Cruising Life

Drug Smugglers Burn Go-Fast Boat in Unsuccessful Effort to Destroy Evidence

By Peter Janssen on April 28, 2018 Cruising Life

A combination of forces from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and the Colombian Navy stopped a go-fast boat in the eastern Pacific recently and recovered 1,080 pounds of cocaine even as the boat caught fire and started to burn. They arrested four men who jumped overboard to escape the flames. Smugglers increasingly are using the low-profile, go-fast boats in an effort to avoid radar detection, but this boat was spotted by military aircraft, which alerted the USS Zephyr. When the Zephyr approached the go-fast boat, the crew started to throw the cargo overboard and then jumped overboard themselves. It…

Endangered Right Whales Now in Areas Off Boston and Cape Cod; Coast Guard Warns Mariners

By Peter Janssen on April 26, 2018 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard is urging mariners to be aware of many groups of right whales in the area from Boston Light to Marshfield, Massachusetts, and to stay at least 500 yards away from them. Under the Endangered Species Act, it is against the law to approach within 500 yards of a North Atlantic right whale in a vessel, an aircraft (including drones) or by any other means, or to fail to take avoidance measures, including steering away from the whale and immediately leaving the area at a slow speed. Right whales are surface feeders, and they often eat on the…

Danish Inventor Found Guilty of Killing Journalist on His Homemade Submarine

By Peter Janssen on April 26, 2018 Cruising Life

A court in Copenhagen just found Peter Madsen, the Danish inventor, guilty of what prosecutors called the “heinous and repulsive” killing of Swedish journalist Kim Wall when she went to interview him on his 56-foot homemade submarine last August 10. (The picture above right shows the two of them on the sub.) Madsen, 47, admitted dismembering her body and discarding it at sea, but said her death was an accident. The court found him guilty of premediated killing and sentenced him to a life in prison. Prosecutors said he bound, tortured, stabbed and sexually assaulted Wall, 30. They said he…

Time to Rethink Your Dink: Get Up Close and Personal to Bears, Whales and Icebergs with a Good, Fast RIB

By Peter Janssen on April 25, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s a great story that might make you think again about your dinghy. It can be much more than simply a means of getting ashore for provisions or dinner once you’ve dropped the hook after a long day of cruising. Instead, think of it as a vehicle for exploring places you’d never take your big boat, for poking around coves and inlets and shallows without worrying about getting stuck or running aground. A good, fast dinghy, according to these three authors, opens up a sense of adventure; it gets you closer to the environment, not to mention, bears, whales and…

New SoelCat 12: Cruise for 29 Hours at 6 Knots Under Solar Power Alone

By Peter Janssen on April 25, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Day or night, rain or shine, the new SoelCat 12 is a 39-foot solar-powered catamaran than can run at six knots for 29 hours. If you firewall the throttle, you can push the lightweight (13,200 pounds) cat to about 14 knots, but you’ll also run out of juice at the end of an hour. Since most people feel comfortable in the 8-knot range, you can cruise under solar, using no fossil fuel and leaving no emissions or noise behind, for about eight hours at that speed, certainly long enough to enjoy a full day with your family or friends. And…

Williams Starts Shipping New 14-foot Sportjet 435 Tender

By Peter Janssen on April 25, 2018 Cruising Life

Williams is now shipping the new 14-foot Sportjet 435 Tender that it announced at the London show this winter. Seating up to seven people, the new 435 offers speed, performance and comfort in a larger package. The company says it is appropriate as a tender for boats of 65 feet or more, while it also can serve independently as a sport boat that’s fun for exploring coves and harbors, wakeboarding, waterskiing and other water sports. The Sportjet 435 is sociable boat. The helm is centered, so it’s easy for passengers to find comfortable seating fore and aft. The boat is…

Zeelander Owners Cruise Down Rhine, Help Plan New 55-foot Corniche

By Peter Janssen on April 24, 2018 Cruising Life

Zeelander, the Dutch builder of gorgeous commuter-style boats, just had an owners’ rendezvous down the Rhine River in Germany, which served to showcase their popular 44-foot model and also to introduce owners to the idea of a new 55-foot cabriolet-style Corniche flagship (see rendering above). At stops along the way, Zeelander asked owners for their input on the design, interior and materials for the new Corniche, which they will release at the end of May. “We have always listened to owners’ feedback,” says Leonardo van den Berg, commercial director of Zeelander Yachts, “but we have never involved them in a…

New, Fast, Heavy-Duty Lobster Boat Launched in Western Australia

By Peter Janssen on April 24, 2018 Cruising Life

They call this a lobster boat in Australia, but it doesn’t bring to mind the typical Down East version of a traditional lobster boat – a Calvin Beal, for example, or a Lowell Brothers, a Wilbur. A Jarvis Newman? Don’t think so. The new 85-foot Holdfast from Dongara Marina in Western Australia is billed as the largest high-speed lobster boat in Oz, and at a cruising speed of 18.5 knots and a top speed of 23.5 knots that may well be true. What seems beyond doubt is that it’s big and it’s designed to catch a lot of lobsters and get…

For a Real Charter Vacation, Try a Luxurious Crewed Cat from MarineMax in the BVI

By Peter Janssen on April 23, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life, Destinations

What could be better than a charter vacation in the British Virgin Islands, with some of the most beautiful, and boater-friendly, cruising grounds in the world? Well, how about a crewed charter vacation in the BVI, where someone else does the driving, the planning, the cooking and the cleaning up? Sounds good? Take a look at the MarineMax Vacations crewed charters now located at Scrub Island Resort, Spa and Marina, next to Tortola. They’ll move to their new permanent location at Nanny Cay in the fall, once construction is finished there. The rebuilt Nanny Cay, on the south side of…

Tragic Mystery at Sea: What Caused the Destination, a 110-foot-long Fishing Boat, To Sink Suddenly Off Alaska, Killing all Six on Board

By Peter Janssen on April 23, 2018 Cruising Life

What happened to the Destination, the 110-foot-long fishing boat that sank without so much as a Mayday in the Bering Sea on Feb. 11, 2017, killing all six men on board? The captain and crew were all veteran crab fishermen, many with decades of experience in the frigid waters off Alaska, some of the most unforgiving fishing grounds on the planet. But they all suddenly disappeared in 32-degree water; none were ever found. The only indication of any problem was the boat’s EPIRB transmission that the Coast Guard heard about 6:30 in the morning. The Coast Guard then tried to…

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