Destinations

Oxford, Maryland, a Picturesque Boating Haven Since 1683

By Peter Janssen on September 30, 2019 Destinations

If you’re in Annapolis for the boat shows, or simply cruising through the Chesapeake on your way south for the winter, give yourself a treat and stop across the bay at Oxford on Maryland’s eastern shore. Founded in 1683, Oxford is small, with only 651 people, and quiet (its most prosperous time was during the Revolution), but it’s a picturesque boating haven simply invites you to slow down and relax a bit. Oxford is almost surrounded by water, with the Tred Avon River and Town Creek wrapping around it on three sides. Their banks are lined with restored 18th and…

Want To Help the Bahamas? Go There. Here’s What’s Open

By Peter Janssen on September 29, 2019 Destinations

Here’s a good story from The Points Guy by Liz Hunt called Three Reasons Now Is the Best Time To Visit the Bahamas. It tells what’s open after Hurricane Dorian, which is a lot. Earlier this month, the Bahamas were hit very hard by Hurricane Dorian with winds up to 185 miles per hour at landfall — the destruction was deadly. Weeks later, at least 50 people have been confirmed dead and 1,300 remain missing. The northern part of the archipelago, including the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, endured the brunt of the hit while destinations such as Nassau, the…

New Marina, with Incredible Views, Opens in Brooklyn

By Peter Janssen on August 28, 2019 Destinations

The first new marina in New York City in the past 50 years is now open on the East River, just south of the Brooklyn Bridge, with 100 slips for boats up to 200 feet and incredible views of downtown Manhattan. The marina, Oneº15 Brooklyn, is part of Brooklyn Bridge Park. It’s just below the River Café, between Piers 4 and 5, and directly across the river from the South Street Seaport and the Fulton Fish Market. More than five years in the building, the marina was delayed until the owners, Oneº15, a Singapore company, developed a new, proprietary, wave-attenuation…

Cayman Islands: Great Diving, Fishing, and Red-Footed Boobies

By Peter Janssen on August 26, 2019 Destinations

The three Cayman Islands, stretching across a swath of the western Caribbean, are one of the better cruising and chartering destinations, popular in the winter but with a warm sun, turquoise waters and world-class diving and fishing all year long. The reefs are full of tropical life, fishing is called “the national sport,” and the beaches are always white and usually underpopulated. The Caymans officially are a British Overseas Territory, and they lie south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica. Grand Cayman is the largest, and is known for its beach resorts, diving and fishing. Cayman Brac offers diving, and…

What To Do in Mallorca On Land and On the Sea. See the Video of a Moorings 434 Power Charter

By Peter Janssen on March 19, 2019 Cruising Life, Destinations

Mallorca, a small, historic island just 50 miles off the east coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea, easily ranks as one of the great cruising and chartering destinations in the world. It offers an appealing mix of history, with the walled main city of Palma and its massive Moorish-inspired cathedral (started in 1229), boutique shops, waterfront cafes, glistening water, secluded beaches, hidden coves and soaring mountains. And don’t forget the vineyards, or the paella. You can take a first-hand look of what Mallorca offers on the water, from the vantage point of a chartered Moorings 434 four-cabin power catamaran…

Six Great Cruising Destinations for 2019

By Peter Janssen on January 2, 2019 Cruising Life, Destinations

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…

A Climate Crisis in the Galapagos Starts To Change Life There

By Peter Janssen on December 19, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

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…

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

By Peter Janssen on December 16, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

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…

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

By Peter Janssen on December 3, 2018 Cruising Life, Destinations

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…

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

By Peter Janssen on November 27, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life, Destinations

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…

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