Cruising Life

Garmin Buys ActiveCaptain: Should Be Good News for Cruisers

By Peter Janssen on May 11, 2017 Cruising Life, Electronics

It would be hard to find a serious cruising person who, at one time or another, has not turned to ActiveCaptain for help. I know I have, and so has almost everyone I’ve cruised with. Its major strength is its ability to update real-time information about navigation hazards, marinas, anchorages and points of interest supplied by its 250,000 users, and offer all that data digitally on web browsers and most smart phones and tablets. Now ActiveCaptain is moving into an entirely new realm, with its purchase by Garmin, one of the leading electronic companies in the world. The synergies here…

Want to Drive Yourself Around the Lagoons in Venice? Well, First You Need a License, then…

By Peter Janssen on May 11, 2017 Cruising Life

This is just too good, a great story about trying to rent a small powerboat in Venice. And who among us wouldn’t want to do this? I know I would. A few years ago when I was there with my wife on her birthday I asked at my hotel if I could rent a boat to drive us around myself, and all I got was a shrug; we headed for the gondola, instead. But here’s a story by an intrepid New York Times reporter who kept trying, only to find out that first, he had to have a license, and…

Insiders’ Tips for Getting the Most from Your First Charter

By Peter Janssen on May 10, 2017 Charter, Cruising Life

If you’ve never taken a charter before, the idea can be a bit intimidating. No matter where you go, you’re investing a good amount of time, and money, hoping for the best. A good charter can be one of life’s best treasures; a bad one, and they don’t happen often, but still…can be awful. Here’s some great advice from charter professionals about how to tilt the odds in your favor. Even if you’ve chartered before, these tips will help you make sure that the next one is also memorable. Take a look at this insiders’ guide from Boat International: http://www.boatinternational.com/charter/luxury-yacht-charter-advice/pieces-of-expert-advice-for-first-time-charterers–30003/frame-2?view_all=true

Engine Room Fire Sinks Bayliner 4788 on Tennessee River. Three on Board All Safe

By Peter Janssen on May 10, 2017 Cruising Life

“It was pretty horrific,” David Carter told me. “You think you’re ready, but when the time comes…” Carter, 60, who’s retired and a licensed captain, was talking just a few days after his 2001 Bayliner 4788 Carter’s Cove 2 caught fire and sank in the Tennessee River near Scottsboro, Tennessee. Carter, his wife and a friend who were on board all jumped overboard and were picked up safely. It was a Saturday afternoon and Carter was about two miles from the Goose Pond Colony Resort and Marina, going slowly, waiting out a storm. He had bought the boat last…

New Shipping Lanes Opening Up in Arctic as More Ice Melts

By Peter Janssen on May 9, 2017 Cruising Life

New shipping routes are opening up in the Arctic, even directly over the North Pole, as the ice there keeps melting. Scientists report that sea ice covering the Arctic has declined each decade since the 1980s, with older, thicker ice disappearing due to global warming. This won’t happen tomorrow, but by the middle of this century they predict that the warming will “open up vast swaths of the Arctic Ocean,” and even direct over-the-pole routes could be navigable during summer and fall. The Arctic, of course, offers faster, more direct routes between ports in Asia and Europe. Commercial shipping there…

Norwegian Billionaire, Who Developed “American Traits” as a Teenager in Seattle, Now Building World’s Largest Yacht for Marine Research

By Peter Janssen on May 9, 2017 Cruising Life

When he was growing up in a small town in the west coast of Norway, Kjell Inge Roekke was unhappy and dyslexic. He dropped out of high school and moved to Seattle, where he caught crab and sold fish off the back of boat. But Roekke was a fast learner. He started buying old fishing boats and converted them into commercial trawlers. By the time he returned to Norway in his late 30s, his countrymen there said he had developed “American traits.” For his part Roekke, now 58, thought he was just being a good businessman, so good, in fact,…

New Garmin Smartwatch: Drive and Navigate Your Boat from Your Wrist

By Peter Janssen on May 9, 2017 Cruising Life, Electronics

This is just very cool: A new Garmin smartwatch with a dedicated marine GPS that connects to Garmin chartplotters and other electronics on board and even lets you connect to the autopilot so that you can turn, change your heading and steer the boat, all from your wrist. The new device is the Garmin quatix 5 marine GPS smartwatch, designed from Garmin’s Fenix 5 platform. When paired with other Garmin electronics, it can stream NMEA 2000 data to access boat speed, depth, temperature and wind information all to your wrist, no matter where you are on the boat. When paired…

Jury Convicts Man Who Killed 8-Year-Old Girl in Lake George Boating Crash of Manslaughter

By Peter Janssen on May 9, 2017 Cruising Life

On a July evening last summer, Robert Knarr, 68, took his granddaughter, Charlotte McCue, 8, and her mother, Courtney, out for a pre-bedtime cruise on the west shore of Lake George, New York, on his antique 28-foot Gar Wood Enchanted Evening. The McCues were visiting from California. Suddenly a 21-foot Larson slammed into the starboard side of Enchanted Evening. The Larson was going so fast it went airborne. The prop hit Charlotte, killing her instantly, and seriously injuring her mother. The Larson stalled, but the driver restarted it and then sped away. The next morning, the driver of the Larson,…

Opening Day in Seattle: One of the Best Times Anywhere

By Peter Janssen on May 8, 2017 Cruising Life

Opening day of the boating season in Seattle, always the first Saturday in May, is simply a hoot. I’ve been there, and believe me, it’s one of the best times to be had on the water, anywhere. The boat parade has everything that floats, from megayachts with helicopters to golden oldies to floating locomotives, with dogs, dogs and more dogs everywhere. For a look at this year’s parade, see the photo gallery below. And to get even a better flavor of the event, see the video from an earlier year below that. http://seattlerefined.com/lifestyle/photos-the-sun-shines-for-seattle-yacht-club-opening-day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMQDNb51JKA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMQDNb51JKA

First Look at New, Impressive Grand Banks 60 in the Water: Video

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

Here’s a first look at the much-awaited Grand Banks 60 in the water, before it is unveiled at the Sanctuary Cove boat show in Australia later this month. The running shots are great; this is a pretty boat (majestic, even), with a good attitude. Its first showing in the U.S. will be at the Newport, Rhode Island, show in September. A three-stateroom, two-head long distance cruiser, the new 60 will be the flagship of the Grand Banks Heritage fleet, powered by twin 900-hp Volvo diesels and topping out at about 32 knots. As we have written here before, it will…

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