Cruising Life

Sandy Hook Pilot Dies After Fall from Container Ship

By Peter Janssen on January 5, 2020 Cruising Life

Captain Dennis R. Sherwood, who had been piloting ships in and out of New York Harbor for more than 35 years, died after trying to board an inbound container ship near the Ambrose Light. Sherwood, a member of the Sandy Hook Pilots Association, fell from the accommodation ladder on the Maersk Kensington (pictured above) at 0430 hours. He fell back into his pilot boat, which rushed him to Staten Island. He passed away in a hospital there. The Coast Guard responded to the accident, as did vessels from the New York Fire Department, and the New York Police Department Harbor…

New 42-Foot Boat Slams into Port Everglades Jetty

By Peter Janssen on January 4, 2020 Cruising Life

The 42-foot Hydrasports Custom Boats center console that hit a Port Everglades jetty in the middle of the night, seriously injuring two of its four passengers, was so new that the owner had not yet registered it at the time of the accident, according to the Sun-Sentinel. Officials did not know whether the owner, Daniel Towriss, the CEO of an Indiana insurance company, was driving his new boat at the time. All four people, who also were from Indiana, were injured in the accident. The Sun-Sentinel said one woman was thrown onto the rocks by the impact. The jetty marks…

Alaska Fishing Boat Sinks. 2 Rescued; 5 Missing. See Video

By Peter Janssen on January 3, 2020 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard rescued two crew members and called off a search for five others after their 130-foot crab fishing boat, Scandies Rose, capsized and sank in 45-knot winds and 21-foot seas about five miles off Sutwik Island on the south side of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. The boat issued a Mayday call at 10:15 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, with the crew saying it was taking on water and listing. The Coast Guard in Kodiak launched an immediate search and rescue operation. At 2 a.m. the next morning, a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter lifted two crew members, who…

Great Dismal Swamp Canal Closed for Three Months

By Peter Janssen on January 3, 2020 Cruising Life

The Army Corps of Engineers has closed the Great Dismal Swamp Canal for repairs, and it will remain closed for about three months. The original announcement, below, said the canal would be closed starting Jan. 6, but the Corps found a mechanical problem at the South Mills Lock and they closed the Canal ahead of schedule. If you’re cruising north or south on the ICW, you can take the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal through the Great Bridge Lock in Chesapeake, Virginia. Operators monitor Channel 13. VA – ATLANTIC INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY (AICW) – DISMAL SWAMP CANAL – CLOSED TO NAVIGATION On…

Marc Anthony’s 120-foot Yacht Burns, Capsizes, in Miami

By Peter Janssen on December 19, 2019 Cruising Life

JLo’s ex-husband Marc Anthony’s $7million yacht bursts into flames and CAPSIZES in Miami marina Grammy-award winner Marc Anthony’s yacht caught on fire and capsized at the Island Gardens Marina in Miami, Florida Fire rescue crews dispatched to the scene around 7.30pm and had the fire under control within two hours Anthony was not on the yacht at the time and the crew members who were evacuated The cause of the fire is unknown and no one was injured Anthony’s $7million yacht is 120-feet long and has five cabins that sleep 12 people It also included amenities like a BBQ, satellite TV,…

Did Lithium-ion Batteries Sink the 134-foot Yacht Kanga?

By Peter Janssen on December 17, 2019 Cruising Life

On the morning of Sept. 7, 2018, a fierce fire destroyed the 134-foot yacht Kanga as it was anchored off the coast of Dubrovnik on the Adriatic. The nine guests and four crew all were evacuated; no one was injured. Kanga, a tri-deck displacement yacht, was almost brand new. An experienced American owner ordered it from the CNN yard in La Spezia, Italy. It was built to hold 12 guests in five staterooms; the crew quarters could hold a staff of 11. It was launched in May, and was scheduled to be displayed at the Cannes and Monaco yacht shows…

Ocean Cleanup Collects Plastic from Great Pacific Garbage Patch

By Peter Janssen on December 17, 2019 Cruising Life

The Ocean Cleanup, the Dutch non-profit organization that’s trying to clean the waters offshore, just brought its first batch of plastic back from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Boyan Slat, the group’s founder and CEO, stood amid bags of plastic retrieved from the ocean when they were unloaded in Vancouver, British Columbia, to announce the successful catch. The Ocean Cleanup got off to a rocky start in September, 2018, when its U-shaped floating collection system with a ten-foot skirt hanging underwater didn’t retrieve much of the plastic it was supposed to trap. The group made some changes in the design…

New Fees for Cruising in Bahamas. Big Boats Pay More

By Peter Janssen on December 15, 2019 Cruising Life

If you’re thinking of cruising to the Bahamas, here’s some bad news. The entry fees for some boats entering the Bahamas will go up, particularly for larger boats, starting Jan 1. The new fees were just posted on the official Bahamas websites. The last time the fees were adjusted was in 2003. The current fees are: Boats up to 35 feet: $150 Boats over 35 feet: $300 The new fees, starting Jan. 1: For boats staying in the Bahamas for up to three months: Boats up to 34 feet: $150 (the same) Boats 35-99 feet: $300 (the same) Boats 100-149-feet:…

The Future of Yachting? Cruise On and Under the Water

By Peter Janssen on December 15, 2019 Cruising Life

Who just wants to cruise on the surface of the water anymore? How banal; everybody does that. Take a look at the newest trend for the over-the-top superyacht market: The Carapace, a 256-foot-long hybrid that travels on the surface and under the water too. The product of Elena Nappi, 34, an Italian naval architect, Carapace can submerge to a depth of 985 feet for up to ten days at a time. There you can get a new look at marine life; take a break from the mundane surface world; or, simply disappear from view, if that’s what you have in…

See Top Ten Videos of Year from BoatUS

By Peter Janssen on December 15, 2019 Cruising Life

Video: “Backing into a Slip with a Single Engine Inboard Boat” was the number one BoatUS YouTube video in 2019. SPRINGFIELD, Va. Dec. 12, 2019 – It would take one person watching for 82 years to view what is uploaded every hour to YouTube. That volume of videos also means recreational boaters consistently have a trove of how-to, consumer and practical help easily viewed at any hour of the day. What did boaters watch this year? Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) shares its list of Top 10 Most-Watched Boating Videos from 2019. Said BoatUS Magazine Publisher Elio Betty, whose editors produce…

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