Cruising Life

How To Prepare for a Hurricane: BoatUS

By Peter Janssen on June 5, 2023 Cruising Life

Hurricane season has now started, but are you ready yet? Here’s a trove of information from BoatUS about how to make your boat ready: SPRINGFIELD, Va., May 30, 2023 – Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Don and Emily are the first five names NOAA will deploy for incoming storms this Atlantic hurricane season that began June 1 and runs through November 30. However, with researchers from Colorado State University predicting 13 named storms – six officially hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or greater – boaters in storm-affected parts of the country may be meeting Margot, too. The BoatUS Hurricane Center from…

L.I. Sound Lighthouse: Yours for $360,000

By Peter Janssen on June 5, 2023 Cruising Life

The Penfield Reef Light, about 1 mile off the beach in Fairfield, Connecticut, in Long Island Sound, is for sale at a government auction. The going price so far: $360,000. If you buy it, that’s just the starting price. The lighthouse was damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, although the government has worked to restore it, adding a new roof and hurricane-resistant windows. Still, the interior is definitely in the “fixer-upper” stage. Indeed, the Government Services Administration website announcing the auction says “THE CONDITION OF THE PROPERTY IS NOT WARRANTED.” The Penfield Reef Light, marking a submerged reef that’s mostly…

Princess Launches New S72, 36-Knot Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on June 1, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Princess just launched its all-new S72, a sporty, 36-knot, sportbridge cruiser with dynamic lines and neutral tones that take an understated approach to luxury yachting. A four-stateroom, three-head, British-built cruiser, the S72 has a resin-infused, modified-V hull powered by twin 1,800-hp MAN diesels. Cruising speed is about 30 knots. It also has a crew cabin accessible by lifting a hatch in the transom with two bunks and a head with a shower. The salon is bright and airy, with full-length windows providing uninterrupted views all around. More light, and fresh air, come in from a large sunroof that’s made possible…

Cruiser Sinks in Delaware Bay

By Peter Janssen on May 31, 2023 Cruising Life

A 47-foot powerboat named Floating Dock hit a submerged object and sank last weekend in Delaware Bay. The Coast Guard rescued the two people on board. The Coast Guard says it received a distress call from the boat, reporting that it had hit something underwater and had a hole in the bow. The two people on board tried to control the flood of water into the boat, but it was too much. They put on their life jackets and called for help. The boat was in the bay near Fortescue, New Jersey, up from Cape May. The Coast Guard station…

Fishing Boat, Pilot Boat, Collide in Virginia

By Peter Janssen on May 31, 2023 Cruising Life

A 38-foot fishing boat sank after colliding with a pilot boat on the James River in Virginia on Tuesday morning. The Coast Guard says it received a call at 7:50 that the pilot boat, Swift, and the deadrise fishing boat, Miss Heather, had collided near the Newport News Small Boat Harbor and the Newport News Channel. The pilot boat rescued the two fishermen on the Miss Heather and took them to shore as their boat started to sink. The Miss Heather was a veteran working boat that was well-known in the area. The Coast Guard sent a 45-foot response boat…

Serenity Unveils Blue-Water 72 PC

By Peter Janssen on May 30, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Serenity Yachts in Antalya, Turkey, just unveiled their new 72 Power Catamaran, a luxurious blue-water cruiser that gives an owner lots of options for a custom interior. The basic Serenity 72 has five cabins for ten guests and two cabins for two or three crew. But that’s just a start; there can be more, or fewer. Either way, the basic choice is whether to place the master stateroom forward on the main deck salon, or below where it would occupy the entire port hull. If it’s in the salon, the owners would have 180-degree views and direct access to the…

A Docking Tip from the Pros

By co_admin on May 29, 2023 Cruising Life

Here’s a tip that will help you dock easily and safely from Skipper Tips. Give this some practice on your own boat: You turn your boat toward the slip, but a gust of wind sets you downwind. How can you use your engine to pivot the boat faster and get her into the slip before it’s too late? Use this little-known boat docking secret from the pros. When I taught at the Chapman School of Seamanship, the US Coast Guard required that we teach emergency docking on both single- and twin-screw (propeller) vessels. Quite a challenge on a vessel with…

Volvo Unveils Most Powerful IPS Yet

By Peter Janssen on May 29, 2023 Cruising Life, Engine Room

Volvo Penta just announced that it’s testing a new, more powerful IPS (Inboard Propulsion System) for larger vessels from 82 to 180 feet with a top speed from 12 to 40 knots. Volvo calls the new system an IPS professional platform, or IPS 40, and it’s the most powerful IPS yet. The IPS 40 is designed to work with Volvo’s 800-hp D13 engines. The platform can be installed as twin, triple, or quad applications, meaning it can work on vessels with from four to eight engines. Volvo says the IPS 40 “is a true piece of state-of-the-art engineering.” It is…

Shark Bites Off Tourist’s Leg in Turks, Caicos

By Peter Janssen on May 29, 2023 Cruising Life

A shark attacked an American woman snorkeling in the Turks and Caicos and bit off her leg last week. She was reported in serious condition in a local hospital. The woman, 22 years old and from Connecticut, was snorkeling about 3 in the afternoon with a friend at the Bone Yard dive site in Princess Alexandria National Park near Providenciales when the shark attacked, according to the Royal Turks and Caicos Island Police Force. (Her name and home town were not released.) The police said they received a phone call reporting that a woman “had her leg bitten off by…

Near-Normal Hurricane Season: NOAA

By co_admin on May 29, 2023 Cruising Life

Here’s the latest from NOAA for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season: NOAA forecasters with the Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, predict near-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic this year. NOAA’s outlook for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, which goes from June 1 to November 30, predicts a 40% chance of a near-normal season, a 30% chance of an above-normal season and a 30% chance of a below-normal season. NOAA is forecasting a range of 12 to 17 total named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those, 5 to 9 could become hurricanes (winds…

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