Cruising Life

Catalina Buys True North. Will Make a True North 38 with Outboards

By Peter Janssen on February 6, 2019 Cruising Life

Catalina Yachts, which has been making sailboats for the past 50 years, just bought True North Powerboats as an entry into the growing Downeast-styled powerboat market. Catalina also said they would introduce a new True North 38 with twin outboard power to go with True North’s 34 Outboard Express model (pictured above). Sharon Day, the vice president of sales and marketing for Catalina, said the sailboat maker had been talking to its dealers and owners and found that “the True North line is a brand that appeals to sailors, making it a good fit for Catalina yachts.” True North was…

New Schiller Water Bike: Have Some Fun and Get Some Exercise on Your Next Cruise

By Peter Janssen on February 6, 2019 Cruising Life

If you want to get some exercise on you next cruise, take a look at this new Schiller water bike. It’s essentially a portable bike sitting between two inflatable pontoons, and it looks like it’s a lot of fun. The Schiller water bike is easy to assemble, use and store. You can put it together in about ten minutes, and that includes inflating the two pontoons. Once it’s launched, you pedal it, just like any other bike, except that you don’t have to worry about tipping over; the two pontoons will keep you upright. When you’re done, you can store…

Is Your Anchor Dragging? Five Ways To Find Out

By Peter Janssen on February 5, 2019 Cruising Life

So you’ve finally reached that dreamed-of cove or anchorage, you’ve dropped the hook, and you’re ready to relax. But is the anchor really set? Will it hold if the wind or current change? Will you have to get up in the middle of the night (we’ve all been there) to reset it at zero dark thirty? The best thing to do before you call it a day and totally relax is to check to make sure the anchor is set and not dragging. Any anchor will drag at one time or another, and then it’s not fun. So once you’ve…

Torqueedo and Avon Launch New 31-Knot All-Electric Tender

By Peter Janssen on February 5, 2019 Cruising Life

Torqueedo and Zodiac have just launched a 31-knot, all-electric Avon eJET 450 tender, powered by a Torqueedo Deep Blue 55kW motor and a BMW i3 battery. The new Avon is quiet and does not use any fossil fuel. It is designed to appeal to the yacht market, where owners would not have to worry about carrying fuel or oil for the tender, but it serves equally well as a sport boat or a runabout. The eJet 450 has head-snapping acceleration from the Torqueedo’s instant torque, and benefits in speed and range from proprietary Hydrojet technology developed specifically to work with…

Jeanneau Launches New Leader 33 Cruiser with Twin 250-hp Outboards

By Peter Janssen on February 4, 2019 Cruising Life

In a bow to the ever-increasing move to outboard power in cruising boats, Jeanneau is introducing its new Leader 33 Outboard, with twin 250-hp Yamahas, at the Miami boat show starting Feb. 14. It is designed to be a faster, quieter and easier-to-service version of the previous Leader 33, which had inboard engines. It also can cruise into thinner waters or serve as a picnic boat on a beach; just tilt up the outboards. The new Leader 33 Outboard is a twin-cabin, one-head cruiser, with an open, light-filled salon and a cockpit that simply invites entertaining and lounging in the…

Just in Time for Valentine’s Day: The Ten Most Romantic Island Resorts in the World

By Peter Janssen on February 4, 2019 Cruising Life

If you want to get in the mood for Valentine’s Day on Feb.14, take a look at what Forbes calls the most romantic island resorts in the world. Here are ten, from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, where you can relax with your Valentine at any time of the year. The amenities range from Robinson Crusoe-type spare to over-the-top luxurious. Take a look, and start packing your bathing suit. If you want to go far afield, the Anantara Medjumbe Island Resort in Mozambique in the Indian Ocean offers some of the most beautiful water on the planet. Here you’ll find…

Monte Carlo Yachts Introduces New MCY 70, A Light-Filled, High-Style 30-Knot Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on February 3, 2019 Cruising Life

Monte Carlo Yachts just introduced its new MCY 70 at the Düsseldorf boat show, a new, more modern and light-filled version of the popular 70 it launched more than a decade ago that won plaudits and awards in Europe and the U.S. The new MCY 70 is a four-stateroom, three-head cruiser, designed by Nuvolari Lenard, and driven by twin 1,200-hp MAN diesels. The company says it has a 24-knot cruising speed and a 30-knot top speed. With its contemporary Italian look, the new MCY 70 has lots of straight lines and lots of interior space for comfortable living on board.…

New: Raymarine’s Revolutionary Automatic Docking Systems for Outboards on a Boston Whaler

By Peter Janssen on February 2, 2019 Cruising Life

Raymarine just moved its new, revolutionary autonomous docking system into the outboard market, introducing it on a Boston Whaler 330 Outrage with twin Mercury Verados (see picture above). It initially introduced the new artificial intelligence DockSense system with a Virtual Bumper last month on a Prestige 460 inboard-powered motoryacht at the Düsseldorf boat show. Both the Boston Whaler and the Prestige with DockSense will be on display at the Miami boat show starting on Feb. 14. Mercury launched the new system at a demonstration at its Lake X test center outside Orlando. “We’re able to provide a product that makes…

Sudden Storm Destroys Boats, Pier, Near Vancouver; Almost Turns Deadly

By Peter Janssen on January 30, 2019 Cruising Life

As you can see in these dramatic pictures, Tim Shields is a professional photographer from Vancouver, British Columbia, who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Shields and his daughter were taking a walk recently along the waterfront in the little city of White Rock, about 30 miles south of Vancouver, when a sudden storm blew in, destroying about a dozen boats and cutting the pier they were on in two. The situation was so bad that a Canadian Armed Forces helicopter had to rescue a man stranded on the outer end of the pier. Shields…

Fast, Safe, All-Weather SARGO 33 Cruiser Launched in Seattle

By Peter Janssen on January 30, 2019 Cruising Life

The all-weather, 40-knot, easy-riding SARGO 33 was just introduced at the Seattle boat show. The two-cabin, one-head cruiser is made in Finland, but it would be just as much at home in the Pacific Northwest, the coast of Maine, on Georgian Bay or other parts of the Great Loop. Full disclosure: Several years ago Billy Black, the photographer, and I spent a few days (and nights) on the 31-foot version of this boat, cruising in mid-coast Maine. We found it comfortable, seaworthy and easy to handle in a great variety of conditions, including navigating through Maine’s infamous fog. As opposed…

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