Cruising Life

Ten People on Boats Killed in Brazil Tragedy

By Peter Janssen on January 10, 2022 Cruising Life

In a freak accident, ten people were killed when a cliff face fell onto their boats on a popular tourist lake in Brazil. Another two dozen were injured, but only two remained in the hospital overnight. Local authorities said the rock face fell after several days of intense rain the area. The accident occurred on Lake Furnas in Minas Gerais state, about 260 miles north of Sao Paulo. The lake is along a series of picturesque destinations popular in the summer, and visitors take boats out to watch the waterfalls in the emerald-colored water. Brazil’s navy sent a team to…

10,000-Mile Adventure Hit by Covid

By Peter Janssen on January 9, 2022 Cruising Life

Sergio Davi, the Italian adventurer, hit an unexpected road bump on his 10,000-nm voyage from Palermo to Los Angeles on his Nuova Jolly 38 RIB. He tested positive for Covid after he landed on Grand Canary Island (see the picture above). Davi has just mild symptoms and self-isolated in a hotel. He hopes to be able to resume his Ocean to Ocean RIB Adventure in one or two weeks. The longest ocean crossings of the entire trip will face him when he starts again; first, an almost 900-nm leg from Grand Canary to Cape Verde, and then an almost 1,800-nm…

Coast Guard: New Rules After Dive Boat Tragedy

By Peter Janssen on January 6, 2022 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard just announced that it will issue a new set of interim rules covering small passenger vessels as a result of its investigation of the fire that sank that dive boat Conception off the coast of Southern California on Sept. 2, 2019, killing 33 passengers and one crew member. The interim rules are the Coast Guard’s first step toward implementing requirements required by statute. They address additional fire requirements, including fire detection and suppression systems, escape avenues, exit drills, firefighting training, watchman monitoring devices, and the handling of flammable devices, particularly rechargeable batteries. The rules follow many of…

Futuristic RaceBird for Electric-Boat Racing Circuit

By Peter Janssen on January 5, 2022 Cruising Life

The 24-foot, electric-powered, foiling RaceBird certainly doesn’t qualify as one of the cruising boats that we usually cover, but I think it illustrates the growing interest in electric boats around the world. The RaceBird is now being built at Victory Marine in the UK. It was designed by SeaBird Technologies and has partnerships with Mercury Racing for its propulsion system and Simrad and Navico for its electronics. A prototype of the boat was introduced at Monaco this fall, launched by the founders of the new E1 racing circuit; that’s similar to the Formula 1 circuit for cars but this is…

Okeechobee Lock Closed Until March 31

By Peter Janssen on January 5, 2022 Cruising Life

Well, it’s happened. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has closed the St. Lucie Lock, effectively shutting down the Okeechobee Waterway for boats hoping to take the shortcut from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast of Florida until March 31. The closure started on Jan. 4. The Army Corps said the lock is closed or maintenance for the first total closure in ten years. The maintenance is needed to repair the lock’s aging and damaged infrastructure, and the lock will have to be dewatered so crews can replace corroded steel structures, install new gate seals, and repair Manatee Protection…

Hynova Launching Hydrogen-Powered 42

By Peter Janssen on January 4, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Hynova, a French startup committed to building the first hydrogen-powered recreational motor boat, has come a very long way in a very short time. Chloé Zaied, an entrepreneurial, climate-conscious French yacht captain, founded the company in January, 2020. She drove the first demonstrator, the Hynova 40, around the harbor at the Cannes show in September. Now, Hynova is building the first of its production boats, the Hynova 42, in La Ciotat Shipyards near the Riviera in the south of France. The Hynova 42 will be 41’ 9” long with a 12’ 4” beam and a 16,000-pound displacement. It will be…

CL Yachts Launches New, Prize-Winning 96

By Peter Janssen on January 4, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

CL Yachts has just launched its innovative, prize-winning CLX96 in Hong Kong, and it’s meant to have the luxurious conveniences of a contemporary flybridge motoryacht with the offshore capabilities of an expedition yacht. The CLX96 is the first in the company‘s line of Sea Activity Vessels, with a larger-than-usual amount of interior volume for comfortable living. It also is the first yacht ever designed by Jozeph Forakis from Milan and New York. The yard said it turned to Forakis to bring a “rebel’s insight” into the 96’s lines, and he said he was inspired by the New York City loft…

Sunseeker Plans New Superhawk 55 Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on January 4, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sunseeker just announced that it’s building a new Superhawk 55 luxury performance cruiser, the first Superhawk the British company has launched since 2009. The aggressively styled Superhawk 55 is built for sporty handling and blue-water performance, powered by twin 725-hp Volvo IPS950 pod drives. The new Superhawk has the long, low profile of its predecessors, with a wraparound curved windshield. The new centered helm station is flanked by two navigators’ seats. In a change from previous models, the lower deck houses a salon and galley amidships and two cabins fore and aft. The long hull-side windows providing light to the…

Spirit Building Retro 35 Foiler with Electric Power

By Peter Janssen on January 3, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Spirit Yachts is working with BAR Technologies in the UK to build a high-tech, electric-powered, foiling speedboat that’s modeled on an American Gold Cup racer from the 1920s. The new boat, called the Spirit 35 Foiler, will have an Alaskan yellow-cedar frame covered with carbon fiber, solid titanium retractable foilers, and African Sipo wood topsides. Sean McMillan, the CEO and chief designer of Spirit Yachts, says he drew the boat along the lines of the classic 30-foot Baby Bootlegger racer that was powered by a converted World War 1 type Hispano Suiza aircraft engine and won the Gold Cup in…

New: Electric Motors for Your Kayak

By Peter Janssen on January 2, 2022 Cruising Life

Like many of us, you like to paddle your kayak at the end of a cruising day, once you’ve dropped the hook and you just want to relax and explore a bit. But after a while your arms get tired; the next cove is just a bit too far away. Now PacMotor, a startup company in Fort Myers, Florida, has something to help you out: A new system that lets you mount two electric-powered motors, one on either side, to the hull of your kayak. The company says the motors can power a ten-foot kayak at 5 mph for about…

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