Cruising Life

Hunt To Build New 54-mph, 40-Foot Center Console with Three Outboards and a Large Cabin

By Peter Janssen on October 15, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Hunt Yachts, the legendary builder of blue-water, go-anywhere boats for more than half a century, just introduced a new, elegant 40-foot center console with a queen berth tucked into its cabin that is powered by three 300-hp Mercury Verado outboards. The new Hunt, with a 23-degree deadrise at the transom, combines two major trends: The move to larger and larger center consoles, incorporating more amenities to make them family-friendly, and the move to larger and larger outboard engines for fuel-efficient, quiet and reliable power. Hunt says the new 40 with standard power will top out at 54 mph; with three…

New Low-Cost, User-Friendly CrewWatcher MOB System from Weems & Plath

By Peter Janssen on October 12, 2017 Cruising Life, Electronics

Weems & Plath just signed an agreement to make and distribute a revolutionary, low-cost and easy-to-use man-overboard system developed by PanPan and called the CrewWatcher. Peter Trogdon, the Weems & Plath president, just demonstrated it to me here at the Annapolis power boat show, and it seems like a no-brainer. The CrewWatcher system is an app-based MOB alarm using a smart phone or tablet with a small beacon that can easily fit in your pocket. It’s all automatic and requires no manual activation. When it’s dropped in the water, the device sounds a loud alarm and then on screen gives…

Navy Relieves Commander and Exec Officer of USS John S. McCain for “Preventable” Collision that Killed 10

By Peter Janssen on October 12, 2017 Cruising Life

In a scathing report, the Navy has relieved the commander and the executive officer of the USS John S. McCain, a guided missile destroyer, for what it said was a “preventable” collision with a tanker off Singapore on Aug. 21 that killed 10 sailors. “It is evident this collision was preventable, the commanding officer exercised poor judgment, and the executive officer exercised poor leadership of the ship’s training program,” the Navy’s report said. In an earlier collision, seven sailors were killed in June when another destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, also collided with a civilian tanker off the coast of Japan. In Washington,…

After Trading Up to a Ranger Tugs 29, the Favors Take a First Cruise with Their Grandson

By Peter Janssen on October 10, 2017 Cruising Life

Jim and Lisa Favors just took delivery of their new Ranger Tugs 29, named Kismet, the same name as their old Ranger Tugs 27. The main reason the Favors (who’ve cruised all over the United States, including the Great Loop) moved up to the larger boat was that they wanted to spend time with their grandchildren on board. Well, that just happened. The first overnight guest on the new, larger Kismet was their grandson, Silas, who’s almost four. When the Favors first invited him to join them for a week-long cruise in South Puget Sound, Washington, Silas immediately replied, “When…

How To Pick Up a Mooring Buoy: Some Fresh Ideas in This Great Video

By Peter Janssen on October 10, 2017 Cruising Life

If you’ve never done it, picking up a mooring buoy seems like it should be the easiest thing in the world. All you need to do is head into the prevailing wind or current, slow to a crawl, and then have your handy mate on the bow lean over with the boathook and latch onto it. In the real world, however, a gust of wind can push the bow down, a sudden wave can push the buoy off to the side, the bow of your boat can be too high (or your mate’s arms are too short), whatever. Things can…

New Adler Hybrid Has Carbon-Fiber Hull, 3,500 nm Range, and iPad Controls

By Peter Janssen on October 10, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The all-new, carbon-fiber, aggressively-styled Adler Suprema Hybrid will make her U.S. debut at the Fort Lauderdale show, starting Nov. 1. The 76-foot yacht, designed by Nuvolari-Lenard, is powered by a diesel-electric propulsion system that includes carbon-fiber props, twin 100kW e-engines and twin Cat 1,150-hp diesels. It can run up to 8 knots under electric power, and it tops out at 28 knots under diesel. “It’s a unique yacht with a sophisticated design and a number of modern features usually found on much bigger boats, such as state-of-the-art hybrid propulsion, iPad controls, heated floors and a strong, lightweight and efficient hull…

Ten “Happiest” Seaside Towns in the U.S. Is Your Favorite on the List?

By Peter Janssen on October 9, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

Well, there are lists, and there are lists. But this list should hit home with cruising boat owners, since it names the “Happiest Seaside Towns in America,” according to Coastal Living. They’re the happiest, the magazine says, because they “are sure to make you smile.” Having been to all of them over the years, I’ll certainly agree to that. Not to spoil the suspense, but here are few of my personal favorites among the top ten. At least they’ve made me happy: Camden, Maine. Coastal Living calls Camden “an advertisement for New England charm come to life.” Fair enough. And…

Cruise One-Way Down the Windward Islands in a Chartered Power Cat from the Moorings

By Peter Janssen on October 9, 2017 Charter, Cruising Life

How’s this for a great charter idea? Pick up a power cat in St. Lucia and then spend a week or so island-hopping down the Windwards and end up in Granada, sampling some of the most romantic beaches, towns and small French bars and restaurants along the way. The Moorings is now promoting this as the ultimate one-way Caribbean charter, taking advantage of the prevailing winds, and letting you sample half a dozen or more of the smaller islands that make up the Windwards, so-called because they were more to windward to the early sailing ships in the 16th and…

Coast Guard Practices in Surf as Hurricane Passes Offshore: See Video

By Peter Janssen on October 9, 2017 Cruising Life

For the Coast Guard, an offshore hurricane provides a great chance to do some serious surf training. And that’s exactly what they did recently, when Hurricane Maria passed about 150 miles off the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In fact, the Coast Guard station at Oregon Inlet decided to take advantage of the storm to do some extra work. They launched a 47-foot Lifeboat near Nags Head to run surf drills for a total of 18 hours as the storm passed offshore, practicing maneuvering, man overboard and emergency tows. “Each time the weather presents an opportunity to train in breaking…

New Sunreef 68 Power Cat: Luxury Living with Extra Space Everywhere

By Peter Janssen on October 8, 2017 Cruising Life

The first Sunreef Supreme 68 power cat in the United States will be introduced at the Fort Lauderdale show, and it’s simply vast. With more than 3,200 square feet of living space – luxurious living space, at that – it’s larger than many New York apartments. The Sunreef 68 is an elegant, contemporary European design with clean lines, where the interior and exterior spaces blend together to create vast open areas for lounging and dining whether underway or at a dock. In the new 68, Sunreef keeps the salon and exterior deck, fore and aft, all at the same level.…

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