Cruising Life

Some Questions To Ask Before You Climb on That Boat

By Peter Janssen on September 9, 2019 Cruising Life

After the tragic fire on the dive boat Conception off Southern California that killed 34 people, here are some questions you might want to ask before you get on a new boat yourself, from The Los Angeles Times: By CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS STAFF WRITER The thing to remember is that when you step aboard a vessel, “you are leaving the safety of land,” said John Higgins, harbor master for the Ventura Port District and a 23-year Harbor Patrol veteran. “You are putting yourself in a vulnerable position. “You can’t dial 911 and somebody gets there in three to five minutes the way they do…

Now You Can Buy Paul Allen’s Octopus: Only $325 million

By Peter Janssen on September 9, 2019 Cruising Life

If you’re thinking about moving up to a new boat (and who isn’t?), take a look at Paul Allen’s Octopus. It’s 414-feet long, so it might not work for the Great Loop, and it probably won’t fit on the dock behind your house. If you’re worried about the price, it’s roughly $325 million (that’s the same as five G650 Gulfstream jets, for point of reference), and it costs about $17 million a year to run. But it arguably is one of the most innovative – and interesting – yachts in the world. Octopus was built by Lurssen in 2003, and…

Still Time To Sign Up for CUBAR Baja California Cruise

By Peter Janssen on September 9, 2019 Cruising Life

You need to act soon, but there’s still time to sign up for CUBAR, the legendary powerboat rally every two years from San Diego to La Paz, Baja California. One of the premiere cruising events on the West Coast, the rally will leave the San Diego Yacht Club on Oct. 30, and it’s scheduled to arrive, after several stops, in La Paz on Nov. 17. You can’t wait until the last minute because the highly regulated rally, which will have about 40 boats, has mandatory checklists and even a pre-cruise inspection. The organizers strongly urge captains and at least one…

7 Great New Power Cruising Boats at the Newport Show

By Peter Janssen on September 4, 2019 Cruising Life

About 340 boats will be on display at the Newport International Boat Show, which runs from Thursday, Sept. 12, through Sunday, Sept. 15. But only a handful will be new cruising powerboats that are being shown in the U.S. for the first time. Here’s a look at some of them: Bruckmann Abaco 47 (pictured above): Built on the success of the popular Bruckmann Abaco 40, the new 47, designed by Mark Ellis, is a classic Down East cruiser with a long sheer, low profile, sharp entry and raked windshield. Built for extended cruising, the innovative hull is designed to plane…

Dorian Causes “Pure Hell” in Bahamas. See Aerial Video

By Peter Janssen on September 2, 2019 Cruising Life

When Hurricane Dorian hit the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane with 185 mph winds and then moved a bit west to pummel Grand Bahama Island for more than a day, Hubert Minnis, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, called it “a historic tragedy.” An ABC correspondent on the ground in Marsh Harbour was more blunt. He said it was “pure hell.” So far, Dorian has killed 20 people in the Bahamas, although officials there said the toll probably would rise. It has also caused a major humanitarian crisis, leaving as many as 70,000 people without water,…

34 Killed in Tragic Fire on Southern California Dive Boat

By Peter Janssen on September 2, 2019 Cruising Life

Some 34 people were killed after a 75-foot dive boat caught fire and sank off Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Islands 20 miles off Southern California, early Labor Day morning. Only five people survived – four crew members and the captain. They had been on the upper deck and managed to jump into a dinghy and reach a nearby boat as the dive boat was engulfed in flames. The other 34 people (including one crew member) were all sleeping in bunk beds on a lower deck. Capt. Monica Rochester of the Coast Guard said the Coast Guard heard…

California Couple Tackle Great Loop on New Nordhavn Coastal Pilot

By Peter Janssen on August 31, 2019 Cruising Life

In a recent email, I asked Larry McCullough, an experienced boat owner who’s now about half way through the Great Loop with his wife Jamie, why they had bought hull number one of the Nordhavn 59 Coastal Pilot. “Yesterday was a good example of why Nordhavn,” he replied. “We are in Lake Michigan, which can be very treacherous. NOAA was calling for three-foot seas but the wind picked up more and we were in some seven-footers that were very close together. I must say the boat handled it better than some of the crew.” McCullough, a retired stockbroker from Tiburon,…

Lightning Hits Florida Boat with Four Men on Board

By Peter Janssen on August 31, 2019 Cruising Life

The first lightning strike was about a mile away, so George Haddad, 71, and his three fishing friends huddled under the hardtop of Time Out, his 31-foot Stamas, about seven miles off Grand Cay in the Bahamas. “It made me cringe,” said Haddad, who’s from Palm City. The second strike hit the boat. Haddad, who had both hands on the wheel, felt the strike surge through his body. “It felt like somebody hit me with a hammer,” he told TCPalm.com. The fishing trip, which had started earlier that day under clear blue skies, had turned deadly. The strike hit the…

BoatUS: How To Prepare for a Hurricane

By Peter Janssen on August 26, 2019 Cruising Life

The Boat US Catastrophe Team has some 36 years of experience in studying what happens to boats in a hurricane. They’ve gone through the insurance claims, resulting from hurricanes. And they’ve learned some lessons that can help you prepare your boat, so that you can avoid, or minimize, the damage. First, many people underestimate the damage of a surge, which not only raises the water level far above normal, but also forces evacuation and lifts boats well above their docks and pilings. Surge accounts for the major damage to boats because it puts docks and dock lines underwater. Hurricane Sandy in…

Italian Skipper Cruises His 36-foot RIB, Solo, to Newfoundland

By Peter Janssen on August 25, 2019 Cruising Life

Sergio Davi, a professional skipper and the captain of his water sports club in Palermo, Italy, just landed in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, having cruised alone more than 6,000 nm from home in his 36-foot RIB Nautilus Explorer. Davi, 52, who has previously made solo journeys on RIBs to Rio de Janeiro, Amsterdam and Norway, is waiting for a weather window and then he’ll resume his voyage to New York. He left Palermo on July 21, and headed north, past Portugal, Spain, France, the UK, Ireland and Greenland. He had to spend 10 days in Qaqortoq, in southern Greenland, because of…

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