Author Peter Janssen

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

Solarwave 64: The Fossil-Free Future of Long-Range Cruising? Is this the new look of long-distance cruising? The new Solarwave 64 catamaran, with 42 solar panels on the hardtop, claims it can have virtually unlimited range at about 6 knots under solar power alone. Hybrid versions, powered by twin 220-hp Volvo diesels, can reach speeds of 20 knots. A Swiss company, Solarwave makes a 54-, 64- and 74-foot version of its new cat. They’re all designed for long-range cruising under solar power. They’re built in Turkey, by NEDSHIP, which has launched 350 yachts since it was funded in 1985, and all…

Cruising Life
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Once Hungry, U.S. Couple Start a Pizza Business on Their Boat in St. Thomas

This is just too good a story to miss – all about an American couple who left their successful jobs in the U.S. and are now running a floating take-out pizza business on their boat in the Virgin Islands. They love it; so does their baby. More than a decade ago, Sasha Bouis was a MIT engineering grad working on Wall Street. He wanted something else, so he quit and moved to the Caribbean. Tara Bouis was teaching school in Anderson, Indiana. She too decided there was more to life, and she too moved to the Caribbean, where she taught…

Cruising Life
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Coral Ecosystems in Great Barrier Reef Are Being Killed by Rising Sea Temperatures, Scientists Report

The Great Barrier Reef, the fishing, diving and tourist destination stretching hundreds of miles off the coast of Australia near Cairns, is in trouble. A new study, published today in Nature, says that huge sections of the coral ecosystem are already dead, or are dying, because of rising sea temperatures. (When the water is too hot, corals turn white, as in the picture above.) “We didn’t expect to see this level of destruction to the Great Barrier Reef for another 30 years,” said Terry P. Hughes, an Australian scientist and lead author of the Nature report. “In the north I…

Cruising Life
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A Look at 15 New Tenders and RIBs – from Achilles to ZAR

The right RIB or tender can make all the difference in a successful cruise or boating vacation. It means you can go ashore comfortably or explore other parts of the island or harbor where you’ve moored the big boat. And it also serves as a second boat, totally aside from the larger version. You can have your very own picnic boat, for example, that you can pull up on any beach without a worry. Many new RIBs even come with their own heads; one even comes with wheels so you can drive across the beach. Here’s a good review of…

Cruising Life
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A Dock Box Built for Two

You probably won’t see this featured in the next issue of Architectural Digest, but it actually can make your life more comfortable around the dock. The new Waterside Lounger from Better Way Products is a lockable dock box that doubles as a love seat, giving you and a companion a comfortable spot to sit when you’re off the boat. Made from heavy-duty fiberglass with a UV-resistant exterior, the Waterside Lounger holds 14 cubic feet of storage inside. It also has the company’s EZ Drain system, gas lifts and stainless steel stays for easy opening, and large hinges. The external dimensions…

Cruising Life
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New Curved Side-Power Vector Fin Stabilizer Gets U.S. Patent

Side-Power just won a U.S. patent for its new curved Vector Fin stabilizer, according to IMTRA, the New Bedford, Mass., company that imports Side-Power products from Norway. The new Vector Fin has a curved foil design that greatly reduces roll at any speed while offering greater fuel efficiency. The unique, patent-winning curve of Side-Power’s Vector Fin is an evolution of traditional stabilizers. The company says it greatly increases the efficiency of the stabilizer system while reducing any side-effects. The curved design creates lift at speed, meaning the boat can be as fuel efficient with the stabilizers as it would be…

Cruising Life
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Mia Wilson, Age 6 with a Congenital Heart Defect, Is on the Great Loop with Her Family

When she was born with a congenital heart defect, Mia Wilson was given a 10 percent chance to live. Now, after three open-heart surgeries, Mia, 6, is on the Great Loop with her family and loving every day of it. Mia and her family, father Bobby, mother Wendy and big sisters Nina, 19, AnnaMay, 9, and Ella, 7, are cruising the 6,000-mile Great Loop on a Bayliner 32 named La Cigale, despite Mia’s need for 40 different medicines a day; she’s also hooked up to a feeding machine most of the time since she can’t swallow. The Wilsons tie…

Cruising Life
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Deputy Saves Two Jet Skiers from Oncoming Cruise Ship: “Oh My God” Video

Here’s a video of some very lucky people, who were pulled out of the water by a fast-acting deputy sheriff after their jet ski turned over in front of an oncoming cruise liner. The video, taken from the deck of the liner, shows how close a call this really was. All this occurred in Port Canaveral, Florida, as the 1,004-foot-long Carnival Magic was leaving the harbor. Harbor Pilot Captain Doug Brown was navigating the liner when he saw the jet ski, with two people on board, circling nearby. He radioed Deputy Sheriff Taner Primmer who also was nearby on a Brevard…

Cruising Life
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New Video Shows the Changes at Grand Banks, Previews New 60 Flagship

There’ve been a lot of changes at Grand Banks recently, ever since the company acquired Australia’s Palm Beach Yachts and named Mark Richards, the Palm Beach president, as the head of both companies in 2014. Richards, pictured above inspecting the hull of the new Grand Banks 60, is one of the most successful sailboat racers in the world, having won the fear-inducing Sydney-Hobart race a record eight times. At Grand Banks’ factory in Malaysia, he’s used his racing expertise to build high-tech, low-weight, low CG, faster and more fuel-efficient hulls. The flagship 60, with three staterooms and two heads, is…

Cruising Life
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Wasting Away Again in….Daytona Beach?

What happened to Margaritaville? Well, seems that Jimmy Buffett’s first retirement community (what’s wrong with this picture?) is not opening in Key West but instead in Daytona Beach, Florida. Buffett’s Margaritaville Holdings has formed a partnership with Minto Communities to develop a housing resort for senior Parrotheads, and others, in what they say are some of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations. Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona Beach is first up. John Cohlan, CEO of Margaritaville, says, “With Minto’s expertise in creating master planned developments and Margaritaville’s inherent ability to deliver fun and escapism, Latitute Margaritaville has the exact coordinates for…

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