Destinations

Illinois Waterway Will Close This Summer

By Peter Janssen on March 20, 2023 Destinations

There’s some bad news for anyone contemplating the Great Loop, or just cruising in the Midwest, this summer. The Army Corps of Engineers is closing three locks on the Illinois Waterway that connects Lake Michigan to the Mississippi for repairs all summer. The entire Waterway along the Illinois River has eight locks and dams that the Army Corps says are long overdue for repairs. The Corps had a short closure in 2019 and a longer one in 2020. This summer will also be a long one, but the closures are scheduled to occur simultaneously to lessen the impact to the…

New Safety Problems in Panama Canal

By co_admin on March 15, 2023 Cruising Life, Destinations

By Charlie Bartlett (The Loadstar) – OOCL Utah‘s near-collision on Sunday with a Panama Canal lock gate suggests a tragic and costly accident is waiting to happen, say experts. Video footage shows a fore-positioned ‘alpha’ tug almost crushed between the Hong Kong-flagged containership and the canal’s Agua Clara lock gate. There was no aft-situated ‘delta’ tug to stop the vessel. Representatives of the Panama Canal Captains and Deck Officers Union told The Loadstar how a lack of procedures and under-resourcing by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) left pilots – paid per vessel – calling the shots. “They [pilots] want to finish fast, because the more…

Photo by Michael Guerrero, courtesy of Manta Trust

Ecuador: Home of 2,800 Giant Manta Rays

By Peter Janssen on January 18, 2023 Destinations

If you want to see some giant manta rays, lots of them, head to Ecuador this summer. A new study says that more than 2,800 of them gather there in August and September, more than ten times the number of rays found anywhere else in the world. A recent study by the Marine Megafauna Foundation and the Manta Trust said the overall population of oceanic manta rays could be as high as 22,000, if you counted those off the coast of Ecuador and neighboring Peru. Oceanic manta rays are indeed giants. They grow to be as large as 29 feet…

Hawks Cay: Popular Keys Resort

By Peter Janssen on January 11, 2023 Destinations

Hawks Cay Resort, sprawling over 60 acres in the Florida Keys, about half way between Miami and Key West, has become an increasingly popular boating destination. It’s easy to see why. First off, as the real estate saying goes, it’s all about location, location, location. The resort is on Duck Cay, mile marker 61, about 90 miles south of the Miami airport and 61 miles north of Key West. It’s just a bit north of Marathon, where you can cut under the bridge if you want to head up the Gulf Coast of Florida, and a bit south of Islamorada,…

Ocean Reef Vintage Weekend: Classic Fun

By Peter Janssen on December 6, 2022 Destinations

The Ocean Reef Club’s annual Vintage Weekend just ended, and it was the usual high-spirited mix of classic boats, cars and planes with parties, dances, costumes and a generally good time. Founded in 1993 as a private club, Ocean Reef is one of the better yachting destinations in the world. It’s not far below Miami on Key Largo, and it has a world-class marina, two golf courses, a private airport, lots of tennis courts, a spa, and a large outdoor swimming pool and beach area. There are also several restaurants and bars. I once spent the New Year’s holiday there…

Beaufort, SC: Charm on the Waterway

By Peter Janssen on November 13, 2022 Destinations

To my mind, the Low Country, the winding, tidal flats and marshlands that run through the southern part of South Carolina, is the best part of the Intracoastal Waterway. You can’t be in a hurry; there are so many S-curves that you can think you’re cruising back on yourself. But that’s the point. Everything is virtually at sea level, with an absolutely golden hue at the beginning and end of the day, so it’s easy to relax and feel peaceful about the world. Dating to 1711, Beaufort is one of the most inviting spots there. You can choose from several…

Doggersbank Cruises to Robinson Crusoe Island

By Peter Janssen on November 7, 2022 Destinations

The captain of a Doggersbank 97 explorer yacht just wrote about his trip to Robinson Crusoe Island, yes, that Robinson Crusoe Island, the one that the fictional Robinson Crusoe was stranded on in Daniel Defoe’s 1719 book that became a classic. And, it turns out, Robinson Crusoe Island is a terrific place. The island is a bit remote, about 416 miles off the coast of Chile in the South Pacific. That’s why the 18th century mariner Alexander Selkirk was stranded there for four years before he was rescued (the real back story to Defoe’s book). It is the largest in…

Cooper Island: A Bit of Paradise in the BVI

By Peter Janssen on October 25, 2022 Charter, Destinations

Cooper Island, a small island in the British Virgin Islands, seems to have it all: Location, a boutique-like resort along a sloping white beach, a mooring field for visitors, snorkeling right off your boat, and a western view for fantastic sunsets. Cooper Island is close to Tortola, home of the larger charter fleets, and to Virgin Gorda, where The Baths are on almost everyone’s charter itinerary. If you don’t have a boat, you can get there on a water taxi from Tortola. The Cooper Island Beach Club is now fully restored from the hurricanes of 2017. It’s a family-owned, eco-resort…

Mississippi River Hits Record Lows

By Peter Janssen on October 18, 2022 Destinations

In normal times, Tower Rock (pictured above) serves as a landmark on the Mississippi River, about 90 miles below St. Louis. It’s 344 feet high, and it’s accessible only by boat. As of a few days ago, school children were walking out to the rock without getting their feet wet. These are not normal times. The Mississippi is running low; some 40 gauges are recording low water records all along the mighty river, according to NOAA. Barges carrying crops and cargo from America’s heartland are getting stuck and running aground in mud; the delays will cause disruption in supply chains…

The Hudson River: A Gorgeous Fall Cruise

By Peter Janssen on September 27, 2022 Destinations

For a memorable fall cruise, there are few places more beautiful than the historic and foliage-lined Hudson River. Stretching 153 miles from The Battery in New York Harbor to The Federal Lock at Troy (just above Albany) and the start of the Erie Canal, the Hudson offers a slice of Americana, everything from the adrenaline-pushing bustle of Wall Street and New York’s West Side up past majestic mountains, pastoral countrysides, the stolid buildings at the state capital in Albany, and many harbors and coves of all descriptions. And lots of history. The Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first…

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