Cruising Life

Lucy, Meet Gus. Dog and Dolphin Become Friends on Fishing Boat off Captiva Island, Florida. Great Video

By Peter Janssen on June 21, 2018 Cruising Life

Lucy, the dog, and Gus, the dolphin, seem to become new best friends forever in this video taken from a charter fishing boat off Captiva Island, Florida. Lucy, a Rottweiler-Husky mix, has been going out on her owner’s fishing boat since she was six months old. Cliff Gilchrist, her owner, works for Captiva Island Fishing Charters, and he goes out five days a week. He named the friendly dolphin Gus. In this video, taken by Eileen McGunagle, a charter customer, Lucy and Gus are clearly having fun together. Gilchrist told the Naples Daily News that Lucy likes to go fishing with…

New York Assembly Passes Brianna’s Law Requiring Boating Safety Course, but It Has Not Passed the State Senate

By Peter Janssen on June 21, 2018 Cruising Life

The New York State Assembly just passed Brianna’s Law saying you must take a boating safety course before driving a powerboat in the state’s navigable waters. The proposed legislation is named after Brianna Lieneck, who was 11 years old when she was killed in a boating accident on the south shore of Long Island in 2005. So far, Brianna’s Law has only passed the State Assembly. It did not pass a Senate vote. It probably will not be brought up again in this session. “While there is a lot one can learn from spending time on the waters and aboard…

Trade Wars: Canadian Can’t Buy New Boat Under Retaliatory Tariffs

By Peter Janssen on June 20, 2018 Cruising Life

Randy Booth wants to buy a new boat in Windsor, Ontario, but he can’t afford one if Canada’s retaliatory tariffs bump its price up by 25 percent. “If they hike the prices more, I’m not buying a boat,” he told the Windsor Star. “I don’t know what the world’s coming to. We’re screwed.” Booth, pictured above, is a casualty of the new trade wars that started when President Trump said he would impose a new 25 percent tariff on Canadian steel and 10 percent on Canadian aluminum. In response, the Canadian government said it would do the same with the…

Winnebago Plans New Models and More Dealers for Boating Icon Chris-Craft

By Peter Janssen on June 19, 2018 Cruising Life

Now what for Chris-Craft? Winnebago just bought the iconic American boat company, started in 1874, the latest in a series of purchases of boat builders by companies in other recreational fields. The details of the purchase from Stellican Ltd., the London-based private equity firm that has owned Chris-Craft since 2001, aren’t known, but Winnebago made it clear that they see synergies and similar growth patterns in the boating and RV markets. They also have large growth plans for Chris-Craft. This story from The Motley Fool points out that the RV market, like the boating market, has been enjoying a resurgence since…

New Futuristic Foiler, with Top Speed of 40 Knots, Now on Display in French Riviera

By Peter Janssen on June 19, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

In case you missed the very James-Bond-looking Foiler when it was launched in Dubai in March, you now can catch it this summer on the French Riviera, where it will be on display in Monaco and Saint Tropez until the fall boat shows. It’s hard to miss, since it rides 5 feet over the water on its carbon fiber hydrofoils, cruising at up to 40 knots. Made by Enata, based in the UAE, Foiler claims to be the first production boat hydrofoil. The boat starts to foil at 12 knots and is totally out of the water at 17 knots.…

Now You Can Charter an Aquila 44 Power Cat to Cruise Australia’s Incredible Whitsunday Islands

By Peter Janssen on June 18, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life, Destinations

The Whitsunday Islands, a collection of 74 largely uninhabited islands between the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef, are some of the most beautiful cruising grounds in the world. The water is filled with coral and marine life, while the islands are speckled with white sand beaches, rainforests and hiking trails. And that’s before you get to the Aboriginal caves, fjord-like inlets, or bays overflown by colonies of butterflies. Now MarineMax Vacations has teamed up with Cumberland Charter Yachts and Luxury Yachts Whitsundays to offer the popular Aquila 44 power cat for charter in the Whitsundays…

Seattle Investment Company Launches New Line of Cape Dory Cruisers

By Peter Janssen on June 17, 2018 Cruising Life

Cape Dory is making a comeback, which is good news for those of us who were fans of its Down East style of cruising powerboats as well as its Carl Alberg-designed sailboats. Madison Bay Holdings, LLC, a Seattle-based investment company, just announced it will launch a new series of Cape Dory powerboats from 22 to 36 feet. And the company says “you can expect to see the all new Cape Dory Sailboat series in the future, completing the heritage, pedigree and authenticity of the iconic Cape Dory brand.” The new Cape Dory line will be manufactured in Sarasota, Florida, and…

World’s First Underwater Villa Opens This November in the Maldives

By Peter Janssen on June 17, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

What is billed as the world’s first underwater villa will open at the Conrad Maldives Rangall Island Resort in November. If you’re tired of cruising on top of the water, you can book the villa, called The Muraka, and relax more than 16 feet under the water in your king-sized bedroom with a living room, bathroom and butler on call. Once there, you can enjoy the 180-degree view of marine life passing by your Japanese-designed, minimalist-inspired 193-square-foot suite. Above the surface, the villa has a much larger, 5,921-square-foot living area with another king-sized bedroom and bathroom (where the tub faces…

Lexus Will Launch Entirely New 65-Foot Cruiser in U.S. Next Year

By Peter Janssen on June 17, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

We don’t have many details yet, but the new Lexus yacht – the luxury car maker’s first foray into boating – will be a 65-foot “sport flybridge cruiser,” not the 42-foot sport boat it had announced last year. The company decided that the market was limited for the smaller boat, while the 65 “will definitely sell,” Shigeki Tomoyama, the head of Toyota Marine, said at a boat show in Yokohama. The new luxurious 65 will be built by the Marquis-Larson Boat Group in Wisconsin. The rendering above is a possible prototype. The first boat will be launched in the second…

New Report: Ice Melting Faster Than Ever in Antarctic, Sea Level Rising

By Peter Janssen on June 14, 2018 Cruising Life

Ice is melting faster in the Antarctic than scientists had predicted. Indeed, the ice sheet is melting an a rapidly increasing rate, and has tripled in just the past ten years. This ice melt has poured more than 200 billion tons of ice into the ocean each year. It also has raised sea levels half a millimeter each year. These are the basic findings of a new study by a team of 80 Antarctic experts from 14 countries, as reported in The Washington Post. The scientists are worried about rising sea levels in low-lying cities and communities if the rate…

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