to me. me.http://www.nordhavn.com/models/59_coastalpilot/video/sea_trial.php
Here’s a great story about how the Coast Guard rescued seven fishermen off a 76-foot scalloping boat that ran aground at night in 14-foot seas and 60-knot winds off Long Island. Spoiler alert: One Coast Guard boat capsized. Mayday on the carolina queen
Here’s a story that will warm your heart. Yesterday Wendy Wilson, a member of the America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association, posted a message on group’s forum asking for help. She and her husband and their four daughters, ages 19, 8, 6 and 5, want to start the Great Loop this August, pending a good outcome from the 5-year-old’s open heart surgery in May. Mrs. Wilson says her daughter’s medical situation is part of the reason the family wants to do the Loop now, since she has already outlived her doctors’ predictions “and you just can’t take life for granted.” The…
Here’s a look at how not to raft-up.https://youtu.be/oIidW_8O_cs
I’ve done a lot of boat tests in my time, but certainly nothing like this one off the south coast of Ireland. And I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t have taken my Grand Banks 36, much as I loved that boat, out on a day like this.https://youtu.be/N134TJlFjsU