Cruising Life

Jury Awards $200 Million in Child’s Boating Death

By Peter Janssen on September 5, 2021 Cruising Life

After a three-week trial, a jury in Rabun County, Georgia, reached a $200 million verdict for the parents of a 7-year-old boy who died in a boating accident there in 2014. It was the largest verdict for pain and suffering ever in the state. In July, 2014, Stephen and Margaret Batchelder, from Lake Worth, Florida, took their family on a vacation to Rabun County, in northeast Georgia. They rented a 2000 Malibu Response IX open-bow ski boat for a family outing on Lake Burton. The boat was going from 5 to 7 mph with four children in the bow when…

Zodiac, Torqeedo Launch Electric-Powered RIBS

By Peter Janssen on September 1, 2021 Cruising Life

In a major move for electric-powered small boats, Zodiac and Torqeedo just announced that they are collaborating in a new eOPEN range of Zodiac RIBs with electric power by Torqeedo. Zodiac, the largest name in RIBs, and Torqeedo, the largest name in electric boat motors, will introduce the new eOPEN range at the Cannes Yachting Festival starting Sept. 7. There will be more details at that time. Zodiac already has made an inroad in the electric power market, winning a Gussies Electric Boat Award last year for its eJET450, an under 26-foot RIB designed specifically as a tender for large…

Explorers Find Northernmost Island Off Greenland

By Peter Janssen on September 1, 2021 Cruising Life

A team of polar explorers just found a new island off the coast of Greenland that they say is the world’s northernmost point of land. And they named it Qeqertaq Avannarleq. No, that’s not a typo. It means “the northernmost island” in Greenlandic. QA, for short, is not very big. It’s only 30 meters across, but it’s big enough. “It meets the criteria of an island,” said Rene Forsberg, head of geo dynamics at Denmark’s National Space Institute. “This is currently the world’s northernmost land.” Read about it in this story from the BBC. In July, the scientists flew to…

Fountaine-Pajot Launches New 36-Foot Power Cat

By Peter Janssen on August 31, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Fountaine-Pajot just launched its first MY4.S power catamaran. It will show the sporty looking cat, with a knife-like entry, low profile and lounging spaces all around, at the Cannes Yachting Festival starting Sept. 7, before bringing it to the U.S. At 36-feet, the MY4.S is the French builder’s new entry-level cat, replacing the popular 37; it has sold about 100 37s since it launched the model five years ago. The MY4.S is aimed at a younger buyer as well as at longer-range cruisers. Powered by twin 150-hp Yanmars, the new cat cruises at 16 knots, tops out at 22 knots,…

Fire Destroys 82-Foot Yacht in New Bedford

By Peter Janssen on August 31, 2021 Cruising Life

An 82-foot yacht caught fire at a New Bedford, Massachusetts, marina earlier this week and was totally destroyed. There were no reports of injuries. Local fire officials said they received a call about 5:30 p.m. on Monday saying that a yacht was on fire at Fleet Marina on Popes Island in New Bedford. The yacht was Miss Dunia, a 2007 Horizon, and it was carrying 500 gallons of fuel. The New Bedford fire department said the fire broke out below deck and then spread rapidly. “Long operation. Very complex operation. Manpower intensive,” said New Bedford Fire Chief Scott Krueger. Fire…

Top Ten Boating Towns from BoatUS

By co_admin on August 30, 2021 Cruising Life

Here’s a list of the top ten boating towns from BoatUS Magazine. You may not agree with them, or you may have favorites of your own, but it’s fun to see which towns made the list. Spoiler alert; the picture above is of the Cape Ann Marina in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Read on: SPRINGFIELD, Va., August 30, 2021 – With many wage earners now freed from the daily commute, which towns might score high in the eyes of recreational boat owners looking to relocate? In the just-released September/October 2021 issue of BoatUS Magazine, Contributing Editors Fiona McGlynn and Tim Murphy offer plenty…

Brit Rows Wrong Way Across Atlantic, Solo

By Peter Janssen on August 29, 2021 Cruising Life, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Ian Rivers, a 55-year-old veteran of Britain’s Special Air Service, just became the first person to row across the North Atlantic by himself, without any support, without using a GPS and navigating with a sextant. All told, Rivers rowed 3,100 nm from New York to the Isles of Scilly in 85 days on his 27-foot boat. This voyage is “the wrong way,” going against the prevailing winds and currents. About 500 miles from the end, the boat capsized three times in a storm and Rivers was trapped upside down in the cabin filling with water. He suffered a concussion and some…

New Jaktar J-30: Go-Anywhere Explorer Boat

By Peter Janssen on August 29, 2021 Cruising Life

Jaktar, a new builder in Stockholm, just launched its J-30 explorer boat, designed for the far north, but capable of cruising everywhere from the near Arctic to the Great Loop. Indeed, Vripack, the Dutch firm that designed the Jaktar, says the brief called for a boat that was “to be ready to go anywhere, at any time.” The Jacktar J-30 is hand-built using marine-grade aluminum. It has a 46-knot top speed from two 300-hp outboards. (You also can order it with two 250-hp outboards for greater fuel economy and range.) The company says the J-30 was “built for performance and…

Sunseeker Manhattan 55 To Debut at FLIBS

By Peter Janssen on August 29, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new, aggressively styled Sunseeker Manhattan 55 will make its U.S. debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 27. The British builder also will show its new 65 Sport Yacht there. They will be presented by Sunseeker’s U.S. distributor, OneWater Yacht Group of Fort Lauderdale. A luxury performance cruiser, the Manhattan 55 is marked by windows in all sizes and shapes in the hull and salon, with stainless-steel details, adding to its dynamic look. It’s designed as a comfortable family cruiser, with three cabins and two heads below, a beach club aft, a large open-plan salon, and…

Leopard Building New 46 Powercat

By Peter Janssen on August 26, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Leopard Catamarans just announced that they are building a Leopard 46 Powercat, modeled after the award-winning Leopard 53 PC. The latest in the South African company’s new generation of power yachts, the 46 PC will splash in Cape Town this fall and then have its world premiere at the Miami boat show in February. Built for comfort and performance, the Leopard 46 is a stand-alone design. It is not a spinoff of an existing sailboat catamaran. “We have managed to give the Leopard 46 PC a character of its own,” says Anthony Key, the company’s chief designer. “It stands proudly…

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