Category: People
Sea Fare – Culinary (and other) Adventures on a Globe-Girdling Yacht
Victoria Allman is a classically trained chef whose wanderlust took her to sea for nine years as a chef aboard a megayacht. She has collected her memories of that experience in Sea Fare — A Chef’s Journey Across the Ocean. Readers here on OceanLines are, by definition, interested in travel, adventure, yachts and food. Allman’s [...]
Vote for the Best U.S. Coast Guard Video of 2009
The following is from the official blog of the U.S. Coast Guard, The Coast Guard Compass. It describes the annual video contest the service holds and this year’s collection of videos are as dramatic as ever. I’ve picked my favorite. Now it’s your turn. Have a look at the compilation below and then visit the [...]
Ocean Racing World Mourns Roy Disney
Roy Disney, whose family legacy is forever etched in the memories of generations of children, and whose accomplishments as an open ocean sailor were truly remarkable, died last week at the age of 79. The colorful Disney built and helmed a number of open class racers, all named Pyewacket, the name of the witch’s cat [...]
Propane for the Dinghy Outboard Part 2
In a recent article here on OceanLines, we described a brand new development effort by a company called Marine Green to adapt smaller outboards for propane fuel. Since that article, I have been able to talk with the co-founder of Marine Green, none other than Bill Parlatore, the founder and current Founding Editor-at-Large of Passagemaker [...]
10 Questions with Kadey-Krogen’s Larry Polster
Editor’s Note – In this series we feature a Q&A with the leading executives of passagemaking boat companies. The second installment features the thoughts of Lary Polster, vice president of Kadey-Krogen, one of the top brands of passagemaking boats. The following bio was provided by Kadey-Krogen: Larry Polster is a life-long boater, born and [...]
The Underway Engine Room Check: Why You Need It
I saw a great example recently of why you need to be diligent about the hourly (or whatever regular schedule you set) engine room check while cruising offshore. As you know from some earlier posts, Jeffrey and Karen Siegel, owners of ActiveCaptain, aboard their DeFever 53 aCappella, are headed south for the winter and recently made an [...]
Filmmaker Finishes NW Passage on Nordhavn 57
Documentary filmmaker Sprague Theobald last week finished his wild and woolly northwest passage adventure with the arrival of his Nordhavn 57 Bagan in rainy Seattle. The months-long trip began in June in Newport, Rhode Island, and took the classic Nordhavn and its five-person crew through the ice-infested waters of the ever-warming Arctic Ocean. The trip will [...]
A Philosophy of Adventure
The following paragraphs were written by a dedicated cruiser and passagemaker, John Marshall, who is the owner of a particularly beautiful Nordhavn 55 — Serendipity. John has expressed his view of one of the biggest opportunities for cruisers — the ability to get extremely close to elemental nature, yet be able to retreat to the [...]
iPhone for the Boat? Jeffrey Siegel of ActiveCaptain Says “Yes”
I recently talked with Jeff Siegel about some of the issues related to mobile phone service for coastal cruisers. I asked Jeff whether the data rates for the iPhone and others were really good enough to rely on for a typical coastal cruise such as theirs. I think you’ll find his reply, as usual, not only informative, but definitive.
10 Questions With PAE’s Dan Streech on Nordhavn and a “Big Secret”
Editor’s Note – In this series we feature a Q&A with the leading executives of passagemaking boat companies. The first installment features the thoughts of Dan Streech, President of Pacific Asian Enterprises, the parent company of the famous Nordhavn brand of passagemaking boats.
Congratulations to Our Favorite Marine Photographers!
We’re a little late with the congratulations but Allen and Daniela Clark of Photoboat.com are such a unique and impressive couple we wanted to share not only the news of their summer nuptials but the photo, which, could ONLY be the photo you see here. Allen and Daniela have done amazing work for us here [...]
Mike Perham is (Newest) Youngest Solo Sailing Circumnavigator
17 year-old British sailor Mike Perham has become the youngest person to sail single-handed around the world. His 50-foot yacht Totallymoney.com crossed the traditional Lizard/Ushant line marking the start and finish point of his 30,000 mile record-setting in bright sunshine at 09:47:30 secs (local) a.m. this morning – two months inside the previous age record set [...]
Time to Pay Attention to Hurricane Season
The 2009 hurricane season on the east coast of the U.S. has started just a bit later than usual, although it’s gone from nothing to a Cat 4 Hurricane (Bill) in what seemed like no time at all. A new resource will help you stay safe.
Teenager Finishes Youngest-Ever Solo Circumnavigation
U.S. teenager Zac Sunderland this week finished a solo circumnavigation, making him, at 17, the youngest ever to accomplish such a feat.
Sushi Run Boats Reach Kodiak
The Great Siberian Sushi Run reaches Kodiak, with new video of bears clamming, Glacier Bay, Dundas Bay and some fantastic shots of the helm of Sans Souci.
First-Timer Sails Newport to Bermuda Race
Many of us dream about entering the Newport-Bermuda Race. Here’s one man who did it and wrote about a first-timer’s experience.
“Great Siberian Sushi Run” Prepares to Weigh Anchor
Late next month, an interesting convoy of sorts will depart the protected waters of Seattle for a nearly 6,000 NM trek across the North Pacific to Russia and Japan. The three Nordhavns — the first Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci, owned by Ken and Roberta Williams; Grey Pearl, an N62 owned by Braun and Tina Jones, [...]
Piloting a Freighter in New York Harbor
“All stop! Rudder amidships!” The command from the pilot to the helmsman was loud, almost harsh, betraying the pilot’s anxiety. The M/V Marina Star, a 400-foot freighter, was in the narrowest part of the New York Harbor ship channel, heading south toward the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. But a 40-foot sailboat [...]
Jim Cress, CEO of Nordic Tugs, Dead at 62
Jim Cress, the affable president and CEO of Nordic Tugs, died Saturday, October 18 of injuries received in a motorcycle accident. His death was announced by the company this week. Born on May 13, 1946 in Chicago, Ill., 62-year-old Cress joined Nordic Tugs in 1989 as sales manager. He left the company in 1993 to [...]
Stabbert Maritime Completes M/Y Devotion Refit
Photo: Stabbert Maritime, M/Y Devotion After Refit by Stabbert Maritime Stabbert Maritime Group recently completed a dramatic refit of the 143-foot M/Y Devotion (ex-Marjorie Morningstar). Late in 2007, a fire in the guest quarters of the ship caused extensive smoke damage to the vessel. Stabbert, which has a business philosophy of developing unrecognized value in [...]
Couple Celebrates Third Circumnavigation
Heidi and Wolfgang Hass and Nordhavn company employees yesterday celebrated the second circumnavigation in their Nordhavn 46 Kanaloa, and their third overall, in a party at the company’s Dana Point, California headquarters. The couple arrived in Dana Point last week to complete the latest global tour, a three-year expedition. The Hass’s N46 has accumulated 4,839 [...]
Nordic Tugs 49 Will Fill the Gap
BURLINGTON, Wa. – In the 1990s, a 32-footer was the best seller in the Nordic Tugs line. The company added a 42 when it was time to expand – and learned a lesson in the balance. “It became apparent that the 10-foot jump in size was too much for some of our customers,” said [...]
New MarineNav PC Fits into Real People’s Boats
Not many of us have room for a big tower PC or rack computer system aboard our boats; and even those who do most likely wish they could use the storage space for something else. Take heart, fellow boater. MarineNav, of Canada, has finally done what many electronics companies could have done for recreational boaters [...]
Birds Above; Birds Below and Blues in the Bag
Yesterday was one of those increasingly rare days in my life when I get both of my daughters to myself for a whole day and we get to spend it on the water. Allie and Emily gave me a fishing charter day for Father’s Day and we decided to hire a captain I’ve just finished [...]
Leadership by Example?
One recent evening I was at a popular overlook near the mouth of a river that empties into Long Island Sound, watching with many others as a Bay Constable boat (unidentified to protect the guilty) attempted to attach a flashing light to the top of a locally maintained red buoy. The Constable Himself was behind the [...]
