Cruising Life

Beautiful – and Frightening – Winter Waves on Lake Erie

By Peter Janssen on February 13, 2017 Cruising Life

Winter waves on Lake Erie can be beautiful, as you can see in these photographs, but they also can be extremely dangerous. They can build to be more than 25 feet tall, but NOAA says Lake Erie is particularly known for its powerful seiches, which occur when all the water in the lake sloshes from one shore to another – think of what happens in your bathtub, writ large. Seiches and other waves don’t build up every day, of course, so photographer Dave Sandford often has to wait a long time to get the perfect shot. But his patience pays…

Lost Continent Found – Under Mauritius

By Peter Janssen on February 12, 2017 Cruising Life

About 1,200 miles off the coast of Africa, east of Madagascar, the tropical island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean is often celebrated as one of the most beautiful spots on earth. Indeed, Mark Twain once said, “Mauritius was made first, and then heaven; and that heaven was copied after Mauritius.” A beckoning paradise for cruising boat owners, Mauritius seems to have it all: pristine waters, white beaches, deep-sea fishing, scuba diving, an exotic location. But now it has something truly unique: It’s sitting on top of the lost continent of Mauritia that scientists say broke up and sank about…

Fountaine Pajot MY 44: Brand-New Large and Luxurious Power Cat

By Peter Janssen on February 11, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

You won’t be lonely on this new Fountaine Pajot MY 44 power catamaran. It comes with three staterooms, all with en suite heads, an absolutely enormous salon and flybridge, and lounges fore and aft. You can embark on some blue-water extended cruising with a lot of your friends, and you can do some serious entertaining with a larger crowd closer to home. The Fountaine Pajot MY 44 was just introduced at the Dusseldorf boat show in January. It is now undergoing sea trials off La Rochelle, France, and it’s scheduled to appear in the U.S. before the end of the…

New Sabre 45 Salon Express: Made in Maine, Delivered in March

By Peter Janssen on February 11, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

One of the reasons that Sabre Yachts has built, and maintained, a leadership position in the power cruising market is that the Maine-based company keeps introducing new models, in good times and bad. Now it has just delivered hull number one of the 45 Salon Express to its new owner in Florida. The 45, fitting between the company’s existing 42- and 48-foot models, is an all-new design with two staterooms, two full heads, and the built-in-Maine lines and craftsmanship that help define all Sabres. The master stateroom is forward, with an island bed and several lockers and drawers for storage…

Fast Growing Crack in Antarctic Ice Shelf Will Soon Create One of Largest Icebergs Ever

By Peter Janssen on February 9, 2017 Cruising Life

A crack in the Antarctic ice shelf, now more than 100 miles long and two miles wide, may soon break off, creating one of the largest icebergs ever recorded. And it is growing quickly, increasing 17 miles in the last two months, and the length of five football fields a day. Since the ice is already floating, its separation won’t raise sea levels. But the glaciers behind it will then melt more quickly, and that will add to a rise in global sea level. And because of warming temperatures, other large amounts of ice in West Antarctica could be vulnerable…

Heading for the Miami Show? Take a Weekend in Bimini

By Peter Janssen on February 8, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

If you’re heading to the Miami show, or just cruising in Florida, you may want to think about taking a 50-mile side trip (with your passport) over to Bimini. Even at 15 knots, you could leave Miami after breakfast and be sitting down for conch chowder at the Big Game Club (founded in 1936 and a Hemingway hangout) for lunch. Or dive, or explore Alice Town (that will be fun but it won’t take long), or fish, or just relax. For me, Bimini has been a favorite for a fast change of scene, and drop of blood pressure, for many,…

New Kadey-Krogen 50 Open: A Major Change for an Iconic Bluewater Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on February 8, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Kadey-Krogen does one thing – it builds blue-water, full-displacement, passagemaker trawlers – and it does that very well. Indeed, Kadey-Krogen just delivered its 600th yacht. The company is not known for change for the sake of change. But now Kadey-Krogen has come up with a major change – the new Kadey-Krogen 50 Open, where the main deck is continuous from the cockpit to the salon and the galley and then just one step up to the pilothouse. Indeed, Larry Polster, a Kadey-Krogen partner and vice president, says, “The Krogen 50 Open is revolutionary for our brand. She’s a model all…

Volvo Launches New Joystick for Twin Inboard Boats with Shafts, Wins Innovation Award

By Peter Janssen on February 6, 2017 Cruising Life, Engine Room

We all know about Volvo’s revolutionary IPS pod drives, and how they make docking and controlling a boat easy, and actually fun. But now Volvo is going one step further, introducing its new Volvo Penta Joystick for Inboard system, also controlled by a joystick, that makes docking and boat control just as easy for conventional twin shaft-driven inboard boats. The Joystick for Inboards is indeed new and different: It just won a prestigious Innovation Award at the Miami International Boat Show. The new system has the first joystick for twin inboard shaft installations with integrated rudder, engine and bow thruster…

Sunreef 60: A New Power Cat with a Luxurious Master Stateroom

By Peter Janssen on January 31, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

One of the larger and more luxurious power catamarans, the new 60 Sunreef Power Ocean’s 11 comes with a seaworthy hull, spacious public and private areas (inside and out) offering panoramic views, and a cruising range of some 3,000 nm. Sunreef was started in 2003 by Francis Lapp, who was then running a catamaran charter company; he wanted to build his own large custom cats to supply his fleet using the historic shipyard in Gdansk, Poland. Today, more than 90 large Sunreef cats, power and sail, are cruising in waters around the world. But the new 60 Sunreef Power Ocean’s…

Summer Cruise from Manhattan to Quebec City on a Cutwater 28: Great Video

By Peter Janssen on January 30, 2017 Cruising Life

Two years ago, George Sass Sr. and I drove a Cutwater 28 from New York City up the Hudson to Lake Champlain, into Canada and the Chambly Canal, and finally down the St. Lawrence to Quebec City. We took a week and, in a tribute to the easy livability of the 28-foot Cutwater, we were still as good friends at the end of the trip as we had been at the start. The first half of the Downeast Loop, this trip offers easy cruising through some beautiful countryside, great places to stay and even a bit of Europe once you…

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