Cruising Life

Ocean Alexander Building Totally New Line, Divergence, a 45-Foot Luxury Sport Boat with Four 350-hp Outboards

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

Ocean Alexander is stepping way outside its box and is building a totally new line, called Divergence, a 45-foot luxury outboard powered by four 350-hp Mercury Verados. The new boat, being built at the old Sea Ray factory on Merritt Island, Florida, will be ready for the Miami show in February. So far, Ocean Alexander has earned a reputation for quality and customer service in the large yacht and megayacht worlds. Its existing lineup stretches from 70 to 155 feet. But the 40-to-50-foot segment is hot now, as is the outboard market. The new Divergence fits into both of those…

Dead Whale in Indonesia Had 1,000 Pieces of Plastic in Its Stomach, Including Flip Flops

By Peter Janssen on November 25, 2018 Cruising Life

A dead 31-foot sperm whale washed up on a beach in a popular resort area of Indonesia recently with more than 1,000 pieces of plastic in its stomach, including 115 cups, 25 bags and two flip flops. All told, the plastic in the whale’s stomach weighed 13 pounds. State officials who were called to the scene near Kapota Island couldn’t tell if the plastic killed the whale or whether it died of other causes. Indonesia is one of the largest producers of plastic waste in the world, along with China. This was not the first such incident in that part…

Fort Pierce, Florida: A Historic, Boater-Friendly Stop on the ICW

By Peter Janssen on November 19, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

If you’re cruising through Florida, you may want to think about stopping at Fort Pierce. It’s a major boating center right on the Intracoastal Waterway, and the Fort Pierce Inlet gives easy access to the Atlantic, if you want to go outside, or to the Bahamas. Hutchinson Island, the long, thin barrier island, separates the Waterway from the ocean there. Fort Pierce is called the “sunrise city,” because of the clear view to the east. One of the oldest cities in the area (with roots dating to 1567), it’s on Florida’s Treasure Coast, so-named because of all the tons of…

Want To Keep Your Hull Clean? Try Drive-in Boat Wash

By Peter Janssen on November 19, 2018 Cruising Life

Want to keep your hull clean? Who doesn’t. Here’s a new idea about how to do that, from a company in Sweden. It’s called Drive-In Boat Wash, which is pretty descriptive of what it does. Here’s how it works: You drive your boat into a U-shaped dock. Six rotating brushes (made with high-density polymer) automatically adjust to the hull shape. The brushes move back and forth along the length of the boat, removing fouling and even barnacles. Pressure is controlled hydraulically; the machine is operated by a hand-held remote. No chemicals are used in the cleaning and the fouling is…

The Favors Keep Cruising: Now Down the Historic Trent Severn Waterway on Their Ranger 29

By Peter Janssen on November 19, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

Many cruisers consider the historic, pastoral 240-mile Trent Severn Waterway the most beautiful part of the entire 5,000-mile-long Great Loop. Connecting Trenton on Lake Ontario to Port Severn on Georgian Bay, the waterway runs through small villages, farmland and lakes, and has no fewer than 44 locks. Jim and Lisa Favors, two experienced cruisers (they’ve already completed the Loop, for example), now write about their north to south passage on the Trent Severn, including their transit of the Peterborough lift lock, which is so unique it has been designated a Canadian National Historic Site. Built in the early 1900s, the…

24 Finalists Named for European Powerboat of the Year Awards

By Peter Janssen on November 19, 2018 Cruising Life

The 24 boats nominated as finalists for the prestigious European Powerboat of the Year awards were just announced. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on January 19, the first day of the Düsseldorf Boat Show. Arranged in five categories, the awards are made by a jury of editors from the leading European powerboat magazines, including those from Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway and Austria. Many of the finalists come from familiar brands to American boaters, while others are limited to the European market. Boats up to 25 Feet: Boston Whaler 170 Montauk Glastron GTD 220 Nordkapp…

Whale Shark, the Biggest Fish in the Sea, Surfaces Behind Fishing Boat Off Charleston. See the Video

By Peter Janssen on November 18, 2018 Cruising Life

Whale sharks, the largest fish in the sea, usually live in the tropics. About the size of a school bus, growing to 40 feet long and weighing in at 20 tons, they prefer warm water, migrating every spring to the continental shelf off central west Australia, where the Ningaloo Reef provides them with an abundant supply of plankton, their food of choice. So Michael Krivohlavek, 21, a mate for Daymaker Sport Fishing Charters out of Charleston, S.C., was surprised to see a whale shark surface behind his boat recently. The fishing boat was in 150 feet of water about 36…

Owner of Miami Vice Charter Pleads Guilty in Death of a Passenger

By Peter Janssen on November 18, 2018 Cruising Life

This news doesn’t seem a surprise, but it does serve as a point of closure. The owner of Miami Vice, a 95-foot, 55-knot charter boat, has pleaded guilty in the death of a passenger who was killed by the boat’s props while swimming behind it. The owner, it turns out, hired a captain even though he knew the captain didn’t have a Coast Guard license. To make matters worse, the boat didn’t have a charter license either. Finally, the owner filmed a video of the captain snorting cocaine as they drove around Miami Beach together. Laurent Marc-Antoine Jean Maubert-Cayla, the…

Bad News on the Great Loop: Army Corps of Engineers Will Close Six Locks on Illinois River in 2020

By Peter Janssen on November 18, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s some bad news for anyone thinking of tackling the Great Loop in 2020: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is closing six locks and dams on the Illinois River, that part of the Loop connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River, from July 1 to October 31, for major infrastructure repairs. The options for Loopers are to stay in the Great Lakes and leave Chicago on November 1, although as someone who has lived in Chicago, I can safely say you might get a bit cold then. You also need to determine how many marinas and other facilities would…

New Vicem 65 IPS Classic: A Cold-Molded Turkish Beauty with Downeast Looks

By Peter Janssen on November 18, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The cold-molded, all-mahogany Vicem 65 IPS Classic, just displayed at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, is a Turkish-built beauty with Downeast lines powered by twin 800-hp Volvo Penta IPS1050 pod drives for superior performance and ease of maneuvering around a dock. It’s the largest Vicem to be fitted with IPS, and it has a cruising speed of 23 knots and a top speed of 26 knots. The optional 1,000-hp Volvo Penta IPS1350 drives add a few knots to the top speed. The long sheerline, low profile and beautiful tumblehome of the Vicem 65 all mark it as a timeless…

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