Cruising Life

One of 76 Containers that Fell Off Maersk Ship Off Carolina Coast Had 5,900 Pounds of Sulfuric Acid. Coast Guard, Others, Searching

By Peter Janssen on March 12, 2018 Cruising Life

This is a story that just keeps getting worse. Now it turns out that one of the 76 (yes, 76) containers that tumbled off the Maersk Shanghai while it was off the coast of North Carolina last week was carrying 5,900 pounds of sulfuric acid. The Coast Guard, NOAA and the EPA are trying to track the containers, which the Coast Guard has labeled “hazards to navigation.” The crew of the Shanghai called the Coast Guard after the containers fell off the ship in a heavy roll during nor’easter 17 miles off Oregon Inlet in the Outer Banks, saying they…

Oldest Message in a Bottle, Dating to German Ship in 1886, Found in Australia

By Peter Janssen on March 8, 2018 Cruising Life

The oldest message in a bottle, thrown off a German ship in the Indian Ocean in 1886, has been found on a beach 110 miles north of Perth, Australia. The bottle, in remarkably good condition, was authenticated by German and Australian authorities. The bottle was found by Tonya Illman, who was walking along the shore of Wedge Island, in Western Australia. She was picking up debris, and saw the bottle, with a tightly rolled message inside. The message paper was wet, so she took it home and put it in her oven to dry out. When she unfurled it later,…

USS Lexington, Sunk in 1942, Found Two Miles Under Water in South Pacific

By Peter Janssen on March 7, 2018 Cruising Life

The remains of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, which was sunk during the Battle of the Coral Sea in May, 1942, has been found two miles under water by a research team led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The Lady Lex was found about 500 miles from Australia by Allen’s Research Vessel Petrel, which located 11 of the carrier’s 35 planes on board, and took a close-up picture of a Grumman Wildcat, top. The Lexington was hit by Japanese torpedo planes and dive bombers during what has been considered the first battle between aircraft carriers in the world. After a massive…

New Foiler Hits 40 Knots 5 Feet Over the Water, Provides a Smooth Ride

By Peter Janssen on March 7, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Hydrofoils aren’t exactly new (think America’s Cup boats, high-speed ferries), but we haven’t seen one like this before. Take a look at the new 31-foot, 40-knot Foiler just introduced at the Dubai International Boat Show. It’s made by Enata Marine in Sharjah, UAE, and it’s said to deliver a super-smooth ride while soaring five feet above the water on its retractable carbon-fiber hydrofoils. Powered by two 320-hp BMW diesels, the Foiler goes through the water like a normal boat until the foils are deployed at about 18 knots. Then, with a reduced wetted surface and drag, it takes off. The…

Williams Gives More Power, Stability to Popular MiniJet 280 Tender

By Peter Janssen on March 7, 2018 Cruising Life, Gear

The popular Williams MiniJet 280 tender just got a power boost. From now on, the 9’ 2” tender will come with a 50-hp Rotax Ace engine to give it faster acceleration and better handling, even when it’s loaded with passengers. Existing MiniJet owners can get an upgrade kit if they want to move up from their 45-hp engine. The new version comes with a new dash cluster and a new set of sponsons for better stability. Designed for owners of boats from 38 to 45 feet (and anyone else who wants one), the MiniJet 280 is the smallest in Williams’…

PowerDocks Win Innovation Award for First Docks That Generate Renewable Power

By Peter Janssen on March 7, 2018 Cruising Life, Gear

PowerDocks, the first docks that generate renewable power for boats, just won an Innovation Award at the Miami International Boat Show. PowerDocks make the first floating solar dock with walkable non-skid solar modules for energy storage and power distribution; they can provide renewable electrical power to boaters in remote areas or those who want to operate off the grid. The Innovation Award was made by the National Marine Manufacturers Association and Boating Writers International during the show. PowerDocks also were featured at the show’s first Solar Electric Power Zone, where they were hooked up with a Bruce 22T electric-powered boat…

Some Coastal Flooding To Become Weekly Event: NOAA Study

By Peter Janssen on March 7, 2018 Cruising Life

A new study from NOAA says that flooding may become a weekly event in some coastal areas of the U.S. Even without a storm, high tides are already flooding some coastal cities, including Miami and Norfolk, Virginia. And the NOAA study says that “sunny day flooding” will be more frequent in the future as ever-more-frequent storms make the problem worse. What is now a storm surge will be a normal high tide in the future. “The numbers are staggering,” says William Sweet, a NOAA oceanographer. “Today’s storm will be tomorrow’s high tide.” As reported by NPR, the NOAA report says…

Ranger Tugs and Cutwater Boats Hold Popular Owners’ Rendezvous in Punta Gorda, Florida

By Peter Janssen on March 7, 2018 Cruising Life

Part of the fun of owning a boat is getting together with like-minded people, particularly people who like the same kind of boat you do. That truism explains much of the popularity of owners’ rendezvous, and nobody knows this better than the owners of Ranger Tugs and Cutwater Boats, who hold owners’ rendezvous regularly all over the country. The 2018 Southwest Florida Ranger Tugs/Cutwater Boats Rendezvous was just held at Burnt Store Marina in Charlotte Harbor, Punta Gorda, Florida, which is just north of Fort Myers and in from Boat Grande. It’s the largest marina on Florida’s west coast. Ranger…

New, Sophisticated, Streamlined Prestige 680 S: A French-Built Luxury Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on March 6, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new flagship of Prestige’s line of luxury yachts, the sleek, Euro-styled, streamlined 680 S comes with three or four staterooms below and a sophisticated, light-filled salon that makes cruising easy and enticing anywhere in the world. A new large sliding-glass sunroof that opens over the salon is particularly striking and is also unusual on a flybridge yacht. But the flybridge on the Prestige 680 S, with a low-profile, extremely-raked radar arch, is located farther aft than usual to accommodate the sunroof, adding to the sense that the boat is moving forward even when it is standing still. An owner…

Coast Guard Warns Mariners After 70 Containers Tumble Off Ship 17 Miles from Oregon Inlet

By Peter Janssen on March 6, 2018 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard issued a warning of “navigation hazards” after at least 70 containers tumbled from the Maersk Shanghai off the North Carolina coast during a nor’easter with gusts approaching hurricane-strength levels. The ship was about 17 miles off Oregon Inlet on the Outer Banks of North Carolina at the time, heading for Charleston, South Carolina. After the storm hit, the Maersk Shanghai called the Coast Guard saying that 70 to 73 containers had been lost. The 1,063-feet-long, 10,081-ton ship was built in 2016 and flagged in Liberia. The World Shipping Council, which measures these matters, says an average of…

Browsing: Cruising Life