Cruising Life

Plan Your Cruise Now: Ten Best Small Towns on the Chesapeake

By Peter Janssen on February 28, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

Some of the best cruising in the U.S. is on the Chesapeake, and some of the best waterfront towns, in my opinion, are along its shore. It seems too obvious to mention Annapolis, except that I’m happy every time I go there, by land or by sea. And then there’s the trifecta of Oxford, Cambridge and St. Michaels across the bay on the Eastern Shore; all three are also cruising meccas, and they’re all filled with history, charm, and (unfortunately) a lot of summer visitors. But what about the other small towns on the Chesapeake that also are cruising destinations,…

New Horizon 74 Power Cat: Luxury, Space and Cruising Comfort

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

The flagship of the Horizon Power Catamaran fleet, the new Horizon 74 PC is an owner-operated luxurious cruising yacht with four staterooms, all with en suite heads, plus dining, entertaining and relaxing areas that take full advantage of the boat’s massive 28’ 3” beam. The Horizon 74 PC just made its debut at the Miami Yacht Show, and it will be displayed at the Palm Beach International Boat Show starting on March 22. The Horizon’s easy living starts on the main deck, where the aft deck, salon and master stateroom forward are all on the same level. The salon has…

Heading for the North Pole? Take a Sweater

By Peter Janssen on February 27, 2018 Cruising Life

This is usually the coldest time of the year at the North Pole, where the sun won’t rise until March 20. But recently there’s been a historic thaw. Indeed, last weekend the temperature rose above freezing, to 35 degrees, at the pole. Scientists have recorded what they call a warm air intrusion through the central Arctic this winter. In the area north of 80 degrees latitude, temperatures are 36 degrees above normal. Such intrusions have become more frequent and more intense. There were only four between 1980 and 2010, but now there have been four in the past five years.…

Now You Can Charter an Iconic Albury Brothers Boat Almost Anywhere on the East Coast

By Peter Janssen on February 27, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life

The Albury family has been building boats on Man O’War Cay in Abaco, Bahamas, since 1952, and they have earned a reputation for creating solid, seaworthy vessels with clean, easily recognizable lines. I stopped by the yard, where they were making one boat at a time, on my first trip to the Bahamas just after Albury switched to fiberglass in 1985; they had depleted the supply of wood from the durable Madera tree. I’ve been a fan, along with a whole lot of other people, of Albury Brothers boats ever since. Now you can charter an Albury, almost everywhere from…

Rockslide Closes Greece’s Corinth Canal, Historic – and Narrow – Shortcut to the Eastern Med

By Peter Janssen on February 27, 2018 Cruising Life

A rockslide closed the historic four-mile long, 64-feet wide Corinth Canal in Greece, which serves as a major shortcut from Southern Italy to the Eastern Mediterranean. About 11,000 commercial and recreational vessels use the canal every year. The Greek Shipping Ministry estimates the canal may be closed for about 15 days. The problem started after heavy rains when rocks and mud tumbled from the canal’s steep sides into the water. The canal was first opened in 1893 and saves a 434-mile trip around the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-shipping-canal/greece-temporarily-shuts-corinth-canal-for-ships-after-rockfall-idUSKCN1GA2D4

Honda Redesigns Its Largest Outboards with More Power, Less Corrosion and Easier Maintenance

By Peter Janssen on February 26, 2018 Cruising Life, Engine Room

Honda Marine just introduced its new, streamlined flagship BF200, BF225 and BF250 V6 outboards at the Miami International Boat Show. The 200 and 225 are powered by a new engine, the 3.6-liter V6 that is already in the 250, but all three have more resistance to corrosion, easier maintenance and improved acceleration. The new outboards have more protection from water entering the engine than ever before, and a new cowling has a dual-channel, indirect-air-circuit induction system to improve air flow to the engine while funneling moisture away. And the surface of the engine has a new coating for greater corrosion…

Navy Uses High-Tech Patrol Plane and New SAR Kit to Rescue Three Fishermen Adrift for Eight Days in South Pacific

By Peter Janssen on February 26, 2018 Cruising Life

The U.S. Navy just used a new Search and Rescue kit deployed from their latest high-tech patrol aircraft to rescue three fishermen who had been missing for eight days in the South Pacific. The Navy’s new SAR capabilities are certainly good news for bluewater cruisers who might need help in any kind of an emergency. The problem started when the three fishermen on a 19-foot skiff failed to return from an expedition near Chuuk Lagoon in Micronesia. Their boat had food and water but it did not have a radio or any safety equipment. The U.S. Coast Guard launched a…

McDonald’s Founder George Cohon Cruises on His Hinckley in Palm Beach and Toronto

By Peter Janssen on February 24, 2018 Cruising Life

George Cohon knows how to enjoy life, and to enjoy boating. A founder of McDonalds and Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities in Canada and Russia, he spends time with his wife, Susan, and their family at their home in Toronto and at their second home in Palm Beach, where they both play golf and other sports. They have two golden retrievers that they take to visit children facing surgery at a West Palm Beach hospital. And they go boating on their Hinckley Talaria 48, McHappy 111. In this interview with the Palm Beach Daily News, Cohon says they started boating 40…

Two Tugs Collide, One Sinks, Off Kennebunk, Maine

By Peter Janssen on February 24, 2018 Cruising Life

A 74-year-old, 80-foot former Army tugboat sank three miles south of Kennebunk, Maine, after it collided with the 40-foot tug that was towing it to Portland. No one was on board the aging tug, the Capt Mackintire, at the time. According to the Bangor Daily News, the Capt Mackintire (picture above) was being towed by the 40-foot Helen Louise, with two crew on board. At 2 a.m. the crew of Helen Louise sent a distress call to the Coast Guard, saying they had collided with the Capt Mackintire in 12-knot winds and 6-foot seas. The Coast Guard Cutter Reef Shark responded…

Meet the Kenyons from South Dakota: About Half Way Around the Loop on Their Ranger 25

By Peter Janssen on February 22, 2018 Cruising Life

Tim and Mary Kenyon, from Wentworth, South Dakota, describe themselves as “water people.” She is now a website designer, and he’s a retired geologist, but when they were married they said the first thing they bought together was a canoe; then a Hobie Cat, a Balboa 16, and finally a Ranger Tug 21, all for use on Lake Madison nearby. Then they wanted a bigger Ranger, maybe a used 25. They went to the Seattle boat show in January, 2015, “with every intention of just looking,” Mary wrote on her blog. They ended up buying the new Ranger 25 on…

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