Cruising Life

Whale Swallows Cape Cod Diver, Spits Him Out

By Peter Janssen on June 12, 2021 Cruising Life

A lobster diver in Provincetown, Massachusetts, was swallowed by a humpback whale recently but he survived with just minor injuries. “I was completely inside,” the lobsterman, Michael Packard, 56, told the Cape Cod Times. Packard, a veteran diver from Wellfleet, was on his second dive of the day just before 8 in the morning. He was working from the boat Ja’n J, off Herring Beach Cove. A fleet of other boats were fishing for striped bass nearby. A commercial lobster diver, Packard dove down. When he was about ten feet from the bottom, he said, “All of a sudden, I…

New Zealand Developing Hydrogen-Powered Chase Boats

By Peter Janssen on June 9, 2021 Cruising Life

Team New Zealand just gave a big boost to the development of hydrogen power in recreational boating when it announced it is developing hydrogen-powered foiling chase boats for the next America’s Cup campaign. For years, RIBs have been the standard chase boats for most America’s Cup campaigns. But now Team New Zealand is working with AFCryo, a Christchurch company, to develop a hydrogen chase boat. They just released renderings of a prototype, a radical foiling catamaran with four hydrogen tanks in each hull and electric motors built into the foils and rudder. The hydrogen-powered boats will be built at the…

Riva Making New 68 Based on Iconic Hull

By Peter Janssen on June 8, 2021 Cruising Life

Riva, the iconic Italian builder, just announced that it’s making a new 68 Diable, based on the classic Riva Super America hull. Riva, now part of the Ferretti Group, plans to launch the 68 Diable in September. With Riva’s unmistakable lines, the 68 Diable has three staterooms, all with en suite heads, and a 40-knot top speed from optional 1,650-hp MAN diesels. Standard 1,550-hp MANs produce a cruising speed of 33 knots and a top speed of 37 knots, with a range of 260-nm. The new 68 Diable was drawn by Mauro Michell, the co-founder of Officina Italiana Design, with…

Back Cove Delivers 1,000th Yacht

By Peter Janssen on June 8, 2021 Cruising Life

I remember testing the very first Back Cove, a 29, in Biscayne Bay off Miami, in 2003 with Bentley Collins, the company’s vice president of marketing and sales. I was the editorial director of both Yachting and Motorboating then, and I wrote in my notebook, twice, the words “I like this boat.” So did a lot of other people. Indeed, Back Cove, the sister company to Sabre Yachts, just built its 1,000th boat, a 39O, and it was a long way from the original 29 that I liked so much. The 390 is the fastest and quietest Back Cove yet. Instead of…

Florida’s Manatees Dying in Record Numbers

By Peter Janssen on June 7, 2021 Cruising Life

Florida’s manatees are dying in record numbers, and it seems that some of them are malnourished and even starving. “If this continues through the rest of the year, this is going to be one of the highest mortality years ever,” said Jon Moore, a marine biologist at Florida Atlantic University. A new report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recorded 761 manatee deaths from January 1 to May 28, representing more than 10 percent of the entire manatee population, and more than the total number of deaths for all of last year. Scientists say the total deaths could…

Beneteau Building New GT 45 Express Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on June 7, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Beneteau just announced that it’s building a new GT 45, the newest in its popular line of express cruisers. With larger windows and more sophisticated systems, the new 45 replaces the 46 in Beneteau’s GT model line. The new 45, to be launched in September, has sporty lines, a swept-back windshield and cabin top, and windows all around for visibility and natural light. It has two cabins, with an optional third, and two heads on the lower accommodation deck, which also has much-larger-than-usual windows in the hull sides. Standard power comes from twin 380-hp Volvo diesels, while twin 440-hp IPS600…

New Proposal: 20-Foot Seawall To Protect Miami

By Peter Janssen on June 7, 2021 Cruising Life

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has written the draft of a new proposal calling for a $6 billion, 20-foot-high wall in downtown Miami to protect it from storm surges and rising sea levels. Most of the wall would be inland, separating neighborhoods, but a one-mile stretch would be built in front of the financial section along Brickell Blvd. The proposal is still in its early stages, and any construction is at least five years off. But the idea of a massive sea wall cutting across Biscayne Bay has already drawn some criticism. “The $40 billion in assets you’re trying…

Epic Delivery: Transiting the Welland Canal

By Scott Akerman on June 6, 2021 Cruising Life

Scott Akerman, our Cruising Odyssey partner and ad director and a professional captain, is on an epic delivery of a 2018 Coastal Craft Concord 65 from Midland, on Georgian Bay in Canada, to Portland, Maine. Captain Eli Bliss is the only other person on board. They just transited the historic, 27-mile-long Welland Canal that connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Here’s Scott’s report: We started the day at Sugarloaf Harbour Marine in Port Colborne, a quaint Canadian village near the head of the locks. The marina had new floating docks and is a convenient, 15-minute walk to town through well-manicured…

Dag Pike, Master Seaman, Dies at 88

By Peter Janssen on June 4, 2021 Cruising Life

Dag Pike, who first went to sea as a teenager and went on to become one of the world’s most respected – and most prolific – boat racers, navigators and seamen, passed away earlier this week. He was 88 years old, and lived in Bristol, UK. I first met Dag at a Miami boat show in the early ‘80s, when he was already a legendary international boating figure, and he was writing for Motor Boating & Sailing, where I was the editor. In person, Dag was memorable; he always had a smile, he always had a new tale to fell,…

Start of Delivery from Lake Huron to Portland, Maine

By Scott Akerman on June 4, 2021 Cruising Life

Scott Akerman, our Cruising Odyssey partner and ad director, just started an epic, 2,400-nm delivery of a 2018 Coastal Craft Concord 65 from Midland, Canada, to Portland, Maine. A professional captain, Akerman has sailed more than 100,000 miles offshore, and cruised in 18 countries around the world, but he has never traveled through these waters before. The aluminum-hulled Coastal Craft is named Indigo, and it’s powered by twin 900-hp Volvo Penta IPS pod drives. Captain Eli Bliss was the other person on board. Here’s Akerman’s first report: Day 1: We were off the dock at Midland, at the bottom of…

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