Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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For a Dream Vacation, Spend Seven Days on a Charter in the BVI. Here’s a Day-by-Day Itinerary of What You Can Find There from MarineMax Vacations

With over 60 lush and beautiful islands to discover, it’s no surprise that the British Virgin Islands are known as “Nature’s Little Secret.” Consequently, your itinerary can be as adventurous or relaxing as you wish and can easily be adjusted if another island “floats your boat,” shall we say. From boat recommendations to questions about passports, currency, crews, customs and charts, we are here to make planning the perfect BVI vacation as easy as possible. If you need more information about the topics listed here – or anything else – please contact us. Day 1 Arrive in the British Virgin…

Cruising Life
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New Ego Hybrid: Explore the Underwater World Without Getting Wet

If you’re worried that summer is slipping by and you don’t have a new water toy, consider the new Ego hybrid boat that’s half above and half under the water. With the Ego, you can have your own semi-submersible submarine without all the trouble of actually flooding tanks and diving below the surface. The point of the Ego is that you can climb down to the lower cabin through a small door and a ladder and enjoy the underwater world in front of you. The one-inch thick acrylic windows offer 270-degree views. With the Ego’s top speed of 6 knots,…

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Iridium and Icom Launch First Worldwide Push-to-Talk Radio

Iridium just joined with Icom to provide the first global, satellite-based, push-to-talk radio for real-time communication with anyone in the world. Iridium is working with the Icom IC-SAT100 radio for this service. The Icom IC-SAT100 can operate with existing land-mobile radio networks and it can be managed over the air through an Iridium command center. The service opens up new communications beyond the range of trunked radio networks, and it will be available through Iridium’s and Icom’s existing partner networks. “This new satellite PTT (push-to-talk) device is unlike anything ever offered commercially in terms of capability,” said Bryan Hartin, executive…

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Japanese Ships Set To Resume Whaling: Reuters

Elaine Lies KUSHIRO, Japan (Reuters) – Japanese whaling ships prepared on Sunday to set to sea, with crews gathering on decks in a northern port a day ahead of Japan’s first commercial whaling hunt in more than 30 years. Japan announced last year it was leaving the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and would resume commercial whaling on July 1, sparking global condemnation and fears for the world’s whales. Japan has long maintained that eating whale is an important part of its culture and that most species are not endangered. A global whaling moratorium was imposed in 1986, but Japan then…

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Fisherman’s Dog Falls Overboard in Pacific, Turns Up Five Weeks Later on San Clemente Island

Nick Haworth, a commercial fisherman from San Diego, was distraught when his 1 ½ year old German shepherd, Luna, disappeared off his boat while he was working two miles off San Clemente Island. Owned by the Navy, San Clemente is 46 miles off the  coast of Southern California, and about 70 miles northwest of San Diego; it’s the southernmost of the Channel Islands. After searching for Luna himself, Haworth called the Navy for help; he said that Luna, a blue-eyed pup, had fallen overboard.  He told them he was pulling in his lobster traps and suddenly Luna was gone. The…

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Idyll Time, a Kadey-Krogen 48, Explores Meyers Chuck, Alaska, One of the Most Remote, and Beautiful, Spots on the Inside Passage

Jeff and Susie Parker have come a long way from their home port in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Idyll Time, their 2006 Kadey-Krogen 48 North Sea Trawler. When we visited them last year, they had transported the boat to the Pacific Northwest. In May, they picked it up after some winter’s work in Sydney, British Columbia, and headed north. Now they’ve just left Meyers Chuck, a large protected cove on the Inside Passage above Ketchikan, Alaska. I’ve been there a few times, and it’s one of the most beautiful and intriguing spots in that part of the world. The only way…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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We Test the New MJM 53z: Fast, Fun and Elegant

It’s one thing to read about a new boat. It’s quite another to actually drive it. I certainly had expected to enjoy the new long, low, elegant MJM 53z, with its four 400-hp Mercury Verado outboards. After all, I’d already driven its predecessor, the MJM 50z, with three 435-hp Volvo IPS600 pod drives, as well as every other MJM model. But once I got behind the wheel of the 53z I realized it was even better – and a lot more fun – than I had anticipated. One of the main reasons outboards have become so popular lately, even on…

Cruising Life
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Repower, a Swiss Company, Is Trying To Transform the Electric Boat Market

Repower, a 100-year-old Swiss energy company, is showcasing its new 34-foot, all- electric boat, RepowerE, in northern Italy this summer, hoping that once people see it in action they will become believers themselves. The tour started in May in Liguria, near Genoa, and is moving to Lake Garda and Lake Varese, ending in Trieste in October. The original RepowerE boat served as a tourist boat on Lake Garda. The new version has a cabin and can carry 12 passengers plus crew. It’s powered by two 20 kW electric motors supported by a 40 kWh battery pack. Running at 5 to…

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New York Times: 36 Hours in Camden and Rockport, Maine

36 Hours in Camden and Rockport, Maine (and Environs) On the central coast of Maine, visitors will find a beguiling nexus of arts, dining and outdoor activities. By Melissa Coleman If Maine’s much-debated slogan, “the way life should be,” were a place, the towns of Camden and Rockport and their surroundings might be it. On the Eastern Seaboard, where mountains meet ocean, the area has long attracted rusticators and “vacationlanders” who far outnumber residents in summer. These clapboard-and-brick towns sit two miles apart on schooner-spotted harbors next to rounded mountains and sparkling freshwater lakes. What more does a rural getaway…

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Vicem Building New, Cold-Molded, Long-Range 67 Cruiser. Will Debut at FLIBS in October

Vicem Yachts is building its new 67 Cruiser, a long-range blue-water voyager, at its yard in Turkey. The cold-molded, three-stateroom, three-head boat is built for ocean cruising and will be unveiled at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show starting next October 30. The 67 is Vicem’s latest addition to its Cruising line, now stretching from 67 to 107 feet. These models are made for comfortable cruising or living aboard. Powered by twin 600-hp Volvos with straight shafts, the 67 is expected to have a top speed of 20 to 22 knots, and a cruising speed of 16 to 18 knots.…

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