Cruising Life

Sperm Whale Killed by Eating 64 Pounds of Plastic

By Peter Janssen on April 12, 2018 Cruising Life

A dead 33-foot sperm whale washed up on a beach on the southern coast of Spain recently, and an autopsy showed it was killed by 64 pounds of plastic that had become lodged in its stomach. Local scientists were puzzled by what had killed the whale, until doctors from the El Valle Wildlife Recovery Center performed the autopsy. They found plastic bags, a jerry can and pieces of rope and fishing nets in the whale’s stomach. They said it died because it could not expel the plastic and that blockage in the digestive system caused a fatal infection. More than…

The Cruising Life: Sue LaNeve Started with a 19-foot Cuddy Cabin. Now She Loves Cruising Full-Time on Her Kadey-Krogen 55

By Peter Janssen on April 12, 2018 Cruising Life

Growing up in the small town of West Miami, Florida, Sue LaNeve was something of a tomboy. She climbed trees, dreamed of being an astronaut, rode horses, sailed a pram. A spirit of adventure took root. Today, she owns and cruises full-time on INVICTUS, a Kadey-Krogen 55’ Expedition raised pilothouse trawler. And she’s written her story for NAVAID, the Kadey-Krogen newsletter. Her boat-owning life started when she and her husband Don bought a 19-foot cuddy cabin for their fourth wedding anniversary. Five boats later, for their 30thanniversary, they bought Freebird, a 1996 Kadey-Krogen 48 North Sea. They had retired, and…

New Team Will Search for Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance, which Sank in the Antarctic in 1915, Setting Off Heroic Rescue

By Peter Janssen on April 11, 2018 Cruising Life

The saga of Ernest Shackleton and how he saved the crew of the polar explorer ship Endurance after it was trapped in ice in the Antarctic has gone down as one of the greatest sea stories of all time. After the 144-foot-long ship sank on Nov. 21, 1915, Shackleton and his 27-man crew spent weeks on the ice, hoping to drift to safety. When they finally realized that wasn’t going to happen, they climbed on three open lifeboats and spent five days, with temperatures reaching 20 below, sailing and rowing before they reached Elephant Island, where at least they were on firm…

New Waypoint 36 Coming This Spring from American Tugs. A Solid, Two-Stateroom, Pilothouse Cruiser with an Appealing Price

By Peter Janssen on April 10, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The Tomco Marine Group, makers of American Tugs in La Conner, Washington, is launching an entirely new model called the Waypoint 36 later this spring. It is basically a new, lower-priced version of the American Tug 365, with two staterooms, one head, a 260-hp Volvo diesel and an introductory price of $350,000. The new Waypoint 36 uses the same hull and deck as the American Tug 365, but the interior will have more molded components and fewer options. The company says the idea is to build a more affordable, quality, trawler that can cruise up the Inside Passage to Alaska…

The Hamiltons Get a New Prop Shaft After 9,500 Hours on Their Nordhavn 52. Then They Get a Vibration. A Blow-by-Blow Account

By Peter Janssen on April 10, 2018 Cruising Life, Maintenance

Back in December, James and Jennifer Hamilton, the globe-circling, high-tech cruising couple from Seattle, passed the 9,500-hour mark on the single 265-hp John Deere engine that drives their Nordhavn 52. That was in the North Atlantic. Since then they cruised to Ireland and then England, where, starting on Jan. 9, they decided to replace the cutlass bearings on the rudder shaft and on the wing and main prop shafts as well. They were at Saxon Wharf in Southampton. Hamilton gives a blow-by-blow account of what happened next, with pictures, all on their website (mvdirona.com). Here’s the short version: They loosened…

For Some of the Best of Maine, Head for Prouts Neck and the New 250 Main in Rockland

By Peter Janssen on April 10, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

In case you need another reason to go to Maine, take a good look at these stories and pictures of what you can find in Prouts Neck, just below Portland, with its rocky shoreline immortalized by Winslow Homer, and then farther up the coast in Rockland, known as the art capital of Maine but now also the home of an “art hotel” created by Cabot Lyman, of Lyman-Morse boatbuilders. Here’s a great guide from The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro, MA, that will have you heading Down East in a hurry. You’ll find Prouts Neck first; it’s on a peninsula in Scarborough, surrounded…

How, and When, To Make a Mayday or Other Distress Call. A Good Primer from the Power Squadrons

By Peter Janssen on April 9, 2018 Cruising Life

Let’s assume that you’re up to speed on how to make a distress call to the Coast Guard in an emergency. And that you know proper VHF radio procedure, and you’re familiar with the three levels of distress calls, starting with the life- or vessel-threatening Mayday. But what happens if you’re incapacitated, or you can’t make the call yourself? Does your spouse or crew know what to do? Here’s a great reminder from the U.S. Power Squadrons on how to call for help when you need it most. Before you start a cruise, it’s a good idea to make sure…

More Atlantic Hurricanes than Usual This Year, Says Colorado State Forecast

By Peter Janssen on April 9, 2018 Cruising Life

Last year was the worst hurricane season ever on the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. This year, according to the well-regarded annual forecast from Colorado State, there will be more hurricanes than average, with a chance that seven named storms will turn into hurricanes. And there’s a 63 percent chance the U.S. will be hit by a major hurricane. No one wants a repeat of last year, when Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria caused more than $217 billion worth of damage, the most ever. The Colorado State study, now in its 35th year, predicts that the Atlantic coast will have…

Father-Son Team Convicted of Dumping Oil from Fishing Boat’s Bilge into Washington Harbor, Ocean

By Peter Janssen on April 9, 2018 Cruising Life

A jury in a U.S. District Court in Seattle just found Randall Fox, former captain of the fishing vessel Native Sun (above), guilty of discharging oily waste into the ocean. He now faces a maximum of six years in prison and a criminal fine of $250,000. Last year his father, Bingham Fox, the former owner of Native Sun, was convicted of similar crimes. The original indictment said that Bingham Fox ordered the crew to discharge oil and other bilge waste overboard in the harbor and adjoining shoreline of Blaine, Washington, which is on the Strait of George just south of…

Cargo Ships Loses Steering, Crashes into Historic Mansion on the Bosporus. See the Video

By Peter Janssen on April 9, 2018 Cruising Life

A 738-foot-long cargo carrier lost its rudder and crashed into a historic waterside mansion on the Bosporus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey, causing a great deal of damage and temporarily closing the Strait, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The 17-mile Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and then the Aegean and the Mediterranean. The Maltese-flagged ship, the Vistaspirit, crashed into a red mansion that dates back to the 18th century; it once belonged to a doctor in the Ottoman palace but now is primarily used for events, such as weddings or concerts. The…

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