Cruising Life

Nordhavn 71 Hull Number Three Arrives in California

By George Day on April 3, 2025 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The Nordhavn 71 has been the topic of much excitement since the design was first released in 2023. The 71 joins the 51 and the 625 as models that are delivered as complete boats with all systems, electronics and amenities built in. Not exactly “production” boats but semi-custom models that each has a strong family resemblance. But, each 71 is an owner’s own unique yacht that reflects their personal style and cruising preferences. In the photos of the 71 number three, you can see the southwestern, Texas tastes of the new owners who hail from the Lone Star State. The…

Innovative Sirena 60 to Launch in July 2025

By George Day on April 3, 2025 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life, On Watch With Peter Janssen, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Following the announcement in January that Sirena Yachts was retiring the 58 and replacing it with the all-new 60, few details were available so our initial preview was brief. Since then, Sirena has released more information and a host of renderings of the new design that reveal its character and many interesting details. Designed by German Frers, the new 60 is a long-range cruiser with a three-cabin, three-head layout. Plus, a crew’s cabin can be tucked in under the cockpit. Sirena is striving for a boat that can operate in three different modes. At efficiency speeds, the 60 will have…

Regent Craft Sea Trials Prototype of the All-Electric Viceroy Seaglider

By George Day on March 28, 2025 Cruising Life, On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

Here’s a story that piques my imagination since I am a fan of all things nautical and love innovation. In early March, Regent Craft, a Rhode Island based start-up, launched its first full-scale protype of the all-electric, 12-passenger Viceroy seaglider. They named the craft Paladin, i.e., a defender of a noble cause. At 55-feet in length and with a wingspan of 65 feet, the design is the largest all-electric flying machine ever built and represents a significant technological breakthrough. The prototype will initially spend several months of in-the-water and foiling trials as all systems and critical software are tested and refined.…

Italian Builder Invictus Introduces ST55 Flagship Performance Family Cruiser

By George Day on March 27, 2025 Cruising Life

Italian builder Invictus recently launched their new ST550 which is now the builder’s flagship. Designed by Christian Grande, the new Invictus has the brand’s unique “half-reverse” bow and the styling and aggressive lines that are unmistakably Invictus. The ST550 emphasizes living space –the S in ST stands for “space”– and being close to nature with a huge sunning lounge and sitting area forward and a large cockpit with sun beds and sofas on the aft deck that can be expanded with the fold down platforms on both sides. The side decks from cockpit to bow have high bulwarks that will…

Maryland Commemorates the One-Year Anniversary of the Key Bridge Disaster

By George Day on March 27, 2025 Cruising Life

March 26, this week, marks the one-year anniversary of the shipping accident that destroyed Baltimore Harbor’s Francis Scott Key bridge with the death of six bridge workers. The people of Maryland and Baltimore, in particular, took time for a moment of remembrance for the six men and their families. “Everyone working on the scene shared that same priority — those men we lost in the water,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said during an anniversary ceremony Wednesday, recalling the horror that followed the collapse. “While this day is a day of mourning, it is not a day of grief alone,” Scott…

Wayfarer 38: New Turkish Center-Console Express Cruiser

By George Day on March 27, 2025 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

With the success of the Finnish designs from Axopar and several others, it is not surprising that an enterprising Turkish builder would enter the fray, given their countrymen’s boat-building skills and their cost advantages. A new company called Aita has done just that. They hired a a Fiinnish yacht designer and have launched the new Wayfarer 38, which is n outboard-powered, center console walk-around with a large forward cockpit, a spacious aft cockpit, and a comfortable double cabin and head. As a new brand, Aita made the choice to offer the 38 in a wide range of configurations. This will…

Cruising the European Canals, Part Two

By George Day on March 27, 2025 Cruising Life

A few weeks ago, we brought you part one of Donald and Marjorie Walker’s story of their cruise from the South of France northward to The Netherlands via the canals, rivers and lakes of the waterway system. This is one of the world’s most elaborate and scenic inland cruising areas with the shores dotted with vineyards, castles and picturesque towns. In Part two, the Walkers leave France and cross into Luxemburg, where they have to transit dozens of locks to move through the hilly countryside. They also have to accommodate both the large river barges this section of the canal…

Garmin Has the Swiss-Army-Knife of Hand-Held GPSs: The GPSMAP 86sci

By George Day on March 20, 2025 Cruising Life, Electronics, Gear

In the last few years as I’ve been making offshore trips as crew for my friends, whether back and forth to the Caribbean from New England or across the Atlantic, it seems that a lot of the crew aboard show up with their own hand-held GPSs and an InReach or a satphone. This is a “just-in-case” level of preparation by sailors who have in fact been on boats that were hit by lightning or suffered a battery bank collapse that meant built-in marine electronics were no longer working or reliable. Garmin has long been a leader in hand-held GPSs and…

Highfield Launches new 11-foot Electric-Powered, Jet-Drive Dinghy

By George Day on March 20, 2025 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Here’s something that looks interesting for eco-conscious cruisers, an electric-powered, jet-drive dinghy. Highfield is one of the world’s leading builders of advanced inflatable, rigid-floor tenders. With more than 54,000 dinghies sold in the last 13 years, the company pioneered aluminum-hull inflatables that are lighter than fiberglass and more durable. With the launch of the n EJET 330, once agin they display the innovative thinking behind every Highfield. Powered by ZeroJet MKII jet drive system, the 24-volt electric motor delivers 24-horsepower but less than half of an equivalent outboard more. And, it produces no carbon emissions. The battery pack provides 10.8…

Family Rescued after Running 58-Foot Yacht onto Charleston Harbor Jetty

By George Day on March 20, 2025 Cruising Life

Early on Tuesday morning, March 18, a couple and their 9-year-old daughter missed the channel into Charleston, South Carolina’s harbor and ran their 58-foot motor yacht up onto the stone jetty where it began to sink. Luckily, the Charleston Harbor Pilot boat was nearby. Charleston Pilot Launch Captain Montgomery Stafford maneuvered the 75-foot Pilot Launch Fort Moultrie close to the jetty, while Harbor Pilot Doug Logan and Apprentice Stephanie Kelly rescued the family. Coast Guard Station Charleston, which had received a distress call from the family, were soon on scene and took the survivors off the pilot boat for transport…

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