On Watch With Peter Janssen

Outer Reef Introduces New 650 Classic Motoryacht

By George Day on July 17, 2024 On Watch With Peter Janssen, On Watch with Peter Janssen

This week, Jeff Druek, President and CEO of Outer Reef Yachts, announced the introduction of the new, re-engineered Outer Reef 650 Classic Motoryacht, which is the smallest model in the company’s M Class yachts. Druek noted that the 650’s sistership, the 700 Classic Motoryacht, has long been the most popular model in the series. Yet, he and his team had often heard from owners and customers the need for a smaller version. “For those who desire the attributes of the 700 in a smaller yacht,” he said, “whether due to slip size, itinerary restrictions, handling preferences, and more, Outer Reef…

Thank You, Peter, and Grand Banks Previews New GB 62

By George Day on July 11, 2024 Boat Reviews, On Watch With Peter Janssen, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Peter Janssen is absent from On Watch this week for the first time in almost eight years. He has retired at the venerable age of 88. As the co-founder and editor of the newsletter, he produced 400 editions and wrote more than four thousand articles. For a seasoned journalist, that is a lot. For a man already in his eighties when we founded Cruising Odyssey, the achievement is legendary. So, as I take the helm and steer Cruising Compass into its next chapter, I want to offer Peter my gratitude and appreciation for all he did and all he does.…

Time To Say Goodbye

By Peter Janssen on June 27, 2024 On Watch With Peter Janssen

As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. For me, that time is now. I’ll be 88 years old on July 1; Cruising Odyssey is well established (this is our 399th weekly edition) and in good hands. It’s time to say goodbye. I’ve been a journalist all my adult life. My first job was as a reporter at a wire service in Chicago. I was in grad school at Northwestern (after Stanford) and had a half-tuition scholarship. To make the other half, I worked two or three days a week as a reporter for the…

CO Tests the New MJM 42 Express Cruiser

By George Day on June 13, 2024 Boat Reviews, On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

By George Day Part One: Running fast and efficiently on the Pamilco River In early June, I travelled from Newport, Rhode Island, to Washington, North Carolina, to visit with our friends at MJM Yachts and to test drive the new MJM 42. Washington is an old southern town and port that sits on the edge of the Pamilico River. And, it is a boat building mecca. It has lovely late 18th Century architecture –rebuilt after Northern troops burned the town during the Civil War—and a picturesque waterfront with several marinas and a waterfront park. It was in a marina at…

Valhalla Building V-55 Sport Luxury Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on June 4, 2024 On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

Valhalla Boatworks just announced that it’s building a V-55 Sport that will emphasize comfort, style and accommodations in a high-performance luxury cruising yacht. The V-55 represents a major move by Valhalla, part of Viking Yachts, which has concentrated on center console fishing boats since it was started in 2019. Pat Healey, the Viking president, made the announcement this week at a Viking and Valhalla dealer meeting in Atlantic City. “The V-55 Sport represents our ability to diversify within a model to meet the needs of more owners,” he said. “It takes the proven performance of our 55 hull and merges…

Hunt Launches First (Colorful) 63 Express

By Peter Janssen on May 22, 2024 On Watch With Peter Janssen

Hunt just launched its first 63 Express, built for an owner who wants to take it around the Great Loop, and beyond. With its Awlgrip Vivid Red hull, it certainly won’t be lost in the crowd. The Ocean Series 63 Flybridge is one of Hunt’s most popular models, large enough for comfortable cruising and entertaining, but small enough to be handled easily by an owner-operator. But Hunt is known for working with its owners, and this one wanted an express version that would be able to slide under a lot of bridges along the Great Loop. The new express has…

Girl Killed by Hit-and-Run Boat While Wakeboarding

By Peter Janssen on May 14, 2024 On Watch With Peter Janssen

A 15-year-old girl was killed after she fell in the water while wakeboarding off Key Biscayne near Miami on Saturday and was hit by a center console that then just kept going. The girl, Ella Riley Adler, and another girl, were being towed on separate wakeboards behind a 42-foot Fjord about 4 on Saturday afternoon near the Nixon Beach Sandbar, a popular boating spot. They fell off their boats at different times and in different spots, according to a report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. They were part of a birthday party celebration; another 12 people were…

New 55-Knot AB 80: “Formula 1 of the Seas”

By Peter Janssen on April 23, 2024 Cruising Life, On Watch With Peter Janssen, On Watch with Peter Janssen

AB Yachts in Viareggio, Italy, just launched its latest AB 80, a luxury speedster that the company calls “a real Formula 1 car of the seas.” Powered by three 2,000-hp MAN V12 diesels, the sleek, silver and sporty AB 80 tops out at 55 knots. AB says it has a range of 500 nm at 45 knots, something few other builders can achieve. With a state-of-the-art aerodynamic design and a composite hull, the new AB 80 is designed for family trips, a very fast getaway, or simply an extra adrenaline rush. It can be run by an owner-operator or a…

Did Electrical Problems Cause Bridge Crash?

By Peter Janssen on April 17, 2024 On Watch With Peter Janssen

Federal officials are investigating whether electrical problems caused the 984-foot-long container ship Dali to lose power and crash into Baltimore’s Key Bridge at 1:30 a.m. on March 26, sending it falling into the Patapsco River and closing the harbor. The crash killed six construction workers filling pot holes on the bridge. Meanwhile, FBI agents were on the ship last week, interviewing some of the 21 crew members, investigating whether any federal laws were broken. The City of Baltimore filed a suit against almost everyone involved, and the Dali’s owner and operator filed their own suit trying to limit their damage.…

Bruce Kessler: A Man of Many Lives

By Peter Janssen on April 10, 2024 On Watch With Peter Janssen

Bruce Kessler, who managed to pack three overflowing lives into one, passed away on April 4 under hospice care in his home in Marina del Rey, California, just a week after his 88th birthday and wedding anniversary with Joan Freeman; they had been together for 54 years. Kessler’s seventh floor condo was filled with memorabilia reflecting his multi-faceted life: Pictures of race cars he had driven (and crashed); posters of movies and TV shows he had directed, and maps of the 34 countries he and Joan had visited on their three-year voyage around the world. Appropriately, the condo’s terrace overlooked…

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