Cruising Life

Iridium and Icom Launch First Worldwide Push-to-Talk Radio

By Peter Janssen on July 3, 2019 Cruising Life

Iridium just joined with Icom to provide the first global, satellite-based, push-to-talk radio for real-time communication with anyone in the world. Iridium is working with the Icom IC-SAT100 radio for this service. The Icom IC-SAT100 can operate with existing land-mobile radio networks and it can be managed over the air through an Iridium command center. The service opens up new communications beyond the range of trunked radio networks, and it will be available through Iridium’s and Icom’s existing partner networks. “This new satellite PTT (push-to-talk) device is unlike anything ever offered commercially in terms of capability,” said Bryan Hartin, executive…

Japanese Ships Set To Resume Whaling: Reuters

By Peter Janssen on July 3, 2019 Cruising Life

Elaine Lies KUSHIRO, Japan (Reuters) – Japanese whaling ships prepared on Sunday to set to sea, with crews gathering on decks in a northern port a day ahead of Japan’s first commercial whaling hunt in more than 30 years. Japan announced last year it was leaving the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and would resume commercial whaling on July 1, sparking global condemnation and fears for the world’s whales. Japan has long maintained that eating whale is an important part of its culture and that most species are not endangered. A global whaling moratorium was imposed in 1986, but Japan then…

Fisherman’s Dog Falls Overboard in Pacific, Turns Up Five Weeks Later on San Clemente Island

By Peter Janssen on July 3, 2019 Cruising Life

Nick Haworth, a commercial fisherman from San Diego, was distraught when his 1 ½ year old German shepherd, Luna, disappeared off his boat while he was working two miles off San Clemente Island. Owned by the Navy, San Clemente is 46 miles off the coast of Southern California, and about 70 miles northwest of San Diego; it’s the southernmost of the Channel Islands. After searching for Luna himself, Haworth called the Navy for help; he said that Luna, a blue-eyed pup, had fallen overboard. He told them he was pulling in his lobster traps and suddenly Luna was gone. The…

Idyll Time, a Kadey-Krogen 48, Explores Meyers Chuck, Alaska, One of the Most Remote, and Beautiful, Spots on the Inside Passage

By Peter Janssen on July 3, 2019 Cruising Life

Jeff and Susie Parker have come a long way from their home port in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Idyll Time, their 2006 Kadey-Krogen 48 North Sea Trawler. When we visited them last year, they had transported the boat to the Pacific Northwest. In May, they picked it up after some winter’s work in Sydney, British Columbia, and headed north. Now they’ve just left Meyers Chuck, a large protected cove on the Inside Passage above Ketchikan, Alaska. I’ve been there a few times, and it’s one of the most beautiful and intriguing spots in that part of the world. The only way…

Repower, a Swiss Company, Is Trying To Transform the Electric Boat Market

By Peter Janssen on June 29, 2019 Cruising Life

Repower, a 100-year-old Swiss energy company, is showcasing its new 34-foot, all- electric boat, RepowerE, in northern Italy this summer, hoping that once people see it in action they will become believers themselves. The tour started in May in Liguria, near Genoa, and is moving to Lake Garda and Lake Varese, ending in Trieste in October. The original RepowerE boat served as a tourist boat on Lake Garda. The new version has a cabin and can carry 12 passengers plus crew. It’s powered by two 20 kW electric motors supported by a 40 kWh battery pack. Running at 5 to…

New York Times: 36 Hours in Camden and Rockport, Maine

By Peter Janssen on June 29, 2019 Cruising Life

36 Hours in Camden and Rockport, Maine (and Environs) On the central coast of Maine, visitors will find a beguiling nexus of arts, dining and outdoor activities. By Melissa Coleman If Maine’s much-debated slogan, “the way life should be,” were a place, the towns of Camden and Rockport and their surroundings might be it. On the Eastern Seaboard, where mountains meet ocean, the area has long attracted rusticators and “vacationlanders” who far outnumber residents in summer. These clapboard-and-brick towns sit two miles apart on schooner-spotted harbors next to rounded mountains and sparkling freshwater lakes. What more does a rural getaway…

Vicem Building New, Cold-Molded, Long-Range 67 Cruiser. Will Debut at FLIBS in October

By Peter Janssen on June 29, 2019 Cruising Life

Vicem Yachts is building its new 67 Cruiser, a long-range blue-water voyager, at its yard in Turkey. The cold-molded, three-stateroom, three-head boat is built for ocean cruising and will be unveiled at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show starting next October 30. The 67 is Vicem’s latest addition to its Cruising line, now stretching from 67 to 107 feet. These models are made for comfortable cruising or living aboard. Powered by twin 600-hp Volvos with straight shafts, the 67 is expected to have a top speed of 20 to 22 knots, and a cruising speed of 16 to 18 knots.…

Larry Graf Starts Aspen’s Newest Adventure: 1,120 Miles Down the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean

By Peter Janssen on June 29, 2019 Cruising Life

Larry Graf is at it again. The founder, chief designer and self-described “lead adventurer” of Aspen Power Catamarans is just starting his Aspen Arctic Adventure, cruising some 1,120 miles down the Mackenzie River in Canada’s remote Northwest Territories to the Arctic Ocean. First, he has to trailer his ride, a 34-foot Aspen L107, 1,171 miles from the Aspen factory in Burlington, Washington, to Hay River and the Mackenzie. The Mackenzie River is the longest river in Canada, and the second largest in North America, after the Mississippi. It flows through a region with few people but lots of forests and…

California Woman Killed by Three Sharks While Snorkeling with Her Family in the Bahamas

By Peter Janssen on June 27, 2019 Cruising Life

SKY NEWS Shark attack: Woman, 21, killed by three sharks while snorkelling in Bahamas Jordan Lindsay, from Torrance, California, was snorkelling with her family when she was attacked in the Bahamas. Thursday 27 June 2019 10:34, UK A “beautiful and gentle” 21-year-old woman has been killed by three sharks while on holiday in the Bahamas. Jordan Lindsay, from Torrance, California, was snorkelling with her family, including her parents, when she was attacked near Rose Island, northeast of Nassau. Relatives reportedly spotted the sharks and tried to warn her by yelling at her, but she did not hear them in time.…

Boothbay Harbor and Christmas Cove: Cruising Gems in Mid-Coast Maine

By Peter Janssen on June 25, 2019 Cruising Life

If you’re even thinking of cruising to Maine this summer, make sure to stop in Boothbay Harbor, about halfway between Portland and Camden, and then move on a bit to check out Christmas Cove, about two miles away and one of the most beautiful cruising destinations on the East Coast. I’ve made many trips to these spots over the years, most recently three summers ago on a new Back Cove 32, and I’ve never been disappointed. In fact, I’ve always wanted to stay put for several days or more. There’s so much to do in Boothbay Harbor, a major summer…

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