Destinations

Quebec: Cruise To a Piece of France

By Peter Janssen on June 5, 2022 Destinations

If you want to give yourself a treat this summer, take a trip up to Quebec, specifically Quebec City. With its rich history, vibrant French culture and large, modern marina, it’s one of the most alluring cruising destinations I’ve ever experienced. In the case of Quebec, getting there is half the fun. In 2014, George Sass, Sr., the photographer, and I cruised 495 nm from New York City (actually, Liberty Landing on the New Jersey side, across from downtown Manhattan) to Quebec City, going up the Hudson to Lake Champlain and then entering Canada. Lake Champlain itself is a great…

SILENT-RESORTS Building Yacht Club in Bahamas

By Peter Janssen on May 9, 2022 Cruising Life, Destinations

SILENT-RESORTS and EcoIsland Development just announced that they’re building what they say is the world’s first fully sustainable, zero-carbon, solar-powered yacht and residents’ club in the Bahamas. Named Club Ki’ama Bahamas, the eco-friendly development is only a ten-minute boat ride from Great Exuma Island. Construction is scheduled to start in June. People who buy homes there also will have the use of SILENT-YACHTS luxury power catamarans for a specified number of days. (This is the first SILENT-RESORTS destination property, in proprietary ownership with SILENT-YACHTS.) Club Ki’ama Bahamas will be a new enclave on Elizabeth Island, and it is the first…

Groundbreaking for Big New Lauderdale Marina

By co_admin on May 7, 2022 Destinations

Here’s the official announcement from the City of Fort Lauderdale about the start of a new $70 million Las Olas Marina, the future home of the Lauderdale show: The City of Fort Lauderdale and SunTex Marinas broke ground on the new Las Olas Marina Thursday as part of a public/private partnership. In addition to being the future location of the expanded Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the iconic marina will redefine the Fort Lauderdale waterfront featuring fine dining, boutique retail, state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements, and lush pedestrian-friendly landscape. The $70 million project will be built and paid for by SunTex Marinas…

Mystic Moon: Cruising to Haines, Alaska

By co_admin on May 4, 2022 Destinations

It’s still cold, very cold, in Alaska, but that hasn’t stopped John and Kathy Youngblood from cruising about 150 nm up to Haines, north of Juneau, on their 2004 Selene 53, Mystic Moon. The Youngbloods are veteran cruisers, having completed a 35,000-mile journey around the Pacific three years ago, and cruising in the Pacific Northwest since then. Despite storms and snow, they encountered whales, bears, otters and a lot of Dungeness on their latest voyage. Read about it on their blog: Change of plans….Mr Weather has decided to complicate things a bit. Two storms are coming and we decided to make…

Acadia National Park: A Down East Favorite

By Peter Janssen on April 20, 2022 Destinations

Since this is National Park Week, it’s an appropriate time to plan a summer cruise to Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island, way Down East in Maine. Surrounded by some of the best cruising grounds on the East Coast, Acadia offers a land-and-sea experience that will provide memories for many years to come. If you go in the summer (as opposed to the late-spring/early-fall shoulder seasons), you won’t get lonely. About 3.5 million people visit the park each year, at least in pre-Covid years. A lot of them use the bustling waterfront resort town of Bar Harbor as a…

Oregon Lighthouse for Sale: $6.5 Million

By Peter Janssen on April 11, 2022 Destinations

If you’ve ever dreamed of living in a lighthouse, now’s your chance. The Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, about 1.2 miles off the coast of Northwest Oregon, is for sale for $6.5 million. Before you reach for your checkbook, you need to realize the lighthouse comes with some problems. First, you can’t land a boat there; there are too many rocks and steep cliffs. You can only come and go via helicopter, and even then you might have to make a second or third pass to get the sea lions off the landing pad. Second, it’s a mess. Opened in 1881, the…

Lyman-Morse Develops Camden Waterfront

By Peter Janssen on March 28, 2022 Destinations

For the past 42 years, Lyman-Morse, based in Thomaston, Maine, has been building boats ranging from carbon-fiber racing sailboats to luxurious Down East powerboats, creating a mix of cutting-edge technology and traditional craftsmanship. Lately, Lyman-Morse has been expanding, building a boutique hotel in Rockland, for example, and edging into custom home design. Now, it’s almost ready to open its redevelopment along the Camden waterfront, with a mix of restaurants, retail shops and gallery spaces for local craftspeople. The Camden redevelopment is almost complete, and is scheduled to open in June. Lyman-Morse actually has owned the Camden waterfront property since 2015…

Heat Stress Hits Coral in Great Barrier Reef

By Peter Janssen on March 21, 2022 Destinations

Coral on the Great Barrier Reef is in trouble, again. Indeed, the Australian agency in charge of managing the reef just said it has been hit by “significant heat stress” over the summer. The Great Barrier Reef, the most extensive coral reef in the world, is listed as a World Heritage Site. Scientists and researchers from the United Nations are visiting the reef this week to determine whether it should be listed as “in danger.” The reef just avoided such a designation last year, after intensive lobbying efforts in Australia led UNESCO to postpone such a decision until now. Meanwhile,…

New, Relaxed, Protocols for Bermuda

By Peter Janssen on March 16, 2022 Destinations

Here’s some good news if you’re thinking about cruising to Bermuda this year. One of the most inviting cruising destinations in the world, Bermuda just relaxed its Covid restrictions, making it much easier to visit there. Over the years, Bermuda has become known as the end of some classic sailboat races, as well as a destination for cruising sailboats. After all, it’s only 635 nm from Newport, Rhode Island. But it’s become a cruising powerboat destination as well. Indeed, it was the first stop on the historic 18-boat 2004 Nordhavn Atlantic Rally from Fort Lauderdale to Gibraltar (second stop was…

CUBAR Rally All Set for Next Fall

By Peter Janssen on March 8, 2022 Destinations

The iconic CUBAR powerboat rally from San Diego to La Paz, Mexico, next fall has already filled up with its 50-boat capacity, and is now just putting names on a waiting list. One of the premiere cruising events on the West Coast, the rally will leave the San Diego Yacht Club on October 30 and arrive in La Paz, 910 nm later, on Nov. 13. CUBAR, standing for Cruise Underway to Baja Rally, is sponsored by the San Diego club, and Nordhavn, which has eight boats in this year’s event, just signed on as another sponsor. Nordhavn set the bar…

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