Author Peter Janssen

Boat Reviews
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Hinckley Planning New 40-foot Picnic Boat, Largest Yet

When he announced plans for the new 40-foot Hinckley Picnic Boat at the Newport boat show recently, Mike Arieta, Hinckley’s CEO, said that “it’s been 23 years since we launched the first Picnic Boat. It’s rooted in what we do.” That is certainly the case. Indeed, the first Picnic Boat, a drop-dead gorgeous 36-foot, single-diesel, teak-laden dayboat, has become an icon of yacht design, copied around the world. I fell in love with the boat when I first tested it outside the Hinckley factory in Southwest Harbor, Maine, and so did thousands of other people. Hinckley’s Picnic Boat lineup now…

Cruising Life
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In the Wake of Hurricane Irma, a Weedline So Thick off the Florida Keys You Could Walk on It

The hurricanes have come and gone, but in the waters surrounding the Florida Keys they have left a field of debris and destroyed nav aids that can make cruising there difficult, if not dangerous. Indeed, the Coast Guard has designated an area one nautical mile from shore “a regulated navigation area” throughout the Keys until Oct. 1, meaning you have to operate at low speeds (not on plane) because there’s so much junk in the water. “Fenders, lobster traps, you name it, it’s in there,” an officer of the Coast Guard Auxiliary on a mission in the upper Keys told…

Cruising Life
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James Ellingford Posts His Best Pictures So Far of Voyage from Australia to Alaska and LA.

Here’s the latest from James Ellingford, the retired Australian businessman and dedicated cruiser, who’s now in Los Angeles on Pendana, his Nordhavn 62. It’s a collection of pictures he has taken since he and his wife Claire and their two daughters left Sydney in April, 2015, to start a six-year circumnavigation. As you can see, Ellingford is an accomplished photographer. The pictures trace the Ellingfords’ voyage so far as they crossed the Pacific to Alaska and then worked their way down the West Coast. The last leg of their trip took them from San Francisco to LA, and started with…

Cruising Life
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For Something New, Head for Crystal River, 70 Miles North of Tampa, and Swim with the Manatees

If you’re looking for a new cruising destination, or just something fun to do, head for Crystal River, Florida, about 70 miles north of Tampa, and swim with the manatees. About six miles up the river, you’ll find a system of 40 bubbling springs that stay a constant 72 degrees all year long. Because of the warm water, the area is the home of the largest manatee population in the U.S., and it’s the only place in North America where swimmers can legally interact with them. Here’s a great story from Southern Boating that gives details about how to get…

Cruising Life
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JFK’s Personal 17-foot Runabout Up for Auction in New York

Now you, too, can own a piece of Camelot. President John F. Kennedy’s restored 17-foot mahogany runabout, named RESTOFUS, is up for auction on October 7 at Guernsey’s in New York. A 1961 Century Resorter, the boat is estimated to sell for between $100,000 and $200,000. JFK’s father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. won the boat in a church raffle. It became JFK’s personal boat, since his brother, Bobby, already had a 1962 Century Coronado. The name is a play on words. Earlier, Joe Kennedy, the patriarch, had named a boat TENOFUS, referring to the size of his family at that…

Cruising Life
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Navy Orders Ships To Turn On AIS in Crowded Shipping Lanes

AIS is one of those things that a lot of us now take for granted. It’s a good thing, like GPS or radar or sunscreen. It can protect you and make your life on board safer and happier. It’s also easy to understand and easy to use, and it’s relatively inexpensive; an ICOM AIS transceiver costs $699.99 at West Marine. The whole point of AIS (Automatic Identification System) is to let other boats know where you are (and to tell you where they are). It is designed to prevent collisions at sea, or around river bends on the Great Loop,…

Cruising Life
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California Man Steals 78-foot Yacht – Twice. Arrested Twice

Richard Marco Rodriguez, 35, of Whittier, California, really likes the 78-foot, $3 million yacht Stimulus. In fact, he likes it so much, he’s tried to steal it twice. According to the Orange County Register, the problems started three years ago, when the  harbor patrol saw Stimulus at first stuck between two docks in Balboa and then starting to drift toward a seawall. They thought the person at the wheel was the owner, so they helped pull the boat to safety at the mouth of the Newport Harbor. The person was Rodriguez. The real owner called police the next day to report…

Cruising Life
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The Storms Moved On, but for Some of the Caribbean, So Did the Jobs

How long will it be before the boating and tourism industry returns to the hardest-hit islands in the Caribbean after Hurricanes Irma and Maria blew through, destroying hotels, marinas, charter fleets and houses? No one knows, particularly the people who live and work there.  But they do know that they don’t have a way to make a living. The New York Times reports that residents are leaving St. Martin, “because their jobs are no more.” “Right now, the livelihood of tourism is in a coma,” said the sales manager of a luxury hotel in Anguilla. A waitress at a hotel in…

Cruising Life
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Life-Saving Video: Coast Guard Helicopter Rescues Woman, Two Children, From Overturned Boat in Puerto Rico

Here’s a dramatic video of a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rescuing a woman and two children from the hull of an overturned boat near Vieques, Puerto Rico, after the vessel was disabled in 20-foot waves and 115-mph winds. A man trapped inside the boat died. The British Royal Navy helped with the rescue. Read more and watch the video: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article174753601.html  

Cruising Life
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After Causing Total Destruction in Puerto Rico, Maria Hitting the Turks and Caicos and Heading for the Bahamas

Hurricane Maria, with 125-mph winds, was devastating the Turks and Caicos on Friday morning. NOAA said it then will head for the Bahamas, carrying a storm surge of 10-15 feet and dumping up to 20 inches of rain before swirling north into the Atlantic. It’s still too early to tell whether it will pass between Bermuda and the U.S. mainland or move closer to the coast. Maria already destroyed Puerto Rico, knocking out all the power on the island, flooding rivers and causing “total destruction.” And that was after it passed over St. Croix and caused even more damage to…

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