Cruising Life

Simrad Launches New HALO24 Radar with 60 RPM Sweep, an Industry First

By Peter Janssen on October 23, 2018 Cruising Life, Electronics

Simrad just launched its new HALO24 radar with a compact 24-inch dome that’s just right for a lot of cruising powerboats, with a 60-rpm high-speed rotation for a range of two miles, an industry first. This full 360-degree sweep every second provides extra safety for your boat, giving you an up-close view any potential vessel or navigation problem in any direction. The new Simrad HALO24 also has the company’s Dual Range performance, so you can see near and far at the same time. It lets you monitor two distance ranges simultaneously; you could keep an eye on distant weather cells,…

Don’t Run Out of Gas in Oceanside, California

By Peter Janssen on October 23, 2018 Cruising Life

What happens if you run out of fuel or have an engine problem near Oceanside, California, and need a tow home? Until last week, you could call the harbor police and they’d help you out for free. But no longer. Now, you can call Tow Boat US. Here’s the full story from The San Diego Union Tribune: Boaters who find themselves dead in the water can no longer count on a free tow back to the Oceanside harbor. The city has turned its non-emergency assists over to the private company Tow Boat US, said Lt. Aaron Doyle of the Oceanside…

What Does It Really Cost To Own a Yacht? These Pictures Will Make You Laugh – or Cry

By Peter Janssen on October 22, 2018 Cruising Life

Remember that old prize-winning Rolling Stone ad campaign, perception vs. reality? The perception was that the Rolling Stone reader was a doped-out hippie who didn’t have a nickel to his name, while the reality, at least according to the ad campaign, was that the average reader was an up-and-coming entrepreneur who could easily afford that new BMW 5 Series convertible or that alluring American Airlines first-class flight to Paris that were displayed in four-color ad spreads throughout the magazine. Now, the same is true of boats, at least according to this very funny piece in Business Insider. In this case, the juxtaposed…

Toxic Red Tide Spreads to Florida’s Space Coast, Washing Dead Fish up on Beaches

By Peter Janssen on October 22, 2018 Cruising Life

Florida’s toxic red tide, which has caused terrible damage to Florida’s southwest coast this year, has now spread to the state’s east coast, particularly the area around Cocoa Beach and Melbourne Beach, washing dead fish and other marine life up on shore. The spread of the algae bloom is worst along the Brevard County beaches just south of Sebastian Inlet, with people complaining of itching throats and respiratory problems. The county just posted 300 signs to warm beachgoers about the red tide, putting them up on lifeguard stations and in area parks and oceanfront hotels. Meanwhile, volunteers have cleared thousands…

New 65-foot Elling E6: A Super-Safe, Long-Range Cruiser from the Netherlands

By Peter Janssen on October 21, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Elling Yachts in the Netherlands is introducing its 65-foot Elling E6, a solid, safe, long-range cruiser to North America at the Fort Lauderdale show, and comes with some fairly unique features, including its ability to right itself in a capsize and its second get-home engine in the event of a catastrophic failure to the main. Ellings are built by Neptune Marine, which has 40 years of experience, and are designed and engineered to be the safest cruisers in the world. With a range of 3,500 nm, the new E6 could cross the Atlantic, explore the fjords of Norway, or complete…

Hurricane Michael Wipes Out Panama City Yard Building New Coast Guard Cutters

By Peter Janssen on October 21, 2018 Cruising Life

Hurricane Michael destroyed more than homes, marinas and recreational boats in the Panama City, Florida, area. It also wiped out the family-owned shipyard that was just starting work on a $10 billion contract to build the Coast Guard’s new Offshore Patrol Cutters. The company had just started building the first hull. Here’s the full story from Breaking Defense: Amid the devastation wrought by Hurricane Michael last week is a family-owned shipyard the Coast Guard had just picked to work on the $10 billion Offshore Patrol Cutter program, the largest acquisition project in the service’s history. The Eastern Shipbuilding Group in…

Fleming Introduces New F78 Classic, a Blue-Water Cruiser, at Lauderdale Show

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

Fleming is introducing its new F78 Classic at the Fort Lauderdale show, an upgrade of its flagship 78 but with a redesigned flybridge and boat deck. With good reason, considering its success in cruising around the world, the company calls the F78 “the ultimate cruising yacht.” The Fleming 78 is built to European CE Category “A” standards, meaning it is a strong, well-engineered, go-anywhere, blue-water cruiser. Flemings are known for the exceptional engineering and attention to detail, inside and out. The redesigned 78 is an outgrowth of the Fleming 75 that was launched in 2000. Ten years later Fleming redesigned that…

The Hamiltons’ Latest Cruise: The Stunning Lysefjord in Norway

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

Dirona is on the move again. The 2009 Nordhavn 52 owned by James and Jennifer Hamilton just cruised up the Lysefjord in southwest Norway, one of the cruising world’s major – and hard to get to – attractions. A remnant of the ice age, Lysefjord (light fjord) is 26 miles long and is bordered by steep granite cliffs that often rise 1,300 feet above the water. Underwater, the depths start at 43 feet and then plummet to more than 1,000 feet as the fjord moves inland. This summer the Hamiltons, a high-tech couple from Seattle who’ve been cruising since 2012, took…

Pusser’s To Open New Restaurant and Painkiller Bar on Cane Garden Bay in the BVI

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

Here’s some really good news if you’re heading for the British Virgin Islands any time soon. Pusser’s will open a restaurant, bar and company store at Myett’s Hotel on the beach at Cane Garden Bay. The new Pusser’s will replace Myett’s existing restaurant there, and will open around the end of November. Cane Garden Bay is on the northwest side of Tortola, basically across from Jost Van Dyke. It’s one of the prettiest spots in the BVI, which is so full of pretty spots that it’s become a worldwide cruising and chartering favorite. The area was hit particularly hard by…

Southport Marina, NC, Offers Daily Weather Briefings for Snowbirds on the ICW and Offshore

By Peter Janssen on October 17, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s a great service for snowbirds heading south on the Intracoastal Waterway or offshore: Free daily weather briefings at Southport Marina in historic Southport, North Carolina. The briefings, on the docks at 6 p.m. daily, cover weather, sea conditions and any particular navigation problems from Southport south to Savannah, Georgia. Now in their fifth year, the popular briefings are known as “ICW Navigation and Offshore Weather Briefs on the Dock” and they’re sponsored by Carolina Yacht Care and Zimmerman Marine, Southport Marina. Aimed at transiting boats, the briefings are done by Hank Pomeranz, a retired U.S. Navy meteorologist, cruising sailor…

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