Cruising Life

Maritimo Set To Launch Innovative New X50, with Beach Club or Third Cabin Aft

By Peter Janssen on March 13, 2019 Cruising Life

Building on the success of its creative X60 that was launched last year, Maritimo, the highly regarded Australian builder, is launching a new X50 at the Sanctuary Cove boat show south of Brisbane next month. With its low profile, race-bred hull and innovative “beach club’” aft cabin, the Maritimo X60 set sales records for the company after its introduction last year in Australia and was equally well received in the U.S., starting with the Annapolis powerboat show in October. The new X50 is a two-cabin, two-head boat, with a highly customizable third cabin or beach club lounge area aft, accessible…

Le Boat Turns 50, Opens New Base, with More Boats, on Canada’s Historic Rideau Canal

By Peter Janssen on March 13, 2019 Cruising Life

Le Boat, the French company with the world’ largest fleet of river and canal charter boats, is celebrating its 50 anniversary this year, and it just opened its second base on the historic Rideau Canal in Ontario, Canada. It also is expanding its fleet there. When it started in 1969, Le Boat had eight boats on the gorgeous Canal du Midi in France. The concept of chartering a canal boat that you could drive yourself proved popular almost immediately, and the company has grown exponentially. Today, Le Boat has 940 boats in eight countries around the world. Last spring, Le…

New Towable NautBoard Water Toy: Swim Like a Dolphin

By Peter Janssen on March 12, 2019 Cruising Life

The new towable NautBoard water toy just looks like fun. It’s easy to use – you basically just hang on – and then a boat or jet ski tows you through, or under, the water, at speeds from 2 to 5 knots. The company says that NautBoard’s patented design lets you swim like a dolphin – and we all know how much fun they are. The board is shaped something like a bird in flight. Its wave-like design limits the gravitational pull on your body so you can swim behind it easily. And anyone can use it. The NautBoard is…

Dramatic Pictures of Coast Guard Surf Training Off San Francisco

By Peter Janssen on March 11, 2019 Cruising Life

If you think you’ve been in some bad surf, take a look at these pictures. They show two 47-foot Coast Guard lifeboats practicing surf training off Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Taken by Dave Rogers, who usually shoots wildlife, they capture the raw power of the surf and the intensity of the Coast Guard training in absolutely memorable images. Rogers told USA Today that he was driving by the beach when he saw other photographers gathered on the dunes, taking pictures of the surf. He stopped, and started shooting himself. What he saw was memorable, as the boats climbed over…

Wilbur Introduces New 37 Weekender with Twin Outboards and a 48-Knot Top End

By Peter Janssen on March 11, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s a big change for Wilbur Yachts, the traditional builder of Down East boats in Southwest Harbor, Maine. Lee Wilbur started the company in 1973 and built more than 200 classic lobster boats there over the years, working with such iconic boating names as Jarvis Newman, Ralph Stanley, Ralph Ellis and Raymond Bunker, among others. In 2001, Wilbur sold the company to his daughter, Heidi, and her husband, John Kachmar, who’ve been running it ever since. Now Kachmar has come up with an entirely new look for Wilbur – a Wilbur 37 Weekender. Powered by twin 425-hp Yamaha outboards, the…

Whale Starts To Swallow Diver Off South Africa, Then Spits Him Out, Uninjured

By Peter Janssen on March 11, 2019 Cruising Life

Rainer Schimpf, 51, is a lucky man. After all, he was almost eaten up by a 50-foot whale while he was diving in the Indian Ocean off South Africa, with his head and torso inside the whale’s mouth. Fortunately, after a few seconds, the whale spat him out, and Schimpf swam back to his dive boat, unharmed. (See the video, below.) Schimpf is the director of Dive Experts Tours, and he was leading a group about 25 nm off Elizabeth Harbour, just east of Cape Town. The group was filming a sardine run that usually attracts seals, dolphins, sharks, penguins…

Navy Cracks Down on Boaters Anchored in Restricted Waters Off Key West

By Peter Janssen on March 11, 2019 Cruising Life

If you’re going to Key West, make sure you check your chart before you drop anchor. The Navy just cracked down on boats anchored in restricted waters there, issuing citation to 37 vessels, including some that were being used as vacation rentals. The problem was that the boats were anchored in restricted areas around the Naval Air Station in Key West. The Navy wanted to clear them out of potentially dangerous areas near bunkers on Fleming Key that store explosive materials. Fleming Key is connected to Key West by a short bridge and is just across Garrison Bight from the…

Ice Melting at Record Levels in Bering Sea, Even in Winter

By Peter Janssen on March 10, 2019 Cruising Life

Even in the depths of winter, ice in the Bering Sea has been melting at a record rate, and scientists say the amount of ice that has disappeared this winter has been “extreme.” Ice covering the Bering Sea is the lowest on record at this time of year. Indeed, this winter the amount of ice lost is about the size of Montana. It was the second straight year that ice retreated drastically. Now, low ice levels affect local communities who traditionally hunt for walrus and other wildlife during the winter; it also will change the feeding habits of Arctic animals.…

Historic Shoaling Closes Part of Tenn-Tom Waterway

By Peter Janssen on March 10, 2019 Cruising Life

Heavy rains have created historic shoaling along parts of the 234-mile Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, closing it to navigation below the Aberdeen Lock and Dam in Mississippi. The Army Corps of Engineers is trying to start dredging there, where the waterway is completely blocked, but it may take some time. Opened in 1984, the Tenn-Tom is a man-made waterway connecting the Tennessee River and the Tombigbee River. It is popular with recreational boaters as part of the Great Loop, and it also is used by commercial barge traffic connecting to the Gulf of Mexico. Heavy rains last month caused a rapid rise…

New 9-Pound Crankenstein Portable Jump Starter from Weego

By Peter Janssen on March 6, 2019 Cruising Life

Weego says its new portable jump starter is so light you can lift it with only one finger: It weighs just nine pounds. The new wonderfully named Crankenstein is also, according to Weego, the smartest, safest and most compact marine-grade jump starter in the world. The new Crankenstein Jump Starting 12V/24V Power Pack may well be all of that. It is a powerful 12- and 24-volt portable jump starter that would be a smart and safe addition to your boat’s basic cruising equipment. What boat owner hasn’t worried about losing battery power at some time? It’s hard to deny the…

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