On Watch with Peter Janssen

Dreaming Large on an Aspen 40 Power Cat: 10,000 nm Around the U.S.

By Peter Janssen on January 12, 2017 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Dreaming Large on an Aspen 40 Power Cat: 10,000 nm Around the U.S. by Peter A. Janssen How’s this for a shakedown cruise? This May, David Jenkins, who usually cruises on his Albermarle 27 out of Annapolis, will buy a new Aspen 40 power catamaran in Seattle, and then he and Capt. Blake Eder, his brother-in-law and professional delivery captain, will embark on their “shakedown cruise” from Seattle to Juneau, Alaska, looking for an adventure. I’ve taken that trip several times and I can guarantee two things: 1) It’s one hell of a shakedown cruise, and 2) they’ll certainly find…

By Peter Janssen on January 5, 2017 On Watch with Peter Janssen

TRENDING NOW: MORE OUTBOARDS ON CRUISING BOATS by Peter Janssen Who knows what the new year will bring. I personally can’t wait for the Miami show next month to at least get a taste of what’s in store to make cruising easier, safer and more fun. But I already know one thing for sure. The trend toward outboard power, even in cruising boats, will only get stronger and stronger. The reasons are easy enough: Outboards are now increasingly powerful, quiet, fuel-efficient, easy to use, easy to maintain, easy to replace. They open up space under the salon or cockpit that…

Happy Holidays from Cruising Odyssey

By Peter Janssen on December 23, 2016 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Big Changes in Miami

By Peter Janssen on December 15, 2016 On Watch with Peter Janssen

BIG CHANGES IN MIAMI by Peter Janssen The Miami boat shows, yes, both of them, won’t be the same this year. The big yacht show along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, which has been free for years, now will charge $20 admission. And the National Marine Manufacturers Association/Progressive Insurance boat show leaders say they have learned from last year, when they moved from the Miami Beach Convention Center down to the marine stadium on Virginia Key, and promise to have many more free shuttle buses and larger water taxis to make it easier to get down there. Both shows run…

The Right Stuff

By Peter Janssen on December 8, 2016 On Watch with Peter Janssen

How’s this for a trans-Atlantic adventure? Chris Bertish, a 42-year-old world champion surfer, just left Morocco on a SUP (although a very tricked-out SUP) and plans to arrive in Miami some four months and 4,600 miles from now with stops in the Canaries and the BVI along the way. Oh, and Bertish, who’s already set some SUP distance records, will be doing this solo, all by himself, with no support from anyone at all. The last time anyone tried to do a solo trans-Atlantic on an SUP a year ago he had to be rescued after less than a day…

What’s Next for Cuba?

By Peter Janssen on December 1, 2016 On Watch with Peter Janssen

What are the chances you’ll ever see the picture above, in person? It’s the entrance to Marina Hemingway, the largest marina in Cuba, lying about eight miles west of Havana and about 100 nm from Key West. Until the past few weeks, I’d say the chances were pretty good, if you had wanted to go there. Indeed, last year President Obama himself went to Cuba in an effort to normalize relations, the U.S. opened an embassy in Havana, and the Administration eased regulations restricting travel, banking and even recreational boating. It seemed that Cuba, with 3,000 miles of coastline, scores…

The First Thanksgiving

By Peter Janssen on November 23, 2016 On Watch with Peter Janssen

. The voyage from Plymouth, England, to Cape Cod took the Mayflower 66 days, and for most of them the 102 passengers and 30 crew on board were cold and miserable. The fall weather was often brutal, the aging 100-foot-long square rigger couldn’t sail into the prevailing westerlies, and it leaked. The Mayflower finally dropped anchor off Cape Cod on Nov, 27, 1620, and everyone spent that winter on the boat; half of them died of malnutrition or exposure. The next spring Squanto, a Pawtuxet who spoke English (he had been kidnapped by a British sea captain), got the Pilgrims…

Greenline 36 Hybrid: The Future of Boating?

By Peter Janssen on November 17, 2016 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Just introduced to the U.S. market at the Fort Lauderdale boat show, the new Greenline 36 Hybrid offers a combination of a totally silent 6.5-knot speed under electric power, or an 18-knot speed under traditional 220-hp Volvo diesel power (boosted to 25 knots with an optional 370-hp Yanmar). The reaction to the boat at the show, said Vladimir Zinchenko, the CEO of SVP Yachts of Slovenia, the new owner of Greenline, was “very good. People are much more comfortable with hybrid technology today. They love the environmentally friendly aspect and the idea behind Greenline.” I tested an earlier version of…

Looking Back at Lauderdale

By Peter Janssen on November 10, 2016 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Now that the largest show in the U.S. (with 1,500 boats worth $4 billion) has ended, it’s time for a recap. Was it fun? Yes, definitely. Over-the-top? Yes, definitely. Crowded? At times, but not all the time. Was it good for people who are buying and selling boats? Yes, no, and maybe. One thing was certain. The overwhelming optimism that grew out of the Newport and Annapolis shows earlier in the fall was not repeated, at least not across the board. The good news first. At Grand Banks and Palm Beach Yachts, Dave Northrop, VP of marketing, said it was…

Lauderdale Show Opens: Good Vibes, $4 Billion Worth of Boats, Plus Ferraris, Helicopters

By Peter Janssen on November 3, 2016 On Watch with Peter Janssen

. The iconic Fort Lauderdale show just got off to a good start, with blue skies, large crowds, and boats, boats and more boats. Indeed, at breakfast just before the show opened, Skip Zimbalist, who runs the show as the head of Show Management, said there were more boats than ever before, including eight over 200 feet, while advance ticket sales were up 20 percent from last year. The Lauderdale show, arguably the largest show in the United States, has seven locations with small boats, big boats, superyachts and all the appropriate toys. Zimbalist noted that a $7 million helicopter…

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