Cruising Life

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Annapolis ’18: More Boats, More To See and Do. Plus: Our Reviews of 32 New Cruising Boats

By Peter Janssen on October 1, 2018 Cruising Life

The United States Powerboat Show in Annapolis is always a popular show – for a whole lot of reasons. It’s fun, it’s easy to get to, and it’s easy to see a lot of new boats and gear there. And it’s in Annapolis, the hub of the Chesapeake, a cruising mecca with boatyards and marinas – and waterfront restaurants and bars – all around. Centered around City Dock, in the middle of town (also known as Ego Alley), this year the show, the 47th annual, runs from Thursday, Oct. 11, through Sunday, Oct. 14. It has many more boats than ever…

The Lasting Appeal of 1920s Commuter Yachts: Here’s a Slideshow of Six of Today’s Best

By Peter Janssen on September 30, 2018 Cruising Life

The idea – and then the reality – of commuter yachts started in the Roaring Twenties, when newly rich (and old-monied) Wall Street masters of the universe wanted a faster, and much more fun, way to commute to work from their estates on the golden North Shore of Long Island Sound than on the railroad. Think Gatsby, but with longer lives. As a result, sleek, low-profile, 20-knot yachts, usually with enough mahogany inside to populate a small forest, were born. The elegant designs of commuter yachts, with their clean, graceful and often awe-inspiring lines, have lived on. Here’s a slideshow…

In Light of State Department Warnings, How Safe is Mexico Today? The Log Has Some Answers

By Peter Janssen on September 30, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

Travel advisories are often issued by the United States, but how dangerous is it south of the border? MEXICO — There are certainly a fair share of boaters who navigate to and from Mexico’s many marinas and boating destinations on a regular basis, giving no mind to the travel advisories issued by the U.S.’s State Department. Yet others might buy into this notion of Mexico being a drug cartel playground, with innocent U.S. tourists caught in the middle of heated gun battles. Traveling always comes with risks, to be sure. Some people will invariably have bad experiences, even if they…

New 230-Foot Eco-Yacht Designed To Pluck 5 Tons of Plastic a Day from the Ocean and Then Power Itself with That Waste

By Peter Janssen on September 29, 2018 Cruising Life

Plans for the new Ocean Saviour, a 230-foot, $52 million eco-yacht that is designed to collect plastic from the ocean and then power itself by recycling that waste into fuel, were just unveiled in Southampton, UK. The boat will have two booms on either side that will funnel floating pollution into a conveyer. The plastic then will be chopped into tiny pieces, milled and processed onboard to power the boat. The high-tech process on Ocean Saviour will destroy ocean waste completely with “minimal atmospheric pollution,” according to its designers. The yacht can scoop up five tons of plastic pollution a day and…

Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island Resort To Reopen Soon, Rebuilt After Irma. See His Video

By Peter Janssen on September 29, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

Sir Richard Branson is going to reopen his exclusive and beautiful vacation property on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands in a few weeks. It had been seriously damaged by Hurricane Irma last fall. “Delighted that Necker Island will soon be open again as we continue the recovery,” Branson wrote. Branson bought the 74-acre island in the ‘70s for $180,000 and spent millions making it one of the most sought-after luxury resorts in the world. Over the years, the guest list has included royals, Kate Moss, Kate Winslet, the late Nelson Mandela, and former President Barack Obama and his…

New Vicem 65 IPS Classic: A Down-East Look from a Veteran Turkish Builder

By Peter Janssen on September 29, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Vicem 65 IPS Classic, the Turkish-built yacht with classic Down East lines, will have its world debut at the Annapolis powerboat show starting Oct. 11. The new low-profile beauty with its long sheerline and built-in-Maine-like tumblehome is the 153rd yacht built in Vicem’s 27-year history, and its 12th in the 60-foot segment. Powered by twin 800-hp Volvo diesels with IPS 1050 pod drives, the new Vicem cruises at 26 knots and tops out at 30 knots. At its cruising speed, the boat has a range of about 420 nm. Because of its cold-molded construction process using marine mahogany, Vicem…

Seal Slaps Kayaker in Face with an Octopus. See the Video

By Peter Janssen on September 27, 2018 Cruising Life

You’ve probably never seen this before: A video of a seal slapping a kayaker in the face with an octopus. Here, from The Washington Post, is a story about how Kyle Mulinder, 37, was kayaking off Kaikoura, New Zealand, when a seal jumped out of the water and slapped him across the face with an octopus. The octopus’s eight limbs were flailing as it fought for its life. “It’s a lot like a wet towel with a bit of hardness,” Mulinder wrote on Instagram. He says he was just in the “wrong place, right time.” His video quickly went viral.…

It’s “One Tough Year” As The BVI Struggles To Return to Normal

By Peter Janssen on September 25, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s a solid story from The New York Times about how the British Virgin Islands are struggling to recover, one year later, from last fall’s devastating hurricanes. “A year later,” The Times reports, “the greenery is back, but Tortola’s lush hills are still pocked with houses wreaked by Hurricane Irma’s 178-mph winds. Some are neglected vacation homes…Others were abandoned by residents who fled the island. But many are the homes of those who have struggled to rebuild.” The BVI suffered more than $3.6 billion in damages, four times its gross domestic product, in the two hurricanes last fall. It was one of…

New 38-Knot Princess V60 Cruiser To Make Debut in Annapolis

By Peter Janssen on September 25, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new 38-knot Princess V60 will make its U.S. debut at the Annapolis powerboat show, starting Oct. 11. Twin 1,200-hp MAN V-8 diesels power the new Princess, with three staterooms and two heads and a clean, Euro-style salon, to a cruising speed of 32 knots. Built at the Princess factory in Plymouth, England, the new V60 is designed for luxury, sociability and performance. The cockpit is a major social center, with a U-shaped lounge with a teak folding table and directors chairs. It’s equipped with a full wet bar and barbeque. It has a large sunpad aft; a garage below…

Maine Lobsterman To Plead Guilty to Seaman’s Manslaughter in Death of Two Crew

By Peter Janssen on September 23, 2018 Cruising Life

A Maine lobsterman will plead guilty to seaman’s manslaughter after his 45-foot boat turned over in a storm four years ago off Matinicus Island and his two crewmen drowned. The government says he took them out after smoking pot, attending a Halloween party, and buying 20 tablets of oxycodone. Christopher Hutchinson (pictured at top), who was 26 at the time, left the Linda Bean dock in Tenants Harbor about 1 a.m. on Nov. 31 on his boat, No Limits, with Tom Hammond, (pictured above), 27, from Rockland, and Tyler Sawyer, 15, from Waldoboro. He was told the weather was bad,…

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