Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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Docking Tip: How To Use a Breast Line

Docking. Yikes. Often the only worry a lot of us have when we leave a slip is the reality that we have to come back. And people are looking. You definitely want to look your best when you come in to a dock, and to be prepared for various situations. What should you do if you’re docking singlehanded, or if the wind is coming off the dock, pushing you away. A breast line is a fast solution. Here’s some great advice from Skipper Tips about how to use a breast line, with a very clear diagram. Just remember that a breast…

Cruising Life
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Boat-Loving Dentist Uses His Ranger Tugs 31 as a Floating Clinic, Treating Patients in Remote Parts of Alaska

Most people use their Ranger Tugs for cruising, maybe some fishing, probably a lot of time relaxing with family and friends. Dr. Victor Stime is different. A dentist, he uses his Ranger Tug 31, appropriately named Offshore Drilling, to treat people in isolated waterfront communities in Alaska every summer. A graduate of Seattle Pacific University, Dr. Stime worked as a dentist in a rural community near Spokane for 29 years. Then, two years ago, he suffered from a serious heart problem and had surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. According to this story in SPU’s magazine Response, that changed…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

12 Great New Boating Holiday Gifts from $80 to $6,911 By Peter A. Janssen The holidays are rapidly approaching, as is the age-old quandary of what to give to your boat-owning family or friends. Here are some ideas, from big to small, that may help. IRocker All-Around SUP Here’s an inflatable standup paddleboard that fits into a backpack but is stable enough to support 435 pounds (that should be enough for two of you). The board itself weighs just 27 pounds, but when you put it into its big blue backpack with its paddle, pump and fin, the entire package…

Boat Reviews
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Helmsman Building New 46 Expedition Pilothouse, a Flagship Long-Range Trawler

Helmsman Trawlers is introducing a new 46 Pilothouse, the first in its Expedition series. The largest Helmsman to date, the new 46 Pilothouse, powered by a single 490-hp Cummins diesel, is designed as a sturdy, efficient and comfortable long-range trawler. In the past few years, Helmsman has staked out a position in the marketplace where it delivers more boat for the money, and the 46 Expedition Pilothouse means to keep that promise. It is a low-maintenance trawler with simple systems; with a 1,500 nm range at 7.5 knots it will carry you to any cruising grounds you want to visit,…

Cruising Life
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Boating Leaders Voice New Concerns About Tariffs

Leaders of the boating industries in the U.S. and Canada say they were disappointed that the new $1.2 trillion trade deal that the U.S., Canada and Mexico signed at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires did not ease retaliatory tariffs hurting boat manufacturers. The trade deal, called the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, was signed by President Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. It needs to be approved by Congress to take effect here. The issue dates to when the Trump Administration imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The European Union, Canada…

Cruising Life
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Ocean Reef Celebrates Classic Yachts, Cars and Planes at 23rd Vintage Weekend. See Great Video

The Ocean Reef 23rd Vintage Weekend – filled with classic yachts, cars and planes – has just ended, a four-day party filled with parades, dances, fly-ins and a generally good time. The video below shows all the festivities – and it’s really fun. Take a look. The dance scenes are hilarious. A legendary private club in Key Largo, Florida, with a large, world-class marina,  golf course, tennis courts, great condos and an airport, Ocean Reef is one of the better boating destinations in the world. Usually restricted to members, it’s open to the public for the Vintage Weekend; just bring your…

Cruising Life
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Aircraft Carrier Carl Vinson Rescues Five Boaters from Deserted Island off Hawaii

Here’s a story about the code of the sea being honored no matter how big, or small, your vessel may be. Mariners help other mariners. That certainly was the case when five boaters sent out a distress signal after their boat went aground on the uninhabited island of Nihau, the westernmost point in Hawaii. As it happened, the USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class supercarrier (LOA: 1,092 feet; Beam: 252 feet; Draft: 37 feet) was on an international naval exercise only seven miles away. The Carl Vinson has a total of 90 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters on board (plus a crew of…

Boat Reviews
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Bruckmann Completing New Abaco 47 with Classic Downeast Lines

Bruckmann just took the hull of its beautiful, classic Mark Ellis-designed Abaco 47 out of the mold in its plant in Ontario, Canada, so the new cruiser should be in the water by spring. The new Abaco 47, with its long sheer, low profile, sharp entry and raked windshield, is designed with the same proven hull form from the popular Bruckmann Abaco 40, which is remarkably efficient through a wide range of cruising speeds. The new 47 can be powered either by either a single 1,136-hp CAT C18 diesel, or by two 641-hp CAT C8.7s. Top speed with the single…

Cruising Life
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How One Woman, Armed with an iPhone, Is Fighting the Red Tide in Florida

Here’s a great story from Jim Rutenberg, The New York Times’ media columnist, about how one woman, armed just with a healthy conscience and an iPhone, is trying to make a difference in fighting the toxic red tide in Naples, Florida. The woman, Colleen Gill, 38, moved to Naples with her husband three years ago from New Hampshire. They loved to kayak in the ocean, take long walks on the area’s beautiful white-sand beaches and enjoy all the sea and land creatures that inhabit the Gulf Coast. Then things changed. Starting last summer, she started seeing dead eels, tarpon and sea…

Cruising Life
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New Mooring Fields for Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, a Breathtakingly Beautiful Cruising Destination

Many veteran cruisers think that the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park is the best part of the Bahamas, with simply breathtaking water and sandbar colors and some of the best diving in the world. Created in 1959, the 176-square-mile park is filled with dozens of cays, islets and beaches. It is a “no-take reserve” where all fishing is prohibited. The land part of the park is a protected habitat for iguanas, nesting sea turtles and sea birds. The sea part, a mecca for divers, has spotted eagle rays, spiny lobsters and Technicolor fish. The park just rejuvenated its seven…

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