Cruising Life

How To Fix Window Leaks: Great Tips from an Owner Who’s Been There

By Peter Janssen on April 26, 2017 Cruising Life, Maintenance

It’s one of the most frustrating experiences I’ve ever had: A leaking window on the port side of the salon on my Grand Banks 36. It took forever to get it fixed, and even then every time it rained I held my breath to see if the leak would start again. I know I’m not alone in this. Many owners of cruising boats face the same problem, and experience varying degrees of success in fixing it. Here’s some very good advice from Jim Healy, who, with his wife Peg, has cruised more than 40,000 miles on their 1988 Monk 36…

The Ten Prettiest Coastal Towns in Maine: Did Your Favorites Make the List?

By Peter Janssen on April 26, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

The coast of Maine, with all its jutting peninsulas, rocky shoreline and hidden coves and harbors, offers some of the best cruising anywhere – if you can avoid the fog and the lobster pots. Maine also has some of the prettiest coastal towns anywhere, filled with charm, character and boating history and tradition. Which towns are the prettiest? Well, much of this is in the eye of the beholder. I personally would vote for both Northeast Harbor and Southwest Harbor, Port Clyde, Southport and Wiscasset, but that’s just me. To see what others think, here’s a top ten list from…

New Tiara C39: A Solid Top-End Cruiser or Day Boat

By Peter Janssen on April 25, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

It’s hard to tell whether the new Tiara C39, the smallest in the company’s coupe series, is a solid couple’s cruiser or a big, fast day boat with enough entertaining space for a small crowd. But in reality, you don’t need to choose: This new Tiara is both. Designed on the same lines as the earlier 50 and 44 coupes, the new 39 has a thoroughly modern interior and the high-tech performance associated with its twin Volvo IPS 500 pod drives with fingertip joystick controls. The boat cruises at 26 knots and tops out at 35 knots, fast enough to…

Charter A Yacht in Bermuda to Watch the America’s Cup

By Peter Janssen on April 25, 2017 Charter, Cruising Life, Destinations

You shouldn’t need an excuse to go to Bermuda (it’s one of the world’s greatest spots), but if you do, start thinking about the America’s Cup, one of the world’s most enduring sports contests. Don’t take too long to think about it: The first Louis Vuitton qualifying race starts May 26. One of the best ways to see all the action, of course, is by chartering your own yacht, power or sail. We have a story and video listing seven reasons why you should do that, below. And then below that we have another story telling all about Bermuda itself.…

Speeding Boat Runs Over Whale in Puget Sound, See Video

By Peter Janssen on April 25, 2017 Cruising Life

This is awful. A small boat speeding on Puget Sound runs right over a whale swimming just below the surface. The boat hits the whale hard enough to lift the boat out of the water. The entire episode was captured on video taken from a whale-watching boat. The whale, probably a grey whale, was one of three swimming together. Grey whales are about 40 feet long and can weigh up to 30 tons. The condition of the whale is not known. See the video here: http://globalnews.ca/news/3400614/speeding-boater-strikes-runs-over-whale-in-puget-sound/

Debris from Disabled Yacht Littering Popular Beach on Lake Michigan

By Peter Janssen on April 25, 2017 Cruising Life

A 76-foot yacht that was grounded in three feet of water is causing environmental and legal problems near a popular beach on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The Coast Guard says the operator intentionally grounded the 76-foot yacht Tica, built in 1964, when it started taking on water off Ludington State Park, north of Pentwater, Michigan, on April 15. The Coast Guard rescued the operator, who was not injured. But since then debris from the yacht has been washing ashore, littering miles of coastline, and the situation will soon get worse, since 70 percent of the boat, including the…

Mesmerizing Video: Ferry Slams Into Concrete Breakwater

By Peter Janssen on April 25, 2017 Cruising Life

Ouch. From the start, this video is like watching a train wreck about to happen. It shows the Volcán de Tamasite, a 140-passenger ferry, slamming into a concrete breakwater in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. More than a dozen passengers were injured; five were taken to the hospital. The collision severed some underwater fuel pipes, and the Spanish government was cleaning up a small oil spill. Beaches around Las Palmas and Telde were closed as a precaution. The owner of the ferry said that it “suffered a technical glitch.” Others said it lost electrical power. Take a look for…

Coast Guard Commandant’s Reading List: Smart and Informed

By Peter Janssen on April 22, 2017 Cruising Life

You don’t get to be Commandant of the United States Coast Guard by being a dummy. And Admiral Paul Zukunft, the current Commandant, is certainly no exception, as exemplified by the reading list he published on All Hands, the Coast Guard’s official blog. The ten authors on the Commandant’s list range from Tom Friedman to Sebastian Junger; two great writers who come to their expertise through widely different experiences. I’d read anything by either of them. Then there’s Richard Haas, one of the smartest, and most fair-minded, thinkers around. You could do a lot worse than spending your time reading…

Charter Captain Pulls Burning Boat Away from Fuel Dock: See Video

By Peter Janssen on April 22, 2017 Cruising Life

Lee Tippett is one fast-thinking – and competent – charter boat captain. He was just returning from a fishing trip near the mouth of the Patuxent River in Southern Maryland when he saw a boat on fire about half a mile away at the fuel dock of the Solomons Yacht Club. He told the seven people on board to stay in the cabin, while he backed his boat up to the burning 21-foot powerboat, threw an anchor on it, and towed it two miles into deep water. Tippett, who’s been running his charter business for 12 years, said, “I was…

Record Number of Icebergs in North Atlantic: Ships Rerouted

By Peter Janssen on April 20, 2017 Cruising Life

A record number of icebergs are floating in the North Atlantic – including 450 near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland – forcing vessels to slow down to 3 knot speeds or take long detours around the area. The Coast Guard reports that an average of only 80 icebergs are found there this time of year. The large picture at the top shows an iceberg near where the Titanic hit one on April 14, 1912; there would be no problem sighting this one in time to avoid a disaster. Now, instead of taking the Great Circle route across the North Atlantic,…

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