Cruising Life

Almost Here: Elegant, Fast, Fuel-Efficient MJM 35z with Outboards

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

MJM’s latest yacht, the 35z, is nearing completion at Boston BoatWorks in Charlestown, Mass., and is scheduled to be launched in June. The latest in the collaboration between Doug Zurn, the designer, and Bob Johnstone, the founder of MJM Yachts, the new 35z will be powered by two outboards, giving it both speed and power, while keeping the fuel-efficiency for which the brand is famous. It’s no surprise that the new boat has all the classic Down East lines of earlier MJMs, with its low profile, gentle tumblehome and long sheerline. Or that it’s a serious offshore boat, with a…

Trump Budget Cuts $1.3 Billion from Coast Guard, Hurting Drug Interdiction and Arctic Exploration

By Peter Janssen on March 7, 2017 Cruising Life

Although the Trump Administration wants to increase spending for some parts of the military, the President’s new budget cuts $1.3 billion from the Coast Guard, which has already been suffering from previous cuts. The new cuts would particularly affect the Coast Guard’s efforts at drug interdiction and its presence in the Arctic. Admiral Paul Zukunft, the Coast Guard Commandant, said that last year the service had been very successful in drug interdiction, seizing more than 200 metric tons of cocaine, the most ever. But it also had to ignore 500 other “events” – signs of possible drug smuggling – because…

Great Video of Yachts Being Moved Around Pendennis Yard

By Peter Janssen on March 5, 2017 Cruising Life

We usually don’t cover megayachts, but this video is just too good to miss. Talk about basic boat handling. It’s a time-lapse video of how yachts are moved around the Pendennis shipyard in Falmouth, England, particularly dealing with Aquila, at 281 feet the largest yacht ever refitted in the U.K. Don’t try this at home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gFvbJFU9w4

112′ Ferretti Custom Line Yacht Sinks in Mallorca Harbor

By Peter Janssen on March 5, 2017 Cruising Life

Ouch. This does hurt. The story is that a severe wind roared through this harbor in Mallorca, Spain, breaking a dock line on Paradise, a 112-foot Ferretti Group Custom Line yacht built in 2003. The boat, with a composite hull, then slammed into the dock and started to sink. Paradise had been for sale for 3.4 million Euros. Read the story here: https://yachtharbour.com/news/34m-yacht-sinks-in-mallorca-1525?src=home_page_latest_main

Want a Glamorous Cruise or Charter? Try the Cote d’Azur

By Peter Janssen on March 2, 2017 Charter, Cruising Life, Destinations

There are vacations and there are vacations, but where else in the world is as appealing and as glamorous as the Cote d’Azur, the 60-mile stretch of absolutely gorgeous blue water from Monaco to St. Tropez? Think Princess Grace, Brigitte Bardot, Cary Grant and James Bond, not to mention F. Scott Fitzgerald. Now you can get there yourself on a cruise or week-long charter from MarineMax Yachts. Here’s a sample itinerary to whet your appetite: http://www.marinemaxyachts.com/private-yacht-charters/cote-dazur

New Vicem Classic 46IPS: A Company First in Fiberglass and Epoxy

By Peter Janssen on March 2, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Now here’s a change. Vicem Yacht, the Turkish builder that’s been specializing in using marine mahogany in the cold-molded construction process since 1991, is now going to introduce its first fiberglass/epoxy model, the Vicem Classic 46IPS, at the Palm Beach International Boat Show starting March 23. And, no surprise, it’s a beauty. Designed by Vicem’s in-house team, the boat carries classic Downeast lines that just as easily could have been drawn in Southwest Harbor, Maine. We don’t have a lot of details yet, but we know the Classic 46IPS will be powered by two 435-hp Volvo IPS 600s, offering joystick…

Palm Beach Boat Show: Lots of Great Boats in a Great Setting, Plus 25 Boat Reviews

By Peter Janssen on February 28, 2017 Cruising Life, Palm Beach Boat Show

It’s not hard to see why the Palm Beach Show has become more and more popular in the past few years. First off, the location is terrific: It’s pretty, it’s easy to get to, and once you’re there it’s easy to navigate the docks and tents without competing with a horde of other people. It’s a no-hassle boat show, with a bit of the Goldilocks’ effect: It’s not too big; it’s not too small, it’s just right. The show this year, officially the 32nd annual Palm Beach International Boat Show, runs from Thursday, March 23, through Sunday, March 26. It’s…

New Reliant X40: A Striking New Take on a Classic

By Peter Janssen on February 27, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

You certainly can’t say that Reliant Yachts, the brainchild of industry veterans Jim Ewing and David MacFarlane, is stuck in a rut. The first boat they produced, the Commuter 40, was about as traditional a classic Downeast boat as you could get, with its beautiful tumblehome, wide teak decks, low profile and long sheerline. Although it was made in Turkey, its heart and soul clearly were in New England. The next two boats were different iterations of the first. Now the company has announced the contract for a fourth boat, the Reliant X40, that redefines the genre. The X40, says…

Sea Stories from Those Who’ve Been There: What To Do When Things Go Wrong

By Peter Janssen on February 26, 2017 Cruising Life

It’s certainly a truism that we learn from experience. (I guess the real truism is that we should learn from experience.) And that certainly applies to cruising and spending time on boats, where a whole lot of things can go wrong, usually when we least expect them to do so. But we can learn from the mistakes of others. Here are five different stories from the readers of Sea magazine about things that went wrong on their cruises – and what they learned to prevent them from happening again. Take heed: http://www.seamagazine.com/the-hard-way/?utm_source=SEA+Magazine&utm_campaign=7db0a6bf21Sea_2017_02_24_NL_02_24_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_30cb03d58b-7db0a6bf21-46073145

Lucas Pronk, Age 10, Tells His 5th Grade Class Back Home About the Great Loop; Great Video

By Peter Janssen on February 26, 2017 Cruising Life

If you want to renew your faith in humanity, or just feel good about the world, take a look at this video by Lucas Pronk, 10. Yes, I know he’s on a sailboat, and this is a powerboat site. But that’s not the point. Lucas and his family – his father, James; mother, Nancy; and brother Marcos, 6, are truly living the dream – doing the Great Loop together – on a 44-year-old Catalina 27. James, an artist, and Nancy, a teacher, are taking a year off, and homeschooling the boys. They rented their house in Peterborough, Ontario, and set…

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