Cruising Life

BVI Premier Busted in Miami: Cocaine Smuggling Charges

By Peter Janssen on April 29, 2022 Cruising Life

The Premier of the British Virgin Islands and the port director there were just arrested in Miami in a bizarre cocaine smuggling deal that involved a confidential DEA informant and purported members of Hezbollah. The port director’s son also was arrested. Andrew Alturo Fahie (above), the premier, and Oleanvine Maynard, the BVI’s port director, were arrested at the Miami-Opa Loca Executive Airport after they climbed on a private jet and saw $700,000 packed in designer bags that was supposed to be the first payment in the drug scheme. Her son, Kadeem, was arrested separately. According to a 15-page affidavit filed…

Hodgdon To Build All-Electric Vita LION

By Peter Janssen on April 27, 2022 Cruising Life

The new, all-electric LION, the 34’ 5” flagship of the Vita Yachts fleet in the UK, will be built in Maine by Hodgdon Yachts, the oldest boat builder in the U.S. Hodgdon, founded in 1816, just announced the partnership with Vita, founded in 2017, and says the LION is the first and only premium electric powerboat compatible with fast DC charging. Indeed, you can recharge the LION’s batteries in an hour. The boat cruises at 22 knots (for an hour and a half) and tops out at 35 knots. LION is powered by Vita’s latest generation all-electric V4 propulsion system,…

Numarine Unveils 74-foot Expedition Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on April 26, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Numarine, the Turkish builder of high-end cruisers, just announced that it’s building a new 22XP, the entry-level yacht in its expedition fleet. The 74-foot yacht is scheduled to make its debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September. Numarine’s XP line now stretches through five models, topping out at the 147-foot XP45. The company says the new 22 is “ready to sail the seven seas in safety, serenity and freedom.” The 22XP has three decks, three or four staterooms, a large flybridge and a light-colored, light-filled salon. Ömer Malz, the Numarine chairman, says “The 22XP has been a success from…

Kiwis Test 50-Knot Hydrogen Chase Boat

By Peter Janssen on April 26, 2022 Cruising Life

Chase Zero, the revolutionary, hydrogen-powered, America’s Cup foiling chase boat from Emirates Team New Zealand, is now undergoing sea trials in Auckland. The 33-foot catamaran tops out at about 50 knots and has a range of 100 nm with six people on board, a typical distance for a chase boat’s working day. A prototype, Chase Zero was developed in less than a year after the Emirates New Zealand team announced plans for a chase boat with zero carbon emissions. Emirates New Zealand is the defending America’s Cup champion, so it gets to set the protocol for the next races, scheduled…

Nav 101: How To Find Time, Distance, Speed

By co_admin on April 26, 2022 Cruising Life

These triangles from Captain John’s Skippers Tips may serve as an easy-to-remember primer, or refresher, on how to determine the basic three factors in coastal navigation: Time, Distance, Speed. Even if your electronics work perfectly all the time (and they won’t), you’ll still want to know how to reach your destination safely without them. Take a look: These are the basic ‘big three’ in all navigation, whether visual, electronic, or celestial. Time, Distance, and Speed. In order to answer any of these questions, you must know the answer to the other two questions. If you want to find time, you need…

New Luxury 9-Person Sub from U-Boat Worx

By Peter Janssen on April 25, 2022 Cruising Life

U-Boat Worx, the creative Dutch company that’s been building personal and commercial submersibles since 2005, just launched its NEXIS sub that can carry nine people (seven adults and two children) down to 650 feet below the surface and run for 18 hours straight. The new NEXIS is a luxury vessel, with business-class seats and a rotating platform so everyone on board can have an unobstructed view underwater. It even has an optional elevator to make boarding easier. The sub weighs 24,250 pounds and is about 16 feet long, 9 feet wide and 8 feet high. It runs on a 62kWh…

Solaris Launches Head-Turning 40 Open

By Peter Janssen on April 25, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Solaris is introducing its new, head-turning 40 Open at the Palma show in Spain this week. The 40 comes on the heels of the Solaris 48 Open, which won a European Powerboat of the Year Award two years ago, and then the 44 Open that was nominated for the same award this year. Solaris Yachts has been making notable sailboats at its Italian yard since 1974; they started a power division in 2008, making yachts up to 100 feet. Their Lobster Boat line, with a 48 (pictured below) and 57, are just as eye-opening as the Open models. A new…

New Archipelago 47 “Explorer’s Catamaran”

By Peter Janssen on April 25, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

A new entry from the UK, Archipelago Expedition Yachts just unveiled its flagship 47-foot cruising catamaran that it says “offers the ultimate adventure.” The first yacht in a new Archipelago Range, the 47 is being built by Chartwell Marine on the Isle of Man. The range will include 38- and 56-foot yachts later on. The Archipelago 47 is designed as an “explorer’s catamaran,” according to the company, with a combination of luxury, fuel efficiency, stability, ocean-going performance and even wheelchair access. Powered by two 420-hp Iveco diesels, the 47 is projected to have a top speed of 30 knots and…

New Kadey-Krogen 58: Made for Adventure

By Peter Janssen on April 20, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Kadey-Krogen 58 EB (Extended Bridge), on display at the Palm Beach show last month, is a solid, full-displacement cruiser ready for an adventure anywhere in the world. With a single 325-hp John Deere diesel, the 58 has a range of 3,775 nm at 7 knots; speed up to 10 knots, and the range drops to 1,050 nm, still a very respectable performance. (Twin engines are optional.) Kadey-Krogen is hardly a newcomer to the world’s blue-water cruising fleet. Indeed, it has made more than 600 cruising boats over the past 45 years at its yard in Taiwan, earning a…

JFA Building Stunning 86 Power Cat

By Peter Janssen on April 20, 2022 Cruising Life

JFA, the high-end French yard, just unveiled its stunning new Long Island 86 power, a large, luxurious, cruising catamaran with an aluminum hull and composite superstructure. You can order the Long Island 86 with conventional or hybrid propulsion. The new 86 comes after the company launched the first of its Long Island series, a 78, and it’s a similar yacht, just stretched. Marc Lombard, who designed the cats for JFA, says, “Long Island catamarans are simple, efficient, seaworthy, and refined.” The 86-foot yacht makes use of its 39-foot beam to create impressive, light-filled living spaces on all three decks, with…

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