Author Peter Janssen

Boat Reviews
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Tactical 77: Brand-New, Go-Anywhere, Long-Range Cruiser with an Attitude

Here’s a new long-range cruiser with a different look and an attitude: the Tactical 77 Fast Pilothouse Motoryacht. Serious and military-looking on the outside, the new Tactical 77 is luxurious and comfortable on the inside, ready to take its owner and guests just about anywhere in the world. The boat was designed by William Prince Yacht Design, in Port Washington, Wisconsin, and it’s being built by Tactical Custom Boats in British Columbia. Prince designed the aluminum yacht for a North American client who wanted a military look combined with a contemporary and sleek interior. The superstructure is built with carbon-fiber…

Cruising Life
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A New Cruising Toy: Super-Cool, Limited-Edition Tesla Surfboard

If you’re looking for another toy (particularly a super-cool toy) for your next cruise, consider the new limited-edition Tesla surfboard. The only problem is that you’ll probably have to find one on eBay, since the company sold out the first batch of 200 of them, for $1,500 each, in just one day. The 6’ 8” red-and-black boards are made with carbon fiber and were developed by the Tesla Design Studio and Matt “Mayhem” Biolos, a surfboard shaper from Lost Surfboards in San Clemente. The company says they feature “a mix of the same high-quality matte and gloss finishes used on…

Cruising Life
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From Harbor Cruises, Free Concerts and Pool Parties, Lots Going on at Marina del Rey This Summer

If you’re cruising in Southern California for the rest of the summer, check out the schedule at Marina del Rey next to Los Angeles; there’s a lot going on. For starters, Marina del Rey is one of the largest and most attractive marinas not only on the West Coast but anywhere in the U.S., so a visit at any time is a treat. Over the years I’ve always had a great time there. But this summer the schedule includes Marina Fundays, free concerts, food on the beach, a farmer’s market and more. Throughout August and September, the Marina Fundays offer…

Cruising Life
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State Urges Boaters To Use “Extreme Caution” in the Chesapeake To Avoid Debris

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is urging boaters to use “extreme caution’ in the Chesapeake after heavy rains and opened floodgates on a dam in the Susquehanna River produced fields of debris in the bay. The department says “marine debris” includes tree limbs and driftwood on the surface and just under the surface that can damage boats. In Annapolis, crews form the Harbormaster’s Office cleared debris that floated into Ego Alley, the city’s marine showcase and downtown center of boating activity. The debris and sediment there flowed from the Susquehanna, Patapsco and Severn Rivers. Last week, operators of the…

Cruising Life
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Florida’s Growing Toxic Algae Bloom: The New Normal?

The toxic algae bloom grew larger in Lake Okeechobee over the weekend, according to the Palm Beach Post. The paper says that scientists had feared this would happen. New satellite images show that over the weekend the algae bloom grew to cover 40 percent of the lake (220 square miles) after falling to a 30 percent level earlier in July. A NOAA oceanographer says the increase could be because calm winds helped the algae collect nearer the surface, where it’s easier for the satellite cameras to detect it. Still, Sachi Mishra, the oceanographer, says the bloom in general is receding, since…

Cruising Life
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More Sharks, and More Shark Attacks, in California. Now the State Is Trying To Figure Out What To Do

Last summer there were so many sharks along the California coast that the NBC station in Los Angeles called it the “summer of sightings.” Boaters, kayakers, surfers, divers and swimmers all reported seeing more sharks, including great white sharks, than ever before. And this year there are more than ever, so many, in fact, that the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, the leading great white shark research organization, has run out of tags to identify them. The historic trend is stark: In the 1950s, there were 12 shark attacks in California waters. So far in the 2010s,…

Cruising Life
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Coast Guard Orders Investigation into Duck Boat Sinking. Victims’ Families Sue, Charging They Are “Death Traps.” NTSB Releases Timeline

The Coast Guard has convened a formal Marine Board of Investigation into the loss of the  duck boat that sank on July 19 with the loss of 17 lives near Branson, Missouri. A Marine Board of Investigation is the highest-level investigation in the Coast Guard, and it’s only the fifth to be convened in the past decade. Meanwhile, two different families of drowning victims in the tragedy have sued Ride the Ducks Branson, the company operating the duck boat fleet there, charging that they are “death traps” and that the operators knew about safety problems for years and did nothing…

Cruising Life
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Boating Industry Upset About Trump’s New Plans for High-Octane Ethanol

The fight over high-ethanol fuel is heading up, with the boating industry warning that President Trump’s plans to let E15 be sold year-round could damage the engines of millions of boat owners. “President Trump’s pledge to allow the year-round sale of E15 will needlessly put consumers in danger,” Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, said last week. The immediate problem started the previous day when President Trump told Iowa farmers that his Administration is “getting very close” to approving a waiver to allow E15, a fuel blend including 15 percent ethanol, to be sold year round. Currently,…

Charter
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One Woman’s Story: The Lost Art of Traveling Slowly: What I Learned Cruising Canada’s Rideau Canal

“‘But…’ my husband hesitated. ‘You don’t have  a license.’ My best friend was less diplomatic. Her text message simply read: ‘ARE THEY MAD?’ “None of my nearest and dearest could quite believe someone was going to let me – a ham-fisted, maladroit non-driver, who even managed to fail the cycling proficiency test – pilot a boat. I’ll admit it; I was a little surprised myself. So when I set off down the Rideau Canal on a Canadian boating holiday it was with the sun on my face, my knuckles white on the wheel and a determination to prove everyone wrong.…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

The Maine Boat & Home Show: Great Boats, Artisans, Boatyard Dogs and More By Peter A. Janssen For a totally different kind of boat show, take a look at the Maine Boat & Home Show in Rockland, Maine, from August 10-12. It’s full of Maine-built boats (and boats that are like Maine-built boats), artisans, custom furniture, a small-boat love-in, and its trademark annual Boatyard Dog Trials. It’s more than a boat show; it’s really a state of mind. And it’s fun. Did I mention the live Dixieland band, the food trucks with lobster rolls, and the friendly, welcome-aboard attitude of…

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