Cruising Life

Charter an Iconic Huckins for a Cruise on the St. Johns River

By Peter Janssen on July 26, 2017 Charter, Cruising Life

Here’s a charter opportunity that combines some beautiful, iconic Huckins yachts with some very different – and appealing – destinations, all starting from Classic River Cruises in Jacksonville, Florida. The small charter company has four classic Huckins plus assorted Boston Whalers, kayaks and SUPs, all in Jacksonville on the St. Johns River, which offers a wide variety of marine life (dolphins, manatees, alligators) along its 310-mile length. You can charter a crewed Huckins for an hour or for several days, for a cocktail cruise, a football game or a long family reunion. The company suggests a few favorite itineraries, including…

12 Best Beaches in the Caribbean Rated by U.S. News & World Report. See If You Agree

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

Here’s a great list of the 12 best beaches in the Caribbean, at least in the opinion of U.S. News & World Report, which specializes in rating these kinds of things. Not that I’m one to disagree, since I have only been to a few of these; they all look terrific to me. It’s not hard to imagine dropping the hook off any of these beaches and taking the dink in for some exploring and sunning on shore. Many of them also have waterfront bars or other attractions in case the lure of some of the most beautiful sand in…

iPad or Chartplotter: Which One’s Best for Your Boat?

By Peter Janssen on July 26, 2017 Cruising Life, Electronics

Take your pick for your boat: A mobile, easy to take home or carry around your boat iPad tablet, or a fixed-mount chartplotter. You say you’ll take both? You’re not alone. But each one has its own strengths and weaknesses, and you’ll probably end up relying on one more than on the other. An iPad, of course, is a modern platform for navigation, and there are a lot of apps and products available to protect and even mount a tablet on your helm. But how does it compare to a traditional, fixed-mount chartplotter? Both come in various sizes, although chartplotters…

50 Boats Cruise to Poets Cove in the Canadian Gulf Islands for Ranger Tug Rendezvous

By Peter Janssen on July 26, 2017 Cruising Life

About 50 boats cruised up to the recent Ranger Tugs rendezvous in Poets Cove resort and marina on Pender Island in the Canadian Gulf Islands, one of the most beautiful cruising destinations around. Poets Cove, nestled inside Bedwell Harbour Bay, is a great destination in its own right, or a convenient stop on the way to or from the Inside Passage. (I’ve stayed there many times over the years and have always wanted to go back.) The Ranger rendezvous was a major success, filled with families, pets, kids and good times. The highlight was the blindfolded dinghy race (pictured above);…

San Francisco Couple Moved Aboard 58-foot Trawler Ten Years Ago To Beat High Housing Costs. Still Love It

By Peter Janssen on July 26, 2017 Cruising Life

A lot of us dream of living aboard. I know. I actually did it for a few years, including winters, in Connecticut on my Grand Banks 36. We do it for a variety of reasons: It’s a great experience; you get to spend more time on your boat; you become much more aware of the day-to-day marine environment; you are part of a small community on your marina with shared interests and passions. And it’s fun. It also can be less expensive than living ashore, particularly if you’re in a soaring real estate market, such as San Francisco. That was…

40-Ton Humpback Whale Leaps Entirely Out of the Water: Incredible Video

By Peter Janssen on July 26, 2017 Cruising Life

You don’t see this very often – if ever. Here’s an incredible video of a 40-ton humpback whale leaping entirely out of the water in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mbotyi, South Africa. The video was taken by Craig Capehart, a scuba diver who was sitting on his inflatable when the whale appeared nearby. Given that the average adult humpback whale weighs in at about 40-tons (the same as 24 grown hippos), it’s hard to imagine the strength required to take the leaps shown in the video. Above all, through all the acrobatics, the whale simply seems to…

Jock Whitney’s Iconic Aphrodite Now Queen of Watch Hill, RI

By Peter Janssen on July 25, 2017 Cruising Life

Once the pride of the Gold Coast commuter boats that whisked financiers from their Long Island homes to their Wall Street offices in the 1930s, Aphrodite, one of the most easily recognized boats on the water, is now the pride of Watch Hill, Rhode Island, having been totally restored back to her former glory. Even in its original incarnation, Aphrodite was never just another pretty commuter boat. It was commissioned by John Hay “Jock” Whitney in 1937 from the Purdy Boat Company in Port Washington, on the north shore of Long Island. Whitney lived in Manhasset, across the bay from…

Inviting New Leader 33: A Creative Cruiser with Lots Space

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

The new Leader 33 has some of the most creative uses of space, both in the cockpit (which simply flows into the helm deck) and the master stateroom (which converts into a below-deck social area) that I’ve encountered in recent memory. To give owners even more choices, the Leader 33 has various gas and diesel power options that range from MerCruiser sterndrives to Volvos with a joystick. You step on board the new Leader, made by Jeanneau, the prestigious French builder, through a small stainless-steel swinging gate leading from the starboard side of the large swim platform into the cockpit.…

926-Pound Shark Caught Off New Jersey Coast: A State Record

By Peter Janssen on July 25, 2017 Cruising Life

Six friends fishing offshore for the first time caught a 926-pound Mako shark in the Hudson Canyon, 100 miles off the New Jersey coast, last weekend, probably setting a new state record as the largest shark of any kind ever caught there. “It was a beast,” said Kevin Gerrity, the boat’s captain. The six were fishing on the Jenny Lee, a 44-foot Henriques charter boat out of Brielle, when they hooked something that took off like “a freight train.” They all took turns for 90 minutes trying to land the shark. The first time they got it to the boat…

Coast Guard Rescues 5 from Capsized Boat 8 Miles Offshore; Only 3 Had Life Jackets

By Peter Janssen on July 24, 2017 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard has rescued five people from a capsized 19-foot power boat eight miles off Topsail Island, North Carolina. Three of them had life jackets; the other two, without jackets, stayed afloat by perching on the capsized boat’s hull. The rescue started at 9:53 in the morning when the Coast Guard got a Mayday call that a small boat eight miles out in the Atlantic was taking on water. About the same time, the local county 911 office got a call saying the boat had capsized and five people were in the water, with only three life jackets among…

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