Cruising Life

Good Samaritans Rescue Seven from Sinking Charter Fishing Boat Off Cape May

By Peter Janssen on August 6, 2018 Cruising Life

The website for the Beach Runner, a 32-foot Rampage sport fishing boat based in Wildwood, New Jersey, says, “Whether you want to fish the Delaware Bay or inshore shoals and reefs, the Beach Runner provides a fun, relaxing day for parties of one to six people.” On a recent Saturday, things didn’t work out that way. At 9 a.m. the Beach Runner issued a Mayday call, saying it was taking on water about nine miles off the Cape May reef. Crews from two other boats, Miss Addison 2 and Porgy IV heard the call and sped to the stricken boat. “As we…

After a Strong Start, This Years’s Atlantic Hurricane Season May Be Less Severe than Average

By Peter Janssen on August 5, 2018 Cruising Life

This year’s Atlantic hurricane season started early and it started strong, but it may end up as something of a fizzle. That’s according to the latest report from the experts at Colorado State University, who now are predicting that we’ll have fewer named storms than average for the remainder of this hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30. Now the Colorado State forecast calls for 12 named storms this year, way under last year’s 17. Three have already formed in the Atlantic, and two – Beryl and Chris – became hurricanes. The new forecast calls for only nine more for the…

New York Times: An Orca, Her Dead Calf and Us

By Peter Janssen on August 5, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s a good explanation about why the story of Tahlequah, the mother orca whale who’s been carrying her dead calf on what researchers call a “grief tour” of the San Juan Islands for more than ten days, resonates so clearly with us. The author, Susan Casey, writes: “To learn the orcas’ natural and cultural history is to understand how closely connected a mother and calf are, how tight-knot their bond. Like us, orcas are self-aware, cognitively skilled individuals that communicate using their pod’s signature dialect. Unlike us, their core identity is communal: It encompasses not just themselves, but their family…

Tactical 77: Brand-New, Go-Anywhere, Long-Range Cruiser with an Attitude

By Peter Janssen on August 1, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Here’s a new long-range cruiser with a different look and an attitude: the Tactical 77 Fast Pilothouse Motoryacht. Serious and military-looking on the outside, the new Tactical 77 is luxurious and comfortable on the inside, ready to take its owner and guests just about anywhere in the world. The boat was designed by William Prince Yacht Design, in Port Washington, Wisconsin, and it’s being built by Tactical Custom Boats in British Columbia. Prince designed the aluminum yacht for a North American client who wanted a military look combined with a contemporary and sleek interior. The superstructure is built with carbon-fiber…

A New Cruising Toy: Super-Cool, Limited-Edition Tesla Surfboard

By Peter Janssen on August 1, 2018 Cruising Life, Gear

If you’re looking for another toy (particularly a super-cool toy) for your next cruise, consider the new limited-edition Tesla surfboard. The only problem is that you’ll probably have to find one on eBay, since the company sold out the first batch of 200 of them, for $1,500 each, in just one day. The 6’ 8” red-and-black boards are made with carbon fiber and were developed by the Tesla Design Studio and Matt “Mayhem” Biolos, a surfboard shaper from Lost Surfboards in San Clemente. The company says they feature “a mix of the same high-quality matte and gloss finishes used on…

From Harbor Cruises, Free Concerts and Pool Parties, Lots Going on at Marina del Rey This Summer

By Peter Janssen on August 1, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

If you’re cruising in Southern California for the rest of the summer, check out the schedule at Marina del Rey next to Los Angeles; there’s a lot going on. For starters, Marina del Rey is one of the largest and most attractive marinas not only on the West Coast but anywhere in the U.S., so a visit at any time is a treat. Over the years I’ve always had a great time there. But this summer the schedule includes Marina Fundays, free concerts, food on the beach, a farmer’s market and more. Throughout August and September, the Marina Fundays offer…

State Urges Boaters To Use “Extreme Caution” in the Chesapeake To Avoid Debris

By Peter Janssen on July 31, 2018 Cruising Life

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is urging boaters to use “extreme caution’ in the Chesapeake after heavy rains and opened floodgates on a dam in the Susquehanna River produced fields of debris in the bay. The department says “marine debris” includes tree limbs and driftwood on the surface and just under the surface that can damage boats. In Annapolis, crews form the Harbormaster’s Office cleared debris that floated into Ego Alley, the city’s marine showcase and downtown center of boating activity. The debris and sediment there flowed from the Susquehanna, Patapsco and Severn Rivers. Last week, operators of the…

Florida’s Growing Toxic Algae Bloom: The New Normal?

By Peter Janssen on July 30, 2018 Cruising Life

The toxic algae bloom grew larger in Lake Okeechobee over the weekend, according to the Palm Beach Post. The paper says that scientists had feared this would happen. New satellite images show that over the weekend the algae bloom grew to cover 40 percent of the lake (220 square miles) after falling to a 30 percent level earlier in July. A NOAA oceanographer says the increase could be because calm winds helped the algae collect nearer the surface, where it’s easier for the satellite cameras to detect it. Still, Sachi Mishra, the oceanographer, says the bloom in general is receding, since…

More Sharks, and More Shark Attacks, in California. Now the State Is Trying To Figure Out What To Do

By Peter Janssen on July 30, 2018 Cruising Life

Last summer there were so many sharks along the California coast that the NBC station in Los Angeles called it the “summer of sightings.” Boaters, kayakers, surfers, divers and swimmers all reported seeing more sharks, including great white sharks, than ever before. And this year there are more than ever, so many, in fact, that the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, the leading great white shark research organization, has run out of tags to identify them. The historic trend is stark: In the 1950s, there were 12 shark attacks in California waters. So far in the 2010s,…

Coast Guard Orders Investigation into Duck Boat Sinking. Victims’ Families Sue, Charging They Are “Death Traps.” NTSB Releases Timeline

By Peter Janssen on July 30, 2018 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard has convened a formal Marine Board of Investigation into the loss of the duck boat that sank on July 19 with the loss of 17 lives near Branson, Missouri. A Marine Board of Investigation is the highest-level investigation in the Coast Guard, and it’s only the fifth to be convened in the past decade. Meanwhile, two different families of drowning victims in the tragedy have sued Ride the Ducks Branson, the company operating the duck boat fleet there, charging that they are “death traps” and that the operators knew about safety problems for years and did nothing…

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