Cruising Life

New Unmanned Fleet To Explore Ocean Floor

By Peter Janssen on October 20, 2020 Cruising Life

A Norwegian yard is building a fleet of unmanned exploration vessels, powered by Volvo Penta’s new D8 diesels, that will try to map the entire ocean floor by 2030. This will be the first time that a fleet of autonomous surface vessels, called Armada, will be used for underwater exploration. The Armada fleet will be run by Ocean Infinity, one of the world’s leading marine robotics companies. Founded in 2017, it is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with offices in Southampton, U.K. It hired Grovfjord Mek. Verksted in Norway to build the fleet of up to 13 vessels for entirely unmanned…

New Coast Guard Rules for VHF Radio Check

By Peter Janssen on October 20, 2020 Cruising Life

POSTED BY CWO KURT FREDRICKSON ON OCTOBER 19, 2020 • The Coast Guard Inspections and Compliance Directorate has issued MSIB 20-20 to inform mariners of the proper procedure for performing a VHF radio check. Sea Tow Automated Radio Check System no longer available: For several years, Sea Tow operated an Automated Radio Check System, which was available on VHF Channels 24 to 28 for the benefit of mariners in over 130 locations. However, on October 2nd, 2020 that service was discontinued. How to test a VHF Radio using Rescue 21: The U.S. Coast Guard continues to offer an automated Digital…

Maine: Summer of the Superyachts

By Peter Janssen on October 19, 2020 Cruising Life

Here’s a fun story from maineboats.com about the influx of superyachts this summer, largely because of the pandemic, but also because, well, Maine is simply one of the best cruising destinations in the world in any summer. MaineBoats Blog Not only did boat rentals and sales see a huge surge this summer as pandemic shutdowns sent more people out on the water. In addition more super-sized yachts than ever cruised along the Maine coast, visiting ports both big and small. Normally in the summer many of these boats head across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. But when Europe shut the…

New Dive Spot: The Museum of Underwater Art

By Peter Janssen on October 18, 2020 Cruising Life

Here’s a new cruising/diving/charter destination, although it is a bit far away: The Museum of Underwater Art, about 50 miles off the coast of Australia in the Great Barrier Reef. The non-profit museum, a highly creative venture, features sculptures of 25 people housed in a Coral Greenhouse some 53 feet under the surface (see them in the video below). The sculptures, all molded from real people and all anchored to the seafloor, were crafted by Jason deCaires Taylor, a British artist. As opposed to many other contemporary artists, Taylor used heavy-set models for his sculptures, thinking they would attract more…

Boat Fire Burns 13 in Lauderdale Music Video Shoot

By Peter Janssen on October 18, 2020 Cruising Life

By Brooke Baitinger and David Lyons Sun Sentinel FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Nearly two dozen people were aboard a boat that caught fire on the New River in Fort Lauderdale Thursday, and at least 13 have burn injuries of varying degrees, authorities said. The blaze broke out just before 2 p.m. on a 41-foot Wellcraft pleasure boat that was cruising the New River toward the Intracoastal Waterway. A blast rang out over the narrow waterway, and the next thing nearby boaters knew the boat was floating down the river, engulfed in flames. Multiple boaters called 911 to report the explosion as people fell or jumped into the water to escape…

New Study: Great Barrier Reef Has Lost Half Its Coral

By Peter Janssen on October 14, 2020 Cruising Life

(CNN) — Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has lost 50% of its coral populations in the last three decades, with climate change a key driver of reef disturbance, a new study has found. Researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, in Queensland, northeastern Australia, assessed coral communities and their colony size along the length of the Great Barrier Reef between 1995 and 2017, finding depletion of virtually all coral populations, they said Tuesday. Coral reefs are some of the most vibrant marine ecosystems on the planet — between a quarter and one third of all marine species…

New Navetta 64: Prize-Winning Beach Club

By Peter Janssen on October 13, 2020 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The Absolute Yachts Navetta 64 just won the Best Innovation of 2020 award at the World Yachts Trophies event in Cannes for its creative day-and-night beach club that opens from two slightly curved, watertight doors in the transom. By day, it serves as a patio or lounge on the ocean; by night, it’s an extra VIP stateroom with its own head and shower, a lot of privacy, and a chance to go swimming whenever the mood strikes. The new Navetta 64 is distinguished by other singular design trends, particularly the super-sized windows in the hull…

Whale Watching Aboard Idyll Time in Alaska

By Peter Janssen on October 13, 2020 Cruising Life

It’s the end of the season for Jeff and Susie Parker on Idyll Time, their Kadey-Krogen 48 North Sea Trawler, up in Petersburg, Alaska. They just posted their last wildlife pictures, of whales this time, that they took earlier this month in Frederick Sound for their blog idylltime.com. The Parkers, from Chattanooga, Tennessee, certainly qualify as veteran cruisers. After they bought Idyll Time new in 2006, they cruised up and down the East Coast, completed the Great Loop, and did the ICW so many times that they said they were getting bored. So two years ago they shipped the boat to…

Passengers Fall Off Boat During Photo Shoot. See Video

By Peter Janssen on October 13, 2020 Cruising Life

Here’s a weird story from Petapixel.com. This past weekend, all three occupants of a speedboat in Martin County, Florida, somehow fell overboard while “doing a photo shoot,” sending the unmanned boat careening towards the shore at full speed, where it hit a dock and went airborne. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office posted an aerial video of the incident on Facebook two days ago under the ALL CAPS headline: “Unmanned Out of Control Boat Goes Airborne After Smashing Into Concrete Dock, Ending Dangerous Ordeal.” In a description accompanying the video, the sheriff’s office says that all three people aboard were “doing…

U.S. Maritime Administration Warns of GPS Signal Loss

By Peter Janssen on October 12, 2020 Cruising Life, Electronics

Here’s another warning about possible GPS signal problems from the U.S. Maritime Administration, part of the Department of Transportation. It said it has received reports recently of lost or inaccurate GPS signals in various parts of the world. To be safe in areas where GPS is potentially unreliable, mariners are urged to use redundant nav systems. The Maritime Administration just issued its warning, called “Various GPS Interference.” It says, “Multiple instances of significant GPS interference have been reported worldwide in the maritime domain. This interference is resulting in lost or inaccurate GPS signals affecting bridge navigation, GPS-based timing, and communications…

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