Cruising Life

New, Unique, Arcadia Sherpa: Bring All Your Friends

By Peter Janssen on February 21, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

You can’t say this about many boats, but the new Arcadia Sherpa is truly unique. When I stepped aboard at the Miami Yachts Show with my Cruising Odyssey colleague Scott Akerman, we both stopped and said some version of Holy Smoke. And it’s a happy-making boat. When you step on board, you want to take off, to head for parts unknown. And you want to take a whole lot of your friends with you. Take a look at the Sherpa’s open main deck; a whole lot of your friends will fit there, and if they all don’t have a great…

Carnival Liner Has the “Cruise from Hell” as a Group Terrorizes Passengers, Fights Security Guards

By Peter Janssen on February 20, 2018 Cruising Life

Just in case you needed another reason to go cruising on your own boat, as opposed to signing up for a holiday cruise on an ocean liner, consider this: A violent brawl broke out between security guards and a group that had been terrorizing passengers for three days on the 963-foot-long Carnival Legend cruise ship from Melbourne, Australia. The ship then made an emergency stop where 23 people, including many involved in the melee, were tossed off the liner. Some passengers described it as the “cruise from hell” as a group roamed the ship, strangling and punching passengers; others said…

Now You Can Stay Connected with mazu on Raymarine Axiom MFDs.

By Peter Janssen on February 20, 2018 Cruising Life, Electronics

Now you can get mazu, the browser interface that lets you stay connected when you’re out of cell or WiFi range, on a Raymarine Axiom multi-function display. The popular mazu and mSeries system from SkyMate now works with Raymarine’s Axiom MFDs so you can get mazu’s features, including e-mail and SMS texts, SOS transponding, weather forecasts and more. The mSeries system still can be used with the mazu iPad app. Mazu provides reliable access to global satellite connectivity using the Iridium network. It’s a data-only system where you can send and receive e-mail messages and texts, download weather forecasts and…

Seven Marine and Mercury Marine Launch New, Bigger and Better Outboards in Miami

By Peter Janssen on February 20, 2018 Cruising Life, Engine Room

The trend toward more and better outboards engines on larger boats got a boost at the Miami show as Seven Marine introduced two new models and an updated version of its 627-hp monster, while Mercury Marine unveiled a new 3.4L V-6 series that won an Innovation Award from the National Marine Manufacturers Association and Boating Writers International. Seven Marine’s two new models are 527-hp and 577-hp, and are built on the company’s 6.2L supercharged V-8 platform with closed cooling, wet-disc clutch transmission and fuel injection. The enhanced 627, according to Seven Marine President Rick Davis, is “the most technologically advanced…

Boston Whaler 350 Realm Wins Cabin Cruiser Innovation Award at Miami Show. See 15 Other Winners

By Peter Janssen on February 20, 2018 Cruising Life

The new Boston Whaler 350 Realm, powered by three 300-hp Mercury Verado outboards, just won the Innovation Award in the Cabin Cruisers category at the Miami International Boat Show. The annual Innovation Awards, recognizing groundbreaking new consumer boating products, were given in 16 categories by the National Marine Manufacturers Association and Boating Writers International. The 350 Realm, the first in Whaler’s fleet of express models, exemplifies the growing trend toward multi-purpose, outboard-powered boats. It offers lots of comfort for cruising or entertaining and high performance for offshore fishing. A forward console lounge provides a separate seating area, a portside dive…

Reserve a Slip on Line with GPDock, a New Free App

By Peter Janssen on February 19, 2018 Cruising Life

What could be easier, or more reassuring, when you’re cruising somewhere new, than to book your marina slip on line long before you arrive? A new free app, called GPDock, just announced at the Miami show, makes that possible with just a few taps of a finger. You even can pay for fuel when you make the slip reservation. GPDock, which works on iOS and Android devices, is the brainchild of two entrepreneurs, Carlos Courtaux, and Nicolas Posselt, who are both Scuba divers and passionate boaters. Courtaux has a past in the aeronautical industry, but Posselt has worked in hospitality.…

FLIR’s New Quantum 2 Radar is Most Advanced Yet. Uses Colors to Identify Moving Targets

By Peter Janssen on February 19, 2018 Cruising Life, Electronics

FLIR just announced its most advanced and user-friendly solid-state radar yet at the Miami Show. It even color codes targets so you can see whether they’re moving closer, or farther away, from your boat. The new Quantum 2 uses Doppler target identification technology, and works with Raymarine’s award-winning Axiom MFDs. It enhances situational awareness by identifying both moving and static images at long and short range. It even uses color codes to moving targets. Red means the target is getting closer, green means it’s moving farther away. Quantum 2 also has a new Safety Sector feature that highlights and color…

New Fountaine Pajot 37 MY: A Seakindly French Cat with Lots of Smart Space

By Peter Janssen on February 19, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Fountaine Pajot 37 MY, the company’s entry-level cruiser, is a combination of many things, all of them good. It has all the space inherent in a catamaran design, making for comfortable living and entertaining on board. It has the easy seakeeping ability also inherent in a cat, where the boat’s widely spaced hulls seem to glide over the water. And it has the modern, French esthetic that makes the boat stand out in a harbor anywhere in the world. Fountaine Pajot has a wealth of experience building cats, and the new 37 joins a 40 and a…

Sea Levels Rising Faster than Expected, Scientists Report, and Acceleration Will Continue. See Video

By Peter Janssen on February 14, 2018 Cruising Life

Sea levels have been rising around the world faster than scientists had predicted, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The increase has not been steady; instead, it has accelerated in recent years, and probably will continue to increase the rest of this century. The study, based on data from NASA and European satellites over the past 25 years, shows that ice has been melting in Greenland and the Antarctic at an increasingly fast rate, and could result in the sea level rising by twice the amount scientists had predicted by 2100. Indeed,…

How To Prevent Fires on Board: Some Reminders from the U.S. Power Squadrons

By Peter Janssen on February 13, 2018 Cruising Life

Few things are more frightening, or potentially more lethal, than fires on board. The real point, of course, is to prevent them from starting in the first place. I’ve found that often people who own diesel cruising boats don’t worry about fires that much. But diesel burns just as fast as gasoline does once it’s ignited; it’s just that the temperature at which diesel ignites is higher. And gas is explosive. All that’s to say that everyone would be well advised to take some simple precautions to prevent fires on board, because once they start, they often spread quickly. And…

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