Cruising Life

ACR Introduces Two New Rescue Kits

By Peter Janssen on February 20, 2021 Cruising Life

While you’re still planning for the coming cruising season, think about the rescue equipment you have on board. Is it up to date? Could you put your hands on it in a real emergency, particularly at night? Or is this just something you’d rather not think about. Well, as the old saying goes, prepare for the worst, plan for the best. This is particularly true for anyone thinking about cruising offshore, or in any major body of water (Lake Michigan immediately comes to mind here). Now there’s some good news from ACR, which just introduced two new rescue kits, making…

Hampton Endurance 658: Easy-Living, Long-Range Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on February 17, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

A new Hampton Endurance 658, one of the company’s most popular long-range cruisers, will be ready for delivery this spring in Seattle. With twin 1,000-hp CAT 12.9 diesels, the four-stateroom, four-head yacht reaches a top speed of about 19 knots, and has a range of 1,300-nm at 8.6 knots. The Endurance 658 is built for serious cruising couples or families. It is remarkably user-friendly, with wing docking stations on both sides of the aft deck, including engine controls and bow and stern thrusters. Large rudders also help with low-speed maneuvering. And it offers a large margin of safety for long-range…

Coming Soon: “New Look” Azimut Magellano 66

By Peter Janssen on February 16, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Azimut will launch its “new look” Magellano 66 this spring, a major upgrade of the popular Italian long-range cruiser it introduced five years ago. The new look includes a redrawn flybridge, with a hardtop over the helm area, and much larger windows in the salon, letting in lots of natural light. The new Magellano will be powered by twin 850-hp MAN diesels. The original Magellano 66 had twin 800-hp Volvos that produced a top speed of 23 knots and a range of 1,000 nm at 9 knots. The new version keeps Azimut’s “dual mode” hull that offers a smooth ride…

6 Pirates’ Skeletons Found in 1717 Wreck off Cape Cod

By Peter Janssen on February 16, 2021 Cruising Life

Archeologists have found six skeletons in the 1717 wreck of a British pirate ship off Wellfleet on Cape Cod. The 110-foot ship, the Whydah Gally, sank in a storm, killing all but two of the 146 men on board, including its captain, Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy, and burying tons of silver and gold treasure. The archeologists found one complete skeleton and portions of five more. Some had broken bones, probably from when the ship capsized. One of the pirates died with a pistol in his hand and metal, probably gold, in his pocket. Experts at the Whydah Pirate Museum in…

Sunseeker Launches New Low-Profile 65 Sport Yacht

By Peter Janssen on February 16, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Take a look, a good look, at the flybridge on the new Sunseeker 65 Sport Yacht – if you can find it. On this low-profile, heavily sculpted Sunseeker, the bridge, with its revolutionary Sky Helm, is almost lost well aft in the silhouette of the boat. The Sunseeker’s vast one-piece windshield blends into the section above the salon where the sunroof merges with the wind deflector at the start of the bridge and its sports-car-like upper helm. The low-slung helm there has twin pivoting seats on the port side flanking a console with the yacht’s controls, including a joystick for the…

Tiara Launches New 48 with 3 600-hp Outboards

By Peter Janssen on February 15, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Tiara just launched its new 48 Luxury Sport, the company’s largest outboard model, with three of Mercury’s groundbreaking 600-hp V12 Verado outboards. At its introduction at Mercury’s Lake X testing facility in Florida, the new Tiara topped out at 60.1 mph, with a range of 394 miles at 34.6 mph. Tiara was one of Mercury’s partners in developing the monster 7.6 liter outboards, and the new 48 Luxury Sport is the builder’s first outboard under the Tiara Yachts name. The pairing of Mercury’s innovative outboards with the Holland, Michigan, builder, is the latest example of the growing popularity of outboard…

Restored 1947 Classic 80-Foot Trumpy for Sale

By Peter Janssen on February 15, 2021 Cruising Life

If you want to arrive at your next cruising destination in style, a restored classic 1947, 80-foot Trumpy raised-pilothouse motoryacht should do the job. The owner says he spent $4 million, three years and 233 gallons of varnish restoring the Trumpy, now named BB, bringing it back to its original condition. The restoration included rebuilding the engines, twin 1961 234-hp Detroit 6-71 naturally-aspirated diesels. The boat cruises at 10 knots and tops out at 13 knots (but on this beauty, who’s in a hurry?). The boat’s hull was built at the Trumpy/Mathis yard in Camden, New Jersey, and then towed…

Azimut 85 Sinking Off Marco Island

By Peter Janssen on February 14, 2021 Cruising Life

The motoryacht SHMILY, a 2001, 85-foot Azimut, ran aground and is sinking off the Isles of Capri near Marco Island, Florida. SHMILY, from Orange, Beach, Alabama, is powered by twin 1,825-hp Cats, has a top speed of 30 knots, a draft of six feet, and a displacement of 85 tons. It was declared a total loss after it hit one of the sandbars in the area that locals say shift frequently. “Where the sandbars are today, come back in two weeks and they could be in different spots,” Beau Middlebrook, a local captain, told NBC-2.com. “Unless you are here every…

Formula Launches New 50-Foot, 2,400-hp Outboard Flagship

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

Formula just launched its new flagship, the 500 Super Sport Crossover, and it’s powered by four of Mercury’s new V12, 600-hp Verado outboards. Formula was one of Mercury’s partners in the introduction of the giant outboards at Mercury’s famed testing facility at Lake X in Florida. The new luxurious Formula takes advantage of the new 7.6 liter outboards by enlarging its swim platform so it becomes both a social and a watersports center. On the new Mercs, only the underwater gearcase moves to steer the boat; the powerhead remains stable. That means you can mount several of them closer together,…

Coast Guard Rescues 3 Stranded on Island 33 Days

By Peter Janssen on February 10, 2021 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard has rescued three Cubans who were stranded on an uninhabited island between the Florida Keys and Cuba for 33 days and survived by eating coconuts. A Coast Guard helicopter flew the three, a married couple and another man, to a hospital in Key West where they were reported to be a bit malnourished but otherwise in good shape. The three Cubans said their boat capsized in rough water and they swam to the island, Anguilla Cay, almost five weeks ago. They built a makeshift hut out of sticks and cloth and said they ate coconuts, conch and…

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