Tabla de contenidos para November/December 2022 en PassageMaker

While heading to the boatyard recently with a friend whose passagemaker needed a long list of work, I was reminded of what can go wrong without warning. We undid the starboard bow and spring lines, and I noticed an old ratty nylon line tied to the forward piling in an empty slip. I hung it on a nail to dry as I recalled once having my propeller, at another boatyard, churn up a piece of abandoned old line that stalled the engine (luckily, while I was close to the haul-out well). Boatyard trips are a necessary part of ownership to keep your vessel safe and sound, as well as to protect the value of your investment. Losing access to your boat for days or weeks, while running up a sizable…

THE CANNES YACHTING FESTIVAL is fun for a lot of reasons. The weather is usually good, and often perfect. Cannes is the first event of the fall show season, so everyone is happy to be there. And, there are boats—so many boats—to step aboard and learn about. This year at Cannes, I found myself standing next to a distinguished-looking gentleman whom I almost recognized, but not quite. His name badge revealed that he was Germán Frers, the well-known Argentinian yacht designer. We were aboard one of his latest projects: the Sirena 78. Throughout the years, his studio has designed breathtaking superyachts, groundbreaking racing sailboats, jet-drive sports cruisers, and pretty much everything in between. The Sirena 78 is his third model for the Turkish shipyard. The yacht has a semi-displacement shape…

Temperate, crystal-clear waters to swim in with palm-fringed, white-sand beaches to stroll. An archipelago of more than 300 unspoiled islands to explore. The painted face and bangled arm of a Kuna woman selling the intricate stitched artwork of her ancestors, representing an indigenous community that repelled colonization, banned international development and has held firmly to its traditional roots. The San Blas Islands are living history, a different world from the remainder of the Caribbean cruising grounds. Located along the Caribbean coast of northern Panama, the San Blas Islands stretch 100 miles between Colombia and the Gulf of San Blas. The majority are small, uninhabited islets and cays, and the 49 inhabited islands are generally occupied by no more than a family or two, living on land passed down through the…

So many of our life experiences these days involve leaving home with a simple task in mind, only to be bombarded with thousands of stimuli that distract us. I often find that, when running errands, I completely forget my reasons for going to the market in the first place, or I come out with a basket full of stuff that I neither needed nor intended to buy. Now, imagine the life of a boat designer and the origin of a new design. Most typically, we are hired to respond to the wants and needs of our customers. That approach to design is quite linear, as the only true task is taking what is in the customer’s mind and translating it to paper. But there is another way to approach the…

With its sporty line of well-engineered, joystick-piloted flybridge and sedan cruisers, Prestige Yachts has earned its place as a pivotal brand among Groupe Beneteau’s constellation of offerings. A few years ago, the Les Herbiers, France-based builder pushed monohull boundaries with the X70, a high-volume, widebody yacht with an interior volume that defied what seemed plausible within its length overall. Now, Prestige is entering the multihull arena with the M48 power catamaran, which again aims to increase interior and exterior volumes—this time, working with a 19-foot, 8-inch beam. “We have a good understanding of what the market wants,” says Product Marketing Manager Rosalie Le Gall. “Owners want more space, [and] comfort is key. Responding to the wishes of today’s clients [and] rethinking it from scratch, we addressed the trend, and that…

A couple nearing retirement—weekend cruisers on board smaller boats all their lives—were ready to do some longer cruises. After a few false starts and boats that didn’t live up to their listings, the couple found what they believed was the perfect boat. They set up a survey with a highly recommended surveyor and made plans for the boat to be hauled. From the dock, everything looked perfect, but as the boat was hauled, the sun glistened on the bottom. They saw blisters. The couple began contemplating whether it was worth it to pursue the boat. Buying or selling a boat can be exciting, but stressful. The seller wants to present his boat in the best light for a quick sale, while the buyer doesn’t want to get stuck with a…

When I first signed on to write this column, my first action (after jumping up and down and cheering) was to look at what is known in the magazine biz as a media kit. In this, Passagemaker explains (to potential advertisers) who you readers are. Based on extensive research, you’re avid cruisers, average age 67, 88 percent of you are boat owners, and 80 percent of you have more than two decades of boating experience. You’re clearly old enough for this. This idea came about because my wife and I were enjoying a leisurely lunch at a waterfront bistro near our home, so I was already in a romantic mood. As I sipped my umpteenth Bloody Mary, I heard a strange sound coming across the water. “What’s that?” she asked.…

The success of the Autobahn and high-speed motorways in Europe has proved that going fast in a car is not inherently dangerous by itself. On the Autobahn, the majority of vehicles are traveling at the same or similar speeds. According to the Federal Highway Research Institute, among other factors, “disparity of speed is a contributing cause of accidents on U.S. interstates and highways.” In other words, fast vehicles and slow vehicles occupying the same roadway at the same time significantly increases the risk of accidents. This condition also exists with boats on the water, but can be even worse because of the way water moves around boats and ships. One of the places where fast and slow boats are frequently in close proximity is along the Intracoastal Waterway during seasonal…

New Zealand’s maritime heritage is grounded in strength, and for good reason. The tempestuous Tasman Sea and unrelenting westerlies off the Southern Pacific Ocean batter the country, with the disheveled Cook Strait bisecting the two main islands. Craft that frequent these waters need to be able to tame the strong Roaring Forties winds, and then some. These conditions have inspired everything from Kiwi explorer Sir Edmund Hillary’s adventures to the roof of the world, to the carbon-fiber, foiling monohulls of the reigning America’s Cup champions. They also inspired New Zealand builder Circa Marine’s latest series of explorer yachts, co-developed by Circa and LOMOcean Design. Based in Whangarei on the country’s North Island, about 100 miles north of Auckland, Circa Marine has been building all-aluminum commercial vessels, production boats and other…