Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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Dorian Causes “Pure Hell” in Bahamas. See Aerial Video

When Hurricane Dorian hit the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane with 185 mph winds and then moved a bit west to pummel Grand Bahama Island for more than a day, Hubert Minnis, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, called it “a historic tragedy.” An ABC correspondent on the ground in Marsh Harbour was more blunt. He said it was “pure hell.” So far, Dorian has killed 20 people in the Bahamas, although officials there said the toll probably would rise. It has also caused a major humanitarian crisis, leaving as many as 70,000 people without water,…

Cruising Life
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34 Killed in Tragic Fire on Southern California Dive Boat

Some 34 people were killed after a 75-foot dive boat caught fire and sank off Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Islands 20 miles off Southern California, early Labor Day morning. Only five people survived – four crew members and the captain. They had been on the upper deck and managed to jump into a dinghy and reach a nearby boat as the dive boat was engulfed in flames. The other 34 people (including one crew member) were all sleeping in bunk beds on a lower deck. Capt. Monica Rochester of the Coast Guard said the Coast Guard heard…

Electronics
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Looking for a New AIS Device? Here Are Seven Best

More and more boat owners are installing AIS devices on their boats, as a major addition to boating safety, situational awareness and the ability to see and be seen, particularly in crowded harbors or inland waterways with a lot of commercial traffic. Here’s a thorough report from the National Marine Electronics Association Journal, listing seven of the best:  Since its implementation nearly two decades ago, AIS’s applications and its use around the world have expanded. AIS stands for Automatic Identification System and basically is technology that can keep captains informed about nearby and potentially dangerous vessel traffic. Back in 1988…

Charter
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Northwest Explorations Plans New Flotilla to Desolation Sound

Now that we’re into September, there are still plenty of good cruising days left, even in the remote areas of the Pacific Northwest. And Northwest Explorations in Bellingham, Washington, is offering shoulder-season discounts for a two-week flotilla heading to Desolation Sound, one of the most beautiful spots around. For Northwest Explorations, the shoulder season rates start on Sept. 14. You can charter a boat of your own at a discount, or join a flotilla, where you cruise in company and with the expertise of a lead boat with an experienced crew. Over the years, Northwest Explorations has put together many…

Cruising Life
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California Couple Tackle Great Loop on New Nordhavn Coastal Pilot

In a recent email, I asked Larry McCullough, an experienced boat owner who’s now about half way through the Great Loop with his wife Jamie, why they had bought hull number one of the Nordhavn 59 Coastal Pilot. “Yesterday was a good example of why Nordhavn,” he replied. “We are in Lake Michigan, which can be very treacherous. NOAA was calling for three-foot seas but the wind picked up more and we were in some seven-footers that were very close together. I must say the boat handled it better than some of the crew.” McCullough, a retired stockbroker from Tiburon,…

Cruising Life
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Lightning Hits Florida Boat with Four Men on Board

The first lightning strike was about a mile away, so George Haddad, 71, and his three fishing friends huddled under the hardtop of Time Out, his 31-foot Stamas, about seven miles off Grand Cay in the Bahamas. “It made me cringe,” said Haddad, who’s from Palm City. The second strike hit the boat. Haddad, who had both hands on the wheel, felt the strike surge through his body. “It felt like somebody hit me with a hammer,” he told TCPalm.com. The fishing trip, which had started earlier that day under clear blue skies, had turned deadly. The strike hit the…

Newport Boat Show
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Newport Show Starts Sept. 12 with 340 New Boats

The Newport International Boat Show, the first show of the season in the Northeast, opens on Thursday, Sept. 12, and runs through Sunday, Sept. 15. This show has always been one of my favorites, because almost all of the new boats are there, and then, well, it’s in Newport, one of the most historic and iconic boating destinations in the United States. The show this year, the 49th annual, will have 340 new sail and power boats from 15 to 90 feet, centered around the Newport Yachting Center in the middle of town, plus tents and land displays for engines, electronics…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Newport Show Starts Sept. 12 with 340 New Boats

The Newport International Boat Show, the first show of the season in the Northeast, opens on Thursday, Sept. 12, and runs through Sunday, Sept. 15. This show has always been one of my favorites, because almost all of the new boats are there, and then, well, it’s in Newport, one of the most historic and iconic boating destinations in the United States. The show this year, the 49th annual, will have 340 new sail and power boats from 15 to 90 feet, centered around the Newport Yachting Center in the middle of town, plus tents and land displays for engines, electronics…

Destinations
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New Marina, with Incredible Views, Opens in Brooklyn

The first new marina in New York City in the past 50 years is now open on the East River, just south of the Brooklyn Bridge, with 100 slips for boats up to 200 feet and incredible views of downtown Manhattan. The marina, Oneº15 Brooklyn, is part of Brooklyn Bridge Park. It’s just below the River Café, between Piers 4 and 5, and directly across the river from the South Street Seaport and the Fulton Fish Market. More than five years in the building, the marina was delayed until the owners, Oneº15, a Singapore company, developed a new, proprietary, wave-attenuation…

Boat Reviews
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Wally Launches Stunning New 48 Day Cruiser in Cannes

Wally will launch its new 48 day cruiser, with its elegant, clean, Euro-style looks and its fold-down bulwarks, at the Cannes Yachting Festival, starting Sept. 10. Powered by twin Volvo IPS650 pod drives, the new Wally tops out at 38 knots, and has a range of 305 nm at 24 knots. The Wally  48 looks powerful and swift underway, but it comes into its own when it’s stopped, and you can fold out the aft bulwarks to expand the cockpit on both sides. In fact, when they’re down, you can walk all the way around the aft-facing sun lounges in…

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