Cruising Life

Climate Change Causing Chaos in Arctic Fisheries: NOAA

By Peter Janssen on December 11, 2019 Cruising Life

WASHINGTON/ANCHORAGE (Reuters) – Climate change is causing chaos in the Bering Sea, home to one of America’s largest fisheries, an example of how rising temperatures can rapidly change ecosystems important to the economy, U.S. federal government scientists said in a report on Tuesday. Rising temperatures in the Arctic have led to decreases in sea ice, record warm temperatures at the bottom of the Bering Sea and the northward migration of fish species such as Pacific cod, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, said in its 2019 Arctic Report Card. While the changes are widespread in the Arctic,…

Great White Sharks Gather Off Carolinas; More Coming

By Peter Janssen on December 10, 2019 Cruising Life

A group of great white sharks is swimming off the Outer Banks of North Carolina, according to the shark research organization Ocearch, including a giant that’s 15 feet and 5 inches long and weighs 2,076 pounds. And Ocearch says that more are on the way. The concentration of great whites is part of their migration south each fall in search of warmer water. Ocearch says it tracked ten great whites off the Carolinas in the past few weeks. It tags the sharks with GPS trackers that ping when sharks surface. The non-profit organization says the coast from North Carolina to…

Record-Breaking 74.4-Foot Wave Hits California Coast

By Peter Janssen on December 10, 2019 Cruising Life

A monster record-setting wave was recorded during a “bomb cyclone” less than 20 miles off the northern California coast last month, according to scientists at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. At 74.4 feet high, it was the largest wave ever recorded by Scripps’ network of coastal buoys. The wave was measured at a buoy off Cape Mendocino, in more than 1,000 feet of water. What was unusual was not only the size of this single wave, but also the size of average waves at the time. Scripps’ buoys measure average wave height every 30 minutes. The 74.4 wave came during…

Lazzarini Launches New Eye-Catching F33 Spaziale

By Peter Janssen on December 9, 2019 Cruising Life

You probably haven’t seen a boat quite like this before, and you’d probably remember if you did. So take a good look at the new F33 Spaziale from Pierpaolo Lazzarini, the Roman designer who also created the egg-shaped Jet Capsule a while ago. The F33 Spaziale is nothing if not eye-catching, and that’s because Lazzarini definitely pushes the outer limits of the design envelope. Other boats recently have taken their design cues from luxury automobiles and even spaceships, but Lazzarini seems to create his own category. The 33-foot Spaziale is highly customizable, and can be used for a number of…

Coast Guard Report: Why Ferry Crashed Into Hyannis Breakwater

By Peter Janssen on December 8, 2019 Cruising Life

At 9:33 on a rainy night in June two years ago, the 154-foot-long Iyanough fast ferry from Nantucket ran headlong into the breakwater in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, at 30 knots, even though there were two officers with decades of experience on the bridge. In the crash, 15 people were injured, and a Coast Guard helicopter lifted them to shore. The other 42 people on board climbed down a ladder to the breakwater; the last one reached land at 3:30 a.m. How did the captain, Karl Riddar, and the pilot, Thomas Manley, miss the turn into Hyannis Harbor and the ferry terminal…

Navy, Coast Guard Boats Collide in Alaska, 9 Hurt

By Peter Janssen on December 6, 2019 Cruising Life

By: Navy Times staff A Wednesday evening collision involving a Coast Guard craft and a Navy boat in Alaska’s Womens Bay left at least nine personnel injured, one seriously. Coast Guard Alaska 17th District spokesman Scott McCann told Navy Times that six enlisted members of his service’s Aids to Navigation Team Kodiak were treated and released after suffering light injuries. Three Navy personnel also were treated, with one seriously injured sailor being flown to Anchorage for special care. “It was worse than the others,” McCann said. Although the collision occurred around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday just east of Coast Guard Base…

43 Finalists Named in Boat of the Year Awards

By Peter Janssen on December 4, 2019 Cruising Life

Motor Boat & Yachting, the British magazine, has just announced the finalists in its annual Motor Boat Awards, and they include many boats that are familiar to owners in the United States. There are a total of 43 finalists in nine categories; the winners will be announced on January 21 in a gala party during the Düsseldorf boat show. The finalists are: Sportsboats and RIBs: Beneteau Flyer & Sundeck Brig Eagle 8 Brig Eagle 10 Chris-Craft 28 Launch GT Greenline NEO Highfield HX76 Hydrolift 26 Jeanneau Cap Camarat 7.5 DC S2 Nimbus T9 Superboats: Brabus Shadow 500 Black Ops Iguana X100…

Stewardess Says She “Screwed Up” Having Sex with the Captain

By Peter Janssen on December 3, 2019 Cruising Life

We first wrote about this story in August, but now we have more details and it just keeps getting better and better. Now, in an interview played in court, the stewardess who had sex with the captain on the bow of a charter yacht in Australia while it crashed into a nav beacon and two other boats said she really “screwed up.” According to Australia’s Daily Mail, the 80-foot charter boat Crystal Blue suffered $140,000 worth of damage when the stewardess, Cheya Handley (above), 26, was drinking and having sex with the captain, Jeremy Piggott, 46, on the bow of…

Great Holiday Boat Parades, from Coast to Coast

By Peter Janssen on December 1, 2019 Cruising Life

Now that we’re into December, the holiday boat parade season is well underway. It’s the time of year when boat owners decorate their vessels with everything from simple strands of lights to Hollywood-worthy productions of Santas, reindeer, elves and almost anything else you can think of with a seasonal theme. Most of the parades, of course, are in the warmer parts of the country, with enormous ones in Fort Lauderdale on the east coast and Newport Beach on the west coast. It’s no surprise that Florida has the most of all; you can see a list of all the parades there…

NOAA Will Stop Making Paper Charts

By Peter Janssen on November 24, 2019 Cruising Life

I don’t know about you, but in a room upstairs at home I have rolled up charts that I’ve used for cruising in the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Great Lakes over the years. You may have a similar space in your home, or on your boat. They remind me of many great (and some not-so-great) places I’ve been, miles under the belt. They’re a part of my history. Soon they may be relics. NOAA just announced that it will phase out all production of paper charts over the next five years. It will make electronic vector charts instead. NOAA…

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