Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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Recovery in the BVI: Tortola Airport Reopens for Commercial Flights

Good news if you’re thinking of heading to the British Virgin Islands for a cruise or charter vacation. The Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport on Tortola has just reopened for commercial flights. The airport, a welcome sight on Beef Island for generations of travelers to the BVI, had been closed after Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused “severe damage,” according to Denniston Fraser, the head of the BVI Airports Authority. It had been closed to commercial flights but it was open to some humanitarian, relief and evacuation flights. Now it is open to commercial flights on Cape Air, which already operated…

Cruising Life
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Father and Son Save 15-year-old Daughter from Great White Shark Attack

A great white shark attacked a 15-year-old girl who was kayaking near her family’s boat off South Australia, and she was rescued by the fast action of her father and her brother, who actually dragged her across the shark’s back onto their 14-foot aluminum craft. After the rescue, Chris Williams, the girl’s father, told The Guardian, “It’s something I don’t ever want to experience again. To hear the spine-chilling screams from your daughter is just indescribable.” All this started as a Sunday family outing on the water south of Adelaide. Williams and his son, Mitch, were on their small outboard…

Cruising Life
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Arctic Ice Melting Faster than Scientists Predicted. Measurements Were Off

Sea ice in the Arctic may be melting faster than scientists had predicted. The reason: Salty snow on the surface throws off the measurements from overhead satellites, according to a new study by the University of Calgary. The new report, published in an academic journal (Geophysical Research Letters), said that satellite measurements may be off as much as 25 percent, meaning the Arctic Ocean could be free of ice much faster than anyone had thought. In fact, ice could melt entirely during summer months as early as 2040. And summer without ice in the Arctic could alter global weather patterns,…

Boat Reviews
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Hinckley’s New All-Electric Dasher Finds a Fan in Architectural Digest

Hinckley Yachts, with their classic lines and Down East heritage, have always appealed to the rich and famous. The Rockefellers have had Hinckley sail and power boats at their places in Blue Hill, Maine, for generations. Martha Stewart had an early Picnic Boat at her place in Maine. Bob Wright, the former president of NBC, has a Hinckley, appropriately named Peacock, at his place in Southport, Connecticut. So it’s probably no surprise that Architectural Digest, the magazine that appreciates iconic design and celebrates the homes and lifestyle of people who live well, just wrote a story about the newest Hinckley,…

Cruising Life
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Mercury Marine’s New Multifunction Display Keeps Track of All Four Engines, Plus Much More

Now you can have all the immediate information you need – data measuring 30 different parameters – to keep your boat and all four of your engines running happily, thanks to Mercury Marine’s new VesselView 903 display, the company’s largest and most advanced multifunction display yet. And yes, its bright, high-def glass touchscreen displays information simultaneously for up to four engines, if you have that many. “Our next generation VesselView technology allows boaters the ability to simultaneously display information for up to four engines at a time in an easy-to-use-touch-screen interface,” said Zachary Savage, Mercury Marine’s VesselView Program Manager. The…

Boat Reviews
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New High-Tech Italian Evo 43: The Boat That Keeps on Giving

If you can’t have fun with this boat, well, I don’t think there’s much to say. Yes, I know it’s not the traditional cruising boat we usually write about, but it seems just so outrageous, so out there, that I couldn’t resist. And this definitely is a case where a picture is worth anybody’s 1,000 words. For the record, this is the new Evo 43, with a full carbon T-top, that will be launched at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show starting Nov. 1. Totally aside from its uber-modern, plum bow, minimalist design, it’s the boat that just keeps giving.…

Boat Reviews
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New Jeanneau NC 33 French-Styled, Twin Sterndrive Cruiser to Debut at Lauderdale Show

The brand-new, French-styled Jeanneau NC 33 will make its North American debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, opening on Nov. 1. The two-cabin, one-head, light-filled cruiser is powered by twin 220-hp Volvo diesel sterndrives, which make it both nimble and quick. The NC 33 already has been nominated for the European Powerboat of the Year 2018 award. The boat is designed for easy and comfortable cruising. The interior is bright and open, with large side and front windows and a glass door that slides all the way open between the salon and cockpit. A large sunroof lets in…

Charter
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Le Boat Opens First Charter Fleet in North America on the Rideau Canal in Canada

Le Boat, the European charter company with 16 bases in eight different countries, is opening its first operation in North America, centered on the Rideau Canal in Ontario, Canada. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Rideau winds 125 miles through beautiful Canadian countryside with unspoiled lakes and picturesque towns from Kingston, on Lake Ontario, up to Ottawa, the capital of Canada (pictured above). With a series of 47 locks, the Rideau is the oldest operating canal in North America; it was considered an engineering feat when it opened in 1832. Le Boat offers only boats that you drive yourself. It…

Cruising Life
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Coast Guard Gives Furuno $10 Million Contract for Very Cool Docking Aid

The Coast Guard just awarded Furuno USA a five-year, $10-million contract to supply the company’s Doppler Speed Logs on more than 200 ships, ranging from 87-foot patrol boats to 418-foot cutters (the largest vessels in the Coast Guard fleet). The DS60 Speed Log is a precision 3-axis Doppler Sonar that provides real-time information for berthing and docking. It has a bright 8.4” color display with three modes: 3-axis speed, berthing, and detailed nav data, that show in both graphic and alphanumeric formats. The unit has the unique capability to measure the dead-slow speed that is vital for precise docking. It…

Cruising Life
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After the Storm: Caribbean Status Update, Island by Island. Plus: What’s Open in the Keys

The storms that ravaged the Caribbean and the Florida Keys in September did not treat all areas the same. Some islands were almost totally destroyed (Barbuda, for example), while others (neighboring Antigua) were relatively spared. On the Florida Keys, Key West itself suffered flooding, while farther north, around Islamorada, damage was more widespread and severe. Here are two solid stories from The New York Times that give an update on conditions in the Caribbean and in the Keys today. In the Caribbean, The Times reports island by island (see the first link, below). In the Keys (see the second link), The…

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