Cruising Life

Life on the Loop: An Alabama Couple Waits in Key West for Warm Weather on Their Grand Banks 36

By Peter Janssen on January 11, 2018 Cruising Life

So far, George and Meg Sanders on Viridian, their 1986 Grand Banks 36 Classic, have done everything just about right. A few years ago, they had virtually no experience on a boat of this size. Now they’ve put a few thousand miles under their belts and are waiting out the cold weather in Key West, ready to resume their voyage around the Great Loop in February. The Sanders, from Lacey’s Spring, Alabama, just south of Huntsville, decided they wanted to take a major adventure several years ago: The Great Loop beckoned. But first, they needed a boat. In June, 2016,…

For Your Next Raft-Up: The Aqua Beach Wave Floating Party Mat

By Peter Janssen on January 9, 2018 Cruising Life, Gear

This doesn’t really bring up visions of Joshua Slocum or bashing ‘round the Horn, but it could add a bit of spice to your local raft-up next summer. It’s the Aqua Beach Wave Floating Party Mat, and it could bring some fun after you tie up in the calm waters of a quiet cove. The Floating Party Mat is different. It’s made with soft, durable cross-link foam so it won’t tear, and it has four cup holders (need we say more). It has mooring lines and hook-and-loop straps to keep you floating in one spot, and it has Velcro straps…

Moorings Offers Free Days Special For Most of the Year. Book Now

By Peter Janssen on January 9, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life

The Moorings is making it hard to stay home. Indeed, the worldwide charter powerhouse is now offering a Free Days Special, where you can get an extra day on board your charter yacht if you book it for a week before Jan. 31. Book it for two weeks and you get an extra two days free. The Free Days Special applies to The Moorings locations in Antigua, the Bahamas, Belize, the British Virgin Islands (pictured above), Grenada, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Martin, the Seychelles, Tahiti and Thailand. You must complete the booking by Jan. 31 for any time between…

Humpback Whale Saves Diver from Shark: See Incredible Video

By Peter Janssen on January 9, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s an incredible story – and video – about a 50,000-pound humpback whale protecting a diver in the South Pacific from a tiger shark by hiding her under his pectoral fin. “I wasn’t sure what the whale was up to when he approached me, and it didn’t stop pushing me around for over 10 minutes,” Nan Hauser, a 63-year-old biologist, told the Daily Mirror. Hauser was diving from a research vessel off Muri Beach, Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, when the whale started moving her away from the 15-foot shark. She didn’t see the shark, but the whale started pushing…

Simrad Launches New Six-Panel Integrated Display for Cruising Boats

By Peter Janssen on January 9, 2018 Cruising Life, Electronics

Take a look at the new Simrad Yachting integrated display above. If you can’t see it there, it’s probably not worth seeing. The six-panel, split-screen touchscreen display on the new NSO evo3 is designed to be the premiere integrated display for larger cruising boats, and it’s made to be easy to see from any viewing angle (even if you’re wearing polarized sun glasses). The idea is to connect the NSO evo3 to other Simrad network modules and add GPS, autopilot, keypad controllers and other accessories to create a vessel-wide system. The high-definition (1920 x 1080) display puts you in total…

Six Lessons You Learn from Living Aboard. Plus Video of How To Save Space

By Peter Janssen on January 8, 2018 Cruising Life

Here’s a great story, with a bit of humor, about living aboard a canal boat in the heart of London (which apparently 10,000 people actually do). It talks about the six lessons learned from that experience. I know from my own living aboard days, in Norwalk Cove, Connecticut, on my Grand Banks 36, that those lessons are universal to the living aboard lifestyle, and not just limited to the UK. Many years ago, I interviewed Richard Branson (before he was Sir Richard Branson) on his canal boat in London. He was using it as a private office, a place to…

It’s a Long Way to Go, but Curacao is One of the Most Colorful Cruising Destinations

By Peter Janssen on January 8, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

If you’re looking for a colorful cruising destination, think about Curacao, where the old Dutch colonial capital of Willemstad (pictured above) is rich with pastel-hued buildings and the island is dotted with beautiful beaches, coves, and coral reefs rich with marine life. And the temperatures are warm year-round, the breezes are gentle and the humidity is low. Curacao is, admittedly, a long way to go. It’s all the way down in the Caribbean, only 44 nm north of Venezuela. But it has many marinas to choose from once you’re there, including Curacao Marine, a large, full-service marina and yard in…

New Beneteau Gran Turismo 50: Euro Looks, Worldwide Comfort and Performance

By Peter Janssen on January 7, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new flagship of the French builder’s popular sport cruiser fleet, the Beneteau Gran Turismo 50, with an exterior by the highly acclaimed Italian design team of Nuvolari-Lenard, is a combination of modern Euro styling and state-of-the-art technology, inside and out. Its swept-back low-profile and its expansive display of large windows set the Gran Turismo 50 apart from the crowd, while behind the scenes it is the first Beneteau to have the company’s new Ship Control technology that operates all the boat’s onboard systems, from air conditioning to lighting. The boat will make its U.S. debut in February at the…

Worried about Losing Your Electronics While Offshore? Try a Davis Sextant

By Peter Janssen on January 7, 2018 Cruising Life, Electronics, Gear

Even with all our electronics, sextants – dating to 1759 – are making a comeback. The Navy, for example, has reinstituted its celestial navigation and sextant training because of fears about jammed GPS satellite signals. Whether you’re on a warship or a 65-foot blue-water cruiser, if you lose your electronics, for whatever reason, in the middle of the ocean, it certainly would help to have at least a working knowledge of celestial and a sextant. As Davis Instruments points out, with a wristwatch, a copy of The Nautical Almanac and a chart, you could find your way back home using…

New Williams Sportjet 435: Fast, Fun and Big Enough To Hold 7 People

By Peter Janssen on January 7, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Williams Sportjet 435, a 14-foot, jet-powered RIB that can carry up to seven passengers and tops out at 52 mph, will be introduced at the London boat show, from January 10-14. It is the sixth model in Williams’ Sportjet series. “The 435 was created to extend our existing range of smaller Sportjet models, offering more space with seating for up to seven passengers, without compromising style or speed,” says Mathew Hornsby, the sales director for Williams Jet Tenders. The 435 is designed for wakeboarding and waterskiing as well as a tender or sportboat to carry passengers and guests.…

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