Cruising Life

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…

Boston Start-Ups Create Boats that Can Drive Themselves. Hmmm

By Peter Janssen on September 19, 2017 Cruising Life

A self-driving boat? Doesn’t that kind of take the fun out of it? Or am I just tilting at windmills, denying the future of boating? In any event, several startups in the Boston area, often joining with scientists at MIT, are developing boats that can drive themselves. More precisely, they operate in an “autonomous driving mode,” meaning people can control them from their laptops nearby. Take a look at the Steadfast, pictured above. Scientists from Sea Machines Robotics, Inc., a three-year-old Boston startup, bought the former Coast Guard RIB in May for $90,000 at a government auction. According to Bloomberg,…

See This Chart To Find the Chances of Your Anchor Holding

By Peter Janssen on September 18, 2017 Cruising Life

It’s not news that we’re supposed to put out 7:1 scope so our anchors will hold in normal conditions. But what was news to me was this chart from Captain John at Skipper Tips showing the odds of an anchor holding at greater or lesser scope. A 5:1 scope has a 77% chance of holding, for example, while a 10:1 scope gives a 100% chance. Take a look at this good story and chart from Skipper Tips: “Scope gives a ratio that shows the amount of anchor rode for each foot of water depth. For example, let’s say you are…

Hunt Design Introduces 80-foot Fast Express Cruiser: Will Top Out at 40 Knots

By Peter Janssen on September 18, 2017 Cruising Life

Ray Hunt Design, the people who brought you the award-winning Hunt 72 last year, now have a new elegant fast cruiser on the drawing boards – an 80-foot Fast Express Cruiser. The new 80 certainly has a family resemblance to the Hunt 72, which was named Best Powerboat at the Newport International Boat Show last year, and it has the iconic low-profile, long sheerline and clean, timeless lines that have set Hunts apart for more than half a century. When I asked Winn Willard, the president of Ray Hunt Designs, about the new 80 a few days ago at this…

After Irma, Foxy’s, with Almost Nothing Left, Is the Command Center for Jost Van Dyke

By Peter Janssen on September 17, 2017 Cruising Life

Now, a week after Hurricane Irma tore through the British Virgin Islands with historic force, Foxy’s, the iconic beachfront bar on Jost Van Dyke, the must-stop destination for most of us who’ve cruised or chartered there, is a mess (see the picture, above). As The New York Times reports, without electricity, running water or phone lines, the island’s 298 inhabitants are surviving on what they have left: a sat phone, a chain saw, some food. But Foxy’s has a working generator and people are rationing food and cooking meals twice a day there. “Anyone that comes, we feed,” said Tom Warner, Foxy’s…

In a Major Breakthrough, Hinckley Unveils First Luxury Electric Boat at Newport Show

By Peter Janssen on September 14, 2017 Cruising Life

Hinckley Yachts unveiled its first electric boat at the opening day of the Newport, Rhode Island, boat show, another breakthrough for the iconic Maine builder. The 28.5-foot open boat is named Dasher, after the first Hinckley Picnic Boat that started a worldwide trend when it was launched in 1994. “There is nothing else like it,” said Scott Bryant, Hinckley’s director of new product planning. “This is just as innovative as the original Dasher Picnic Boat.” The new electric boat is powered by two 80-hp Torquedo motors and can run for 4 1/2 hours at 10 mph. Top speed is about…

Simrad Adds Two New Chartplotters to Its Popular GO Series

By Peter Janssen on September 13, 2017 Cruising Life, Electronics

Simrad has just added two new chartplotters with larger displays and radar compatibility to its award-winning GO series. The new GO12 XSE and GO7 XSR, now part of Simrad’s popular GO stand-alone chartplotter series, are both multi-touch chartplotters for power boats with user-friendly navigation features for cruising, fishing and watersports. The new GO12 XSE (pictured above) has a 12-inch display, while the upgraded GO7 XSR has a restyled glass-helm design, plus radar capability that was not previously available on that model. Both units have bright displays and easy-to-use interfaces. The multi-touch controls are intuitive, and probably will seem similar to…

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