Destinations

A Popular Boating Destination near Seattle, Poulsbo Seems a World Apart. Don’t Miss the Viking Fest

By Peter Janssen on December 31, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

Only 13 nm from Seattle, Poulsbo, Washington, is in a world of its own. First settled by Scandinavian immigrants in the 1880s because the snow-capped Olympic Mountains to the west reminded them of home, Poulsbo today is a popular boating and tourist destination known as Little Norway. It even has a Viking Fest on the third weekend in May to mark the start of the summer, complete with a parade, carnival and lots of live entertainment. For cruising boat owners, Poulsbo is not only easy to get to; it’s also an easy place to stay. It’s basically just behind Bainbridge…

For a New Cruise Off the Beaten Path, Try Norway Next Summer, a Land of Deep Fjords and Endless Daylight

By Peter Janssen on December 13, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

For a real cruise next summer, think about Norway, the high-latitude Scandinavian country with prehistoric glaciers, deep fjords, thousands of islands and about 20 hours of sunlight a day. It’s not particularly easy to get to for a recreational powerboat – you have to go across the North Sea from the UK, the Netherlands or Denmark – but once you’re there, the rewards are immense. As one captain quoted in this story from Superyacht Times says, you’ll find “silky smooth cruising grounds within the endless network of fjords, each with their own set of snow-capped mountains melting in the summer…

The Moorings Reopens in the BVI with 100 Boats Ready to Charter Right Now

By Peter Janssen on December 12, 2017 Charter, Cruising Life, Destinations

There’s more good news about the post-hurricane comeback in the British Virgin Islands. The Moorings and Sunsail, the power and sail charter powerhouses, just reopened their base in Road Town, Tortola, with a combined fleet of more than 100 yachts ready to go (see the picture above). In addition, the companies have invested $66.5 million to bring in more than 130 new boats that will arrive in early 2018. The people throughout the BVI have been resilient and working hard to build back after the devastating hurricanes just three months ago. Pirate’s Bight, Soggy Dollar Bar and Foxy’s are all…

One of the World’s Great Cruising Destinations, St. Barts is Making a Comeback after Irma

By Peter Janssen on November 28, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

St. Barts suffered more than a glancing blow from Hurricane Irma in early September, but it wasn’t a knockout punch. Irma did cause a lot of damage throughout the island, destroying some hotels, restaurants and even wiping out the weather station, but now St. Barts, one of the world’s great cruising and vacation destinations, is staging a comeback. This story and video from Caribbean Journal tell how resilient the island is; some hotels have already reopened (although Eden Rock and Le Toiny will be shut until 2018), and more shops and restaurants reopening every day. But St. Barts is still…

Five Favorite Anchorages in the Remote but Beautiful Broughton Islands

By Peter Janssen on November 26, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

Way above the more popular San Juans and the Canadian Gulf Islands, the Broughton Islands, on the mainland side of Queen Charlotte Strait in British Columbia, are an inviting (and often over-looked) cruising grounds, with remote anchorages, deep channels, sharply-creased fjords and lots of peace and quiet. Most cruisers, of course, stay farther south, but if you head up to the Broughtons, which basically are opposite Port Hardy, about two-thirds of the way up Vancouver Island, you’ll find that as the crowds thin out, the wildlife population increases; it’s not unusual to find dolphins playing next to your boat in…

A Fast Tour of the Best of Australia, from Perth to Tasmania, with Sunseeker

By Peter Janssen on November 21, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

Here’s a fast tour of the horizon if you’re ever cruising in Australia (Oz), from Rottnest Island off Perth on the Indian Ocean to the separate island of Tasmania off the southeast coast, the Barrier Reef and much more, all from the pages of Sunseeker Magazine, from Sunseeker Yachts. Our tour starts in Perth, the capital of Western Australia, a modern metropolis with skyscrapers and bustle. (When I was there some 30 years ago, it was much sleepier, reminding me of an earlier San Diego.) From there it’s an 11-mile offshore hop to Rottnest Island, filled with wildlife (don’t miss…

The Ten Most Famous Sailors’ Bars in the World. Do You Agree?

By Peter Janssen on November 15, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

These are billed as the Ten Most Famous Sailors’ Bars in the World, but it really doesn’t matter how you get there; the drinks and atmosphere are the same whether you arrive by sail or by power. But take a look at this list, created by Sail Universe, and see if you’ve been to any of them, or if you have your own favorites. The pictures alone will make your mouth water. Peter’s Café Sport, Horta, Azores. (Historic, dating to 1859. Don’t know how I missed this when I was there with the Nordhavn Atlantic Rally.) Foxy’s Tamarind Bar, Jost…

Report from Lake Okeechobee: “Ugly, Dark Brown” Water and an Unhappy Lockmaster

By Peter Janssen on November 14, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

For all you snow birds who are heading south and perhaps thinking about crossing Lake Okeechobee to get to the west coast of Florida, take a look at this report from Peg and Jim Healy, very experienced cruisers on their Monk 36 Sanctuary. They crossed from east to west last week and wrote the following for Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net: “The condition of the water is deplorable. In the anchorage at Stuart, the water is ‘Lake O chocolate milk.’ The water throughout the system is an ugly, dark brown. Water levels are high, and there are no water level issues…

Post-Hurricane Status Report of What’s Open, and What is Still Recovering, in the Caribbean

By Peter Janssen on November 13, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

It’s now been about three months since Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated parts of the Caribbean, but the swath of destruction was selective. Some islands were virtually destroyed. Almost every building on Barbuda, for example, was knocked down, while on Antigua, almost next door, the damage was minor. Generally, the southern Caribbean, from Martinique on down, escaped undamaged, while Puerto Rico and the nearby U.S. and British Virgin Islands took a big hit. But that was then. What’s open now? Here’s an island-by-island update from the Travel section of The New York Times, reporting on the recovery situation and when…

Month-by-Month Itinerary for Cruising the Sea of Cortez, from November to May

By Peter Janssen on November 13, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

By all accounts, Mexico’s Sea of Cortez is a boating paradise, a 570-nm-long warm-water cruising ground filled with marine life and some 100 uninhabited islands, often surrounded by white beaches with nary a soul in sight. The question is not whether to go there or not; it’s really how long to spend once you get there. This story from Sea magazine suggests an answer, saying it takes seven months to sample everything the Sea of Cortez has to offer. Why rush? You need to avoid the hurricane season in summer, but otherwise just relax and enjoy yourself. Sea suggests you…

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