Cruising Life

Captain of Dream Charter “Odorous” and “Abusive” Suits Say

By Peter Janssen on May 18, 2021 Charter, Cruising Life

Here’s a story about a dream charter in the Bahamas over the Christmas holidays that went terribly wrong, ending with two lawsuits seeking $10 million in damages and charging that the captain was “odorous, ill-tempered, curt and dismissive, outright angry and abusive.” The suits also say that instead of dropping the passengers off on Exuma Island, he cruised back to Nassau, leading to “false imprisonment” and “panic attacks, trauma, fear of death.” The name of the yacht is Dream, and it’s a 196’9” Abeking & Rasmussen launched in 2001. It charters from Burgess for $420,000 a week, and it has…

The Hinckley Picnic Boat, 25 Years Later

By co_admin on May 16, 2021 Cruising Life

I’ve been a fan of the Hinckley Picnic Boat ever since I tested hull number with Shep McKenney, then the president of the company, just after it launched in 1994 in Southwest Harbor, Maine. Since then, the Picnic Boat has become an icon, imitated and envied around the world. Here’s a great story from Bloomberg about how the Picnic Boat changed Hinckley and boating: Hinckley Yachts, a storied shipwright that was founded in 1928 and has been building out of Southwest Harbor, Maine, since 1933, has a rule: construct no boat until it’s been purchased. A client buys a boat…

Mississippi Reopens After Crack Found in Memphis Bridge

By Peter Janssen on May 14, 2021 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard has reopened the Mississippi to river traffic three days after it was closed because of a structural crack in the Hernando de Soto Bridge in Memphis. More than 45 tugs hauling 700 barges had been waiting for clearance on both sides of the bridge. We don’t have any word about how many recreational boats also were affected by the closure. The Coast Guard closed the river to all traffic between mile 736 and 737 after a crack was found in one of two 900-feet-long horizontal steel beams that are critical to the bridge’s integrity. Authorities said repairs…

Zeelander Building New, Quiet, High-End 48

By Peter Janssen on May 13, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Zeelander, the Dutch builder of high-end yachts, just announced that it’s building a new 48-foot Zeelander 5, replacing the award-winning Z44. The Zeelander fleet also includes a 55 and a 72. A rendering of the new Z5 is shown above. The new Z5 will be the second in a new generation of yachts for Zeelander, following the 72 (pictured below) that was launched in 2019. The company announced that it is changing its naming convention, so the Z72 will be rebranded as the Zeelander 7. Zeelander owner Sietse Koopmans says the new yacht will be made for people who want…

NAPS: Largest Gathering of Nordhavns Ever

By Peter Janssen on May 12, 2021 Cruising Life

Nordhavn owners got together in Poulsbo, Washington, last week, for their annual event called Nordhavn Across Puget Sound (NAPS). As it turned out, 37 Nordhavns came to the Port of Poulsbo Marina, and 13 more Nordhavn owners came without their boats. This was the largest gathering of Nordhavns ever, and more probably would have come except the border with Canada is closed because of the Covid-19 crisis. The NAPS rendezvous was started by Nordhavn owners in 2018 simply as a way to get together and share notes about their boats, stories about their adventures, and plans for voyages to come.…

Facing Charges, Man Buys Boat for Bahamas Defence Force

By Peter Janssen on May 10, 2021 Cruising Life

Here’s a different kind of fish tale, one with a bad start, but a surprise ending. On May 9, 2020, Henry Danzig, who lives in Tavernier on Key Largo, was coming back from a fishing trip in the Bahamas with his son and three friends on his 39-foot Contender, Bodacious. The Coast Guard boarded the boat and busted him. Danzig, 56, an advisor at Morgan Stanley and co-owner of a small diner, had 167 reef fish of various species on board that they had caught in the Bahamas (see the picture, above). Danzig did not have a license to fish…

How To Prepare for a Hurricane, from BoatUS

By co_admin on May 10, 2021 Cruising Life

SPRINGFIELD, Va., May 10, 2021 – It’s a double whammy for coastal boat owners this Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1 and runs through November 30. Not only are more storms predicted for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, but also the average annual number of storms has increased from 12 to 14 because of updated storm season data. Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is urging boaters to adjust to this new reality for the potential for more frequent storms that can damage, sink, or total their vessels, and offers free help – boat prep videos, downloadable…

Starving Gray Whale Lost in the Med

By co_admin on May 10, 2021 Cruising Life

By Alexandre Minguez (Reuters) A young grey whale lost in the Mediterranean, thousands of miles away from its natural habitat in the Pacific ocean, is desperately seeking its way home, but biologists are worried it may not survive. Grey whales normally migrate along the U.S. west coast, but biologists think that with global warming opening northern routes, the whale became lost and swam into the Atlantic ocean via the Arctic. Named Wally by biologists, the whale is around two years old and eight meters (26.25 ft) long, but his rapid weight loss is causing concern as he cannot find the…

EU Tariffs on U.S. Boats To Double on June 1

By Peter Janssen on May 9, 2021 Cruising Life

The European Union’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. boats is scheduled to increase, up to 50 percent, on June 1, a move that will cut even deeper into U.S. exports to that market. The current tariff is 25 percent. The National Marine Manufacturers Association says that since the tariff went into effect in 2018, U.S. boat exports to the EU have fallen by 42 percent. The EU is the U.S. boating industry’s second largest international market, after Canada. Earlier this year, the Biden Administration and the EU agreed to a four-month pause on tariffs related to World Trade Organization aircraft disputes,…

Ocean Alexander Launches 27E Tri-Deck Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on May 8, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Ocean Alexander has launched its new 27E, an 88-foot tri-deck motoryacht, the first in its Explorer series. Powered by twin V12, 1,650-hp MANs, the new 27E (it’s 27 meters long) registers a top speed of about 23 knots. Dial back to 8.5 knots, and it has a range of 1,260 nm. The new Ocean Alexander also has a relatively shallow (4’1”) draft, which means it can get into a lot of places that other large boats might have to bypass. The company says the new yacht, developed with British designer Evan K. Marshall, is meant for long-range cruising performance, comfort…

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