Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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5 Fun Things To Do with Kids in the Florida Keys

If you’re cruising in the Keys with your family, here are some great ideas from Drew White, the resident expert at Cannons Marina on Longboat Key. White spent summers there as a kid himself, and now lives there. You may have your own list, but here’s a good place to start: 1.Eat on the dock at Robbie’s Restaurant in Islamorada, and get a bucket of fish to feed the tarpon. 2.Visit the Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key, where there are hundreds of small deer. 3.Swim with the dolphins at Theatre of the Sea on Islamorada, a mini-theme park.…

Cruising Life
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BBQ Grills on Board: Which One’s Best for You?

A lot of us think that it doesn’t get much better, at the end of the day, than to fire up the grill on board and barbecue a steak, some fresh fish, burgers, almost anything. Somehow, almost everything tastes better when it comes off a grill. But, if you don’t have one yet, what kind of grill should you buy for your boat? Charcoal? Electric? Gas/Propane? They come in various sizes, with various costs, ranging from the $150 level, for a small stainless steel grill that you clamp onto a handrail or slide into a rod holder, to several thousands…

Charter
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Dream Yacht Charters Adds Fountaine Pajot 37 Power Cats to Its Fleets

Power charter opportunities are growing. Indeed, Dream Yacht Charters is adding 37-foot Fountaine Pajot power catamarans to its fleets in the BVI, Puerto Rico, La Paz and the Bahamas for the winter charter season. The boats are available bareboat or with a captain. The Fountaine Pajot 37 power cats open up a lot more ground for a charter vacation, since they can top out at 22 knots. You can go more places, explore new cruising grounds, or simply do more island hopping in your favorite spots. The boats have three cabins and two heads and are suitable for up to…

Cruising Life
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Maryland Family Buys New Prestige 560, Starts Cruise to Boston

This trip was a long time coming, but the Rubin family from Pikesville, Maryland, just outside Baltimore, are on their way up to Boston on their brand-new Prestige 560 Fly, and they’re writing about it. The family, including two teenagers, started planning the trip more than six months ago, and they finally left Baltimore at the end of July. They had bought the Prestige only two and a half weeks before their departure. For their three-week vacation, they’re planning to stop in Atlantic City for the poker, New York for Broadway, Provincetown for family, and Nantucket for biking. On their…

Cruising Life
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Volvo Breaks 1,000-hp Barrier with New 13-Litre Engine

Volvo Penta just introduced a new 1,000 hp-engine, its largest ever, at the boat show in Sydney, Australia. The company says the new 13-litre diesel has both higher performance and a longer life than any of its previous engines. The new inboard, and its equivalent from Volvo’s IPS range, the D13-IPS1350, have been designed for use in yachts up to 120 feet, although the IPS version was tested in a 68-footer. “This is hugely exciting for us to create our most powerful engine yet,” said Johan Wasterang, VP for product management at Volvo Penta. “It’s truly a landmark product for…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

Claret Red? Awlcraft Shark? Owners Make Individual Statements Even on Traditional Down East Boats By Peter A. Janssen Most Sabre Yachts, of course, come with blue hulls, in keeping with their classic, Down East heritage. But times may be changing. We couldn’t resist a second, or third, look at this new Sabre 45, photographed by our friend Billy Black, off Nahant, Mass., on the North Shore above Boston. The hull is Claret Red. The picture reminded me of the color of hull number one of Dirigo, the 66-foot Sabre flagship, which was an eye-opening combination of blue and gray with…

Boat Reviews
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Helmsman Trawlers Bring New 38-foot Cruiser to the Chesapeake

Helmsman Trawlers, single-engine cruisers built in China and popular on the West Coast, now have a demo boat for sale in the Chesapeake area. The new Helmsman Trawlers 38E will be at Bay Bridge Marina on Kent Island, across the bay from Annapolis; it will be displayed at the Annapolis power show in October. Built in Fuzhou, China, Helmsman are designed for owners who want a quality cruising boat but don’t want to overpay for one. They are sold factory direct, to reduce costs to consumers. The Helmsman line runs from 31 to 43 feet. The 38E has a unique…

Cruising Life
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144-Year-Old Chesapeake Lighthouse For Sale: $15,000, As Is

It’s hard to beat this for waterfront property, but it does need a bit of TLC. The 144-year-old Craighill Channel Lower Range lighthouse, marking the Craighill Channel from the Chesapeake up the Patapsco River into Baltimore, is for sale for only $15,000, so you probably would have some money left over for remodeling. The lighthouse has been empty since 1964, when the keeper and his assistant moved out after the light was automated. Some of the interior is open to the elements; birds live there now. The good news is that the keeper’s quarters rise one and a half stories…

Cruising Life
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A Repeat Winner for the Beverly, Mass., 22nd Annual Lobster Boat Races

For the second year in a row, Mike Malewicki proved he was the fastest lobster boat captain in Beverly, Mass., last weekend. In fact, Malewicki, driving Janie M, his 37-year-old wooden lobster boat, won two of the six races there to keep his crown. Janie M is powered by a 300-hp John Deere diesel. Therese Sauvageau, the captain of Sea Anchor, who has competed every year in the race’s 22-year-history, was happy, because she actually beat Janie M by half a boat length in one heat. “I usually come in second or third,” she said. After the races, some of the captains…

Cruising Life
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Rosario Resort and Marina: A Restored Jewel in the San Juans

A few years ago, at the end of a charter vacation in the San Juan Islands, my youngest daughter, Liz, and I put in to Rosario Resort Marina. It’s on a small protected bay off East Sound, which almost cuts the fairly large Orcas Island in half. We were on a Grand Banks 36 from NW Explorations in Bellingham, Washington, and had already been cruising up in South Pender Island and then Roche Harbor. Rosario was going to be an easy, last night stop on our way back to Bellingham. It was all that and more. East Sound is long,…

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