I grew up in San Francisco, so I’ve always thought of fog as my friend, my reminder of home. That is, as long as I’m landlocked. Step on a boat, and fog is a different matter. Recently I’ve been in fog so thick – at the top of the Bay of Fundy, coming through the Cape Cod Canal – that I could barely see the bow of the boat in the middle of the day. With reduced (or no) visibility, you rely on radar, AIS, GPS and your own experience. Still, fog can be scary. Here’s some of the best…
This is hard to believe. You may remember that the captain of the 72-foot Time Out missed the inlet and ran his boat into the beach at Palm Beach at 2 a.m. after he said he had consumed a few Long Island iced teas last month. At the time, the police charged him with boating under the influence. Now he’s suing the city, saying he was prevented from protecting his boat after the accident. See the video: http://upnorthlive.com/news/offbeat/owner-of-beached-yacht-suing-palm-beach-police-department
This is an incredible video of how a family of ten realized their motor yacht was starting to sink about seven miles off Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay. Florida. The captain of a sailboat, only a mile away, heard the Mayday call and went to help. See how this story unfolds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSTX6JLr-Ak&feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs
All across the United States, indeed, all around the world, there are boat shows and there are boat shows. Shows for big boats, shows for small boats, shows for regional boats and shows for different kinds of boats. But nowhere, to my mind, can you find a better show, in a better place, and with more boats (from 15-foot runabouts to 250-foot megayachts) than at the 57th annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which runs from Thursday, Nov. 3 through Monday, Nov. 7. The Lauderdale show (or FLIBS, as it’s called in the industry) is centered, as always, around the…
It’s been 11 years since Brian Calvert left Friday Harbor, Washington, on his Selene 48 Further, heading for Alaska, Mexico and the South Pacific. He’s now in Raja Amput, a remote section of Indonesia, and reports that the boat’s Cummins QSL diesel has 8,049 hours and is still running strong. In fact, all is well except that he broke a stabilizer on a treacherous passage and then had to hire a local bike mechanic to try to fix it. Spoiler alert: It didn’t work. Read more in Brian’s blog here: http://www.furthuradventures.com/blog/2016/10/15/Seven-Year-Report–the-Boat
Even after a century, interest in the Titanic goes on and on. Indeed, at an auction in London, a key to a lifejacket locker on the doomed liner just sold for the equivalent of $104,000, far more than had been anticipated. The key had been found on the body of a steward, Sidney Sedunary, 23, who was last seen alive handing out lifejackets to passengers as the ship was sinking. Earlier, the sextant belonging to Sir Arthur Rostran, captain of the Carpathian, which arrived at the scene two hours after the Titanic sank and rescued 700 passengers, sold for the…
We all can relate to this: A night entry into a busy harbor with a lot of light pollution all around, and a 1,000-foot-long jetty off your starboard side that barely rises above the waterline. Hmmm. This is what Miami star pitcher Jose Fernandez faced last month when he ran his center console onto that jetty at a high speed about 3 in the morning, killing himself and his two companions. Watch this video from the Miami Herald and you’ll understand the problem. Yes, Fernandez probably was going too fast. Yes, authorities said he had been drinking. Yes, he…
Here’s a great picture of the annual rendezvous of some 150 Ranger Tugs and Cutwater Boats at Roche Harbor in the San Juans, one of the biggest gatherings of boat owners in the United States at one of the best cruising destinations in the United States. To continue the superlatives, Fluid Motion, LLC, the parent company for Ranger and Cutwater, is one of the most successful boat companies in the United States – having started with a 21-Ranger Tug in 1999 and now producing hundreds of Rangers and Cutwaters in six factories throughout Washington State. (See our “Boat Reviews” section…
This is just a tragic accident: A 36-foot cat flipped during a timed radar run on the Potomac River near Fairview Beach, Virginia. The driver and throttle man were both thrown from the boat and died. The cat had been timed at 170 mph earlier in the day. I personally how how boats travel right on the edge of control/disaster at these speeds, since I once drove a 47-foot Fountain cat 162 mph. At that speed a puff of wind, something in the water or an error in judgment can easily mean an upside down boat and catastrophe for the…
The Annapolis Powerboat Show just ended, and the reviews are coming in: “Best Annapolis in recent years” – Dave Northrop, director of sales and operations, Americas, for Grand Banks and Palm Beach Yachts. “Our attendance was 4.8% better than 2015 and the best since pre-2008.” – Paul Jacobs, show president and general manager. “The overall attitude of customers was more positive than any of us can remember.” – Jeff Messmer, VP of Ranger Tugs and Cutwater Boats. “It looks like it will be a great show.” – Bentley Collins, VP of Sabre and Back Cove Yachts. “We were so busy,…