Cruising Life

Bavaria Yachts Virtess 420 Fly: An Award-Winning Cruising Machine. Plus Video

By Peter Janssen on February 22, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The Bavaria Yachts booth at the Miami International Boat Show was always busy, it seemed, and the star of the show there was the Bavaria Virtess 420 Fly, now in the U.S. after having been named European Boat of the Year a while ago. And, with its combination of German engineering and Italian interior design, it was easy to see why. Powered by two 435-hp Volvo diesels with Volvo’s IPS fingertip joystick control, the Bavaria 420 tops out at about 33 knots, and its 18-degrees of deadrise at the transom mean she can perform even in heavy seas. Overall, the…

A Palm Beach Couple Enjoy the Cruising Lifestyle on Their Alden 49

By Peter Janssen on February 22, 2017 Cruising Life

Patrick and Denise Segraves probably use their boat the way most of us do – on weekends, on vacation cruises or simply as a place to relax and entertain friends close to home. The Segraves, who live in Palm Beach, bought their Alden 49 Tonic four years ago in New York. They kept it in Newport, Rhode Island, for a year before bringing it down to Palm Beach themselves. With twin diesels producing 1,400 hp, Tonic hits 25 knots, which means the Keys and the Bahamas are all within easy reach. Read about the Segraves and their boating lifestyle here. http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/lifestyles/denise-and-patrick-segraves-enjoy-their-power-boat-life-palm-beach/OTwL9DcRtPyOJb4rchv0eN/…

Furuno’s New Radar: More Powerful and Precise at Both Short and Long Range

By Peter Janssen on February 22, 2017 Cruising Life, Electronics

Long a leader in providing sophisticated radar for commercial users, Furuno has just introduced two new features to improve the performance of their X-Class radar units on cruising powerboats as well. By extending the maximum pulse length from 0.8 to 1.2 megaseconds, Furuno has increased the performance in both long- and short-range applications. This means that you can see land masses, for example, in great detail at long range, while you can detect many different targets, clearly and precisely, at short range. The two new features are for Furuno’s NavNet TZtouch and TZtouch2 units, and they’re called DRS12AX and DRS25AX.…

Sirena 56: A New Yacht with a Long Pedigree and Lots Going On

By Peter Janssen on February 22, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sirena Yachts, the powerful Turkish builder, is on a roll. They launched their new 64 in Dusseldorf in January and had sold four by the time they had a second 64 and a brand-new 56 at the Yachts Miami Beach show last week. And they gathered all their heavy guns there for the world-wide debut of the 56: Ipek Kirac, the company’s CEO; German Frers, one of the foremost designers in the world, who drew the hull and exterior; and Tommaso Spadolini, of Design Studio Spadolini in Florence, who did the interior. “The U.S. market is very important to us,”…

Best of the Best: Miami Boat Show’s Innovation Award Winners

By Peter Janssen on February 21, 2017 Cruising Life

The annual Innovation Awards are meant to recognize the best new products introduced at the Miami International Boat Show each year. The awards are a joint effort of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, which produces the show, and Boating Writers International. This year the BWI judges looked at 63 new products, selecting 19 winners and two honorable mentions in 16 categories. The winners: Boat Care and Maintenance: Snap Tool Multi-Key from Davis Instruments. Center Console/Walkaround Fishing Boats: 230 Outrage from Boston Whaler. Consumer Safety Equipment: Two winners. 100 N. Junior Harness Lifejacket, from Spinlock USA, and SeaAngel SA15 ASI Flare…

“This Isn’t Good.” Amazing Video. Cruise Liner Breaks Its Mooring Lines and Crashes into Another Ship

By Peter Janssen on February 13, 2017 Cruising Life

You’ve got to see this video to believe it. A train wreck in slow motion. It shows the brand-new 40,350-ton luxury cruise liner Seabourn Encore breaking its dock lines in Akaroa, New Zealand, in 45-knot winds and then being blown into the side of a docked cement carrier at a dock across the harbor. Billed as “The Sexiest Ship at Sea,” the Seabourn Encore was just launched in November. It was on a 16-day cruise, costing $40,000 a person, that started at Sydney, at the time of the accident. The ship carried 604 passengers. All the cabins are suites, with…

Top Ten Tips from BoatU.S. for Getting Best Boat Loan

By Peter Janssen on February 13, 2017 Cruising Life

Heading for the Miami boat shows this week, or just in the market for a new boat? Unless you have a lot of extra cash, chances are you’ll apply for a loan to finance that new boat of your dreams. Here’s some very good advice from BoatU.S. about how to get the best loan possible. Check your credit: Before applying for a loan, ensure your credit report is accurate, and get your current credit score. The closer to 700 and higher, the better the rate you’ll get. A free copy of your credit report is available annually from each of…

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…

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