Cruising Life

Converted Ferry Now a Luxury Liveaboard

By Peter Janssen on March 8, 2021 Cruising Life

If you’re looking for a large liveaboard, or an explorer yacht with a 10,000-nm range, you might want to consider Dot, a converted 154-foot Hong Kong ferry. It has one unique advantage: You don’t have to worry about turning around; it has props at each end, so the traditional notion of bow and stern are irrelevant. Dot was the flagship of the Hong Kong Star Ferry fleet when it was launched in 1988. It was built to handle 200 passengers. Its current owner, a Brit living in Hong Kong, was one of them, and commuted on it every day for…

New Leen 56: Long-Legged French Trimaran

By Peter Janssen on March 7, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Leen just launched its first power trimaran in La Rochelle, France, an innovative 56-foot explorer cruiser with hybrid power. It will have its official unveiling on April 10. Although the Leen 56 is the French yard’s first power tri, it’s hardly its first boat. Indeed, the company has been making well-received sailing trimarans for more than a decade under the Neel label. Leen is simply Neel spelled backward. Taking advantage of the trimaran’s volume (the beam is 27 feet), the Leen 56 makes creative use of the main deck. A large galley, dining area and lounge are on the port…

City Approves Palm Beach Show, Opening March 25

By Peter Janssen on March 3, 2021 Cruising Life, Palm Beach Boat Show

Here’s some good news: The City of West Palm Beach just officially approved the Palm Beach boat show that starts March 25. Read the story from the Palm Beach Daily News: The City of West Palm Beach on Monday granted final approval for the 35th annual Palm Beach International Boat Show, which is scheduled for four days starting March 25 along Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. Organizers last month announced dates for the show with the caveat that the city needed to review and OK the boat show’s COVID-19 plans before giving the event the official go-ahead. Strict safety procedures that event…

Aerodynamic 50-Knot Cat Launches in Monaco

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

Here’s a look at a brand-new vessel, a 50-knot catamaran from France, that represents a marriage of marine and aeronautical engineering. Indeed, the new cat, named Monaco One, is shaped like an inverted airplane wing, and it’s so efficient that it uses only half as much fuel as a comparable monohull would. Monaco One is a product of the Advanced Aerodynamic Vessels yard in La Rochelle, France. The 39-foot cat was just delivered to the Ports of Monaco to serve as a 12-passenger ferry from Port Hercules to a new marina in Ventimiglia, Italy. The Monaco government says it’s much…

New Absolute Navetta 64: Prize-Winning Cruiser

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

The new, award-winning Absolute Navetta 64 is a large, comfortable cruiser with a few surprises that will only make it hard to leave once you’ve spent much time on board. You can immediately see some of the best features of the Italian-built yacht, including the unusually large, uninterrupted side windows that extend all the way back from the helm to the aft deck. And you’ll also focus on the enlarged windows in the bow. But what you won’t realize until you’re on the Navetta is that those bow windows admit an enormous amount of light to the master stateroom, which…

Meet Orca, Your New Marine Co-Pilot

By Peter Janssen on March 2, 2021 Cruising Life, Electronics

Orca, a brand-new Norwegian startup, just introduced its new wireless navigation system that is designed to become your “marine co-pilot.” A combination of hardware and software, Orca is organized around a built-from-scratch interface that is meant to make your cruising life safer, easier and more up-to-date. Orca’s founders say they started with a blank slate to rethink the entire design of marine electronics, looking for an iPhone moment. They ended up with a system that includes a rugged tablet from Samsung, a mounting arm, an interface for quick attachment and charging, and an Orca Core computing base unit that connects…

Apollonian 52: A Totally New Raised Pilothouse Yacht

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

Meet the new Apollonian 52, a three-stateroom, solidly built, affordable raised pilothouse motoryacht that’s built for the owner-operator. Apollonian Yachts, a totally new brand, is the result of a collaboration between storied naval architect Howard Apollonio and veteran broker Vic Parcells. Built in Shanghai, China, hull number one has already been sold in Seattle, and hull number two is ready for viewing there. Apollonio has been designing yachts for more than 50 years; his credits include Diaship/Heesen, Hampton/Regency, Cheoy Lee, Christensen, Westport, West Bay/SonShip and many others. For his part, Parcells is a partner at Crow’s Nest Yacht Sales in…

New Study: Gulf Stream Weakest in 1,000 Years

By Peter Janssen on March 1, 2021 Cruising Life

A new study says the Gulf Stream is now the weakest in more than 1,000 years, with major implications for future storms in Europe and sea-level rise along the east coast of the United States. Some of the world’s leading experts studied the circulation patterns of the Atlantic Ocean, including the currents of the Gulf Stream flowing from south of Florida up to Greenland, and published their results in the journal Nature Geoscience. The circulation, they said, is now “in its weakest state in over a millennium.” Their research showed that the current has slowed by 15 percent since 1950,…

NOAA Starts Transition to All Electronic Charts

By Peter Janssen on February 27, 2021 Cruising Life

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is starting its transition to all electronic charts. It announced its Sunsetting of Raster Nautical Charts in the Federal Register in 2019, spelling out a five-year plan to gradually end production of traditional paper and raster charts starting this year. The sunset plan starts this month with the end of the current paper chart, number 18665, of Lake Tahoe, on the California/Nevada border. After August, NOAA’s electronic chart will be the only NOAA chart of the area. NOAA says the electronic charts are easier to update and maintain than paper charts and they will…

After a Year in Mexico, Tangaroa Heads North

By Peter Janssen on February 24, 2021 Cruising Life

Tom Campbell and Beth Davidow have spent the past year cruising, diving and filming on their Maritimo 51 in Mexico, primarily in the Sea of Cortez. Now, the couple (he’s 80 and a wildlife and underwater cinematographer, she’s a scientist and documentary filmmaker) are heading north, up the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula, ready to pursue the next stage in their five-year cruising adventure. Campbell and Davidow bought their new Maritimo, named Tangaroa, last February from Bill King of Maritimo Yacht Sales in Newport Harbor, California. They decided to live aboard full time, cruising and producing documentaries, starting in…

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