Cruising Life

Record-Breaking 78-Foot Wave Just Measured in Southern Ocean Off New Zealand

By Peter Janssen on May 14, 2018 Cruising Life

A furious 65-knot storm just produced a record-breaking 78-feet-high monster wave in the Southern Ocean, the largest wave ever recorded there. The wave, measured by a MetOcean Solutions buoy near Campbell Island, 430 miles south of New Zealand, is 15 feet higher than the previous highest wave, recorded in the same spot just a year ago. The 78-foot wave was recorded on the night of May 9 by a single solar-powered buoy that samples wave conditions for 20 minutes every three hours. The buoy measures wave height, period and direction, and uploads that data to a satellite. The scientists at…

Eight Months Later, Canals in the Florida Keys Are Still Clogged from Hurricane Irma

By Peter Janssen on May 14, 2018 Cruising Life

Eight months after Hurricane Irma, canals in the Florida Keys are still choked with debris, while county and Federal officials are debating how to pay for the cleanup. Meanwhile, according to the Miami Herald, the aftermath of the hurricane has also complicated the recovery of seagrass in Florida Bay. To date, only 16 canals in the Keys have been cleared, involving about 3,000 cubic yards of debris, leaving another 97,000 cubic yards (with everything from awnings to RVs) to go. The debris is blocking boats from using the canals; it also is blocking the canals for manatees and other marine…

Coast Guard Cadets Design New and Improved Helicopter Rescue Basket

By Peter Janssen on May 14, 2018 Cruising Life

Your chances of surviving a rescue at sea just got a lot better, thanks to some creative cadets at the Coast Guard Academy. A group of mechanical engineering seniors spent the last year working at the Coast Guard Research and Development Center in New London, Connecticut, to improve the existing helicopter rescue basket, which is limited in its ability to rescue a large number of people quickly and safely. The cadets came up with a new design that is large enough to hold two people at a time sitting in the basket, but is still small enough to fit into…

Monaco Holds New Alternative-Power Races in July To Promote Clean-Energy Boats

By Peter Janssen on May 13, 2018 Cruising Life

The Principality of Monaco is holding a series of alternative energy boat races over three days in July designed to raise awareness about modern propulsion technologies. The event was started last year as the first Monaco Solar and Electric Boat Challenge. This year it has been expanded to include all types of clean-energy sources, although most boats probably will use solar or electric power. A collaboration of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Hydros Foundation and the Union Internationale Motonautique, the competition involves university students who will design and race the boats. The Yacht Club de Monaco has…

New, Prize-Winning, Dutch-Built Linssen 40 Sedan: All Ready for the ICW or the Great Loop

By Peter Janssen on May 13, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new prize-winning Linssen 40 Sedan, named the European Power Boat of the Year in the Displacement category at the Düsseldorf boat show in January, is a Dutch-built, salty-looking, steel-hull cruiser. It was designed for cruising Europe’s coast and vast inland waterway system, but it would be equally at home in the U.S., cruising on the Intracoastal Waterway or along the Great Loop. It will be introduced to the U.S. at the Annapolis Powerboat Show in October. The Linssen 40 comes in an aft cabin and a flybridge version, but the basic sedan version has a large forward stateroom, with…

Raymarine Introduces Its First Open-Array Radar with Enhanced Targeting and Tracking for Cruising Boats

By Peter Janssen on May 13, 2018 Cruising Life, Electronics

Raymarine has just introduced its first open array radar with a sleek modern pedestal that will fit on any cruising boat and that brings long-range performance and small-target imaging to any Raymarine MFD. The new Magnum radar comes with either 4kW or 12kW power output, and either a four-foot or six-foot antenna array. Magnum’s maximum range is 96 nm for the 12kW version, and 72 nm for the 4kW version, making it ideal for any blue-water cruiser. Using the same technologies as the U.S. Coast Guard, Magnum is a companion to Raymarine’s award-winning Axiom and Axiom Pro MFDs running Lighthouse…

How to Leave a Dock on a Windy Day: Keep Positive Control and Don’t Dawdle!

By Peter Janssen on May 9, 2018 Cruising Life

Leaving a dock on a windy day can be challenging, if not intimidating, particularly if the wind is holding you on the dock. But there are ways to get off cleanly and under control. Docking on my single-screw Grand Banks 36 (without a bow thruster) was not always fun. But I did make good use of some tips from the pros, which you can use whether you have a single or twin-screw boat. If the wind is holding you on the dock, take a spring line aft from the bow and loop it around a dock cleat toward the middle…

New Sirena 58: Built for Liveaboard Comfort and for Cruising “All Corners of the World”

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

The new Sirena 58 is built for liveaboard comfort with lots of space inside and out. It also is built for long-range cruising. Indeed, German Frers, the famed naval architect who designed it, says it’s a mini explorer yacht made for cruising “all corners of the world.” The new cruiser, built by Sirena Yachts in Turkey, has a Frers-designed hull that’s smooth and efficient at displacement and planing speeds. With two standard 650-hp Cat diesels, the Sirena 58 tops out at 26.5 knots; with optional 850-hp Cats, it reaches 30 knots. Dial back to 10 knots, and the Sirena 58…

For the Best of Land and Sea, Check Out San Diego’s Hotel Marinas, with First-Class Amenities All Around

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

If you’re cruising in Southern California, you might want to think about taking advantage of the many marinas that are run by hotels in San Diego, one of the prime boating destinations on the West Coast. You can get the best of both worlds, land and sea, by tying up at one of the city’s first-class marinas and then making use of the hotel’s amenities on shore. Here are some ideas from The Log. One of the largest of these is Kona Kai Marina on Shelter Island, part of the decidedly upscale Kona Kai Resort (pictured above). The marina, which…

Humpback Whales Enjoying Baby Boom in the Antarctic

By Peter Janssen on May 8, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s some good news: Humpback whales are making a comeback in the Antarctic; in fact, they’re enjoying something of a baby boom. A new study under Ari Friedlaender of the University of California at Santa Cruz reports that female humpback whales are having higher pregnancy rates and giving birth to more calves in recent years than previously. The whales were almost hunted out of existence in the late 19thcentury and for most of the 20thcentury, until international treaties were signed to protect them. The whales, which grow to the size of a school bus, have life spans similar to ours.…

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