On Watch with Peter Janssen

Bizarre Trial: Son Fixes Boat, It Sinks, Mother Is Lost

By Peter Janssen on August 15, 2019 On Watch with Peter Janssen

On September, 15, 2016, Nathan Carman left Ram Point Marina in South Kingston, Rhode Island, on Chicken Pox, his 45-years-old, 31-foot aluminum boat for an offshore tuna fishing trip with his mother, Linda Carman, 54, from Middletown, Connecticut. That was the last time anyone saw either the boat or Linda Carman. Eight days later, Carman, then 23 years old and floating alone on an inflatable raft, was rescued about 100 miles off the Massachusetts coast by a passing freighter (see picture, above). He said the Chicken Pox started taking on water and sank. In the confusion, he swam for the raft and…

Grumpy Completes Great Loop, with Some Lessons for Us All

By Peter Janssen on August 8, 2019 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Mission accomplished. John Hauck, 80, a retired Army special forces major and helicopter pilot, just finished the Great Loop, arriving back home in Demopolis, Alabama, 110 days and 6,303 miles after he left. He put 416 hours on the twin 150-hp Mercury outboards that drove Grumpy, his RF-246 Rosborough, and said they “performed flawlessly.” Hauck did the Loop solo, except for 21 days when a lady friend joined him, from the Erie Canal to Ludington, Michigan, on Lake Michigan. He says if he does the Loop again, it would be nice to have company onboard. Hauck’s journey was a major…

After 5,000 Miles and One Major Mishap, John Hauck, 80, Approaches Chicago on the Great Loop, Solo Once Again, on Grumpy

By Peter Janssen on July 25, 2019 On Watch with Peter Janssen

When we last checked in with John Hauck, the 80-year-old retired Army major and special forces helicopter pilot who is doing the Great Loop on his own, he was down on the Gulf Coast of Florida. That was two months ago. Since then Hauck has driven Grumpy, his 2003 Rosborough RF-246, around much of the Loop, and he’s now near Chicago. All told, Hauck writes from St. Joseph on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, just 60 miles from Chicago, that he has spent 99 days and put more than 5,000 miles behind him since he left Demopolis, Alabama, on…

The Clarkes: Living the Dream, Finally, on Their Nordhavn 40 Enfin

By Peter Janssen on July 18, 2019 On Watch with Peter Janssen

For Capt. Eric Clarke and his wife, Di-Enid, the name of their 2001 Nordhavn 40 says it all. The name is Enfin, and that means “finally” in French. He was born in France, and she is fluent in French. And Enfin, he told me, captures their dream. “’Finally’ would be the start of our dream, the means to do it and the great escape. We’d ‘finally’ be retired and enjoying life together. We’d ‘finally’ do what we want.” Right now the Clarkes and Princess, their Siberian husky, are cruising in British Columbia, north of the San Juans. They bought the…

Aspen Power Cat Cruises 1,092 Miles Through Canada’s Wild Northwest Territories to the Arctic Ocean

By Peter Janssen on July 11, 2019 On Watch with Peter Janssen

You don’t need to ask Larry Graf what he did on his summer vacation this year. Graf, the president and “chief adventurer” of Aspen Power Catamarans, and Peter Robson, a Canadian journalist, drove a new 34-foot, twin outboard Aspen 1,092 miles down the Mackenzie River through Canada’s remote and wild Northwest Territories – where there are more bears than people – to the Arctic Ocean. The trip took six days and 22 hours. The Mackenzie is the largest river in Canada, and the second largest in North America, after the Mississippi (see the map, below). There are no electronic charts for…

We Test the New MJM 53z: Fast, Fun and Elegant

By Peter Janssen on July 3, 2019 On Watch with Peter Janssen

It’s one thing to read about a new boat. It’s quite another to actually drive it. I certainly had expected to enjoy the new long, low, elegant MJM 53z, with its four 400-hp Mercury Verado outboards. After all, I’d already driven its predecessor, the MJM 50z, with three 435-hp Volvo IPS600 pod drives, as well as every other MJM model. But once I got behind the wheel of the 53z I realized it was even better – and a lot more fun – than I had anticipated. One of the main reasons outboards have become so popular lately, even on…

Nordhavn Building New 41 in Turkey. Around the World, Anyone?

By Peter Janssen on June 27, 2019 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Here’s big news for Nordhavn fans. The company is building a new Nordhavn 41 in Turkey, and it’s going to be ready to cruise around the world. Indeed, Nordhavn says the new 41 will be “the most capable, efficient, safe and sea-kindly passagemaker ever built.” The 41 certainly comes with a rich heritage. Nordhavn put power cruising on the map when its 40 went 24,000 nm around the world in 2001-2002. Since then Nordhavns, with models now ranging from 47 to 120 feet, have gone more than seven million nm in ocean crossings. In keeping with that tradition, the new…

Silent-Yachts Launches New Solar-Electric, Ocean-Going, 55-Foot High-End Cat

By Peter Janssen on June 20, 2019 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Silent-Yachts is introducing the new version of its Silent 55 solar-electric catamaran at the Cannes Yachting Festival starting Sept. 10, with a revised drive train, more battery power, lower noise levels, and e-motors that are twice as powerful as the ones on the original boat. The Austrian company says it’s the first and only ocean-going solar-electric production catamaran in the world. The new cruiser is self-sufficient with virtually unlimited range and silent propulsion. It has no vibration, fumes or lingering carbon footprint. Michael Köhler, the company’s founder and CEO, says, “Silent-Yachts sets the standard for an entirely new dynamic in…

Bumfuzzle Cruises Up the Rio Dulce in Guatemala for Hurricane Season

By Peter Janssen on June 13, 2019 On Watch with Peter Janssen

There won’t be any more blue salt water for Bumfuzzle, the well-traveled 1984 Grand Banks 42 owned by Patrick Schulte and his wife, Ali, for a while. The boat’s now on the definitely green and fresh water of Rio Dulce in Guatemala, surrounded by a steamy tropical rain forest, and they’ll stay there for the rest of the hurricane season. The Schultes and their children, Ouest, 9, and Lowe, 7, cruised down to Mexico from Key West six months ago. When we last checked in with them in April, they were heading south from Isla Mujeres, looking for a change…

Vintage cars drive by the passengers cruise ship MSC Opera in Havana, Cuba, September 30, 2017. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini - RC19C7F489E0

New Travel Ban on Cruising to Cuba

By Peter Janssen on June 6, 2019 On Watch with Peter Janssen

About 20 years ago, I cruised to Cuba with Scott Porter, the president of Formula, on one of his new 40-foot cruisers, and it was one of the best trips ever. We did it right. From the time we docked at Marina Hemingway, when were checked in by two Cuban officers in combat boots and Fidel-type fatigues, to when we were checked back into the U.S. by the Coast Guard in Key West, we played by the rules; we had all the proper paperwork, the appropriate clearances. I’ve always wanted to go back to Cuba, but the rules kept changing,…

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