Cruising Life

Fall Boat Show Special: Boats 36 to 50 Feet

By Peter Janssen on September 16, 2020 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Here’s a look at just some of the new cruising boats, 36 to 50 feet, that, in normal times, you’d probably see at the fall boat shows this year: BRABUS AXOPAR 37 If you thought the original Axopar 37 was cool, take a look at the new version, the BRABUS Shadow 900, and it’s a collaboration between BRABUS, a German company that transforms luxury cars (think Mercedes-AMG) into even higher-end luxury performance vehicles, and Axopar, the innovative builder from Finland. For the Shadow 900, BRABUS starts with the platform for the Axopar 37 and then customizes it. “BRABUS Marine products…

Fall Boat Show Special: Boats 51 Feet and Up

By Peter Janssen on September 16, 2020 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Here’s a look at just some of the new cruising boats, 51 feet and up, that, in normal times, you’d probably see at the fall boat shows this year: KROGEN EXPRESS 52 Even with a flying bridge and raised pilothouse, the Krogen Express 52 manages to carry a classic low profile, enhanced by a long, flowing sheer line that emphasizes the boat’s distinctive profile. And the “Express” part of its name is not a misnomer: With twin 480-hp Yanmars the Krogen Express tops out at about 22 knots. Dial back to 8 knots and the boat has a range of…

Lauderdale Show Plans To Keep You Safe

By Peter Janssen on September 14, 2020 Cruising Life, Ft Lauderdale Boat Show

Most boat shows have been cancelled this fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Fort Lauderdale show has announced that it will open, as planned, for five days starting Wednesday, Oct. 28. But the show, the largest in-water show in the world, won’t be the same. This year will be the 61st annual boat show in Fort Lauderdale; the show has never been cancelled. Last year, about 100,000 people attended the show; some 1,300 boats were on display. The show is estimated to have a $1.3 billion impact on the state. Last week, the Broward County Commission announced that…

Why Are Orcas Attacking Boats Off Spain?

By Peter Janssen on September 14, 2020 Cruising Life

Orcas, aka killer whales, have attacked several boats off the coasts of Spain and Portugal in the past few months, and marine scientists are trying to figure out why. The black and white orcas, the largest in the dolphin family, are high intelligent social animals. They’re also very powerful; an adult male can grow to be 26 feet long and weigh 10,000 pounds. They often play in the bow waves of boats. But in the past two months several captains of boats off Spain and Portugal have issued distress calls after orcas have damaged their vessels. One attack, off Cape…

Croc Races Boat: See Video

By Peter Janssen on September 12, 2020 Cruising Life

Here’s a fairly frightening story about a crocodile racing next to a powerboat in Australia from republicworld.com. See the video: An incredible footage of a tiny crocodile racing along the speedboat like a dolphin has caught the attention of the internet. Almost 4.5metre long, the saltwater crocodile named ‘Tommy’ was filmed by a North Queensland fisherman on the Bloomfield River who said the little crocodile didn’t seem ‘very happy’. Shared by the page named Gators Daily on Twitter, the 13 seconds footage originally shot by Alec Dunn, shows the miniature reptile pop besides Alec in Queensland’s Cape York, as it dipped and reappeared,…

Aspen Launches All-New 35-Foot Power Cat

By Peter Janssen on September 11, 2020 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Aspen Power Catamarans just launched its all-new 35-foot C108 cruiser, powered by asymmetrical Yamaha outboards, and it hit a top speed of 25 knots and a fuel-efficient cruising speed of 19 knots, producing 2 nmpg. Larry Graf, Aspen’s founder and “chief adventurer,” designed the new proa-type cat so it could be trailered to new cruising grounds It has a beam of 10’ 8” and a combined boat and trailer weight of 12,500 pounds, so it could be towed by a ¾ ton pickup. Aspen owners are an adventuresome type, and some wanted a three-cabin boat that they could trailer easily…

Orca Who Carried Dead Calf Gives Birth Again

By Peter Janssen on September 8, 2020 Cruising Life

Here’s a story with a happy ending, from The New York Times: An orca that once spent 17 days carrying her dead calf — a dramatic saga of apparent mourning — has become a mother once again. The orca, identified by researchers as J35 and also known as Tahlequah, became a symbol in 2018 of the plight of the Southern Resident whales, which were 88 in number when they were listed as endangered in 2005 and have dwindled further since then. The birth of the new orca, which was seen for the first time by researchers on Saturday, brings the…

Riva, the Choice of Stars, Makes a Movie

By Peter Janssen on September 7, 2020 Cruising Life

Riva and the movies. They go together. The iconic Italian boat and the iconic movie stars who’ve owned one. Think Brigitte Bardot (pictured above), Sophia Loren, Grace Kelly, even James Bond, back in the day. Today, George Clooney is said to keep one at his waterfront villa on Lake Como, although when my wife and I cruised by on a Hinckley a few years ago we didn’t see George or the Riva; maybe he was driving it somewhere else on the lake at the time. Now Riva, part of the Ferretti Group, is celebrating Riva’s ties to the movies, by…

CEO Faces Criminal Charges in Lauderdale Crash

By Peter Janssen on September 6, 2020 Cruising Life

The cruise on a brand-new Hydra-Sports Custom 42 started out as a birthday celebration last Dec. 30 in Fort Lauderdale. It ended up as a tragedy, with one of the three passengers on board (the birthday girl) so badly injured that she’s had two major brain surgeries. Now the boat’s owner, the CEO of an insurance holding company, is facing criminal charges in a Florida court. The crash occurred just after midnight on Dec. 31, when Daniel Towriss, 47, drove his HCB 42 into the south jetty of the Port Everglades Inlet at a high speed. On board with him…

Expedition Yacht Cruises 500 Miles Through Arctic

By Peter Janssen on September 2, 2020 Cruising Life

Pioneer, a 151-foot-long expedition yacht with a rich history, just cruised 500 nautical miles through the Canadian Arctic for ten days, a voyage filled with icebergs, narwhals, whales, walruses, bears, and potential peril at every turn. The trip took the boat, designed by Vripack and built by Palmer Johnson in 1996, through the Canadian province of Nunavut, which is the size of western Europe but with only 29,000 people. The voyage started at the top of Baffin Island, basically across from Greenland and the start of the Northwest Passage, and then continued around glaciers and icebergs past Devon Island,…

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