Author Peter Janssen

Gear
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New Water Bike Uses Foils, Goes 12 mph

Here’s a new water bike that uses America’s Cup foiling technology to help you pedal around your next mooring or off your dock. It’s called the Manta 5 Hydrofoiler XE-1, and the company says it’s the world’s first production hydrofoil bike. The rear foil measures 6’ 5″, while the front one is 4 feet. Using the same principle as foils on the world’s most famous racing sailboats, the Hydrofoiler has foils to minimize drag and raise the bike out of the water as it gains speed. Top speed on the Hydrofoiler: 12 mph. In case you get tired pedaling, the…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Liveaboard Owner Saves His Two Bulldogs from Burning Boat

Mike Babbitt, a retired police detective, saved his two bulldogs after his motoryacht caught fire when he was moving it to the fuel dock at the Bremerton (Washington) Yacht Club. His fast thinking saved the dogs, Pearl, who weighs 60 pounds, and Hootie, who weighs 70; it also saved other boats from becoming involved in the fire themselves. About 3 on a recent calm afternoon, Babbitt, who lived aboard his yacht Doctor’s Orders with his wife Jamie, took it out of its slip to get some fuel. Then he saw flames coming from the engine room. Babbitt maneuvered the boat away…

Engine Room
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Volvo Wins Awards for Engines and Industry Leadership

Volvo Penta is on a roll, winning awards and recognition for its redesigned Next-Generation D4 and D6 propulsion packages,  for its Easy Boating initiative, and for its  leadership in the marine industry. The highly regarded Swedish company just won an IBEX (International Boatbuilders Exhibition) Innovation Award for the D4 and D6 propulsion systems, its new sterndrive, updated IPS pod drive and its new Electronic Vessel Control platform. The judges said that the end result of all these improvements and innovations was a fully integrated, exceptional boating experience. The D4 and D6 have been Volvo’s flagship engines. Indeed, it has produced…

Cruising Life
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Volvo Wins Awards for Engines and Industry Leadership

Volvo Penta is on a roll, winning awards and recognition for its redesigned Next-Generation D4 and D6 propulsion packages,  for its Easy Boating initiative, and for its  leadership in the marine industry. The highly regarded Swedish company just won an IBEX (International Boatbuilders Exhibition) Innovation Award for the D4 and D6 propulsion systems, its new sterndrive, updated IPS pod drive and its new Electronic Vessel Control platform. The judges said that the end result of all these improvements and innovations was a fully integrated, exceptional boating experience. The D4 and D6 have been Volvo’s flagship engines. Indeed, it has produced…

Cruising Life
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Smugglers Rescue Police Who Were Chasing Them. See Video

Four drug smugglers rescued three Spanish police officers who were chasing them off the southern coast of Spain after the smugglers’ boat and the police boat collided and the police were thrown into the sea. But then the police arrested the smugglers, who had thrown 80 bundles of hashish off their boat. A police helicopter captured the entire chase and rescue on video; see it below. High-speed chases are not unusual in this part of the world, where smugglers bring drugs from Africa into Europe. Indeed, the U.N. has identified Morocco, just across the way, as the world’s largest exporter…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Boaters Provide Lifeline to Hard-Hit Bahamas

In a truly inspiring display of caring for their fellow human beings, friends and strangers alike, hundreds of boat owners have rallied to provide aid to people in the Bahamas whose lives were devastated by Hurricane Dorian a month ago. The storm’s historic winds, with sustained speeds of 185 mph, destroyed entire towns and villages in the Abacos, leaving 15,000 people homeless. Marsh Harbour was particularly hard hit. “It was pure hell,” one survivor said. Others said they survived by tying themselves to trees. As of this week, 600 people are still missing and 56 have died. Hubert Minnis, the…

Maintenance
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13 Secrets To Winterizing Your Boat from BoatUS

SPRINGFIELD, Va., Sept. 30, 2019 – Boaters across the country are getting ready to put their boats to bed for a long winter’s nap, but not every boat owner knows all the secrets of winterizing a recreational boat. Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) shares some quick tips to ensure safe storage until next season.  1. California, Florida and Texas have the most engine winterizing claims. Boaters in northern climates know to winterize but all it takes is one deep freeze in a normally balmy state to cause major damage to your boat. Unless you’re in an area…

Cruising Life
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How To Dock Safely and Easily, Even If You’re Alone

Here’s some great advice from Practical Boat Owner about how to tie up at a dock, and then how to leave it, even if you’re single-handing. It tells how to plan for the effects of tide and current and the presence of nearby boats, and how to use slip lines to help you get underway.   Casting off with confidence – safe ways for solo sailors to get off the dock Duncan Wells describes a number of easy methods to leave the dock with both sail and power vessels Getting a boat on and off the dock – coming alongside and casting…

Cruising Life
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New Vanquish VQ16: 40 Knots of Pure Fun

Here’s a new fun watercraft that the company calls a crossover between a water scooter and a yacht tender – the Vanquish VQ16. It holds five passengers and goes up to 40 knots, although you can get an optional supercharged Veloce version that hits 50 knots. The VQ16 is built by Vanquish Yachts in the Netherlands, who specialize in high-end, high-performance vessels from 16 to 90 feet. They’re semi-custom builds, and the company says they are “not for everyone.” There’s a definite wow factor at work here. The swift-looking new VQ16 is a collaboration between Guido de Groot Design and…

Destinations
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Oxford, Maryland, a Picturesque Boating Haven Since 1683

If you’re in Annapolis for the boat shows, or simply cruising through the Chesapeake on your way south for the winter, give yourself a treat and stop across the bay at Oxford on Maryland’s eastern shore. Founded in 1683, Oxford is small, with only 651 people, and quiet (its most prosperous time was during the Revolution), but it’s a picturesque boating haven simply invites you to slow down and relax a bit. Oxford is almost surrounded by water, with the Tred Avon River and Town Creek wrapping around it on three sides. Their banks are lined with restored 18th and…

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