Cruising Life

BVI Update: What’s Open (A Lot), and What’s To Come

By Peter Janssen on June 18, 2019 Cruising Life

BVI Update – Latest BVI News Published: June 17, 2019 Tina Huewe Comments Almost 2 years have passed since Hurricanes Irma and Maria swept through the Caribbean. For many months after, we worried and answered questions like “So how are things?” and “What’s open?” when customers inquired about their favorite snorkeling spots, beach bars, and restaurants in the British Virgin Islands. By now it’s luckily much easier to compose a short list of businesses that have NOT yet reopened than citing the hundreds of establishments that are back to business as usual and that every day welcome yachtsmen from…

Ten Things that Annoy Boat Owners. Pay Heed

By Peter Janssen on June 17, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s some great advice from Captain Frank Taylor about ten things that annoy boat owners. They ring true; we’ve all been there. (You can find him at www.theshipslogg.com.) Here’s his list: If you ask me, boaters are some of the best people in the world. I’m not sure why, but they are. Maybe it is because they have more fun than most people or maybe it is because they don’t worry themselves with trivial issues such as getting their wills together before they die. After all, the only thing that will be left is a well-used boat, a few life…

For a New Charter Destination: Try the Turks & Caicos on an Axopar 37

By Peter Janssen on June 17, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s a fresh charter idea: Try a new Axopar 37 Sun-Top with twin 300-hp Mercury Verado outboards in the gorgeous waters of the Turks & Caicos. The Axopar, named MV Bonita, is run by Ocean Frontiers, a private charter company, and it can reach all the hidden cays, dive spots and soft white-sand beaches throughout the Turks & Caicos. The Turks & Caicos, at the southern tip of the Bahamas, are a paradise for divers, with the third largest coral system in the world. Scuba sites include a 14-mile-long barrier reef on the north shore and a 7,000-feet-deep underwater wall…

Save Your Engine: Watch for More E15 at Gas Pumps This Summer

By Peter Janssen on June 17, 2019 Cruising Life

As a result of a recent Environmental Protection Agency ruling, you’ll see more E15 at gas pumps this summer. And E15 (fuel with 15 percent ethanol) can damage your boat’s engine. Previously, the EPA had banned E15 from June 1 to Sept. 15 over concerns that it contributed to smog on hot days. Many outdoor and boating groups, including BoatUS, wanted the EPA to keep the summer blackout. The problem is that E15 is proven to damage boat engines and fuel systems; federal law also prohibits its use in recreational boat engines, and using E15 can void the engine’s warranty.…

Florida Passes “Carfax for Boats” Title Law To Protect Used Boat Buyers

By Peter Janssen on June 16, 2019 Cruising Life

Florida has just passed a new “Carfax for boats” law designed to keep people from unwittingly buying a stolen or damaged vessel. It’s the Uniform Certificate of Title for Vessels Act and it will protect you when you buy a used boat there. Read about it from WJXT News4Jax here: By Brittany Muller – Reporter Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a law that is being called the “Carfax for boats.” The Uniform Certificate of Title for Vessels Act is designed to help prevent boaters from buying a stolen or damaged vessel. The law will provide title protection, meaning it will help the…

New 20-foot Bay Breeze Boat: An Inflatable Party Float

By Peter Janssen on June 16, 2019 Cruising Life

The new Six-Person Inflatable Bay Breeze Boat isn’t exactly the typical blue-water cruising boat we usually write about, but it does seem like a hoot. And you certainly won’t have to worry about the fuel and maintenance costs. The new inflatable is about 20 feet long with a 10-foot beam and it weighs 62 pounds when it’s not inflated. It comes from Sun Pleasure Inflatable, the same people who build those unicorn and pink flamingo floats you may have seen recently. The Bay Breeze is built to resemble a real boat; it has a swim platform, comfortable U-shaped seating in…

Help the Coast Guard Find a Hoax Caller

By Peter Janssen on June 14, 2019 Cruising Life

BALTIMORE – The Coast Guard would like the public’s help to identify a suspected hoax caller, who has been transmitting distress calls since late March around Ocean City. Sector Maryland-National Capital Region watchstanders have been receiving a steady stream of suspected or confirmed hoax radio calls, believed to be from the same individual. Listen to the hoax call HERE The calls in Ocean City were made on VHF-FM marine band channel 16, a channel designated only for hailing and distress calls. The caller has stated that they were “going down with the ship” and regularly broadcasts “mayday, mayday, mayday,” along with…

First Look: New 50-mph MJM 53z Flagship with Four 400-hp Mercury Verados

By Peter Janssen on June 12, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s a first look at the brand-new MJM 53z with four 400-hp Mercury Verado outboards, just launched at the Boston BoatWorks. In its initial trials in Boston Harbor, the new Doug Zurn-designed, Down-East beauty topped out at 50 mph with full fuel and five people on board. The acceleration, for a luxurious 53-foot yacht, was a pleasing 0 to 20 mph in six seconds. After the trials, MJM posted the picture above on social media. The 53z is MJM’s new flagship and its latest outboard-powered boat, after the 35z and the 43z; the company says it’s the largest outboard express…

New Horizon V68: Superyacht Concepts for an Owner-Operator

By Peter Janssen on June 12, 2019 Cruising Life

The new Horizon V68, with its distinctive plumb bow and aggressive pilothouse, is designed to provide superyacht amenities in an owner-operator size range. Horizon worked with superyacht designer Jonathan Quinn Barnett of Seattle to create the new 68 as a long-range cruiser on an under-70-feet platform. One of the largest builders in Taiwan, Horizon just completed the first hull of its new flagship, a 140-footer. It applied many ideas from the larger yacht into the new 68, including the possibility for a lot of customization. You can order the 68 with three or four staterooms, for example, or with the…

When He’s Not Singing, Andrea Bocelli Loves To Go Cruising, and He Just Bought 86-foot Expedition Yacht with 6,700 nm Range

By Peter Janssen on June 11, 2019 Cruising Life

Who knew? Andrea Bocelli, one of the greatest musical talents in the world, loves to go cruising. The Italian tenor, who’s been blind since he was 12, just bought his latest boat, a steel-hulled 86-foot expedition boat built by Cantiere della Marche in 2015. Named Stella del Nord, the boat is the fourth in the Italian yard’s 86 series, and it’s the eighth boat that Bocelli has bought in the past 19 years. Bocelli told the yard he wanted to do more long-range cruising with his family, and he traded in the 72-foot Gamma named Libertas that he bought new in…

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