Cruising Life

Once Overlooked, the Miami River Waterfront Now is Hot with $50 Million Condos and a $229 Seafood Special

By Peter Janssen on February 4, 2018 Cruising Life

If you’re going to Miami any time soon, for the boat show or otherwise, you might want to check out the new boom of upscale waterfront restaurants, condos and retail stores along the Miami River, an area that was getting pretty seedy not long ago. But things change, and now “the Miami River is hot,” as one real estate broker told The New York Times. Indeed, the Miami River downtown, just above the booming Brickell area, no longer looks like a Miami Vice outtake. It used to be filled with decrepit vessels, small bait-and-tackle shops and nefarious dealings. In 1985,…

New Prestige 630S Will Launch in Miami, a 30-Knot Cruiser with Contemporary French Flair

By Peter Janssen on February 1, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new, aggressively styled Prestige 630S with a light-filled interior and proud French pedigree will be launched in the U.S. at the Miami Yacht Show on Collins Avenue, starting Feb. 15. The newest in Prestige’s SportYacht lineup, the 630S has three cabins (plus a captain’s quarters) and a 24-knot cruising speed powered by twin 725-hp Volvos with IPS950 pod drives. Inside, the 630S has a clean, contemporary, European-styled salon, with luxurious settees and a dining table where guests can enjoy 360-degree views from windows all around. In addition, a large sliding glass sunroof lets in more light and fresh air…

The Moorings Reopens in St. Martin, but from a New Charter Base in Marigot

By Peter Janssen on February 1, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life, Destinations

The Moorings and Sunsail, the world-wide charter companies, just reopened operations in St. Martin on Feb. 1, only four months after the Caribbean island was devastated by Hurricane Irma. They are now working out of a new charter base at Marina Fort-Louis in the island’s French capital of Marigot. The charter base there will have a diverse fleet including many powerboats, and more boats are expected to arrive as part of the companies’ $66.5 million investment in their Caribbean fleet after last fall’s hurricanes. Boats are available for bareboat and crewed charters, and one-way charters also are possible. Marina Fort-Louis is…

Argos Nautic to Launch New 11-foot Semi-Custom RIB at Miami Yacht Show

By Peter Janssen on January 31, 2018 Cruising Life, Gear

Argos Nautic will unveil its new 11-foot semi-custom tender called the 330 JET at the Miami Yacht Show on Collins Avenue starting Feb. 15. Powered by a Textron 850 MPE intercooled, turbocharged, four-stroke engine, the new RIB tops out at 48 mph. The new 11-footer is the smallest of the Miami-based company’s three models, which go up to 13’ 6.” With a beam of 5’ 8” and weighing only 750 pounds fully rigged, the 330 JET is designed to fit into many cruising boats’ garages. It has a built-in, 10-gallon fuel tank, and lots of storage for luggage, coolers and…

Seakeeper Gets More and More Popular, Expands Production. See Videos of Its Gyro Stabilizers in Action

By Peter Janssen on January 31, 2018 Cruising Life, Engine Room, Gear

Seakeeper is on a roll. Well, that’s a terrible misstatement. Actually, Seakeeper reduces rolling on recreational boats by 80 to 90 percent. It makes boating fun again for many, many people who don’t want to roll from side to side while underway or at anchor. It’s the Seakeeper company that’s on a roll. Indeed, Seakeeper is a modern success story, finding new owners across many diverse boat lines and making more and more gyro stabilizers each year. In fact, Seakeeper is going to increase its capacity so it can produce 6,000 new gyros in its factory in Mohnton, PA this…

Fight Over Marina Expansion Involves Boaters at Liberty Landing, Just Across Harbor from New York

By Peter Janssen on January 31, 2018 Cruising Life

The view from Liberty Landing Marina, in Jersey City, New Jersey, is simply spectacular, particularly at night. You look across New York Harbor to see all the lights of lower Manhattan, a sight that never gets old. I was there two years ago at the start of a trip up to Quebec City on a Cutwater 28 (pictured above), and I didn’t want to go to bed. And when you leave the marina, you can see the Statue of Liberty just off to your right, while the Hudson and the entire West Side of New York unfold before you. As…

CEO of Quicksilver Missing at Sea; His Boat Washes Up on Beach in Biarritz, France

By Peter Janssen on January 31, 2018 Cruising Life

Pierre Agnès, the CEO of the U.S. adventure clothing brand Quicksilver, is officially “missing at sea” after his 36-foot fishing boat washed up on a beach near Biarritz, France. Agnès, 54, was last seen at 7:30 in the morning when he left Biarritz, the upscale resort on the southwest coast, to go fishing in the Atlantic by himself on his boat, Mascaret 111, in rough seas. At 9 a.m., Agnès, a former member of the French national surfing team and an experienced boat captain, called the Biarritz harbormaster to say he was delaying his return because of fog. Half an hour…

Swimming Pigs Back in the Exumas, Fat, Happy and Ready for Food – and Pictures

By Peter Janssen on January 29, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s some good news if you’re heading for the Bahamas. The swimming pigs are back, apparently as fat and happy as ever, cadging food (and pictures) from cruisers in Big Major Cay in the Exumas. The bad news was that about a year ago some of the pigs started to die, which caused more than a few ripples of concern across the world. That’s because over the years the swimming pigs had become celebrities in their own right; they’d been featured on The Today Show, Travel + Leisure, Forbes, and a lot of other places. So, when stories of their…

New, Aptly-Named Livingstone 24, a Dutch-Built Global Explorer

By Peter Janssen on January 29, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Here’s something new and different, the 78-foot, steel-hulled Livingstone 24, named after the famed British explorer and designed to take you anywhere in the world. Last summer, its owner, Johan Hartman, who built the boat at his own yard in The Netherlands, drove it for an extended cruise to the Nordic countries before crossing the North Sea and spending two weeks in London. The Livingstone clearly has a look of its own, reminiscent of a 1930s ocean liner with a unique retro décor, mixed with a Dutch minimalist design and driven by state-of-the-art technologies. Powered by a single 350-hp MAN…

Grand Banks Building First New 60 with a Skylounge

By Peter Janssen on January 29, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Grand Banks is moving up. After the successful launch of its new, highly acclaimed 60 last year, it is now building the first 60 Skylounge with a totally enclosed upper pilothouse in its factory in Malaysia. The boat is scheduled to be launched this summer. The 60 Skylounge offers more living space above the bridge deck, and 360-degree unobstructed views while cruising or on the hook. Laid up with fully infused carbon fiber, the Skylounge keeps the 60’s graceful proportions and lines, while essentially adding another deck to the boat’s classic profile. The original 60, which comes with a flybridge,…

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