Cruising Life

Network of Currents in Atlantic Breaking Down

By Peter Janssen on August 8, 2021 Cruising Life

The crucial network of currents in the Atlantic, including the Gulf Stream, is slowing down, and is now the weakest it’s been in more than 1,000 years, according to a new study published in the British journal Nature Climate Change. The slowdown is reaching a tipping point with dramatic consequences, including a more rapid rise in sea levels along the east coast of the United States, colder temperatures in Europe, reduced rainfall in parts of Africa, and even more monsoons in the tropics. The study looked at the circulation patterns of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, the conveyer…

Coast Guard Offloads Record $1.4 Billion in Drugs

By Peter Janssen on August 7, 2021 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard just announced its biggest drug haul in history, offloading more than $1.4 billion worth of cocaine and marijuana from the 418-foot cutter James in Port Everglades, Florida. The James was flanked by the 181-foot Royal Canadian Navy coastal defense vessel Shawinigan at a press conference announcing the offloading. The drugs, 59,700 pounds of cocaine and 1,430 pounds of marijuana, were seized by the James, the Shawinigan and eight other American and Dutch ships in 27 different seizures in the eastern Pacific off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America and in the Caribbean. “Interdicting these drugs…

Vripack Launches Luxury Version of California 52

By Peter Janssen on August 4, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Vripack, the Dutch yacht design studio that is working with Nordhavn for some of its larger yachts, just launched a semi-custom California 52 XT weekender in Ibiza. Built by Waterdream in the Netherlands, the California 52 XT is bound to turn heads anywhere in the world, and it has a two-tone paint job that matches the colors of a BMW M8. Waterdream, founded by Prince Bernhard van Oranje of the Netherlands, won the Best Innovation Award at the Cannes World Yacht Trophies with the California 52 last year. At that point, the Prince got the idea to make a special…

Vicem Offers Restyled 65 Classic in Fiberglass

By Peter Janssen on August 3, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Vicem, the highly regarded Turkish builder, is reintroducing its restyled and re-engineered 65 Classic yacht, but this time owners have a choice of building it in cold-molded wood (per the 2018 original) or in fiberglass. The company says it has moved to the fiberglass option for a faster build time, as well as for lower maintenance costs. It now has three of the new 65 Classics under construction, two in fiberglass and one cold-molded. The latest version of the 65, with its low profile, long sheerline, beautiful tumblehome and timeless Downeast-style looks, has a new full-beam master stateroom amidships. It…

Sessa Launches Innovative Fly 68 Gullwing

By Peter Janssen on August 3, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sessa has launched its innovative, open Fly 68 Gullwing, with original glass doors that fold up from the sides of the salon. If they remind you of the iconic Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing (produced from 1954 to 1963), that’s not an accident. The Sessa gullwings create a large opening in the salon; they fold up and out of the way, providing immediate access to the wide side decks while flooding the salon with light and fresh air. With its raked-back windshield, low, open flybridge, windows all around and enormous sun pad on the foredeck, the new Sessa flagship is a…

“Best & Brightest” New Autopilots

By co_admin on August 3, 2021 Cruising Life, Electronics

Autopilots are becoming almost essential equipment on new cruising boats, but how to choose the right one? To help you out, the Marine Electronics Journal asked manufacturers to single out their Best & Brightest autopilots for review. These are not necessarily the latest models, or those with the most features, but ones that are the most popular or technologically advanced. Here are the replies from Garmin, Simrad, Raymarine, ComNav, Furuno, Octopus, SI-TEX, and B&G: Garmin’s Reactor 40 hydraulic autopilot (pictured at top) keeps you on course at cruising speeds, minimizes heading error, reduces power consumption and more, so you can…

Linssen Launches New 50 Coastal Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on August 2, 2021 Cruising Life

The brand-new Linssen 500GS is the largest open-cockpit boat the Dutch yard has built since it was founded in 1949. Although it was designed for cruising the inland waterways of the Netherlands and France (and anywhere else in Europe), the 500GS would be equally at home in coastal cruises in the U.S. or on the Great Loop. With its air draft of just 10’ 8,” the newest Linssen could easily slide under most of the bridges in Florida and the Southeast. The Linssen has a feature that could appeal to owners in colder climes, as well (not surprising, with its…

SpaceX Alums Build 40-mph Electric Boat

By Peter Janssen on August 2, 2021 Cruising Life

Arc Boat Company, a new high-tech company with heavy duty Silicon Valley funding, is now selling a 24-foot, 40-mph, all-electric boat powered by a 200kWh battery. The company is taking orders for the new Arc One, costing $300,000, with the first boat scheduled for delivery by the end of the year. So far, Arc, based in Los Angeles, has ten employees. All but one of them, CEO Mitch Lee, have worked for SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space exploration company. Lee founded the company with Ryan Cook; they studied mechanical engineering together at Northwestern University, and then went on to work at…

Amphibious Luxury RV Hits 7 Knots in Water

By Peter Janssen on August 2, 2021 Cruising Life

Just in case you’ve ever thought of driving your luxury motorhome into the water, take a look at the amphibious Terra Wind by CAMI that travels 80 mph on land and 7 knots when it’s floating. The Terra Wind is 42’ 6” long with an 8’ 6” beam; it weighs 33,000 pounds, or a bit more than a school bus, and it has a draft of 3’ 5.” It’s driven by a single 330-hp Cat turbo diesel, with an automatic transmission for the road and a marine gearbox for the water. It has two 19-inch bronze props. It comes with…

Boaters Camp Out Waiting for Slip Space

By Peter Janssen on August 1, 2021 Cruising Life

Here’s a sign of the times. Boat owners in Scituate, Massachusetts, on Boston’s South Shore, camped out in their tents next to the harbor master’s office for as long as four nights waiting for a slip to open up there. Boat sales soared during the pandemic, particularly among first-time buyers. Now many of them are discovering the unpleasant truth: They don’t have a place to put them. Across the U.S., last year was a 13-year-high for boat sales (and 9 percent above 2019), according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. The number of first-time boat buyers rose for the first…

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