Cruising Life

Popular Panama Posse Fleet Will Leave Mexico in December

By Peter Janssen on October 27, 2019 Cruising Life

The rapidly growing annual Panama Possé, a fleet of some 150 boats, will leave from Mexico on Dec. 5 for a 2,000 nm cruise to Panama. It is timed to pick up after the CUBAR fleet from San Diego ends its own voyage in La Paz. This year will be the third for the Panama Possé, which started with just 83 boats. It now will have power and sail vessels from 27 to 225 feet, and it will make stops in seven countries – Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama. It will start at Marina Puerto…

Crew Puts Boat on Autopilot. Falls Asleep. Lands in Cave

By Peter Janssen on October 23, 2019 Cruising Life

TowBoatUS San Diego responds to an incredibly strange distress call caused by a one-in-a-million missed waypoint: SAN DIEGO, Calif., Oct. 23, 2019 — “There are not many times I can say it after 30 years as a towboat captain, but this was a first,” says Capt. Rob Butler, owner of the TowBoatUS San Diego. Butler was describing his company’s recent response to a 26-foot power boat stuck inside a deep sandstone cave along a southern California cliff wall. Butler’s company is one of more than 300 locations across the nation that responds to over 70,000 requests annually for on-water assistance…

Other Than the Show, Here’s How To Enjoy Fort Lauderdale

By Peter Janssen on October 22, 2019 Cruising Life

If you’re one of the 110,000 people going to the big Fort Lauderdale boat show starting Oct. 30, or if you’re just going to Lauderdale at any other time, do yourself a favor and stay for a while. Lauderdale, in my opinion, is one of the most relaxed, enjoyable cities on the cruising boat circuit. The fact that it’s also a major boating center, virtually filled with marinas, boatyards and boating service operations, is just extra filling in the cake. There’s a reason that Fort Lauderdale is called the Venice of America. It has 165 miles of canals, often lined…

The Only Rule for Maine’s Pumpkin Regatta: It Has To Float

By Peter Janssen on October 21, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s something different: The Annual Pumpkin Regatta in Damariscotta, Maine, where racers paddle of power their super-sized, hollowed-out pumpkins around the harbor. Buzz Pinkham, who co-founded the regatta in 2007, won the powerboat division (as opposed to the paddleboat division), this year; see his picture above. The Regatta is part of the annual Damariscotta Pumpkinfest held over Columbus Day weekend. Up to 15,000 people attend each year. On land, Ed Pierpont set a new state record at the annual weigh-in with his 1,832-pound pumpkin. On the water, the regatta is held at high tide, and the only rule is that…

Text a Buoy on Great Lakes To Learn Sea Conditions

By Peter Janssen on October 15, 2019 Cruising Life

Lake Erie now has smart buoys you can text for water conditions, lake information By: Camryn Justice Boaters on Lake Erie can be prepared for conditions on the water before even leaving their homes, they just have to send a quick text to a buoy. (Yes, you read that right.) New smart buoys on the lake receive your texts and respond with details including water temperature, wave height and weather conditions. Each buoy is a part of the Great Lakes Observing System and has a specific number to text. They are located all across Lake Erie and are accessible to…

Used 213-Foot Cruising Boat For Sale: $250,000

By Peter Janssen on October 15, 2019 Cruising Life

Looking for a well-found cruising boat you can take anywhere in the world? Consider the USCGC Acushnet, a retired Navy rescue boat and Coast Guard Cutter. It’s for sale in Anacortes, Washington, for $250,000, and it’s hard to find another 213-foot cruiser with four working diesels for that price. You may have a hard time fitting the Acushnet into your slip, paying the fuel bill (it takes 191,000 gallons), or finding enough friends to fill the 80 berths on board. And forget about the Bahamas; it has a 19-foot draft. But it’s certainly sea-worthy, and it’s guaranteed to turn heads…

See the Winners of the First Gala Nordhavn Film Festival

By Peter Janssen on October 14, 2019 Cruising Life

Denzil Baynes of the Nordhavn 120 Aurora was the big – meaning $10,000 big – winner of the first Nordhavn Film Festival at the company’s headquarters in Dana Point, California, on Saturday night. (Baynes is the one holding the check in the picture above.) Some 200 people attended the black-tie, red-carpet, Hollywood-style event, which basically celebrated the Nordhavn culture of adventure and creativity. The top ten finalist videos were shown at the dinner. They were chosen by a panel of judges, which included film and television industry veterans, from 18 submissions. Everyone seemed impressed by the quality of the amateur…

Record-Breaking Tight Fit in the Corinth Canal. See Video

By Peter Janssen on October 14, 2019 Cruising Life

A British cruise liner just set a record as the largest vessel to transit the Corinth Canal, a four-mile-long, man-made cut that separates the Greek mainland from the Peloponnesian Peninsula. It was a tight fit. The liner, the MS Braemar, is 73’ 8” wide. The canal is 78’ 7” wide. (See the video below.) With little more than two feet to spare on each side, many of the ship’s 1,200 passengers could have reached out and touched the sides of the canal. Just west of Athens, the canal was opened in 1893, and serves as a shortcut for vessels going…

New 3D Printer Makes 25-Foot Boat in 72 Hours

By Peter Janssen on October 13, 2019 Cruising Life

The University of Maine just launched the world’s largest boat ever made by a 3D thermoplastic printer. The new patrol boat is 25 feet long, weighs 5,000 pounds and was built in just 72 hours. A representative of Guinness World Records was on hand at the university’s Advanced Structures and Composite Center in Orono to present three world’s records: for the world’s largest polymer 3D printer, the world’s largest 3D printed boat, and the largest solid 3D printed item. “This has never been done in the world,” said Habib Dagher, executive director of the composites center. “The purpose of this…

Presidential Yacht Sequoia Heads to Maine for Restoration

By Peter Janssen on October 10, 2019 Cruising Life

The historic presidential yacht Sequoia, built in 1925 and in a sad state of disrepair, is heading up to Maine for a complete restoration. It then will be displayed on the Washington, D.C., waterfront where it will be used to teach about American history and promote ocean conservation. The Sequoia served eight presidents, starting with Herbert Hoover, until Jimmy Carter put it up for auction in 1977. FDR, a former assistant secretary of the navy, used it to host foreign dignitaries. JFK, who commanded a PT boat in the Second World War, added a king-sized bed and celebrated his 46th…

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