Cruising Life

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…

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…

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