Cruising Life

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…

RNLI Rescues Little Girl at Sea. See Video

By co_admin on June 3, 2021 Cruising Life

Here’s a great story, pictures and video of a crew from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution rescuing a little girl who had drifted out to see on a rubber raft. The RNLI video is at the bottom. The story from The Sun is here: THIS is the dramatic moment a tearful girl was rescued by a heroic RNLI speedboat squad as she floated out to sea in a rubber dinghy. The terrified child, believed to have been eight years old, was pushed about half a mile out to sea by offshore wind at Rhyl, Wales. The moment the incredible RNLI…

Fjord 40: A Less-Is-More Success Story

By Peter Janssen on June 2, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

About half a dozen years ago, I cruised on a then-new Fjord 40 from Key West to Miami. There were four of us on board, and we stopped along the way at the over-the-top Little Palm Island Resort, where the dockmaster was more than happy to have us stay for a while because the boat was so stunning. The Fjord, with its post-modern, straight-line, minimalist Bauhaus-on-the-water design, was just about the polar opposite from my own much-beloved Grand Banks 36. But I guess opposites attract, because I also loved the Fjord. It performed, it had style, it was unique. With…

New Palm Beach GT60: Sleek and Fast Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on June 1, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The latest Palm Beach GT60 just made its debut at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show below Brisbane in Australia. The sleek, sexy, low-slung sedan with a classic tumblehome and long sheerline drew the crowds and admirers the brand is known for. The standard GT60 comes with two large staterooms with double beds and generous en suite heads and showers. It also has a modern gourmet galley and both indoor and outdoor dining and social areas. Beyond its head-turning looks, the GT60 performs. The boat has a low center of gravity, and its warped-V hull slices through the waves (instead…

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