Cruising Life

Record-Breaking Tight Fit in the Corinth Canal. See Video

By Peter Janssen on October 14, 2019 Cruising Life

A British cruise liner just set a record as the largest vessel to transit the Corinth Canal, a four-mile-long, man-made cut that separates the Greek mainland from the Peloponnesian Peninsula. It was a tight fit. The liner, the MS Braemar, is 73’ 8” wide. The canal is 78’ 7” wide. (See the video below.) With little more than two feet to spare on each side, many of the ship’s 1,200 passengers could have reached out and touched the sides of the canal. Just west of Athens, the canal was opened in 1893, and serves as a shortcut for vessels going…

New 3D Printer Makes 25-Foot Boat in 72 Hours

By Peter Janssen on October 13, 2019 Cruising Life

The University of Maine just launched the world’s largest boat ever made by a 3D thermoplastic printer. The new patrol boat is 25 feet long, weighs 5,000 pounds and was built in just 72 hours. A representative of Guinness World Records was on hand at the university’s Advanced Structures and Composite Center in Orono to present three world’s records: for the world’s largest polymer 3D printer, the world’s largest 3D printed boat, and the largest solid 3D printed item. “This has never been done in the world,” said Habib Dagher, executive director of the composites center. “The purpose of this…

Presidential Yacht Sequoia Heads to Maine for Restoration

By Peter Janssen on October 10, 2019 Cruising Life

The historic presidential yacht Sequoia, built in 1925 and in a sad state of disrepair, is heading up to Maine for a complete restoration. It then will be displayed on the Washington, D.C., waterfront where it will be used to teach about American history and promote ocean conservation. The Sequoia served eight presidents, starting with Herbert Hoover, until Jimmy Carter put it up for auction in 1977. FDR, a former assistant secretary of the navy, used it to host foreign dignitaries. JFK, who commanded a PT boat in the Second World War, added a king-sized bed and celebrated his 46th…

Nordhavn Film Festival Goes Live on Saturday Night

By Peter Janssen on October 9, 2019 Cruising Life

It’s no secret that Nordhavn owners love their boats, or that they love to go cruising, often to the far corners of the globe. But many of them also love to record their adventures, making videos for themselves and their friends to enjoy for many years to come. To take advantage of this trend, Nordhavn has organized its first-ever Nordhavn Film Festival, a Hollywood-styled gala at the company’s headquarters at Dana Point, California, on Saturday, Oct. 12. The festivities get underway at 7 pm Pacific time; 10 pm Eastern. If you can’t make it to the festival itself, you can…

Volvo Wins Awards for Engines and Industry Leadership

By Peter Janssen on October 6, 2019 Cruising Life

Volvo Penta is on a roll, winning awards and recognition for its redesigned Next-Generation D4 and D6 propulsion packages, for its Easy Boating initiative, and for its leadership in the marine industry. The highly regarded Swedish company just won an IBEX (International Boatbuilders Exhibition) Innovation Award for the D4 and D6 propulsion systems, its new sterndrive, updated IPS pod drive and its new Electronic Vessel Control platform. The judges said that the end result of all these improvements and innovations was a fully integrated, exceptional boating experience. The D4 and D6 have been Volvo’s flagship engines. Indeed, it has produced…

Smugglers Rescue Police Who Were Chasing Them. See Video

By Peter Janssen on October 6, 2019 Cruising Life

Four drug smugglers rescued three Spanish police officers who were chasing them off the southern coast of Spain after the smugglers’ boat and the police boat collided and the police were thrown into the sea. But then the police arrested the smugglers, who had thrown 80 bundles of hashish off their boat. A police helicopter captured the entire chase and rescue on video; see it below. High-speed chases are not unusual in this part of the world, where smugglers bring drugs from Africa into Europe. Indeed, the U.N. has identified Morocco, just across the way, as the world’s largest exporter…

How To Dock Safely and Easily, Even If You’re Alone

By Peter Janssen on September 30, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s some great advice from Practical Boat Owner about how to tie up at a dock, and then how to leave it, even if you’re single-handing. It tells how to plan for the effects of tide and current and the presence of nearby boats, and how to use slip lines to help you get underway. Casting off with confidence – safe ways for solo sailors to get off the dock Duncan Wells describes a number of easy methods to leave the dock with both sail and power vessels Getting a boat on and off the dock – coming alongside and casting…

New Vanquish VQ16: 40 Knots of Pure Fun

By Peter Janssen on September 30, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s a new fun watercraft that the company calls a crossover between a water scooter and a yacht tender – the Vanquish VQ16. It holds five passengers and goes up to 40 knots, although you can get an optional supercharged Veloce version that hits 50 knots. The VQ16 is built by Vanquish Yachts in the Netherlands, who specialize in high-end, high-performance vessels from 16 to 90 feet. They’re semi-custom builds, and the company says they are “not for everyone.” There’s a definite wow factor at work here. The swift-looking new VQ16 is a collaboration between Guido de Groot Design and…

3 Rescued After Tug Sinks in Atlantic Hurricane

By Peter Janssen on September 29, 2019 Cruising Life

Three crewmen were found in a liferaft in the Atlantic, two days after their tugboat took on water and sank during Hurricane Lorenzo. An international search effort, coordinated by the French Navy, found the bodies of four other crewmen, and they are searching for seven more who are still missing. Bourbon Rhode, the ocean-going tug, was near the center of the hurricane, about 1,200 nm off Martinique, when it issued a distress call. It was en route from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to Georgetown, Guyana. Lorenzo was a Category 4 hurricane at the time. The French Maritime Rescue…

If You Live On Board, Do You Have To Pay Taxes?

By Peter Janssen on September 28, 2019 Cruising Life

Every week, Mansion Global poses a tax question to real estate tax attorneys. Here is this week’s question. Q. Can I live on a yacht and not pay property tax in the U.S.? A. Those always at sea may be able to avoid property taxes, according to J. Dirk Schwenk, a managing member at Baylaw, a law firm based in Annapolis, Maryland. “If you really are in motion all the time—touching in ports, but not staying very long—you’re much less likely to be subject to tax as you go,” he said. But most people have to keep the yacht somewhere.…

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