Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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Pierre’s Echo Bay Lodge & Marina: A Laid-Back Gem in British Columbia

Pierre’s Echo Bay Lodge & Marina may not be on your cruising radar (I have to admit I wasn’t aware of it), but from the looks of things it’s definitely worth a stop if you’re cruising up the Inside Passage to Alaska or just hanging out in Queen Charlotte Strait, British Columbia. Pierre’s, it seems, is more laid-back than your normal marina; where else can you find a wood-burning hot tub, a community fire pit and even a “canine yacht club”? In fact, Pierre’s has the usual marina facilities – a fuel dock, grocery store, inviting docks – but people…

Cruising Life
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How To Keep Your Pet Happy on Board

Now that we’re getting into the heart of another summer cruising season, it’s time to think about keeping our pets safe and happy on board. That’s particularly true if you have a new pet or one who’s new to life on the water. Here’s some good, common-sense advice from Waterway Guide about how to make sure your pet enjoys a cruising lifestyle as much as you do. First, introduce the pet to the boat while it’s still at the dock. Let him wander around, explore, settle into his own spot. Start the engine, still at the dock, so he gets…

Cruising Life
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Coast Guard Tests Diesel Outboards on Small Boats. Is a Diesel Outboard in Your Future?

In a move that could make your cruising life easier, the Coast Guard is testing diesel-powered outboards on some of its Fast Rescue Boats. If the tests are successful, and more diesel outboards move to the recreational boat market, it could mean that you wouldn’t have to carry separate gas on board for your RIB or dink if you have a diesel-powered cruising boat. It’s also possible that diesel outboards will become more popular as the primary engine(s) on larger recreational boats. The Coast Guard test involves 175-hp Mercury Optimax outboards, as well as 200- and 300-hp units, and will…

Boat Reviews
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Fountaine Pajot Launches New Luxurious 44-foot Cat. See Video

Fountaine Pajot just launched a new luxurious, spacious three-stateroom, three-head 44-foot catamaran that will make cruising a delight. In this latest design from the famed French builder, there’s room for everyone, inside and out; in fact, there’s room to spare. And as you can see in the video, the boat handles well, running at its cruising speed or maneuvering around the docks, controlled by Volvo’s IPS joystick. The new 44 will be introduced to the U.S. at the Fort Lauderdale boat show next fall. For interior spaces, the salon has a long, inviting L-shaped sofa along the port side, with…

Cruising Life
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How in the World Did a U.S. Navy Destroyer Get Hit by a Container Ship?

All of us, anyone who has ever cruised anywhere, can relate, and also can ask the question: How did this happen? How did a U.S. Navy destroyer get hit by a Philippine container ship on a clear night, even in a busy shipping lane? Think of times you’ve been cruising on your own boat near a container ship in a busy shipping lane. Think Delaware Bay, San Francisco Bay, New York Harbor. Think of how aware you were of their size, their inability to change course quickly, their mammoth wake. Scary. You make sure you’re well clear of these behemoths.…

Cruising Life
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Nantucket Ferry Hits Hyannis Jetty; Six Passengers Hurt

Here’s a case where we know what happened but we don’t know yet why it happened. What happened is that about 9:30 on Friday night the high-speed ferry from Nantucket, carrying 48 passengers, six crew and three food service workers somehow ran into the jetty at the entrance to Hyannis Harbor. Six people were injured, and the Coast Guard, local police and fire and other first responders worked for hours by boat and helicopter to get people off the ferry safely. Fire Captain Thomas Kenney said in his 36 years of experience he’s seen several small boats crash into the…

Cruising Life
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President Trump Orders Tougher New Rules for Americans Going to Cuba

We still don’t know exactly what this means for Americans cruising to Cuba on their own boats, but President Trump has just reinstated some travel restrictions making it harder for Americans to plan their own trips there. In a six-page directive, which he signed after making a speech in Miami’s Little Havana, President Trump ordered the Treasury and Commerce Departments to write the new restrictions in the next 30 days. The new regulations will end some of the more relaxed travel policies that President Obama had started in an effort to normalize relations between the two countries. The New York…

Destinations
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On Watch

Mackinac Island: A Laid-Back Boating Haven on the Great Lakes Little changed since 1897, when the town leaders banned automobiles (they scared the horses), Mackinac Island, at the top of Lake Huron and just around the corner from the top of Lake Michigan, is perhaps the leading summer destination in the Midwest, and certainly is one of the most picturesque in the United States. With its own marina on the historic island, and two more nearby, it’s also a major boating destination, and that’s before you count the 320 sailboats that will arrive there from Chicago at the end of…

Cruising Life
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All-Time Great Video of Cruising Through the Arctic’s Northwest Passage

We usually don’t cover superyachts, but I’ve been fascinated by the Northwest Passage ever since my friend Sprague Theobald cruised across it on his Nordhavn 57 with his family in 2009. (Theobald wrote a great book about his adventure, transiting some of the most dangerous – and often frozen – waters on the planet, called “The Other Side of the Ice.”) Here’s a great you-are-there video about two trips through the Passage on Latitude, a 148-foot Vripack, in the summers of 2014 and 2015, complete with polar bears, whales, icebergs, glaciers and even a trip to the memorial to the…

Cruising Life
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Keep Your Crew Happy: Soundproof Your Boat

Ask any builder of modern cruising boats, and they’ll readily confirm that sound levels are extremely important to their owners and potential buyers. Not only at the helm and salon, but also even in the staterooms, particularly since many master staterooms now are located midships, just forward of the engine room. A noisy boat with a lot of decibels coming from the engine or the generator (or both) can make for an uncomfortable cruise; it makes talking difficult at best, and it can lead to a headache and a longing to return to the peace and quiet of home back…

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