Browsing: 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…
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 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 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…
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…
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…
. 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…
. We had so much fun the first time we decided to do it again. And again and again. Welcome to the second edition of Cruising Odyssey, our new, dynamic, free weekly e-newsletter and constantly updated website. The overwhelming reaction to our launch last week has been heart-warming; it seems that a lot of you share our idea of Living the Dream Under Power. So here we are again, as we plan to be every week for a long time to come. . Our launch of Cruising Odyssey, it seems, hit the right nerve at the right time. Indeed, many…
. Welcome to the first edition of Cruising Odyssey, our new, dynamic, free weekly e-newsletter and constantly updated website aimed at celebrating the idea of Living the Dream Under Power. A totally digital enterprise, Cruising Odyssey offers an entirely new way to connect with those of us who cruise under power; we focus on pursuing the dream, whether that leads to the Great Loop, the Inside Passage, the Med, or hanging out on the hook in a favorite nearby cove. And it’s designed for the way we get information today: mobile, digital, immediate, worldwide and through social media. Sign up…