On Watch with Peter Janssen

Iridium Launches First World-Wide Marine Distress Service

By Peter Janssen on December 15, 2020 Cruising Life, Electronics, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Iridium just launched the first world-wide, real-time emergency marine distress service. The new Iridium Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) started last week; it is the first immediate response and rescue service that works anywhere in the world, even in the Arctic and Antarctic. At a virtual press conference from its headquarters in McLean, Virginia, Iridium officials said the new service can provide life-saving help to mariners at sea. “This is a historic moment in both the satellite and maritime industries,” said Iridium CEO Matt Desch. “It is not every day that you get to announce the launch of…

Seven Tips for Plotting Your Next Cruise

By Peter Janssen on December 15, 2020 Cruising Life, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Here are seven tips from Skipper Tips about how to plot your next cruise in advance to make it safer and easier. One tip: Plot waypoints around hazards along the way. Read on: 1. Get Ready to Navigate Now! Make your piloting preparations in advance to save time and effort underway. Complete 90% of navigation plotting in the comfort of your home or apartment. Plot your base sailing courses onto each chart you will use. Highlight dangers, emergency anchorages, and prominent aids to navigation (i.e. lighted aids or those with sound signals). Plot waypoints at the start and finish of…

Silent Yachts Building Solar-Powered Resort in Bahamas

By Peter Janssen on December 14, 2020 Destinations, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Silent Yachts just announced that will build a solar-powered luxury waterfront resort in Eleuthera, the Bahamas, that also will include the Austrian company’s solar-powered catamarans. The Eleuthera location will include 16 waterfront villas and eight Silent power catamarans. The first of half a dozen other Silent Resorts planned around the world, the Bahamas destination will include a beachside clubhouse, resort pool, restaurant, bar, fitness room, game room, and a spa. Construction will start in 2021. Other possible destinations include Belize, Panama, French Polynesia, Maldives, and Indonesia. “With Silent Resorts, we are creating the world’s first 100-percent solar-powered, luxury adventure cruising…

Fleming Building New 25-knot, Ocean-Crossing 85

By Peter Janssen on December 10, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Fleming just announced that it’s building an all-new, 25-knot, flagship 85 ocean-crossing cruiser. The company says the goal is to make “the finest possible ocean-going pilothouse motoryacht in every respect.” In Fleming’s case, this is no idle talk. Over the years, Flemings have built up an almost cult following of owners and admirers, an adventuresome group who have cruised their Flemings all over the world. Many, if not all, have been inspired by Tony Fleming’s own stories and videos of cruising on his personal boat, a Fleming 65 named Venture. It’s not every boat company founder who cruises on his…

The Shape of Things To Come?

By Peter Janssen on December 1, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

By now, we all know that one of the fastest-growing trends in boat design in the past few years has been the expansion of usable space on board, particularly in cockpits, swim platforms, and the aft ends of recreational boats. The trend started in megayachts and now has worked its way down to 30- and 40-foot production cruising boats. The idea is to create extra space, and to erase (or at least camouflage) the distinction between the interior and the exterior areas of the boat. We now have “beach clubs” where the transom opens up to a new indoor/outdoor cabin…

After Refit, Billy Joel’s Vendetta Is Up for Sale

By Peter Janssen on November 15, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Billy Joel’s classic 57-foot commuter yacht Vendetta, launched in 2005, has had a two-plus year refit in Newport Beach, California, and now is up for sale. I have to admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for this boat. I was the editorial director of Yachting at the time, and I went to its launch party on a hot July afternoon at the Derecktors’ Yard in Mamaroneck, New York, and then tested it the next morning with Doug Zurn, the designer, and Gene Pelland, Joel’s full-time captain, taking it out to Joel’s waterfront estate on Centre Island…

New 43-Knot Back Cove 39O Down-East Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on November 10, 2020 Boat Reviews, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Back Cove just launched its new 39O, and it’s the fastest and quietest Back Cove yet. Indeed, powered by three 400-hp Mercury Verado outboards, the new Maine-built cruiser tops out at 43 knots, and it’s so efficient it has a range of 300 nm at 30 knots, a remarkable performance. It also registers a sound level of just 73 dB(a) at the helm, which means you can talk and listen to your playlist and generally enjoy yourself on a long day’s cruise. (See the boat’s performance numbers at the end of this story.) The 39O is Back Cove’s second outboard…

37-Knot, Porsche-Designed Cat for Sale – Again

By Peter Janssen on November 4, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Now’s your chance to get a Porsche-designed yacht to go with your Panamera, Cayenne or even an old 911. The 135-foot, 37-knot Royal Falcon One, first launched in the summer of 2019 and listed by Camper & Nicholsons, is on the market again. Campers says it will provide the price for what it calls a spaceship on the water “upon application.” The yacht was built by the Kockums yard in Sweden as part of the Royal Falcon Fleet in Singapore. Porsche Design Studio drew the lines, working with the naval architects Incat Crowther. The entire project took ten years. Porsche…

Williams Adding New 13-Foot RIB with Diesel Power

By Peter Janssen on November 2, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

With the expansion of the explorer and semi-displacement cruising market, Williams Jet Tenders is adding a new 13’ 5” Dieseljet 415 to its lineup of premium RIBs. The new Dieseljet will be launched in January, and the British builder says it would be appropriate as a tender for cruising boats in the 75-foot range. The new Williams RIB, of course, has many other uses as an all-around sport boat or second boat in its own right. The new Dieseljet 415 is powered by a 110-hp Yanmar 4JH diesel, paired with Williams’ own jet pump drive. It tops out at 40…

New Solar Electric Soel Senses 48: A Weekend Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on October 31, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Soel Yachts, the Dutch award-winning solar electric boat builder, just launched the Soel Senses 48, a low-profile, alternative-energy catamaran that the company says is “the ideal luxury weekend cruiser for the sustainability minded.” The new Soel Sense is totally free of fossil-fuel. An array of 12 solar panels on the boat’s hardtop can collect 2.7kWh and works with lithium-ion batteries and electric motors to drive the boat and produce all the power on board. With its standard power of twin Naval DC 40kW electric motors, the boat cruises at 10 knots and tops out at 12 knots. With optional twin…

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