More on Ethanol

In the January issue of Power & Motoryacht, Capt. Patrick Sciacca chronicled two boaters’ adventures with ethanol gasoline (Encounters With Ethanol). In 2003, several states switched from traditional methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to a fuel blend containing 10 percent ethanol (E10)—with many arguing that the move will help reduce our dependency on foreign oil. However, Sciacca’s article detailed how E10 can also erode fiberglass fuel tanks and rubber hoses.

Now the Marine Retailers Association of America (MRAA) has taken a stand on the issue. Its board of directors recently approved a resolution supporting “all efforts to retain current federal ethanol gasoline additive standards of E10 and oppose any attempts to increase additive levels beyond that level due to the destructive nature of ethanol to marine engine systems and the resulting safety considerations to vessel passengers.”

The resolution was one of several given to the MRAA by the Advisory Council of Marine Associations at MRAA’s annual convention this past November.

Pat Logue takes WBS Grand Championship

Pat Logue took the World Billfish Series Grand Championship last week, winning himself a bronze Grander Marlin trophy by marine artist Geoffrey Smith, a custom gold champion’s ring, the keys to a new 2009 Mercedes C-300 automobile, and the title of WBS World Champion of Billfishing.

Logue, from Cape Coral, Florida, was fishing out of Costa Rica aboard his 74-foot Viking Convertible First Strike. The top angler managed 1,000 points with two blue marlin and two sailfish releases.

In second place was Napa, California, angler Larry Drivon, fishing aboard the 42-foot Maverick, Dragin’ Fly. Drivon released six sailfish on the final day to score 600 points, taking home a custom crystal trophy and a custom Joseph Henry timepiece.

Finding third place was Costa Rica’s native son and the 2007 WBS World Champion, Mainor Oporto.

Newport Yachts 71

Here is the Newport Yachts' 71SS4 going through sea trials this week in Taiwan. The planing-hull-designed 71 is equipped with Quad Volvo IPS engines/drives. According to the builder, the quad engines burned 40 gph at 31 knots (35.65 mph). At 20 knots (23 mph), the fuel burn was reported to be 17 gph. Top speed was just under 32 knots (36.8 mph) and there's still some prop tweaking to take place,which could add another knot or two to the top end of this big cruiser.

This solid-fiberglass-bottomed boat is built to meet ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) specifications and to ISO9001 standards to assure a consistent level of quality control.

Itchin' to go Fishin'?

It may be getting cold in many parts of the country, but the Florida Keys is heating up on the fishing front. And to prove it, the 45th-Annual Islamorada Sailfish Tournament will take place next month. So before you pick up that snow shovel, maybe you should pick up a plane ticket and head to the sportfishing capital of the world for a little kite-flying, fish-flying action.

The 45th-Annual Islamorada Sailfish Tournament will kick-off on December 4. Fishing takes place December 5-7. The Islamorada Sailfish Tournament is a light-tackle tournament using 12-pound test line.

Entry fee for the first angler is $600.00 and $500.00 for each additional angler. Junior anglers under the age of 16 can enter for $200.00. All winning anglers and winning crews receive a trophy. The tournament also has trophies for Most Outstanding Catch other than a sailfish, largest tuna, king mackerel and dolphin.

The Whale Harbor Inn and Marina will host the event. Whether you are a seasoned angler or just wish to hook a billfish for thrill of a lifetime, the Islamorada Sailfish Tournament is a great way to do so. The gala awards dinner on Sunday night at Whale Harbor's new Braza Lena Brazilian Steak House culminates with trophies and prizes for the tournament winners.

The Islamorada Sailfish Tournament is the first leg of the Florida Keys Gold Cup Sailfish Championship. The The Gold Cup series includes the Cheeca Lodge Presidential Sailfish Tournament and the Islamorada Fishing Clubs Sailfish Tournament. The Gold Cup Series has a limited entry of 30 boats. Space is still available for the Gold Cup Series. Check out all the information under Florida Keys Gold Cup at www.islamoradasailfishtournament.com.

Driver Survives Wicked Crash

The Associated Press offered up this footage of a driver losing control of his boat last week in San Diego while preparing for a race in Mission Bay.

Viking's Latest and Largest

Viking Yachts has launched its largest sportfisherman to date, an 82-footer destined to prowl the deep.

This battlewagon sports more than 21 feet of beam and 235 square feet of cockpit space, which includes mezzanine seating. Her girth enables the builder to provide a wide-open saloon with teak joinery throughout the interior. There's an L-shape here with stowage below as well as a 52-inch plasma TV, which rises from cabinetry on the starboard side. In addition, galley countertops are all done in granite. The 82 features four staterooms, plus a private crew quarters.

Other features include cockpit misters, built-in under-mount freezers, tackle and gear stowage, insulated fiberglass livewells, fish wells, and stowage, all of which are equipped with stainless steel gas strut supports.

The flying bridge has a center helm console, which is outfitted with three Murray Products ladderback helm chairs. Steering is power-assisted hydraulic with electronic engine controls and trolling valves.

The Viking 82 Convertible is powered with MTU Series 2000 diesels and should cruise around 30 knots (34.5 mph) and a top end around the mid-30-knot range (40 mph).

Sunreef 70 Powercat

Sunreef Yachts in Gdansk, Poland, recently launched its first powercat, a resin-infused 70-footer.

According to the builder, this catamaran can be powered by twin 870-hp diesels engines, which should help the vessel top out at 30 knots (34.5 mph). However, if you're into long-range cruising, the 70 can also be outfitted with smaller 370-hp diesels, which provide a cruise speed of 12 knots(13.8 mph). Her range at 15 knots is said to be 4,000 NM.

This cruiser sports more than 500 square feet of living space as well as a sizable flying bridge, which, in addition to an upper helm (there's a lower helm, too), offers areas for lounging and dining. The cockpit is the centerpiece of the 70's entertaining space with 320 square feet of party platform.

There's also a lounge with a bar, and a staircase leads to the galley and guest cabins within the hulls.

Shark Gives Surfer Free Ride

An Australian surfer working the waves accidentally hitched a ride with a shark. Somehow, the ten-foot-long sharp-toothed sea creature (species unknown) got caught up in the line that attached the surfer's ankle to his board. As a result, the toothy critter, now turned tow boat, started dragging the surprised man out to sea, rapidly.

According to a report from the Associated Press, "John Morgan, a 51-year-old surf shop owner from the east coast tourist town of Byron Bay, compared his terrifying 170-foot ride off a local beach to being towed by a jet ski."

Shortly after the unexpected thrill ride started, the shark was freed from the line and disappeared into the depths, the report states.

Gemini 52 SuperSport-Meilahn Custom Yachts

There's a new (power)cat on the block.

Stuart, Florida-based Meilahn Custom Yachts will launch its Gemini SuperSport Powercat line at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, October 29-November 3.

The builder says, "The idea was to build an American-made shallow-draft vessel, customized to each buyer’s wishes, with a power-cat hull system offering zero interruption to the interior design with a wider than usual beam."

The 52-footer sports 52'0" LOA with a 19'3" beam. Her girth enables a two-stateroom, two-head layout with a full galley, and a saloon that seats up to eight guests. Topside there's a dinette area for six, dual helm hairs, expansive cockpit seating for many and a hot-tub.

Her propulsion system utilizes two Arneson Surface Drives (ASD 12), powered by two turbo-charged Yanmar 900-hp diesels. The builder reports that the Gemini 52 can reach cruising speeds between 27 and 45 mph at 1800 to 2200 rpm, with a top speed over 50 mph at 2400 rpm.

The 52's exterior and interior design comes courtesy of well-known designer Steve French and his company, Applied Concepts Unleashed. Her hull and superstructure is built of composite fiberglass, corecell, and carbon fiber.

The Gemini 52 SuperSport can be found in Slip # G-730 at the Lauderdale Show. The company says it plans to build its line of yachts up to 91 feet.

Big Squall, Bigger Fish

When the crew of MJ's headed out during the recent Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Tournament, these anglers went looking for that leaderboard-leading fish. Well, they did that: a 129-pound tuna to be exact,which secured the team first place in that division. But the catch wasn't without some challenges. You see, just as the fish hit the squall line you see here descended upon MJ's. The result was a fish battle during 60-mph winds and rain. In the end, the crew weathered the storm and nabbed the tuna, the crew's fourth first-place finish in seven years at this event.

Big Blue

A pending North Carolina Atlantic Blue Marlin record was caught by angler Trey Irvine onboard the Mimi last week. Capt. Paul Spencer ( Spencer Yachts) was the helm.

The massive 1,228.50-pound Atlantic Blue Marlin was weighed in at Pirate's Cove Marina during its annual billfish tournament.

When certified, this catch will eclipse the 1,142 pounder caught by Jack Herrington in 1974. The world record Atlantic Blue Marlin weighing 1,402.20-pounder was caught in Brazil in 1992.

Azimut's Getaway, Atlantic City

Azimut Yachts recently held a getaway for its owners at Trump Marina. In total, about 30 boats and their owners and families showed up for a fun weekend of boat hopping, cocktail parties, dinners and dancing, and a little fun at the tables.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the introduction of the new Azimut 50, equipped with the Seakeeper Gyro, which is a device that reduces roll. I had a chance to take the 50 out and test the device. It works quite well, and it's a nice option for Azimut enthusiasts. Another highlight of the weekend was the 116-foot Vivere owned by Phil Rinaldi. Phil was nice enough to give PMY a tour of this outstanding vessel.

And...Action!

Pat Ford is one of those action-sports photographers that not only catches great in-motion, in-the-moment images, but can really put you there through the lense. Here are some recent shots he sent PMY's way, while covering the tarpon season with Capt. Rick Murphy.

What You Want, What You Get

Oftentimes when shopping for a boat, the initial plan of what we want can morph into something a little larger and more intricate than we originally intended. And when building a boat, modifications made from the original plans are called change orders. Well, this boater seems to have taken the idea of stepping up from the plan to heart. As you can see by the names of his "big" boat (Change Order) and the "tender" (Original Contract). We at PMY like the way this boater is thinking.

Behemoth Battlewagon!

This massive 86-foot fish chaser, which was designed by Applied Concepts Unleashed and built in Stuart, Florida, has been three years in the making.

PMY has done a little investigating, and here's some of the juicy info about this vessel, which is called Double Down:

More than a dozen companies were used to construct sections of this jig-built boat.

She has triple 2,400-hp MTU diesels. There are two outside engines, which are V-drive fixed shaft with wheels. The center motor is linked to a massive water jet.

Double Down is reported to top out at 47 knots (54 mph)with full load and cruise at 37 knots (42.5 mph). Her displacement is 185,000 pounds.

Futuristic dash (Company Called Voyager Systems did the technology for the
boat). The pilot’s Italian leather helm chair has a lot of the electronics integrated in the arms.

There are five flat screens make up the dash across the bridge.

The radar array swings inside the mono tower wings you see here. The antennas are in 20-foot-long tubes that follow the contours of the tower, with little lightning caps on top. You can actually pop off the caps and pull antennas. Everything was laid inside the composite of the boat

Monolithic tower (mast-like structure) with buggy top. The owner has kids and he wanted kids to go up tower safely, so he had the team build a retracting ladder into the tower. Press a button, ladder lowers out of headliner and you can climb up.

There are six staterooms (talk about room for the family).

Stay tuned as we try and get you a full feature on this very-different boat in an upcoming issue of PMY.

Shark Week Is Coming

Ok all you fans of these sleek-swimming and sometimes snaggletoothed fishes, Shark Week is back at Discovery Channel this month. Everything you ever wanted to know (or didn't), about these phenoms of evolution will be covered during this annual homage.

Here are a few of the week's highlights:

MYTHBUSTERS: SHARK SPECIAL
Premieres Sunday, July 27, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Get a reminder.
Using their signature sci-tech style of explosive experimentation, the MythBusters hit the deep blue from California to the Bahamas to investigate myths about sharks. They are honing in on some doozies this year: Are sharks repelled by magnets? Do dogs attract sharks? Do the vibrations caused by a flapping injured fish attract sharks? Does chili powder repel sharks? And hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman create the ultimate SHARK WEEK build—a 16-foot-long robo-shark!

SURVIVING SHARKS
Premieres Monday, July 28, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Survivorman's Les Stroud hosts this look at how best to play it safe in the water, while testing popular theories of how to survive shark encounters. Les travels to the Bahamas and South Africa to test whether the behavior of Caribbean reef sharks and great whites changes depending upon the time of day. While in South Africa, Les and marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan conduct an analysis of the great white's bite, and test whether kicking and splashing attracts sharks, and if it's safer to stay in a group or tread water alone if stranded in the ocean.

DAY OF THE SHARK
Premieres Monday, July 28, at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Do shark encounters happen more frequently in the morning or night? This special chronicles six recent shark attacks that took place at different times of day. Top shark experts weigh in on what time of day is better or worse for avoiding sharks.

DIRTY JOBS: SHARK SPECIAL
Premieres Tuesday, July 29, at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
With over 400 species of sharks, they don't all live in the warm waters of the tropics —some inhabit the freezing cold waters of the Arctic. And who better to introduce viewers to one our planet's most unsung sharks than DIRTY JOBS' Mike Rowe, who travels north to the edge of the Arctic Circle in search of the mysterious Greenland shark. These large sharks are slow-moving behemoths, and learning more about them will help scientists understand the rapid ecological changes affecting that part of the world, and how the Greenland shark impacts the food chain there.

Mike assists shark scientists with their research as they tag and release a large male Greenland shark. By the end of the trip, Mike gains a deep appreciation for the men and women who are studying this elusive shark in one of the most extreme climates known to humankind.

Make a List, Check It Twice

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but if something is yours, people shouldn't take it. Nevertheless, a boater in my area was recently fishing 100 miles plus offshore before he discovered his easily accessible five-man life raft was gone. Someone had broken into the boat and stole it earlier in the week. Putting aside the $5,000-plus replacement cost for a minute, this boater and his crew could have been at serious risk as a result of not having that life raft onboard, especially 100 miles from nowhere.

While this raft is likely gone forever (except for the million-to-one shot by checking for-sale items on Craigslist and Ebay), it's worth noting that before you leave the dock making a routine checklist of must-have onboard items, is a just a good idea.

Launched: Paul Mann 76

One of North Carolina's most well-respected custom boatbuilders, Paul Mann, launched his largest vessel to date, a 76-footer, dubbed Ann Warrick. The green-hulled and teak-accented sportfisherman (she even has a matching custom tender that sits on the massive foredeck) is in the water and ready for her new owners. Be sure to keep an eye out for this behemoth battlewagon, she just might make an appearance at a tournament near you soon. And here at PMY, we'll be sure to do our best to see if we can give you a first-hand account of how she runs in the near future. Stand by.

The Mighty Viking

Here she is. Viking Yachts' latest and largest convertible sportfisherman to date, an 82-footer, is well on her way to being a completed boat. This vessel is sure to do some adventure angling to all the around-the-world hotspots in short order. The boat is slated to be powered with MTU Series 2000 diesels and should see a mid-30-knot top end speed with a comfortable 30-knot cruise. She also sports 235 square feet of fish-fighting cockpit space and should be available for viewing at the fall boat shows. Stay tuned for a PMY test of this behemoth battlewagon.

Take A Soldier Fishing

My brother Chip and I were honored to host two of our finest veterans from the 10th Mountain Division out on our 31 Ocean Master, Expeditor, this weekend as part of the Take A Soldier Fishing Program.

Sgt. Aaron, Specialist Dan, and the Sgt's sons Cody and Chance must've been good luck. We tried to put on a full-on effort for these guys, who do so much for all of us. The boys managed 10 bass, one keeper at 30 inches, and several bluefish (shark bait). The Sgt and Dan, who are both heading out for their second tour in October, were given the bass for dinner.

On day two, the group caught a whopping about 20 fluke and the kids had a ball.

We're already talking about a fall tuna trip when the boys get back from their next deployment in October 2009. Stay safe guys, and thank you for all you do. You'll always have a place to fish on Expeditor.

Here's a few pics that show what made the trip so special for us: Sgt. Aaron and his sons Chance and Cody.