Browsing: Cruising Life

Cruising Life
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Sudden Storm Destroys Boats, Pier, Near Vancouver; Almost Turns Deadly

As you can see in these dramatic pictures, Tim Shields is a professional photographer from Vancouver, British Columbia, who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Shields and his daughter were taking a walk recently along the waterfront in the little city of White Rock, about 30 miles south of Vancouver, when a sudden storm blew in, destroying about a dozen boats and cutting the pier they were on in two. The situation was so bad that a Canadian Armed Forces helicopter had to rescue a man stranded on the outer end of the pier. Shields…

Cruising Life
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Fast, Safe, All-Weather SARGO 33 Cruiser Launched in Seattle

The all-weather, 40-knot, easy-riding SARGO 33 was just introduced at the Seattle boat show. The two-cabin, one-head cruiser is made in Finland, but it would be just as much at home in the Pacific Northwest, the coast of Maine, on Georgian Bay or other parts of the Great Loop. Full disclosure: Several years ago Billy Black, the photographer, and I spent a few days (and nights) on the 31-foot version of this boat, cruising in mid-coast Maine. We found it comfortable, seaworthy and easy to handle in a great variety of conditions, including navigating through Maine’s infamous fog. As opposed…

Cruising Life
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Want To Cruise on the Rhine? Don’t Wait Too Long. It’s Drying Up

Thinking about taking a cruise down the Rhine? Don’t wait too long; it’s drying up. Indeed, water levels on the Rhine, one of the most important rivers in Europe, if not the world, hit 12-year lows last summer, with low points continuing up to the end of the year. At shallow points, river traffic ground to a halt for a month. The source of the Rhine lies high in the Swiss Alps; the river then runs through Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, before emptying into the sea at Rotterdam. It runs past medieval castles, hillside vineyards, and throbbing industrial centers…

Cruising Life
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Prize-Winning Fairline Targa 43 Open To Make U.S. Debut at Miami Show

The aggressively styled, prize-winning, 31-knot Fairline Targa 43 Open will have its U.S. debut at the Miami boat show. Launched at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September, the British-built cruiser won the Best Exterior Design in the 14-18m category in the World Yacht Trophies competition there. The new Targa 43 is built for lounging and comfort on board. You can stretch out on the large sun pad in the cockpit, or on the almost-as-large sunpad on the foredeck. The cockpit also has U-shaped seating to port with a teak table for lunch or drinks under the hardtop; if you want…

Cruising Life
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Yamaha Introduces New, More Powerful, 25- and 20-hp Outboards

Yamaha has just introduced two new outboards, a 25-horsepower, high-thrust model to power heavier small boats, and a 20-horsepower unit to drive a wide variety of boats, with faster acceleration and better performance under a load. The new T25 “has the best power-to-weight ratio of all high-thrust 25-horsepower outboards,” said Ben Speciale, president of the Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit. “If you have a small but heavy vessel to power this outboard delivers on every level.” It has electronic fuel injection, variable trolling rpm control, lightweight technology, and the ability to connect to Yamaha’s digital gauges. The T25 comes with…

Cruising Life
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Seven Beautiful New Boat Salons, From Classic to Ultra-Modern

There probably are as many different types of salons on boats as there are living rooms and dens in people’s homes on land. You often really don’t have all that much of a choice on most production boats; you pretty much live with the salon that comes with the boat. Still, it’s fun, and instructive, to take a look at a variety of salons on other boats. Here are seven, chosen by Motorboat & Yachting, and they range from traditionalist to modern. My personal favorite is the salon on the Fleming 65, shown at top. I could say that’s because…

Cruising Life
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What Causes Rogue Waves? New Research Says Two Waves Crossing at 120 Degrees

The mere prospect of a rogue wave is enough to strike fear in the heart of most cruising skippers. Rogue, or freak, waves appear without warning, and they are strong enough to sink large ships. But what causes a rogue wave, and how bad can they really be? Now researchers at the Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh have determined what causes rogue waves. The answer: Smaller groups of waves that cross at an angle of 120 degrees. To work out the conditions that cause a rogue wave, which is at least twice as high as surrounding waves, the researchers tried…

Cruising Life
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Martinique: A French-Caribbean Haven Where Cruising Is Easy

If you really want to get away from the winter chill, think about heading for a cruising or charter vacation in Martinique, the French-Caribbean haven in the Lesser Antilles, about 440 miles south of Puerto Rico. The beaches are beautiful (see Les Salines, above), the cruising is easy, and life on shore is an exotic combination of French flair and laid-back Caribbean vibes. If cruising down there on your own is too far, there are direct flights from New York, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Then you can check into The Moorings for a bareboat or crewed charter. Seven nights on…

Cruising Life
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Lots of Enthusiasm, Happy People, at the New York Boat Show

It seemed like old times, the best of times, on Saturday afternoon at the New York Boat  Show. The aisles at the Javits Center were filled with people looking at the 350 new boats and probably a thousand or so new boating accessories, and everybody seemed in a good mood. “We just had one of our best  years ever,” a New England dealer told me. “And it looks like this one is off to a pretty good start.” People were lined up to look at the new boats; indeed, the line to climb on the Azimut 60, the queen of…

Cruising Life
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Increasing Noise from Ships, Offshore Drilling, Threatens Marine Life

The oceans are getting louder, with increased noise levels coming from ever-larger commercial ships and new offshore drilling. And the new sound levels are so high that they pose health problems for marine life from right whales to plankton. The newest problem is coming from seismic air guns used for offshore drilling in oil and gas exploration. The Administration has allowed offshore drilling, with seismic mapping, along the Atlantic coast from Florida to the Northeast. Similar exploration and seismic mapping, with the use of air guns, is expected soon along the Gulf Coast and the Pacific Coast as well. “They…

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