Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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Crew Puts Boat on Autopilot. Falls Asleep. Lands in Cave

TowBoatUS San Diego responds to an incredibly strange distress call caused by a one-in-a-million missed waypoint: SAN DIEGO, Calif., Oct. 23, 2019 — “There are not many times I can say it after 30 years as a towboat captain, but this was a first,” says Capt. Rob Butler, owner of the TowBoatUS San Diego. Butler was describing his company’s recent response to a 26-foot power boat stuck inside a deep sandstone cave along a southern California cliff wall. Butler’s company is one of more than 300 locations across the nation that responds to over 70,000 requests annually for on-water assistance…

Gear
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New Fliteboard: Electric-Powered Foiling Surfboard

This just looks like fun. In case you’re looking for a new toy, or a way to relax once you’ve dropped the hook on your next cruise, consider the Fliteboard, an electric-powered foiling surfboard. (See the video below.) Built in Australia, the Fliteboard flies several feet above the surface, giving you the sensation of gliding over the water. A handheld remote control lets you control the speed, but the company says it can hit 27 mph. The Fliteboard is made to foil on oceans, rivers and lakes, in fresh and salt water. You don’t even need waves, although they certainly…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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New Mayflower: Lots of AI and No People on Board

The original Mayflower, the famous one, left Plymouth, England, on Sept. 16, 1620, and made landfall in the New World, near where Provincetown is today on Cape Cod, 66 days later. It was about 90 feet long, weighed 180 tons, and carried a crew of about 30 and 102 Pilgrims as passengers (including five who died along the way). Next September, on the 400th anniversary of the original voyage, another Mayflower will leave Plymouth and retrace the 3,220-mile trip. It will be about 164 feet long, weigh 5 tons, and it won’t have any crew or passengers on board at…

Charter
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Insider Tips: Cruising Mallorca to Ibiza on Chartered Power Cats

Cruising Mallorca to Ibiza – Insider Tips Published: October 7, 2019    The Moorings   Comments By Renato Seitenfus: Since I joined The Moorings and became hooked on the charter experience, I cannot let one year pass without stepping on a boat, exploring new waters, and discovering new cultures. Every year my friends and I set up an annual floating meeting, so after the Caribbean and Thailand, we decided to choose a destination that we’d all been to before and fell in love with – Spain. Our crew was bigger this time with 12 best friends coming from different places all…

Ft Lauderdale Boat Show
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Other Than the Show, Here’s How To Enjoy Fort Lauderdale

If you’re one of the 110,000 people going to the big Fort Lauderdale boat show starting Oct. 30, or if you’re just going to Lauderdale at any other time, do yourself a favor and stay for a while. Lauderdale, in my opinion, is one of the most relaxed, enjoyable cities on the cruising boat circuit. The fact that it’s also a major boating center, virtually filled with marinas, boatyards and boating service operations, is just extra filling in the cake. There’s a reason that Fort Lauderdale is called the Venice of America. It has 165 miles of canals, often lined…

Cruising Life
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Other Than the Show, Here’s How To Enjoy Fort Lauderdale

If you’re one of the 110,000 people going to the big Fort Lauderdale boat show starting Oct. 30, or if you’re just going to Lauderdale at any other time, do yourself a favor and stay for a while. Lauderdale, in my opinion, is one of the most relaxed, enjoyable cities on the cruising boat circuit. The fact that it’s also a major boating center, virtually filled with marinas, boatyards and boating service operations, is just extra filling in the cake. There’s a reason that Fort Lauderdale is called the Venice of America. It has 165 miles of canals, often lined…

Electronics
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Get Faster Wi-Fi with Shakespeare’s Stream Internet Booster

Here’s something almost all cruising boat owners say they want: Faster Wi-Fi, both underway and at the dock. Shakespeare Marine has an answer for that. It’s the Stream Wireless Internet Booster, and it uses Shakespeare’s marine cellular technology to amplify weak cell signals, so you can access the Internet faster and more reliably along inshore, coastal and popular cruising routes. The new Stream Wireless Internet Booster is designed for boats of all sizes. It has an outside antenna that communicates with cell towers on land; a stream wireless booster that processes and amplifies the cell signal; and a helm antenna…

Boat Reviews
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New Iguana Amphibian Makes U.S. Debut at Lauderdale

Here’s a new boat that probably will turn heads on the water, but it certainly will get a lot of attention on land – the new, amphibious Iguana Commuter. Built in Caen, France, the new Iguana will make its U.S. debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 30. You can see it at the Super Yacht area of the show at Pier 66. With its deep-V hull and twin 200-hp Yamaha outboards, the Iguana tops out at 41 knots on the water. On land, its 15kWh electric engine and caterpillar tracks push it to a cruising speed…

Cruising Life
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The Only Rule for Maine’s Pumpkin Regatta: It Has To Float

Here’s something different: The Annual Pumpkin Regatta in Damariscotta, Maine, where racers paddle of power their super-sized, hollowed-out pumpkins around the harbor. Buzz Pinkham, who co-founded the regatta in 2007, won the powerboat division (as opposed to the paddleboat division), this year; see his picture above. The Regatta is part of the annual Damariscotta Pumpkinfest held over Columbus Day weekend. Up to 15,000 people attend each year. On land, Ed Pierpont set a new state record at the annual weigh-in with his 1,832-pound pumpkin. On the water, the regatta is held at high tide, and the only rule is that…

Electronics
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Now, AIS on Your Phone with iNavX; No Transponder Needed

Now, with iNavX LIVE, you can get AIS data in the palm of your hand on your smartphone or tablet, without needing a transponder on your boat. The new addition to iNavX software lets you connect any mobile device to the AIS LIVE global network, so that you can see the movements of AIS vessels in real time on the iNavX display on your phone. INavX, an app you can download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, has all the advantages of a mobile chartplotter that you can take on any boat, anywhere, at any time. It…

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