Browsing: Destinations

Cruising Life
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Six Great Cruising Destinations for 2019

The start of a new year is always a good time to plan for cruises in the next 12 months. But where to go? Here’s a list of Six Top Spots To See in 2019 from Southern Boating, spread along the east coast from the southern Caribbean up to Nantucket. Take a look, and start planning your cruises for the year ahead. The six top spots, working from south to north: 1.Bonaire, Caribbean. Just 100 miles northwest of Venezuela, this pretty island with a Dutch heritage is part of the ABC group, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao. Outside the hurricane belt, Bonaire…

Cruising Life
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A Climate Crisis in the Galapagos Starts To Change Life There

Climate change, a combination of warming ocean water and the storms caused by El Niño, is threatening the unique sea and land life in the Galápagos Islands that inspired Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. As a result, life on the Galápagos is changing, often in ways that have not been seen before. The Galápagos, which lie 846 miles west of Ecuador, are at the intersection of three major ocean currents. They also are in the cross hairs of El Niño , one of the world’s most destructive patterns, which causes rapid and extreme ocean heating across the tropics…

Cruising Life
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19 of the Best Islands in the World To Visit in 2019

Wondering about what to do or where to go in the coming year? Or you just want to make an addition to your bucket list?  Here’s a list of the 19 best beach and island destinations to visit in 2019, from the from Islands magazine. They’re all over the world, with some of the usual suspects, such as St. Barts, Antigua (pictured above) and Crete. But how about a trip to the Whitsunday Islands, the 74-island archipelago (only four of which are developed), with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world?  The Whitsundays serve as the gateway to the Great…

Cruising Life
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New Mooring Fields for Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, a Breathtakingly Beautiful Cruising Destination

Many veteran cruisers think that the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park is the best part of the Bahamas, with simply breathtaking water and sandbar colors and some of the best diving in the world. Created in 1959, the 176-square-mile park is filled with dozens of cays, islets and beaches. It is a “no-take reserve” where all fishing is prohibited. The land part of the park is a protected habitat for iguanas, nesting sea turtles and sea birds. The sea part, a mecca for divers, has spotted eagle rays, spiny lobsters and Technicolor fish. The park just rejuvenated its seven…

Charter
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St. Barts: A Magnet for the Rich and Famous for New Year’s Eve and an Island Paradise for the Rest of Us All Year Round

It’s only a few weeks until St. Barts, the eight-square-mile island in the West Indies that seems like a part of France, becomes the yachting center of the world. Well, the rich-and-famous yachting center of the world, that is. Because between Christmas and New Years the gorgeous, protected harbor at Gustavia, the island’s capital, is filled wall-to-wall with beautiful yachts and beautiful people. That’s all well and good, but if you’re like me and the rest of us, that means you’ll probably be spending your holidays somewhere else. But it also means that there are 50 or so other weeks…

Cruising Life
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Fort Pierce, Florida: A Historic, Boater-Friendly Stop on the ICW

If you’re cruising through Florida, you may want to think about stopping at Fort Pierce. It’s a major boating center right on the Intracoastal Waterway, and the Fort Pierce Inlet gives easy access to the Atlantic, if you want to go outside, or to the Bahamas. Hutchinson Island, the long, thin barrier island, separates the Waterway from the ocean there. Fort Pierce is called the “sunrise city,” because of the clear view to the east. One of the oldest cities in the area (with roots dating to 1567), it’s on Florida’s Treasure Coast, so-named because of all the tons of…

Cruising Life
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The Favors Keep Cruising: Now Down the Historic Trent Severn Waterway on Their Ranger 29

Many cruisers consider the historic, pastoral 240-mile Trent Severn Waterway the most beautiful part of the entire 5,000-mile-long Great Loop. Connecting Trenton on Lake Ontario to Port Severn on Georgian Bay, the waterway runs through small villages,  farmland and lakes, and has no fewer than 44 locks. Jim and Lisa Favors, two experienced cruisers (they’ve already completed the Loop, for example), now write about their north to south passage on the Trent Severn, including their transit of the Peterborough lift lock, which is so unique it has been designated a Canadian National Historic Site. Built in the early 1900s, the…

Cruising Life
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Cruising in Mexico This Winter: Nine Destinations, Strung Like Jewels on a Golden Crown

If you’re on the West Coast, you may want to think about taking a cruise to Mexico this winter. The weather’s great, the anchorages and marinas aren’t crowded, and you can enjoy a different kind of cruising vacation. Here’s a compelling story about the advantages of taking such a cruise this winter, with a sample itinerary, from Sea magazine. Take a look: Mexico’s Gold Coast: a series of nine beautiful boating destinations and pristine anchorages strung like jewels on a golden crown. Together they provide several months’ worth of winter cruising pleasure. Here’s one winter cruising itinerary for Mexico’s Gold…

Cruising Life
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Key West: Home of the Colorful Conch Republic and a Great Cruising Destination

Key West is a lot of things. The Conch Republic. The end of the road, or at least the end of the 127-mile-long Overseas Highway. It’s irreverent, different, fun. And it’s colorful: Consider the daily scene where hundreds, or thousands, of people, plus various fire-eaters, jugglers and tightrope walkers, gather on Mallory Square to look for the green flash as the sun goes down. Or the annual Fantasy Fest parade (pictured above right) or the New Year’s Eve blowout (above left). Most of all, Key West is a great cruising destination. If you’re looking for a weekend or more, head…

Cruising Life
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The Hamiltons’ Latest Cruise: The Stunning Lysefjord in Norway

Dirona is on the move again. The 2009 Nordhavn 52 owned by James and Jennifer Hamilton just cruised up the Lysefjord in southwest Norway, one of the cruising world’s major – and hard to get to – attractions. A remnant of the ice age, Lysefjord (light fjord) is 26 miles long and is bordered by steep granite cliffs that often rise 1,300 feet above the water. Underwater, the depths start at 43 feet and then plummet to more than 1,000 feet as the fjord moves inland. This summer the Hamiltons, a high-tech couple from Seattle who’ve been cruising since 2012, took…

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