Author Peter Janssen

Newport Boat Show
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Newport ’17: First Look at the New Boats for the Fall Show Season

The Newport, RI, boat show has always been my favorite. It’s the first of the fall show season, so almost all the new boats are there, and then, well, it’s in Newport. Enough said. This year the show runs from Thursday, Sept. 14 through Sunday, Sept. 17, with most of the docks and tents at the Newport Yachting Center, but spilling over to neighboring docks. There’s also a brokerage show at the Newport Shipyard, and a wooden boat show at Bowen’s Wharf. In addition to the new boats, electronics, gear and equipment, seminars and courses run throughout the show. Confident…

Boat Reviews
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New Zeelander 55: A Dutch Beauty with Curves Everywhere

The Dutch-made Zeelander 55, an upgrade from the company’s popular 44, is a head-turning, luxurious express-type cruiser with hints of both a Down East lobster boat and a Gold Coast commuter boat while announcing a style all its own. From its fine bow to its torpedo stern, the Zeelander 55 is as contemporary as it can be. It’s all curves; there doesn’t seem to be a straight line anywhere. One of the most striking aspects of the Zeelander 55 is the 360-degree view from the helm; actually, from anywhere in the salon. The wraparound windows have narrow frames and double-curved…

Cruising Life
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Want a Boat in Croatia? Try Uber

Uber, the fast-growing ride-sharing service, is taking to the water. Now, with the UberBOAT app, you can call your own boat to carry you around Croatia’s major tourist islands. The company says that several hundred people have used the service since it was started six weeks ago. If UberBOAT is successful in Croatia, it could move to Greece, Spain and the Caribbean. In the Croatia version, users can choose a one-way trip or an “adventure,” where you get to choose your own route. UberBOAT has about 60 boats there, and the company’s goal is to meet customers within 15 minutes…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

Vesper, a Nordhavn 68, Cruises to Greenland and Iceland with a Husband and Wife Crew By Peter A. Janssen Here’s a view you don’t see very often – the entrance to Prince Christian Sound in Greenland from the helm of a Nordhavn 68. This particular Nordhavn 68, Vesper, was well traveled even before it cruised into Greenland and Iceland. Indeed, Bob and Kathy Valleau, the owners, originally climbed on the boat when it was commissioned at Nordhavn’s headquarters in Dana Point, California, in November, 2015. Then, with a Nordhavn delivery captain, they cruised down to Mexico, the Panama Canal, the…

Cruising Life
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Lessons from a Long-Range Cruiser: What Tools To Take on Your Boat

We all learn from experience, or rather, we all should learn from experience. Here’s some good advice from Steve D’Antonio, who has a lot of experience cruising himself, as well as working on cruising boats as the former manager of a boatyard. The reality is that if you’re cruising offshore, you’ll have to be able to fix any problem yourself. D’Antonio’s been there, done that. Here, in a story in PropWalk, D’Antonio spells out the requisite tools and spare parts you need for a safe cruise, based on his own years of experience. First, he says, never leave the dock…

Cruising Life
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27 Reasons to Go Cruising in Mystic, Old Saybrook and Essex, Connecticut. And Then There’s the Fall Foliage

It’s no secret that the Connecticut shoreline, particularly in the Old Saybrook to Mystic area, offers some of the best cruising on the east coast, with a combination of national and maritime history and a large selection of welcoming large and small marinas. And that’s before you head up the Connecticut River to Essex, which was burned by the British in the War of 1812 and is now the quintessential small New England town, or Hamburg Cove, just up the river a bit, one of the best gunkholes anywhere, in my opinion. But now that area is attracting more attention.…

Cruising Life
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Iconic 55-foot Thunderbird Returns to Concours d’Elegance on Lake Tahoe. See Great Video

An American icon, the double-planked mahogany and brushed stainless steel Thunderbird just returned to the annual Concours d’Elegance on Lake Tahoe, California, after some refurbishing. Built in 1940, the 55-foot-long Thunderbird is powered by two V-12 Allison P-38 Lightening aircraft engines that produce a top speed of 70 mph. Thunderbird was built for George Whittell, Jr., a wealthy and reclusive playboy who also owned a Grumman Goose seaplane and six Duesenbergs. He built a 100-foot long boathouse for the boat and a 600-foot tunnel to connect it to his main house on Tahoe’s west shore. Designed by John L. Hacker, of…

Cruising Life
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Boathandling Tips: How To Hold Your Boat Steady. Good Video

There are many times when you basically want to keep your boat where it is – waiting for a bridge to open, for example, or looking for an open spot on the fuel dock. But knowing how to keep it in place (assuming you don’t have Skyhook or a similar electronic station-keeping system) is much more important, and is part of a basic boat-handling skillset that will serve you well when you’re docking, waiting for traffic to clear in a narrow passage, or even sitting out a sudden squall. Here’s a great video from Motor Boat & Yachting that will…

Boat Reviews
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New Outer Reef 610 Motoryacht: Built for Couples, Comfort and Cruising

Designed to be run by a cruising couple, the new Outer Reef 610 Motoryacht is spacious, fuel-efficient and easy to maneuver. Indeed, in early July hull number one carried its new owners, a couple from Newport, Rhode Island, on a shakedown cruise from Fort Lauderdale up to their home in five days with just two pit stops, although they had a captain from Outer Reef to help them get acquainted with the boat. Then they cruised New England waters for the rest of the summer themselves. That boat will be displayed at the Newport International Boat Show, starting Sept. 14.…

Cruising Life
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Danish Submarine Inventor Now Says He Buried Journalist at Sea

Police in Copenhagen report that Peter Madsen, the inventor of a 26-foot long submarine, now says that Kim Wall, the Swedish journalist who climbed on board to interview him for a story, died on the sub and he buried her at sea. Madsen originally told police, after Wall disappeared, that he had dropped her off in a remote area. Madsen has since changed his story, telling police that there was an accident on the sub that caused Wall’s death. The sub sank the morning after Wall disappeared, and Madsen was rescued by a passing boat. Police are still trying to…

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