Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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Car Runs Over Owner on Boat Ramp, Then Sinks Next to Boat

We’ve all seen hundreds, or more, of launch-ramp videos, where things can go very wrong, very quickly. But this one, from Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada, sets a new bar. It starts with the boat owner standing on the back of his boat on the ramp. The boat’s still on the trailer, still attached to his SUV. When the SUV starts rolling backwards, he tries to jump out of the boat, but he slips and falls. The rear wheel of the SUV hits him, the open door to the SUV hits him, and the SUV rolls into the water and…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Palm Beach Launches New Flagship 70: An Elegant, Fast and Efficient Cruiser

Palm Beach Motor Yachts just launched its new flagship 70 in Malaysia, with the same beautiful lines as the 65, but with more room inside. It also has the signature Palm Beach warped hull, which cuts through the water so efficiently that it leaves almost no wake behind. Powered by twin 1,000-hp Volvo IPS1350 pod drives, the new 70 is expected to top out at 38 knots, and cruise at 32 knots. “The Palm Beach 70 was born from customer demand – they wanted a larger Palm Beach Motor Yacht,” said Mark Richards, the founder and CEO of Palm Beach…

Cruising Life
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New York State Will Require All Owners of Motor Boats To Take a Safety Course

State will require all boat owners to take boating safety course By Tom Precious|Published 4:00 a.m. May 16, 2019|Updated 1 hour ago ALBANY – Owners of motorized boats – from row boats with small outboards to large cabin cruisers – will be required under a new deal at the state Capitol to take a boating safety course no matter how many years they’ve been on the water. The measure seeks to push boaters in their mid-20s and older to take a certified safety class – which can be done online in a couple hours or in person over the course…

Cruising Life
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Beneteau Starts Epic Cruise from Seattle to San Diego on New Swift Trawler 47

Beneteau’s Swift Pacific Adventure is now well underway, an epic voyage down the West Coast from Seattle to San Diego on a new Beneteau Swift Trawler 47. The boat, escorted by a Swift Trawler 35 and a Swift Trawler 44, left Lake Union and traversed the Ballard Locks, went up Puget Sound to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and then turned left. Here’s the description from Jackson Willett, the captain on board, as the boat “headed into the open swell of the Pacific and the rounding of Cape Flattery. With 10-to-12-foot rollers on the nose, the Swift Trawler unflinchingly…

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New Wave Marine Remote: Control Your Boat From 492 Feet Away

Here’s something new that will help you maneuver around the docks, even in a strong wind or current. The Wave Marine M880 from Nauti-Tech, a remote that fits in your hand, controls your boat’s engines, thrusters and other devices, and it’s built to work with everything from small boats or superyachts. So far, it’s offered as standard equipment on the Westport 125 and on Grand Banks and Palm Beach Motor Yachts. The company says the Wave Marine M880 is the most powerful remote available; it can control a boat from up to 492 feet away – that’s a distance equal…

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Update from The Moorings: Getting Back to Normal in the BVI

Here’s an update from The Moorings about their flagship marina in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, now 19 months since Hurricane Irma hit the area, causing an enormous amount of damage. Today many of the marina and its facilities are back to normal; the others are getting there. It has been 19 months since Hurricane Irma impacted the British Virgin Islands in September of 2017. The Moorings reopened our Tortola operations just three months after the storm, and since then we have been working tirelessly to restore our flagship marina and fleet. To those of you who have already…

Cruising Life
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California Woman’s Boat Hit Whale Last September; She’s Still Recovering

Last September 30, the boat that Melissa Thomas, a 48-year-old wildlife photographer, was riding in hit a 30-ton humpback whale in Monterey Bay, California. She was riding in the bow, and was thrown back into the boat’s windshield by the impact. She’s still recovering from her injuries. On that September Sunday, Thomas and three friends were heading out into the bay to scuba dive, when they saw several humpback whales lunge feeding not far away. Fascinated, they watched for about half an hour, and then started to drive away toward their dive spot. Suddenly a whale arched out of the…

Cruising Life
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Adventurer Sets New Record, 35,853 Feet, in Dive in the Pacific. Finds Plastic

Victor Vescovo, a retired Navy officer, Dallas investor, and multi-discipline adventurer, just set a new world record with a dive to 35,853 feet in the Marianas Trench in the Pacific in his Triton submarine. And he found plastic. Vescovo actually made two separate solo dives in the sub, DSV Limiting Factor. He spent about four hours exploring the ocean floor each time, another record for time spent at the bottom of the ocean. It took 3.5 hours for the sub to reach the bottom and another 3.5 hours to ascend back to the mothership. He beat the previous record for…

Cruising Life
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What To Do in a Lightning Storm

Few things are more terrifying on the water than a nearby lightning strike; the sound and the fury of the explosive electrical discharge will stir fear in the heart of the most crusty mariner. Now, with boating season getting underway, here’s some timely advice from the US Power Squadrons/America’s Boating Club about how to protect yourself if you do get caught out in a lightning storm: Most lightning strikes occur in the afternoon with 70% occurring between noon and 6 p.m. As the air temperature warms, evaporation increases. This warm, moisture-laden air rises and evaporates, forming fluffy cumulus clouds. As…

Cruising Life
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New Legacy 36: A Classic Cruiser with Down East Lines

Legacy is ready to launch a new 36 in a few weeks, and it has three others in various stages of construction. With classic Down East lines and economical 26-knot performance, the Legacy 36 is an attractive cruising boat for a couple or a small family. When Tartan Yachts, in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, bought Legacy two years ago, it relaunched the Mark Ellis-designed Legacy 42 with IPS pod drives. Then it turned to the 36 and the 32 in the Legacy portfolio, with the 36 getting a lot of interest recently. The Legacy 36 comes with three layout options, involving…

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