Cruising Life

Ocean Alexander’s New 45 Divergence: A Fast, Creative High-End Day Yacht

By Peter Janssen on February 20, 2019 Cruising Life

I knew the Ocean Alexander 45 Divergence was a different kind of boat, but I didn’t realize how different it was until I stepped on board at the Miami Yacht Show. Many builders are now making large day boats, high-end sport boats and larger and larger center consoles, all with more and more powerful outboards. The Divergence turns that market on its head. Ocean Alexander is a luxury yacht and megayacht builder with a lineup from 70 to 155 feet. It created the new Divergence line for people wanting a high-end, yacht-quality day boat. “Yes, you can look at the…

Dream Boat Clubs To Open Across U.S., Offering Low-Cost, Worry-Free Boating

By Peter Janssen on February 20, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s something that seems like the right idea at the right time. Riding the wave of a sharing economy, Dream Yacht Charter just announced that it will start the Dream Boat Club in the United States, offering members access to a wide variety of powerboats at a reasonable price. In the announcement at the Miami Boat Show, Dream Boat Club said it would partner with Zodiac and Beneteau to roll out clubs in the U.S. Dream Boat Clubs were started just two years ago in Marseilles, France, and have proven popular in Europe. They give people access to boating without…

Elegant New CL Yachts 72, a 31-Knot Cruiser, Makes a Debut in Miami

By Peter Janssen on February 19, 2019 Cruising Life

CL Yachts, a new brand under the Cheoy Lee Shipyards umbrella, unveiled its first two yachts at the Miami Yacht Show – a CLB76 and a just-sold CLB72. The new owner of the 72 celebrated the sale with a champagne toast for his family and friends; he plans to cruise in Florida and the Northeast. The new 72 (pictured above) is a four stateroom, four-head cruiser, with a two-berth crew cabin and head aft. It carried a listing price of $3.95 million. Powered by twin 1,000-hp Volvo diesels with IPS1350 pod drives, it has a top speed of 31 knots…

Last Seen Off Cape Cod, Salty the Great White Shark Now Swims with Divers Off Jupiter, Florida

By Peter Janssen on February 19, 2019 Cruising Life

Salty, a great white shark, gets around. He was tagged swimming off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in August, 2012. Now he’s been photographed swimming with some freedivers off Jupiter, Florida, where he was identified by shark experts who saw his picture on the internet. Salty was last seen by a group of friends who were spearing fish in about 60 feet of water off Jupiter. They were diving off a local wreck, and one of them had just speared a cobia. The shark wasn’t particularly interested in the cobia or the divers, they said. It was just swimming big loops around…

Coast Guard Dogs Complete Helicopter Training: Great Video

By Peter Janssen on February 19, 2019 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard Auxiliary just reposted this great video from ABC News showing two Coast Guard dogs completing helicopter training in San Francisco Bay. It was taken a while ago, but it’s very cool. How many dogs complete helicopter efficiency training by getting lowered from a Coast Guard helicopter? The dogs, Evy and Ricky, are explosive detection dogs and have been working with the Coast Guard for many years. In this training, they had to jump on board a Pave Hawk helicopter and perform several hoists, working with a Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team. Called “canine Coasties,” they…

TowBoatUS Captain Saves Boat Owner from Drowning, Crocodiles

By Peter Janssen on February 18, 2019 Cruising Life

The owner of a 40-foot Silverton owes his life to the fast thinking of Captain Lee Hartman, who drives a TowBoatUS vessel out of Black Point Marina south of Miami. We know that Hartman definitely saved the owner from drowning; he probably saved the man from being attacked by the saltwater crocodiles who live there. Hartman was just honored at the annual BoatUS Towing Conference in Arlington, Virginia. He happened to be in the right place at the right time, but his refusal to give up saved the owner’s life. Black Point Marina is the largest public marina in Miami.…

Aquila, Beneteau, Introduce Foils on Cruising Powerboats

By Peter Janssen on February 18, 2019 Cruising Life

Foils, it seems, are coming to powerboats. Introduced on America’s Cup and other racing sailboats a few years ago, they are now being tested and launched on recreational powerboats. At the Miami boat show, Aquila announced it would offer foils as a $27,000 option on their 36-foot cruiser, while in France, Beneteau announced that they had just tested foils on a 31-foot prototype. In Miami, Lex Raas, the president of Aquila (part of MarineMax), displayed a model of the foil that sits between the hulls of the Aquila 36 catamaran. There’s a relatively large foil in the middle of the…

MarineMax Vacations Opens New Charter Base in the Abacos

By Peter Janssen on February 18, 2019 Cruising Life

MarineMax Vacations just announced at the Miami boat show that they’re opening a new charter location at Boat Harbour Marina, part of the Abaco Beach Resort, on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas. The new operation, with crewed and bareboat power charters, will open on April 1. The Abaco Beach Resort is in a prime location on the Bahamas’ Out Islands, just 165 miles off the coast of Florida. I’ve been there several times, and it would be hard to find a better, or easier, place to unwind and relax. The resort and marina, pictured above, are in the little…

Greenline 48 Hybrid Coupe: Great New, Light-Filled Diesel or Electric Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on February 17, 2019 Cruising Life

The new Greenline 48 Hybrid Coupe caught my eye as I was walking down the dock at the Miami Yacht Show, and I decided I had to take a closer look when I saw that it was called “the Great Loop edition.” Now that’s what I call target marketing. But whether you want to take the Great Loop or simply cruise anywhere in the coastal United States or Canada, you’d be well served to take a good look at this attractive, light-filled, well-laid-out hybrid cruiser from Slovenia. Powered by two 220-hp Volvo diesels with straight shafts, the new Greenline Hybrid…

The Best Places To Go in Miami, After the Shows, of Course

By Peter Janssen on February 12, 2019 Cruising Life

Miami is truly one of America’s great cities – lively, vibrant, multi-cultural, and warm. For many years, it’s been a magnet for Europeans, South and Central Americans, people from all over the world. It’s also a magnet for boat owners, as a destination in its own right, as a stopover on the Great Loop, or as a stepping off point for a cruise to the Keys or over to the Bahamas. Now, of course, it’s a magnet for the more than 100,000 people who will attend the two enormous boat shows in town. The question is, what to do once…

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