Living aboard a boat can be one of life’s true pleasures. I know. I lived on my Grand Banks 36 for a few years, including winters, in Norwalk Cove, Connecticut. So this story in the New York Post (home of the famous headline: “Headless Man in Topless Bar”) caught my eye. It’s not exactly the way I lived aboard, but it’s fun, and certainly tells how some young people are finding an alternative to the city’s soaring rental prices. http://nypost.com/2016/08/31/the-crazy-but-true-tales-of-new-yorkers-who-live-on-boats/

http://www.ybw.com/pictures/motorboats/seafire-the-new-military-style-luxury-sports-yacht-41137I know this is a bit beyond our normal purview, but it’s just too cool to miss. After all, when the designers say they want you to think of James Bond, Ernest Hemingway, Clark Gable and Cary Grant, who are we to quibble? Here’s a first look at the new Brit-designed Seafire, a combination of a PT boat and a Spitfire. Be the first on your block… http://www.ybw.com/pictures/motorboats/seafire-the-new-military-style-luxury-sports-yacht-41137

Here’s some great  detailed information about how to prepare your boat – on land or on the water – from BoatU.S. Plus a detailed worksheet about how to protect your boat that you can print out, save for yourself and give to your marina. Two major points: Act sooner rather than later, and protect yourself first, not your boat. Take a look. :http://www.boatus.com/hurricanes/assets/pdf/HurricaneWarning.pdfhttp://www.boatus.com/hurricanes/assets/pdf/HurricaneWarning.pdf

A new study finds that the Greenland shark, which is about 15 feet long and not a pretty beast under anybody’s definition, lives for about 400 years – plus or minus about 120 years – but who’s counting. Either way, they’re the longest-lived vertebrate by a long shot. These predators only grow by about a centimeter a year, so in the past researchers have had trouble tracking their age. Here’s how they’ve come up with some answers: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/08/greenland-shark-may-live-400-years-smashing-longevity-record

The 545-foot long Windoc, a wheat carrier, was half way through Welland Canal Bridge 11 in Ontario, Canada, at 5 knots when the lift bridge suddenly descended – wiping out the wheelhouse and setting off a fire on board. Here’s an incredible video of the accident, one of the most dramatic I’ve ever seen, plus a government report on the whole affair. It’s hard to believe that no one was killed. https://gcaptain.com/windoc-incident-photos-video-tsb-report/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gcaptain+%28gCaptain.com%29

In the past, the fabled Northwest Passage connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific across the top of Canada has been one of the most dangerous spots on earth. Some of the world’s most experienced explorers and sea captains (and their crews) have perished there, most famously Sir John Franklin, a British naval hero, who left England in 1845 to explore the passage with two ships and 128 men; they were never seen again. Five years ago my friend and former NBC documentary producer Sprague Theobald tackled the passage on his Nordhavn 57, cruising 8,500 miles from Newport, RI, to Seattle…