Cruising Life

Want To Buy a Lighthouse? The Government Will Be Selling Six in the Florida Keys

By Peter Janssen on October 16, 2018 Cruising Life

Who doesn’t love a lighthouse? Well, the federal General Services Administration, for one. The Coast Guard has designated six lighthouses in the Florida Keys as “excess,” so the GSA is looking to unload them. A lot of people are not happy about that. Read the full story in the Miami Herald: From Carysfort Reef off Key Largo to Sand Key in the Lower Keys, the future of five of the six lighthouses that once kept ships from crashing into the Florida Keys’ coral reef is uncertain. The U.S. Coast Guard, which oversees the lighthouses, has declared Carysfort, Sand Key, as…

Meet the New Hyper-Sub: 35 mph On the Surface, 6 mph Under Water

By Peter Janssen on October 16, 2018 Cruising Life

A new Florida company is testing a combination of a fast cruising boat and submarine called the Hyper-Sub that it says goes 35 mph on the surface, 6 mph when submerged, and can dive down to 1,200 feet. Created by HSP Technologies of Lake City, Florida, the prototype was tested this summer and the company is now conducting further sea trials. The Hyper-Sub is 45 feet long with a 16-foot beam and uses two 480-hp Yanmar diesels for surface power. Underwater, it’s powered by two 60-hp 12-inch innerspace thrusters. The boat/sub carries 525 gallons of fuel, and burns 34 gph…

Boat Hits Whale Off Long Beach, California. Fire Department Issues Warnings

By Peter Janssen on October 16, 2018 Cruising Life

A boat hit a humpback whale off Barrier Island near Long Beach, California, and the Fire Department there warned boaters there to keep at least 300 feet away from whales in the future. The Fire Department also posted the picture above on Facebook, showing boats much closer than that to a whale near the harbor. “Boaters, this is unacceptable,” the Fire Department wrote. “These boats are way, way too close to our friendly neighbors (whales) who’ve come to our shores for a visit. Not only is it dangerous to get so up close and personal, it’s also illegal.” The Fire…

Ten Things To Do in Fort Lauderale

By Peter Janssen on October 16, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

So you’re thinking about heading to Fort Lauderdale for the big boat show? Great. But what do once you’re there? Here’s our list of ten things to do to make your visit truly memorable. 1.Go to the show. It’s one of the best, and largest, in the world, with 1,500 new boats and 1,200 exhibitors. This year it runs from Wednesday, Oct. 31 through Sunday, Nov. 4. You’ll find everything from megayachts to jet skis, Ferraris and helicopters. There’s so much that the show can be overwhelming, and crowded; it had 110,000 visitors last year. If you get tired of…

New Privilege Euphorie 5 Power Cat: A Long-Range Cruiser with Lots of Luxury

By Peter Janssen on October 15, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Privilege Euphorie 5 power cat is a combination of luxurious space and long-range performance. The new 50-foot multihull “is dedicated to long-distance cruises where comfort and range are a priority,” says Marc Lombard, who designed it. Standard power comes from twin 220-hp Yanmar diesels, with a cruising speed in the 12-knot area and a maximum range of 1,000 nm. With an upgrade to 320-hp Yanmars, the Euphorie 5 tops out at 20 knots, and has a range of about 345 nm at 10 knots. The new cat, built at the Privilege yard in Les Sables d’Olonne, just…

After Michael, Marinas and Boats in Panama City Suffer Catastrophic Damage. See Aerial Pictures

By Peter Janssen on October 12, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s a great story from the Miami Herald about the catastrophic destruction of a marina and boats in Panama City, Florida, plus a series of aerial pictures of simply catastrophic damage there: PANAMA CITY — The marina once hosted a morning coffee club, rented fishing rods to families and was home to a tight-knit community of sailors and boaters. Nothing remained standing, or floating upright, in the destructive wake of Hurricane Michael. Boat owners, workers and residents who came to salvage what they could on Thursday found dirty water swirled with cracked wood planks, snapped masts and scattered, shredded life…

Garmin’s New LiveScope Sonar Wins Prestigious NMEA Technology Award. Plus: 17 Other Winners

By Peter Janssen on October 9, 2018 Cruising Life, Electronics

Garmin’s ground-breaking new Panoptix LiveScope sonar just beat 14 other competitors to win the prestigious Technology Award at the recent National Marine Electronics Association annual meeting. The Technology Award is the most coveted of the NMEA awards. The NMEA also handed out 17 Product of Excellence Awards at its four-day meeting in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The Panoptix LiveScope lets you see all around your boat in real time and in three dimensions. Built for cruising or fishing, it has transducers in Forward or Down configurations. If you point the transducer down, you can see directly below the boat; point…

The Ten Top New Cruising Boats at Cannes, from Motorboat & Yachting

By Peter Janssen on October 9, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Here’s a look at the ten top cruising boats at the recent Cannes Yachting Festival, as chosen by Motorboat & Yachting, the British magazine. The top ten are the Beneteau Swift Trawler 47, Princess R35, Sunseeker 74, Jeanneau NC37, Absolute Navetta 48, Privilège Euphorie 5, Pearl 95, Ferretti 670, Azimut S6, and Prestige 590. Some highlights: The Beneteau Swift Trawler 47 (pictured at top) is the latest iteration of the French builder’s Swift Trawler line that it introduced 14 years ago. Swift Trawlers changed the face of trawlers forever; they no longer had to be Down East single-diesel displacement boats,…

Architectural Digest: Will Bermuda Become the Next Hamptons, Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket?

By Peter Janssen on October 8, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

Now that the America’s Cup has come and gone, Bermuda is back to its natural state: One of the best cruising and vacation destinations in the world. Indeed, Architectural Digest, an arbiter of such things, says Bermuda is on track to become the next Hamptons, Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard, a prediction that could make some old Bermudians wonder what’s happening to their favorite island. The fact is, however, that Bermuda has a lot going for it, other than being at the other end of the Bermuda race, or a stopping point for a transatlantic crossing (as it was for the…

Man Overboard: How a 60-Year-Old Fisherman Survived 20 Hours in the Gulf of Mexico Without a Life Jacket

By Peter Janssen on October 8, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s a great story from Prevention about how one man survived 20 hours at sea after he fell overboard from his fishing boat, 25 miles from shore in the Gulf of Mexico, without a life jacket, by treading water and using his old Navy training: Bill Durden was on a roll. He’d just caught two good-sized groupers and tossed his line back into the water when he felt it snag on the bottom of his boat. The engine, he realized, wasn’t in neutral. Durden gave the rod a good tug. It yanked him right back, pulling him out of his…

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