Cruising Life

Sudden Fire Sinks 8 Boats at Seattle Marina

By Peter Janssen on April 1, 2020 Cruising Life

A nighttime fire sank eight boats and severely damaged one more at a Seattle marina recently. The fire raged for more than two hours before 75 firefighters were able to put it out. The fire was at the Jim Clark Marina on Harbor Island under the West Seattle Bridge. The first alarm came from the marina manager, who called 911 about 9:30 last Friday night. It spread quickly, from boat to boat, and caused some explosions. The lower portion of the bridge was closed temporarily because of smoke. The firefighters faced some unusual problems; the one floating dock that provided…

Who Needs Bow Thrusters? A Review from Lyman-Morse

By Peter Janssen on March 31, 2020 Cruising Life

In recent years, bow thrusters have become ubiquitous; most new cruising powerboats have them either already installed or as options. There is no question that they make docking easier (and I say that as the former owner of a Grand Banks 36 that did not have one), but they also can introduce problems of their own, particularly in an era of pod drives and joystick controls. They introduce new electrical or hydraulic systems on the boat; they require some degree of care and maintenance, and they can (in my experience, at least) occasionally not provide enough power to move the…

Colorful Sausalito Houseboat for Sale: $1.33 Million

By Peter Janssen on March 31, 2020 Cruising Life

Many, many years ago, I lived in Mill Valley, California, and commuted to work as an editor of Saturday Review in San Francisco. It was the best commute I’ve ever had (and I’ve had a lot – in Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York). I rode my bike on a bike path from downtown Mill Valley past the Sausalito waterfront and then took the ferry to the Ferry Building in downtown San Francisco, where it was just a short walk to the office. The views from the ferry, of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Angel Island, The City (as San…

AccuWeather: “An Above-Normal” Atlantic Hurricane Season

By Peter Janssen on March 31, 2020 Cruising Life

AccuWeather just issued its forecast for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, and it’s not particularly reassuring. The company’s meteorologists say they expect another busy year in the Atlantic Basic, following what they called a busy season last year. “It’s going to be an above-normal season,” said Dan Kottlowski, AccuWeather’s hurricane expert. “On a normal year, we have around 12 storms, six hurricanes and roughly three major hurricanes.” For this hurricane season, starting June 1 and ending Nov. 30, AccuWeather is predicting 14 to 18 named storms, seven to nine hurricanes, and two to four major hurricanes. From two to four…

NOAA: 54 Per Cent of U.S. Waters Still Not Mapped

By Peter Janssen on March 30, 2020 Cruising Life

NOAA just released its first report on its progress in mapping U.S. waters, and the results are startling: About 54 per cent of the U.S. coastal, ocean and Great Lakes water are still not mapped. The report is called Unmapped U.S. Waters and it includes the colorful graphics above, showing areas that have been mapped – and those that haven’t. It created the report from an analysis of publicly available bathymetry. The percentage of unmapped U.S. waters as of 2019: U.S. total: 54 per cent. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico: 43 per cent. Great Lakes: 95 per cent. Caribbean: 42…

New Street-Legal Boatcar for Sale for $55,000

By Peter Janssen on March 29, 2020 Cruising Life

If you want to arrive at your marina in style, or turn a lot of heads the next time you cruise down your local turnpike, take a look at the Boatcar, a marriage of a 24-foot Sea Ray Sundancer and a Ford passenger van. The innovative Boatcar is now listed on eBay under the heading “1995 Other Make Boat Car,” and it’s for sale for $55,000. The seller says it’s street legal. The Boatcar was created by Mark Ray of Mark’s Custom Cruisers in Georgia. They have built several vehicles out of boat hulls and airplane fuselages, but this is…

The Best-Laid Plans: Dirona Changes Course

By Peter Janssen on March 25, 2020 Cruising Life

Ever since they bought Dirona, their Nordhavn 52 in 2009, James and Jennifer Hamilton, a high-tech couple from Seattle, have been cruising. At first they concentrated on the Pacific Northwest while still working in shore, but in 2012 they started cruising full time. Since then they’ve completed a circumnavigation and much more. Indeed, they’ve put more than 74,000 miles under their hull. The Hamiltons know how to plan, and to plan well. But now, in a time of the coronavirus, even the best-laid plans go by the wayside. Last summer and fall the Hamiltons cruised through Scandinavia, and ended up…

Boat Hits Charleston Jetty at Night: All Rescued

By Peter Janssen on March 25, 2020 Cruising Life

A 52-foot sportfishing boat hit the Charleston, South Carolina, jetty early Sunday morning, but a fast response by the Coast Guard and other organizations saved all five people on board. No one was injured in the accident. The Charleston Coast Guard station received a call from Sea Tow at 2:10 a.m. on Sunday, saying that the boat, Strike Finder, had hit the southern jetty leading into the harbor with five people on board. The Coast Guard sent a 45-foot response boat and a Dolphin helicopter out to help. It also contacted the MSC Antonia, which was heading into the harbor…

Captive Whales Get New Retirement Home in Canada

By Peter Janssen on March 23, 2020 Cruising Life

There are now more than 300 captive beluga whales and 60 orcas living out their days in aquariums and entertainment parks around the world. Now they have a place to go for their golden years. The Whale Sanctuary Project, based in Utah, just announced it is creating a virtual whale retirement home in 100 acres of a sheltered bay in Port Hilford, about 125 miles north of Halifax in Nova Scotia. It says it should be ready for the first whales by the end of 2021, and the whale retirement community will be safe with a meal plan that’s heavy…

With No Traffic, Clear Water Returns to Venice

By Peter Janssen on March 23, 2020 Cruising Life

Swans, in Venice? Well, anything is possible. Right now the water in Venice is clearer than it’s been in more than half a century. There’s no way to minimize the tragic toll that the coronavirus has exacted in Italy, where more than 5,500 people have died so far. But the story of clean water in Venice falls under the heading of the laws of unintended consequences. The first time I was in Venice I was 21 years old, and that was a very long time ago. The water in the canals was less-than-clear even then. The last time I was…

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