Author Peter Janssen

Charter
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Charter a Canal Cruiser on the Thames from Le Boat, Even If You Don’t Have an Invitation to the Royal Wedding

A charter boat vacation on the River Thames, rich in history, bordered by rolling pastoral countryside, English villages, pubs and even some castles, would be a treat at any time. But now Le Boat, the largest self-drive charter operation in Europe, has a special this spring. It’s called The Royal Cruise, and it can take you to Windsor Castle on May 19, for the wedding of Prince Harry and the American actress Meghan Markle. You actually can cruise on the Thames any time from Le Boat’s base in Chertsey, about 25 miles west of London and just short of Windsor…

Cruising Life
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Police Say Danish Inventor Abused Journalist Kim Wall in His Homemade Submarine Before He Killed Her

This story just keeps getting worse and worse. Now, prosecutors in Copenhagen say that Peter Madsen, a Danish inventor, abused freelance journalist Kim Wall on his homemade 56-foot submarine before he killed her and dismembered her body last Aug. 10. The picture above shows the sub underway in Copenhagen harbor on that day. Madsen, 46, previously told police he had dismembered her body after “a terrible accident” on the sub but denied that he had killed her. Prosecutors now say he brought a “saw, sharpened screwdrivers, straps, strips and pipes” to the boat in a plan to kill Wall, 30, who…

Cruising Life
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How To Keep Your Batteries Alive and Well This Winter

Will your boat’s batteries survive the winter? You certainly don’t want to wait for spring to find the answer to that question. If your batteries are in fact dead when you try to start the season, they can be brought back to life; it’s not the end of the world. But it’s definitely a hassle you don’t want to have. Here’s some advice from Practical Sailor (for these purposes, batteries work the same way on powerboats and sailboats) about steps you can take to help your batteries last until warm weather. If you’ve removed the batteries from the boat, store…

Cruising Life
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TowBoatUS Boat Capsizes, Captain Drowns in Frigid North Carolina Water

A 21-foot TowBoatUS boat capsized in the mouth of the Pungo River near Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, while it was towing a 47-foot recreational boat at 1:20 in the morning. After a search by the Coast Guard (pictured top) and as many as ten local boats, the body of the captain, James W. Cleary, Jr., 45, of Belhaven, was found two days later, only 50 feet from where his boat had capsized. Cleary left a wife, two daughters and a son. We don’t have any details about the tragedy, other than that Coast Guard watchstanders at Station Hobucken received a call…

Cruising Life
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Coast Guard Seizes 6,000 Pounds of Shrimp from Boat Fishing in Dry Tortugas Sanctuary

The Coast Guard and NOAA just seized 6,000 pounds of shrimp from a 68-foot commercial fishing boat near the Dry Tortugas Shrimp Sanctuary Preservation Area. They cited the boat, the Ronald E., for fishing inside a national marine sanctuary and for various safety violations. The Ronald E. had been seen fishing inside the sanctuary, which is about 70 miles from Key West. A Coast Guard and NOAA response team from the Coast Guard Cutter Raymond Evans boarded the Ronald E. and found the shrimp, which the government says is worth about $60,000. Capt. Jeffery Janzsen, commander of Coast Guard Sector…

Cruising Life
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Meet Trimilia, One of the Real “Little Ships” that Were the Heroes of Dunkirk

The evacuation of surrounded British and French troops from the embattled beaches of Dunkirk by hundreds of little boats crossing the English Channel in the opening days of the Second World War has been dramatized lately in the movies Dunkirk and Darkest Hour. In fact, answering a call from Winston Churchill to save their countrymen, some 700 civilian “little ships” – from pleasure craft to a paddle schooner – rescued 338,226 men from Dunkirk over five days in 1940, amid dive bombing and staffing from the German Luftwaffe and artillery and rifle fire on shore. One of the first boats…

Cruising Life
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Four Brits Set Record, Rowing Across Atlantic in 29 Days, Fighting 40-foot Swells, Dreaming of Ice Cream

Four British friends, all amateur rowers, just broke the record for rowing across the Atlantic when they arrived in English Harbour, Antigua, just 29 days and 15 hours after they left the Canary Islands. They beat the previous record by six days, and fought 40-foot swells, hallucinations and food cravings along the way. Plus, chronic fatigue. Calling themselves The Oarsmen, the four raised the equivalent of $348,000 for two medical charities in Britain. They all lost weight and said they often rowed naked because their clothing would tend to rub and chafe. They rowed two hours on, and then two…

Cruising Life
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A Great New History of Seagoing Pets: Chickens Who Predicted Victory, Cats Who Won Medals

Pets and boats seem to go together. Actually, we’ve been cruising with pets, or some type of animal, for about 15,000 years, according to this great story from Atlas Obscura. That’s when Phoenicians carried cats on board to ward off rodents. And ancient Romans took chickens on their warships, believing that if the hens ate before a battle, they would be victorious. In 249 B.C. when the hen did not eat, an incensed Roman admiral threw the bird overboard; his entire fleet was almost wiped out. In more peaceful times, meaning today, people cruise with all types of pets. I…

Boat Reviews
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New, Redesigned, More Upscale Helmsman Trawler 31 Introduced at Seattle Show

An improved and more upscale version of the popular Camano 31, the new Helmsman Trawler 31 is being launched at the Seattle boat show, starting Jan. 26. The new Helmsman has the same hull, stability and performance as the old Camano, but now has a redesigned master stateroom and galley, a larger salon and an upgraded interior with more warmth and lots of teak. Overall, the new Helmsman 31 has a no-nonsense salty approach to cruising, offering lots of easy living space inside and outside the boat. With three large windows in front (the middle one opens), and large side…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

Fishermen Jump Over the Side as Bayliner Runs Into Their Boat: Frightening Video By Peter A. Janssen This is one of the most graphic, you-are-there videos I’ve ever seen, a real nightmare that easily could have been fatal, but wasn’t. We know about it because it was captured, from start to finish, by a GoPro camera mounted on the deck of a 20-foot Weldcraft fishing boat that was run down by a 31-foot Bayliner near the mouth of the Columbia River last summer. Although the circumstances here may be unique, because we can see them unfold in real time, this…

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