Cruising Life

Dead Dolphins May Be “Sentinentals” to a Fractured Ecosystem in a Once Pristine Harbor in Brazil

By Peter Janssen on April 3, 2018 Cruising Life

What’s killing the dolphins in Brazil’s Sepetiba Bay, once a sleepy fishing village with white sand beaches but now an industrial port with chemical plants about 40 miles from Rio de Janeiro? As more and more of the native Guiana dolphins have died there recently, scientists think they are victims of pollution that kills marine life. In a sense, scientists think the 200 or so dead dolphins are “sentinels,” the first victims of a fractured ecosystem. They are dying from a virus, similar to the one that causes measles in humans, that causes a rash, fever, respiratory infection and disorientation.…

Well-Traveled Nordhavn 96 Up for Major Voyager’s Award After Cruising Across Pacific

By Peter Janssen on April 2, 2018 Cruising Life

Bob Giles’ Nordhavn 96 VivieRae2 is a finalist for the Voyager’s Award in this year’s World Superyacht Awards. The voyager’s award is based on ambitious and inspirational cruising in the past year, and the owner or a guest of the owner must have been on board the boat most of that time; delivery crews don’t count. Giles’ certainly qualifies. He and his wife took delivery of the boat, hull #14 of the 96 series, last June in Hong Kong, and then set out in a 2,800 nm shakedown cruise to Bali. Over the next six months they covered 7,500 nm…

A Quick Guide to Cruising to a Boater-Friendly Washington, DC, an Iconic Destination, Whatever Your Politics

By Peter Janssen on April 2, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

If you’re cruising in the Chesapeake this spring or summer, you may want to think about taking a side trip up the Potomac to visit Washington, DC, a great cruising destination for a long weekend or even more. It may be a well-kept secret, but the nation’s capital is boater-friendly, with several new and revamped marinas, a few within walking distance of some of the most iconic sights in the world. Here’s a story I wrote not long ago for Southern Boating about cruising to Washington. Local construction has improved some of the marinas since then, but all the attractions…

Oregon Inlet: A Busy Thoroughfare with a Treacherous Bar on the Outer Banks

By Peter Janssen on April 2, 2018 Cruising Life

Oregon Inlet, in the middle of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, is a busy place; it’s a major thoroughfare for a large sportfishing fleet heading for the Gulf Stream, only 30 nm offshore, and it’s one of the few inlets along that part of the coastline. It also is home to the Oregon Inlet Bar only five feet underwater near the inlet’s entrance, where water from Pamlico Sound meets the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in a collision that can produce 14-foot waves. Hit by drifting sand and tides, the inlet also moves south about 66 feet a year, so that…

Ten Things You Must Do in the Caribbean: A Highlights List from The Moorings

By Peter Janssen on April 2, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life

Just on case you need an extra nudge to sign up for that next charter or plan your next cruise in the Caribbean, here are ten great things to do, once you’re there. This highlights list, compiled by The Moorings, the world-wide charter powerhouse, covers a lot of bases, including some that are old-hat to me (and I suspect a lot of others) and some that are new. Even the old-hat ones have an evergreen appeal. After all, if you’re in the neighborhood, who wouldn’t want to at least think about heading over to Foxy’s or the Soggy Dollar Bar…

Why Are Whales So Big? New Study Says They Need To Keep Warm

By Peter Janssen on April 1, 2018 Cruising Life

Traditionally, scientists have thought that whales get so big because the buoyance of water frees them from the constraints of gravity. On land, for example, elephants can only get so big before they topple over. The buoyance issue may still be the case for whales, but new research provides another answer: They need to be big to keep themselves warm in cold water. “It’s not that they could be big,” says William Gearty, an ecologist at Stanford, who lead the new study. “It’s that they must be big.” Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the new…

Paddling Alone Across the Atlantic Three Times: Voyages of Obsession and a Search for Meaning

By Peter Janssen on March 28, 2018 Cruising Life

At 71, Aleksander Doba, from Police, Poland, knows a lot about obsession. He also knows a lot about testing his endurance and spirit against the elements and whatever nature can throw his way. And he knows even more about paddling a 23-foot kayak alone across the Atlantic Ocean, something he has done three times. The first time, he took the southern route, from Dakar, Senegal, to Brazil. The second time, he took the mid-Atlantic route, from Lisbon to Bermuda to Florida. The third, and most recent time, he took the treacherous northern route, starting in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, and…

New, Wide-Open, Light-Filled, 25-Knot Okean 50 Cruiser from Brazil

By Peter Janssen on March 28, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

It’s not often that we see a truly innovative boat, but take a look at the new Okean 50, filled with natural light and housing a space-creating pair of “balconies” or “terraces” that fold down from its sides. The Okean, a fresh build from Brazil, was introduced to the U.S. at the Fort Lauderdale show in November, and it’s being presented here by HMY Yacht Sales in Miami. A three-stateroom, two-head cruiser, the Okean 50 is remarkable in the 360-degree views available from the salon. There are tempered glass windows and doors all around, and there are no window…

MIT Launches SoFi, World’s First Robotic Fish, To Study Life in the Ocean

By Peter Janssen on March 28, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s SoFi, the world’s first robotic fish. SoFi, short for soft robotic fish, looks like a fish and swims like a fish, but it actually is the most versatile robot of its kind. Created at MIT’s computer science and AI lab CSAIL, SoFi (pronounced Sophie) is 18.5 inches long, weighs 3.5 pounds, and can stay underwater at depths of up to 60 feet for 40 minutes. SoFi is built with printed 3D plastics and has a built-in buoyancy tank full of compressed air. A hydraulic actuator pumps water in and out of a pair of chambers to make SoFI go,…

Largest Cruise Liner in the World Just Launched; 18 Decks, 6,680 Passengers

By Peter Janssen on March 28, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s some news that’s either awesome or frightening, depending on your point of view. Royal Caribbean has just launched the biggest cruise ship in the world, the new Symphony of the Seas, which is 1,188 feet long and weighs in at 228,081 gross tons (about 1,000 tons more than its older sistership, Harmony of the Seas). The new Symphony of the Seas has 18 decks (including 16 for guests), and it holds 6,680 guests in 2,759 staterooms. It also carries 2,200 crew, and cruises at 22 knots. The liner is the first to have a two-deck-high family suite, the Royal…

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