Cruising Life

JFK’s Personal 17-foot Runabout Up for Auction in New York

By Peter Janssen on September 28, 2017 Cruising Life

Now you, too, can own a piece of Camelot. President John F. Kennedy’s restored 17-foot mahogany runabout, named RESTOFUS, is up for auction on October 7 at Guernsey’s in New York. A 1961 Century Resorter, the boat is estimated to sell for between $100,000 and $200,000. JFK’s father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. won the boat in a church raffle. It became JFK’s personal boat, since his brother, Bobby, already had a 1962 Century Coronado. The name is a play on words. Earlier, Joe Kennedy, the patriarch, had named a boat TENOFUS, referring to the size of his family at that…

Navy Orders Ships To Turn On AIS in Crowded Shipping Lanes

By Peter Janssen on September 24, 2017 Cruising Life

AIS is one of those things that a lot of us now take for granted. It’s a good thing, like GPS or radar or sunscreen. It can protect you and make your life on board safer and happier. It’s also easy to understand and easy to use, and it’s relatively inexpensive; an ICOM AIS transceiver costs $699.99 at West Marine. The whole point of AIS (Automatic Identification System) is to let other boats know where you are (and to tell you where they are). It is designed to prevent collisions at sea, or around river bends on the Great Loop,…

California Man Steals 78-foot Yacht – Twice. Arrested Twice

By Peter Janssen on September 24, 2017 Cruising Life

Richard Marco Rodriguez, 35, of Whittier, California, really likes the 78-foot, $3 million yacht Stimulus. In fact, he likes it so much, he’s tried to steal it twice. According to the Orange County Register, the problems started three years ago, when the harbor patrol saw Stimulus at first stuck between two docks in Balboa and then starting to drift toward a seawall. They thought the person at the wheel was the owner, so they helped pull the boat to safety at the mouth of the Newport Harbor. The person was Rodriguez. The real owner called police the next day to report…

The Storms Moved On, but for Some of the Caribbean, So Did the Jobs

By Peter Janssen on September 24, 2017 Cruising Life

How long will it be before the boating and tourism industry returns to the hardest-hit islands in the Caribbean after Hurricanes Irma and Maria blew through, destroying hotels, marinas, charter fleets and houses? No one knows, particularly the people who live and work there. But they do know that they don’t have a way to make a living. The New York Times reports that residents are leaving St. Martin, “because their jobs are no more.” “Right now, the livelihood of tourism is in a coma,” said the sales manager of a luxury hotel in Anguilla. A waitress at a hotel in…

Life-Saving Video: Coast Guard Helicopter Rescues Woman, Two Children, From Overturned Boat in Puerto Rico

By Peter Janssen on September 22, 2017 Cruising Life

Here’s a dramatic video of a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rescuing a woman and two children from the hull of an overturned boat near Vieques, Puerto Rico, after the vessel was disabled in 20-foot waves and 115-mph winds. A man trapped inside the boat died. The British Royal Navy helped with the rescue. Read more and watch the video: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article174753601.html

After Causing Total Destruction in Puerto Rico, Maria Hitting the Turks and Caicos and Heading for the Bahamas

By Peter Janssen on September 22, 2017 Cruising Life

Hurricane Maria, with 125-mph winds, was devastating the Turks and Caicos on Friday morning. NOAA said it then will head for the Bahamas, carrying a storm surge of 10-15 feet and dumping up to 20 inches of rain before swirling north into the Atlantic. It’s still too early to tell whether it will pass between Bermuda and the U.S. mainland or move closer to the coast. Maria already destroyed Puerto Rico, knocking out all the power on the island, flooding rivers and causing “total destruction.” And that was after it passed over St. Croix and caused even more damage to…

St. Thomas Family Survives Irma, Killing Chicken with a Slingshot for Food. Finally Take a Catamaran to Safety — San Juan.

By Peter Janssen on September 20, 2017 Cruising Life

A St. Thomas family survived Hurricane Irma for six days, killing chicken with a slingshot for food, until they finally paid a catamaran company to take them to safety — Puerto Rico. Here’s the story they told to CNN as they wait out their second historic storm in the Caribbean. Jessica Mangiaracina and Bob Perkins thought they were ready for Hurricane Irma. They bought extra food and supplies for their home in St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, for themselves and their two children, ages 7 and 9. But then Irma hit as a Category 5 storm. “It’s like…

Ranger Tugs, Cutwater Boats Hold Biggest and Best Owners’ Rendezvous Ever

By Peter Janssen on September 20, 2017 Cruising Life

More than 400 people on 180 boats showed up at the annual Ranger Tugs and Cutwater Boats Factory Rendezvous in Roche Harbor Marina and Resort on San Juan Island last week – the largest such gathering ever. And they had three days of fun, although from my own experience, it’s hard not to have fun at Roche Harbor, which is on the northern tip of San Juan Island about 100 miles above Seattle and qualifies as one of the best cruising destinations anywhere. But Ranger and Cutwater, both under the umbrella of Fluid Motion, LLC, in Kent, Washington, specialize in…

New Sabre 45 Salon Express Is Voted the People’s Choice in Newport. Here’s Why

By Peter Janssen on September 19, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The all-new Sabre 45 Salon Express just won The People’s Choice Award at the Newport International Boat Show, meaning that more people who paid to go to the show liked this classic Down East two-stateroom, two-head, user-friendly cruiser than any other boat there. And it’s easy to see why. From start to finish, this new built-in-Maine beauty is made for the way people cruise today. At 45 feet, with IPS joystick controls, it’s easy for a relatively new cruising couple, or a pair of old salts, to handle. They can live on it for a long time, cruising by themselves,…

New Great Harbour TT35: An Outboard-Powered Trawler that You Can Trailer Anywhere

By Peter Janssen on September 19, 2017 Cruising Life

The new Great Harbour TT35, which will be launched at the Annapolis powerboat show starting Oct. 12, combines two growing trends: Outboard power, and trailerability. It’s designed to pack in all the comforts of a single-stateroom, liveaboard trawler with the ease, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of an outboard-powered boat that can be launched and retrieved and then trailered to cruising grounds all around the U.S. and Canada. The new Great Harbour has home-like amenities, including a queen island berth in the master stateroom, a full-featured galley and a large head with a separate shower. The salon can hold extra guests for…

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