Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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New Bitter End Inflatable SUP; Fits in a Backpack

Before it was devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September, 2017, the Bitter End Yacht Club was one of the most sought-after, and highly recognized, destinations in the British Virgin Islands. The Bitter End has been rebuilding its 64 acres since then, but in the interim it has launched Bitter End Provisions, “to help you prepare for your next nautical adventure.” The company says the criteria for something to qualify as a Bitter End Provision are that “It works hard and works often. That it has been tested at sea. And that it pairs really well with a bottle…

Cruising Life
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Coast Guard Chopper Rescues Couple, Dog, Off Oregon Coast

A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a couple and their dog after they were stuck in rough seas off the Columbia River bar in Oregon. You can see the Coast Guard’s video of the 4 a.m. rescue below. The couple, a 55-year-old man and 56-year-old woman, first called the Coast Guard at 2:30 p.m. They were on a 44-foot powerboat with their dog, off the coast of Seaside, and they were worried about crossing the bar to return home. The Coast Guard sent a rescue boat to find them. In a statement, the Coast Guard said, “The rescue crew determined…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Increasingly Popular Palm Beach Show Opens March 26

The Palm Beach International Boat Show, which has been growing in size and importance the past few years, starts on Thursday, March 26, and runs through Sunday, March 29. A handful of significant cruising powerboats will make their debuts there this year, while hundreds more will be on display. Now in its  35th year, the Palm Beach show has become increasingly popular because of its location and its manageable size. The show’s on Flagler Drive on West Palm Beach, where downtown meets the Intracoastal Waterway. It’s easy to get to, with lots of nearby parking, and it doesn’t have all…

Charter
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Barton & Gray: Enjoy a Hinckley, Without Owning One

Here’s an appealing alternative to boat ownership, particularly if you like to enjoy the better things in life and you like to go boating in a lot of different places: The Barton & Gray Mariners Club, which offers members the use of crewed Hinckley Yachts in 25 spots on the East Coast, the Gulf Coast, and the Great Lakes. The major appeal of the club is that you can have all the advantages of owning a Hinckley without the disadvantages, primarily the costs of buying one, insurance, dockage and maintenance. And that’s before you add in the services of a…

Boat Reviews
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New Johnson 80: An “Entry-Level Superyacht”

Johnson Yachts has just launched a four-stateroom, 27-knot, 80-foot cruising boat that it says is an entry-level superyacht. That’s because no two Johnson 80s will be the same. Each owner can enjoy a high level of customization in the interior, just as he or she would be able to choose on a much larger vessel. The new Johnson 80 is designed by Bill Dixon, of Dixon Yacht Design in Southampton, England, one of the world’s leading yacht designers. The interior is by Karen Lynn Interior Design of Fort Lauderdale. “The Johnson 80 combines our proven engineering with fashionable comforts of…

Boat Reviews
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Canadian Electric Boat Company Launches New 29 Phoenix

The rapidly growing world of electric-powered boats got a boost when the Canadian Electric Boat Company introduced its new 290 Phoenix at the recent Miami boat show. Built in Boisbriand, just north of Montreal, the 29 is the largest of the company’s fleet of all-electric boats. At open boat, the Phoenix can seat ten passengers, and it’s powered by twin Torqeedo Deep Blue 50R outboards. Each motor, Torqueedo’s most powerful, has the power equivalent of an 80-hp gas outboard. Electricity is supplied by 40kWh BMW i3 lithium batteries. Each battery has a nine-year warranty. Even after 3,000 charging cycles, it…

Cruising Life
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Woman Awarded $3.7 Million in Fall From Yacht in Travelift

A New Jersey woman will receive $3.7 million in a settlement for traumatic brain injuries she suffered when she fell off a ladder from a boat suspended in a marina Travelift. The woman, Jennifer Brashears, 48, fell 10 feet from the top step of a ladder and hit her head on the paved parking lot at the Edgewater Marina in Edgewater, New Jersey.  Surgeons had to remove a third of her skull to prevent fatal swelling, but she was left with a disabling brain injury and has not been able to work since the accident on July 22, 2014. On…

Cruising Life
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Giant Male Whale Protects Mother and Calf from Boat

A giant male humpback whale breached in front of a small sailing catamaran off Hawaii, flinging himself out of the water, perhaps in an effort to warn the sailors away from a nearby calf and its mother. The 40-feet-long, 22-ton whale almost crushed the catamaran, sailing off Kaanapali Beach on the northwest coast of Maui. No one on the cat was injured. The incident was filmed by Don McLeish, 67 and retired, who was following the whales on his blue Zodiac. He saw the male escorting the mother and the baby, and then saw the catamaran almost on a collision…

Cruising Life
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Coast Guard Rescues 3 from Sinking Fishing Trawler

Here’s a story about a fishing boat in distress in the middle of the night off Fire Island, New York, a Coast Guard rescue, and determined owner, from Newsday. It was 3:45 a.m., and the fishing trawler New Age was about 20 miles south of the Fire Island Inlet, heading to New Jersey to unload its catch with a crew of three. It had 1,500 pounds of fluke in the hold, the wind was blowing about 30 knots, and the swells were getting even the stern. As the New Age started to list, the crew realized it was sinking. Billy…

Cruising Life
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Ferry Captain Disoriented by Fog, Goes Wrong Way, Sinks Yacht

Here’s a report from the BBC about how a ferry boat captain became disoriented in fog, went the wrong way, and crashed into a yacht off the Isle of Wight: Cowes ferry yacht-crash captain ‘lost control in fog’ A ferry captain became disoriented in dense fog and ended up going in the wrong direction and crashing into a yacht, a report has concluded. The Red Funnel car ferry sunk Nigel Minchin’s yacht when it ran aground off the Isle of Wight in October 2018, leaving people stranded for hours. Investigators found Red Falcon’s captain became “overloaded due to high stress” as…

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