Cruising Life

Boston Ferry Runs Aground in Heavy Fog. Four Hurt

By Peter Janssen on August 17, 2019 Cruising Life

A commuter ferry ran aground in heavy fog in Boston Harbor, injuring four passengers. The captain told the Coast Guard he had been cut off by a passing sportfishing boat. The ferry, the Lightning, left Hull, a small town on the southern edge of Boston Harbor, at 7:30 on a Friday morning, with 81 passengers on board. Normally, the trip to Boston takes 23 minutes. But about half way through the trip, the ferry ran aground near Long Island in five feet of water. The captain said that when the sportfishing boat cut off the ferry, he had to swerve to…

Yacht Crashes While Captain and Mate Have Sex on Bow

By Peter Janssen on August 15, 2019 Cruising Life, On Watch with Peter Janssen

I’ve never seen a story like this before, as reported in Australia’s Daily Mail. According to court documents there, the captain of a charter yacht, Crystal Blue, and a deck hand were having sex on the bow while the boat crashed into a nav beacon and another yacht on the northern part of the Gold Coast. The accident, in March, 2018, caused $140,000 damage to the Crystal Blue. The deck hand, Cheya Handley, said she had been drinking beer and vodka with the captain, Jeremy Kane Piggott. They were bringing the boat back home from a charter up the Brisbane…

Big New Carver 52 Command Bridge: Built for Cruising Comfort

By Peter Janssen on August 14, 2019 Cruising Life

The new Carver 52 Command Bridge, the flagship of the Carver fleet, takes some cues from European yachts in maximizing space to make cruising and entertaining easy. The blunt bow, for example, creates more space in the forward VIP stateroom on the accommodation deck, as well as providing for an inviting lounging and sunbathing area on the foredeck. The Carver 52 also has a staircase from the salon to the large, full-beam master stateroom amidships, providing a degree of privacy usually found in much larger yachts. With three staterooms, two heads, a light-filled salon and a protected flybridge, the Carver…

Bitter End To Reopen, Starting with a New Nautical Village

By Peter Janssen on August 14, 2019 Cruising Life

Almost two years after it was devastated by Hurricane Irma, the Bitter End Yacht Club in the British Virgin Islands is coming back, starting with the building of a new quarterdeck that will overlook the marina (see the rendering above). The resort, one of the most popular in the British Virgin Islands, has been closed since the hurricane in September, 2017. Since then, the owners have removed damage from more than 100 buildings and cleaned up and restored more than 64 acres. Now they say they want to reopen the Bitter End with a nautical village, yacht management programs, a…

Seattle Boats Afloat Show To Open with 225 New Boats

By Peter Janssen on August 13, 2019 Cruising Life

You really don’t need a special reason to visit Seattle; it’s one of the most interesting cities in the world. But if you need an extra nudge, you might want to make some plans for the Lake Union Boats Afloat Show, running from Thursday, Sept. 12 through Sunday, Sept. 15. It’s certainly easy to get to, since it’s on Chandler’s Cove in South Lake Union, almost in the middle of town. (If you can’t find it, just follow the float planes.) In addition to the 225 boats on display, there’s plenty to see and do at the show. There’s a…

Coast Guard Rescues Two Men 30 Miles Off Maine Coast

By Peter Janssen on August 13, 2019 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard rescued two boaters 30 miles off the coast of Maine after their 22-foot powerboat had an engine failure and they drifted around overnight. The rescue started when one of the boater’s wives called the Coast Guard in South Portland, Maine, at 10:30 on Saturday night and said they were overdue. They had gone fishing on Cashes Ledge, a hotspot about 80 miles off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire, where the water’s only 40 feet deep. The Coast Guard launched a rescue effort, but it wasn’t until daylight, at 6:20 the next morning, that the crew…

The Moorings Building New Flagship 534 Power Cat for Charter

By Peter Janssen on August 13, 2019 Cruising Life

The Moorings is building a four-cabin flagship 534 PC as the latest addition to its worldwide power charter fleet. The new cat, with a draft of just 3’ 2”, will be ready for charters in the summer of 2020. The new 534 is being built by Robertson and Caine in Cape Town, South Africa. Founded in 1991, Robertson and Caine is one of the most important catamaran builders in the world. They also built Leopard cats. The new Moorings 534 is designed for maximum charter comfort. The four cabins, all with en suite heads and showers, also have their own…

New Law Requires Boating Safety Courses in NY State

By Peter Janssen on August 12, 2019 Cruising Life

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo just signed a law requiring anyone operating a motorboat on the state’s waterways to take an eight-hour boating safety course. The law has a phase-in period, giving boat owners time to comply, that goes to Jan. 1, 2025. The new legislation is called Brianna’s Law, after Brianna Lieneck, of Deer Park, New York (pictured above), who was killed in a boating accident in August, 2005. She and her family were riding home on Great South Bay when a larger powerboat crashed into the side of their boat where Brianna was seating. She was killed,…

New Solaris 48: An Italian Version of a Lobster Boat

By Peter Janssen on August 12, 2019 Cruising Life

Solaris just announced that it will introduce its new 48 Open, a modern Italian version of a traditional Maine lobster boat, at the Cannes Yachting Festival starting Sept. 10. It will be available later in hardtop and flybridge versions. Norberto Ferretti, the former head of the Ferretti Group, helped design the Solaris 48 Open. He said he missed being involved in boat building, and he drew the new Solaris because “I was especially smitten by the lobster boat: a perfect combination of seaworthiness, functionality, technology and safety.” Power for the 48 Open comes from two Volvo IPS packages: Twin 435-hp…

NOAA Raises the Odds for a Stormy Hurricane Season

By Peter Janssen on August 11, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s some sobering news from NOAA. Its updated prediction for the Atlantic hurricane season, now entering its peak, calls for greater activity than normal. Indeed, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, says the likelihood of above-normal activity is now 45 percent, a major increase from the 30 percent it had predicted in its preliminary outlook in May. The latest prediction calls for as many as 17 named storms (with winds of 39 mph or more). As many as nine of them will become hurricanes (with winds of 74 mph or more), including two to four major hurricanes (with…

Browsing: Cruising Life