On Watch with Peter Janssen

Viking 92 Freed from Florida Beach

By Peter Janssen on November 8, 2023 On Watch with Peter Janssen

This isn’t supposed to happen. But last Friday afternoon, a Viking 92 sportfishing yacht named Pastime ended up on the beach in Delray Beach, Florida. The 151-ton boat, launched in 2016, was stuck in the sand, and couldn’t get off. Despite heroic rescue efforts, it remained there for two days, until TowBoatUS was able to pump out more than 1,000 gallons of fuel and water and, working on a high tide, float it off. Remarkably, early reports say the Viking suffered just bent props and rudders. (I’ve been to the Viking factory in New Gretna, New Jersey, many times over…

Maine Lobsterman a Social Media Star

By Peter Janssen on November 2, 2023 On Watch with Peter Janssen

By all appearances, Jacob Knowles lives the life of a typical Maine lobsterman. Most days during the busy season, from June to December, he gets up at 3 in the morning in Winter Harbor (pop: 461) and heads down to his boat, the FV Rest Ash-Oar. Then Knowles and his two crewmen set and pull 400 lobster traps a day until about 10, when they take their catch to the Winter Harbor Lobster Coop, on the Schoodic Peninsula above Mt. Desert Island. Knowles, 30, is a fifth generation Maine lobsterman; he’s been going out on lobster boats since he was…

Vanquish 55: Coolest Boat at the Show?

By Peter Janssen on October 25, 2023 On Watch with Peter Janssen

If the new Vanquish VQ55 isn’t the coolest boat at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show this week, it’s certainly one of the coolest. Vanquish, the high-end Dutch builder, is holding the world premiere of its new VQ55 at the show, and it’s aimed directly at the American market with five 600-hp Mercury V12 Verado outboards for power. Top speed: 70 knots. And you won’t have to leave any of your friends behind, if you want to head over to Bimini for breakfast or down to Key West for lunch. The Vanquish VQ55 holds 18 people. There are two cabins,…

Wellcraft Launches Flagship 435 Adventure Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on October 18, 2023 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Wellcraft is introducing its new flagship 435 Performance Cruiser to the U.S. market at the big Fort Lauderdale show next week, doubling down on what it calls “go anywhere, do anything” boats and amping up the rebirth of a once-proud brand. Wellcraft introduced its first Performance Cruiser, a 355, in May of 2022, and the boat was welcomed in Europe where it was made and in the U.S. It was Wellcraft’s first entry into the rapidly growing lineup of all-weather, adventure cruising boats that were made popular by Scandinavian builders. The 355 also marked the rejuvenation of Wellcraft, once one…

Big Lauderdale Show Starts Oct. 25

By Peter Janssen on October 11, 2023 Ft Lauderdale Boat Show, On Watch with Peter Janssen

The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the largest in-the-water show in the world, starts Wednesday, Oct. 25, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 29. Now in its 64th year, the show is larger than ever, covering 90 acres and three million square feet of exhibit space. Last year, more than 100,000 people came to the show; more are expected this year, with more than 1,300 boats on display and 1,000 exhibitors. The show’s economic impact throughout the state is said to be some $1.79 billion. The show now stretches across seven locations, but it’s still centered around the Bahia Mar Yachting…

New, Improved, Shelter Island 38FS

By Peter Janssen on October 4, 2023 On Watch with Peter Janssen

When Coecles Harbor launched their first Shelter Island 38 in 1996, it was an instant hit, drawing praise from across the boating world, everyone from Bob Johnstone to Billy Joel. Johnstone later told me that it was one of the half a dozen boats that inspired the lines for his MJM boats, named after his wife Mary (Mary Johnstone’s Motorboat). He also hired Doug Zurn, the designer of the Shelter Island 38, to design the MJMs. Joel, who wrote Uptown Girl after his then wife Christie Brinkley, told me that the Shelter Island 38 was one of the most beautiful…

Popular Annapolis Power Show Starts Oct. 5

By Peter Janssen on September 27, 2023 Annapolis Boat Show, On Watch with Peter Janssen

The increasingly popular United States Powerboat Show will start Thursday, Oct. 5, and run through Sunday, Oct. 8, in Annapolis, the heart of cruising in the Chesapeake and one of the premiere cruising destinations in the world. The Annapolis show always draws a crowd, for a whole lot of reasons. It’s easy to get to (less than an hour’s drive from Washington, D.C. or Baltimore); it’s easy to see a lot of new boats and gear displayed there, and it’s in Annapolis, with boatyards, marinas, waterfront restaurants and watering holes all around. And then there’s the U.S. Naval Academy, with…

Rogue Wave Sinks Maine Lobster Boat

By Peter Janssen on September 21, 2023 On Watch with Peter Janssen

It was just after noon, but Billy Bob Faulkingham was calling it a day. The weather was turning in the Gulf of Maine, the remnants of Hurricane Lee were just a day away, so Faulkingham and Alex Polk, his sternman, started hauling traps on Faulkingham’s 40-foot lobster boat named 51. They were off the south end of Turtle Island, on the far side of Mount Desert Island, and they were going to head home to Winter Harbor, just a few miles away. Faulkingham knew those waters well. He’s 44, and he’s been a working lobsterman there all his life (although…

Big Power Cats Rule in Cannes

By Peter Janssen on September 12, 2023 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Two big new power catamarans are getting a lot of attention at the Cannes Yachting Festival, for quite different reasons. One, the Sunreef Power Eco 80, is taking eco-conscious cruising to an entirely new level; its hull sides virtually bristle with built-in solar panels. The other, the VisionF 80, is taking attention-getting to a new level; it’s painted pink. The Sunreef Eco 80 is the Polish yard’s newest power cat, and you can order it in both all-electric and hybrid versions. The all-electric one is at Cannes, and its solar panels produce a massive 36kWp in sunshine, although that’s a…

Ten Top Boats at the Newport Show

By Peter Janssen on September 6, 2023 On Watch with Peter Janssen

There certainly is no shortage of new boats to see at the Newport show that starts on Sept. 14. In fact, hundreds of them are on display on the docks at, and next to, the Newport Yachting Center. There are so many new boats that it’s easy to get lost in the crowd, to get sidetracked, or simply overwhelmed and confused. To help you make the most of your time at the show, we’ve picked ten of our favorites. Take a look: AXOPAR 45 The new Axopar flagship, a 45 XC Cross Cabin (pictured above), is an adventure cruiser that…

Browsing: On Watch with Peter Janssen