The captain of the 72-foot Time Out ran into the beach at Palm Beach at 2:15 in the morning after he said he had downed a few Long Island iced teas. The Palm Beach police charged him with boating under the influence. The Coast Guard was trying to figure out how to move the boat without spilling any diesel fuel. http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/72-foot-yacht-washes-ashore-in-palm-beach/nsSjr/
Living aboard a boat can be one of life’s true pleasures. I know. I lived on my Grand Banks 36 for a few years, including winters, in Norwalk Cove, Connecticut. So this story in the New York Post (home of the famous headline: “Headless Man in Topless Bar”) caught my eye. It’s not exactly the way I lived aboard, but it’s fun, and certainly tells how some young people are finding an alternative to the city’s soaring rental prices. http://nypost.com/2016/08/31/the-crazy-but-true-tales-of-new-yorkers-who-live-on-boats/
http://www.ybw.com/pictures/motorboats/seafire-the-new-military-style-luxury-sports-yacht-41137I know this is a bit beyond our normal purview, but it’s just too cool to miss. After all, when the designers say they want you to think of James Bond, Ernest Hemingway, Clark Gable and Cary Grant, who are we to quibble? Here’s a first look at the new Brit-designed Seafire, a combination of a PT boat and a Spitfire. Be the first on your block… http://www.ybw.com/pictures/motorboats/seafire-the-new-military-style-luxury-sports-yacht-41137
Here’s some great detailed information about how to prepare your boat – on land or on the water – from BoatU.S. Plus a detailed worksheet about how to protect your boat that you can print out, save for yourself and give to your marina. Two major points: Act sooner rather than later, and protect yourself first, not your boat. Take a look. :http://www.boatus.com/hurricanes/assets/pdf/HurricaneWarning.pdfhttp://www.boatus.com/hurricanes/assets/pdf/HurricaneWarning.pdf
A new study finds that the Greenland shark, which is about 15 feet long and not a pretty beast under anybody’s definition, lives for about 400 years – plus or minus about 120 years – but who’s counting. Either way, they’re the longest-lived vertebrate by a long shot. These predators only grow by about a centimeter a year, so in the past researchers have had trouble tracking their age. Here’s how they’ve come up with some answers: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/08/greenland-shark-may-live-400-years-smashing-longevity-record
From 27 feet to 88 feet, here’s a good look at five popular cruising boats from major builders – the Ranger Tug 27, Beneteau 34 Swift Trawler (pictured here), Kadey-Krogen 48, Nordhavn 52, and Outer Reef 88. I’ve spent a good amount of time cruising on all of these boats (except the Outer Reef) and I can attest that they all offer comfortable and safe cruising over the waters for which they were designed. (The Nordhavn, for example, is a blue-water cruiser built to cross oceans, while the Ranger is a coastal cruiser appropriate for the ICW or the Inside…
When it was first introduced at the Seattle boat show in 1980, the Nordic Tug 26 was an instant hit; at an introductory price of $29,995 (including a refundable $1,000 deposit), the company sold 37 at the show and 54 by the end of the month. A single-diesel cruiser with a 36-hp Volvo and a faux smokestack, the Nordic Tug 26 had a lot of character. Some 200 have been sold since then, to owners who want to do the Great Loop, the Inside Passage or just the next cove on a Saturday afternoon. The 26 now is powered by…
The 545-foot long Windoc, a wheat carrier, was half way through Welland Canal Bridge 11 in Ontario, Canada, at 5 knots when the lift bridge suddenly descended – wiping out the wheelhouse and setting off a fire on board. Here’s an incredible video of the accident, one of the most dramatic I’ve ever seen, plus a government report on the whole affair. It’s hard to believe that no one was killed. https://gcaptain.com/windoc-incident-photos-video-tsb-report/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gcaptain+%28gCaptain.com%29
In the past, the fabled Northwest Passage connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific across the top of Canada has been one of the most dangerous spots on earth. Some of the world’s most experienced explorers and sea captains (and their crews) have perished there, most famously Sir John Franklin, a British naval hero, who left England in 1845 to explore the passage with two ships and 128 men; they were never seen again. Five years ago my friend and former NBC documentary producer Sprague Theobald tackled the passage on his Nordhavn 57, cruising 8,500 miles from Newport, RI, to Seattle…
For history buffs, nautical or otherwise, here’s a fun story. Turns out a British gentleman bought one of the three tenders to Hitler’s 377-foot Nazi state yacht, Aviso Grille, but it’s missing its binnacle compass. He’d love to get it back to restore the 36-foot launch to its original condition. The Aviso Grille was built in 1934 at Blohm + Voss, had a crew of 248 officers and men, a top speed of 26 knots and, dialed back, a range of 9,500 nm. Hitler enjoyed it. http://www.ybw.com/news-from-yachting-boating-world/part-for-hitler-motor-boat-grillet-40476