Captivated by Cape May

Living in New Jersey means I have more than 100 miles of coastline to enjoy. And I definitely enjoyed myself last weekend along the state's southernmost coastline: Cape May. I took the photo above during HarborFest, a celebration of the city's proximity to and relationship with the sea. As you can see, there were plenty of booths, and of course there was plenty of seafood. (I'm still waxing poetic to friends and family about the scallop wrap I had for lunch there. Three words: to die for.) The evening before I arrived, there was even a blessing-of-the-waters ceremony and a rededication of a beautiful memorial to local fishermen who've been lost at sea.

A lot of the activity during HarborFest took place in and around the Nature Center, which offered everything from hands-on learning exhibits for kids to eco-kayak tours. And coincidentally, a big group of Sea Ray owners were enjoying a rendezvous at South Jersey Marina, just a few blocks away, so they mixed and mingled with the rest of us.

Look for more information about Cape May in my story appearing in our December issue's special destinations section.

Mega Madness

We just wrapped up "The Power & Motoryacht 100," our annual compendium of the largest private yachts in the world, which you'll be seeing in your mailbox in about a month's time. Until then, I thought I could whet your appetite for what's become our most popular issue with some more video footage of these mega-beauties. Here's one I found on YouTube, shot on New Year's Eve. You'll get good looks at Lone Ranger, Rising Sun, and particularly Octopus.

You'll also see Mine Games—which despite being a healthy 164 feet LOA is a good 40 feet too small for the list.

Enjoy!

Sigma Sighting

Okay, so the music in this video is a bit much, but there's something undeniably hypnotic about it in combination with the singular (and yes, even strange) styling of the yacht Sigma showcased. Unless you've been living under a rock or have somehow otherwise escaped the Internet insanity, you'll recall that Sigma is one of the most hotly debated and highly anticipated megayacht deliveries of the year. People either applaud or are appalled by her design. Personally it ain't my cup of tea, but then again, if I were building a custom yacht, I'd make sure she truly embraced every definition of "custom."

Watch the video, and let me know what you think of her. You'll also find out more about Sigma when our August issue arrives in your mailbox, since she's on our Power & Motoryacht 100 list of the world's largest yachts.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

As I write this, the entire Power & Motoryacht staff has gathered in beautiful Newport, Rhode Island, for our annual strategy meetings—except we're not out on the water, we're indoors. In conference rooms. Without windows.

But it's actually a good thing, because for the past two days, it's been raining cats and dogs. And in general, these strategy meetings turn out to be great for us and for you, so you can imagine how much more productive we'll be without distractions of boats bobbing on the water. We're brainstorming new article ideas and designs, new content for our Web site, etc. In fact, a big focus this week is the redesign we're planning for powerandmotoryacht.com.

The powers that be are keeping us editors pretty busy through Friday, so we likely won't get a chance to blog much. But know that when we're back, we'll have more to share with you.

That is, if we can get home without having to build an ark first...

Icon-ic Build

If you've received a copy of the new May issue of Power & Motoryacht, no doubt you've read the "Design Portfolio" about a relatively new megayacht builder, Icon Yachts. Icon is a Dutch yard that, among other things, is constructing yachts on a modular basis and with set hull forms and machinery-space layouts. These, the yard's management firmly believes, speed up build time and result in other efficiencies.

Yet another example of the efficiencies: Every hole down to 15mm was already cut in the steel of these 62-meter vessels, Hull nos. 1 and 2, when the hull plates were cut, instead of waiting until the structure was assembled.

Meanwhile, work on Hull no. 3 is underway at one of Icon's subcontractors.

In the Middle of Nowhere

Tired of fighting crowds of boats at the local anchorage or waterfront pub? Want to really get away from it all? Then do what I did and head for The Sea of Cortez. The Moorings has a base in La Paz, at the southern end of the Sea from which you can charter--bareboat or captained—a very well-equipped 44-foot power catamaran. The scenery is unbelievably striking, like a lunar landscape surrounded by the bluest water you can imagine. And there's virtually no other boats there.

To give you some idea of just how untouched this area is, check out this video. I shot it from the top of a tiny islet called Isla Coyote (excuse the feet), on which 20 to 30 fishermen somehow live. How's that for an unspoiled vista? Right at the beginning you'll see a small, white building. That's the island's church. Right after that you'll get a quick look at our charter boat off in the distance, and then at the end you'll see a small outboard-powered panga. It belongs to the fishermen, who are headed out to get us a lobster. The cost? About $10 for a 12-pounder.

Look for a feature story with lots of photos in the July issue of PMY.

Fit for a Prince

In what the spokesman of Clarence House is calling an attempt to cut carbon emissions, Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, have opted to travel around on their junket to the Caribbean aboard a yacht instead of by plane the Associated Press reported today. Although the spokesman said the trip aboard the yacht would “advance...environmental protection,” we all know that it’s simply the best way to island hop.

The couple’s tour includes Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, the active volcano of Montserrat, and Jamaica. They’ll be taken to the places aboard Leander, the 245-footer owned by British businessman Donald Gosling and built by Germany’s Peenewerft Shipyard.

Leander was ranked #42 in our 2007 edition of PMY’s World’s 100 Largest Yachts. The charter price for the Prince and Duchess was undisclosed, but according to our guide to PMY's World’s Most Expensive Charter Yachts, Leander is tied for 8th place at $566,463 a week. For an interactive map of the deck plans of Leander, click here.

Cover Me

Wait 'til my Dad hears about this: If you've secretly wanted your boat to grace the cover of Power & Motoryacht but didn't know how we made our decisions (or figured your bribes to us just weren't good enough), here's your chance to make your baby a star.

We're now offering custom covers to readers like you. By clicking the PMY Custom Covers bar on the left side of our homepage, you'll find easy directions for uploading a photo of your boat. We then give you a handful of cover blurbs to choose from, if you can't decide what to write. And we'll even frame it for you, so you can hang the cover in your home or onboard.

Easy? Definitely. Just don't tell my father—I'm surprising him with one for his birthday next month.

The Silver Bullet

In a literal flash, this center console sportfish boat may be here and gone. Jay Perrotta, who founded the successful Black Lab Marine, a builder of plate-alloy, outboard-powered boats from 23 to 29 feet, has recently partnered with Phil Hulsizer, founder of Welding Services, to start a new boat company called Rock Salt Boats. The first launch from the fledgling venture is the 34-foot, plate-alloy speedster you see here, the Rock Salt 34 CC.

The marine-grade-aluminum-alloy-constructed vessel is designed for the hardcore offshore angler and will be matched with twin four-stroke Suzuki power. Rock Salt's founder describes the 34 as having "the heart of a Navy attack boat, the soul of a Coast Guard rescue boat, and the brains of today's large offshore capable center consoles..." Some the 34's standard features include: T-top, 50- and 30-gallon livewells, 150-gallon in-deck fishbox, 2/nine-foot in-deck rod stowage lockers, rigging station, and more. Options include triple outboards, painted hull, underwater lights, tower, and outriggers, to name a few.

Desirable Destination

It's always a thrill to receive a letter from a reader when he/she likes something you've written. This morning I had just that experience when Mark Allen of the Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May, New Jersey, e-mailed me to say how much he enjoyed my November "Megayachts" column, in which I urge yacht owners to expand their horizons and explore places other than the same spots they go to year after year.

Here's what Mark had to say:

We’ve been actively trying to entice the larger motor yachts to visit our marina here in Cape May for the past couple of years. We can handle up to three in the 110’ range at one time and have plenty of water underneath. And we have a great town for both crews and owners as well as a year-round service facility at our nearby sister marina.

But we can’t seem to get the "desirable destination" message out.

Consider the word out, Mark. As for you yacht owners: Consider yourselves educated. Being a Jersey girl, I can attest to how beautiful Cape May is. A few of our other editors have been there, too. And if any of you have, feel free to share your knowledge here.

Serenity at Sea

Last weekend I was the first journalist to not only see Lazzara Yachts’ new flagship, a 116 christened Serenity, but also to take a ride on her, from Fort Lauderdale to Miami. And what a ride it was: Mother Nature threw lots of messy four- to six-footers at us, with a few eight-footers tossed in clearly for the heck of it, thanks to northeasterly winds gusting in excess of 20 knots. Now, while some of you may be groaning and/or mimicking the same nauseated expressions my friends and family did when I relayed this information, trust me when I say that my normally iffy stomach in these situations wasn’t the least bit disturbed. Thanks to the stabilizers doing their job and Lazzara’s in-house design team, the yacht’s captain comfortably ran us at 21 knots for about an hour and a half. (And I even fell asleep for about 30 minutes of it—seriously. But don’t tell my boss I was sleeping on the job.)

Serenity, which I photographed above during her christening in Fort Lauderdale, will be at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show next week. If you don’t get a chance to see her, look for my feature article in the January issue of Power and Motoryacht.

Two Rescued, Four Crew Still Missing

The captain and crew of the charter boat Be Cool went missing last week shortly after leaving with a charter, CNN reported earlier today. The vessel, a 47-foot sportfishermen, "made several erratic movements before heading south" about halfway into her voyage, according to the vessel's global positioning system (GPS). The boat was found floating 160-miles south of Bimini. The captain, Jake Branam, his wife Kelly Branam, and two crew members, Scott Campbell and Sammy Cary, are among the missing.

The Coast Guard reports it has rescued two of the six missing boaters. The names of the rescued are Guillermo Zarabozo and Kirby Archer. Archer is being investigated, as he has the same name as a man who stole over $90,000 from an Arkansas Wal-Mart back in January. Foul play has not been ruled out.

According to Coast Guard reports, family members reported Joe Cool overdue at approximately 5:45 p.m. Sunday after the vessel failed to return to Miami Beach Marina. The crew of the 110-foot cutter Pea Island found the vessel late Sunday. The cutter's crew said the abandoned vessel was in disarray with the life-raft missing.

Zarabozo and Archer were found by an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter approximately 12 miles north of that location and taken to the cutter Confidence. The Coast Guard immediately began searching with a HC-130 aircraft from Elizabeth City, N.C., the Cutter Confidence, the Cutter Pea Island and an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Miami deployed to the Confidence.

Cruise With a President

Well, sort of. This Friday marks the first of a few opportunities that wine enthusiasts will get to experience cruising aboard the famous Presidential yacht Potomac.

The "Floating White House," as the yacht has been nicknamed for some time, has hosted San Francisco Harbor tours and special events for a few years. But she's no dinner cruises ship; she's a registered National Historic Landmark and maintained as a memorial to FDR, who entertained dignitaries and family alike onboard.

The wine tasting, called the Foggy Bridge Wine Cruise, will showcase selections from northern and central California, but of course still allowing attendees to learn about the yacht. The Foggy Bridge Web site, mindful that some people may never have been aboard a boat, wisely states that everyone should wear proper shoes and even adds, "dress as if you are having Sunday brunch with the President on his yacht."

If you can't make the cruise, you can learn more about Potomac by picking up a copy of the November issue of Power & Motoryacht, which hits mailboxes and newsstands in mid-October. Potomac is included in our annual exclusive feature "America's 100 Largest Yachts."

PMY Podcasts

If you've poked around our Web site lately, you may have noticed we're now featuring podcasts. If you haven't, you're in for a treat. Simply enter "podcast" in the search box at the top of the homepage, and you'll see the lineup we have so far. (You can also download them from iTunes; search for "Power and Motoryacht.") There's my interview with Feadship's Henk De Vries about a new concept project Royal De Vries has in the works, and there's Capt. Bill Pike speaking with Volvo Penta's Clint Moore about a new facility the engine company is building to address the big-yacht and even megayacht markets.

In the next few weeks, we'll have even more. Those of you who enjoy reading "At Sea" will hear a recent column come to life, courtesy of Pike himself, and you'll hear Kim Kavin, our resident charter expert and owner/operator of Charterwave, give advice on how to find a reputable charter broker for your next on-the-water vacation.

Stay tuned!

Good Enough to Eat

Every now and then, when Richard Thiel deems our behavior worthwhile of a reward (such as being permitted to leave our cubicles to see sunshine), we here at Power & Motoryacht kick back and relax. We did that earlier this week, to celebrate the release of our annual August issue article "The World's 100 Largest Yachts," now known as the Power & Motoryacht 100. It's a big attention-getter each year, and it's already being noticed by the likes of Dow Jones' Marketwatch.

So what better way to celebrate than by diving into the all-chocolate cake pictured here? Even the cleat and anchor were edible. It didn't last too long with this crowd (not that we're sugar addicts or anything...). Custom-created by Craving Something Sweet, it mimicked our August cover.

If you haven't gotten your issue yet, what are you waiting for? Run, don't walk, to your local bookstore, or log on to our Web site to see who's #1 (and even #100).

Boating "Baby" Seeks Advice

Do you remember your first time on a boat? Mine happened when I was 11, snorkeling in Cancun. I spent a whole five minutes on the tiny thing before I was instructed to jump into the water to see the fishies. So the boat itself didn’t matter; we used it as if it were a U-Haul. And even now I know nothing about boats, except that they’re “designed to float on, and promote transport over, water.” (That’s what Wikipedia says.) I’m even fascinated by their ability to stay afloat (seriously, isn’t it astonishing that a massive 150-footer doesn’t sink, but a penny does?).

In any case, I’m new to the paradoxical world of boats, but I hope the question mark I have in my head won’t be there for long. I’m an editorial intern for Power & Motoryacht this summer, and I made a promise to myself that I’ll “dive into” this area of interest for the roughly two months that I’m here (pardon the cheesy, please).

I’m glad that I have an opportunity to be a sponge right now and absorb anything and everything I can about marine life. How many times do you get to be a sponge in life and not get made fun of (unless you’re SpongeBob Squarepants)? Anyways, I’m excited to be here, especially because the very nice people at Power & Motoryacht are taking me out on the company boat, a Cranchi Atlantique 50 christened Office Ours, at the end of July. I want to pretend that my first time on a boat will be then, and I want it to be special.

What was your first time like? Please share, and don’t be afraid to divulge the intimate details, because I know, just from being here for two short weeks, that the relationship avid boaters have with their significant boats is sacred, their first time aboard memorable, and their appetite for more time with their love insatiable.

Downeast Diva

Hard by Maine's Somes Sound, John Williams Boat Company is one of several Mount Desert Island boatbuilders featured in the May 2007 PMY article “Boatbuilding, Downeast Style.” As the image above shows, the builder’s latest launch, Survivor, is a looker; she’s a Stanley 36, named for its designer Lyford Stanley. Her exterior is reminiscent of a lobster boat but with lots of teak: teak pilothouse sides, a teak trunk cabin, and teak grab rails on the pilothouse and foredeck all compliment her black hull. Also note the teak butterfly hatch on the foredeck.

She’s powered by a single 440-hp Yamnar diesel mated to an Evolution Company marine shaft system; according to Williams boat company, she's reportedly capable of a 18-knot (20.7 mph) cruise speed and a top end of 22 knots (25.3 mph). More info on Survivor is available on the company's Web site.

Lady Moura Runs Aground at Cannes

Lady Moura, a 344-foot yacht owned by Saudi billionaire Nasser al-Rashid, ran aground this past weekend off Cannes, France.

The Blohm + Voss-built boat, #10 on Power & Motoryacht’s World’s 100 Largest Yachts, reportedly hit a partially submerged rocky outcropping: Authorities quickly closed two nearby beaches, fearing that a fuel spill would reach shore. Lady Moura was later seen being pulled off the rocks by a tug or salvage boat, and two holes could seen in her bottom, according to news reports.

Yachtspotting in the BVI

The first week of May was more like Megayacht Mania Week at the famed Bitter End Yacht Club, where the PMY staff gathered for our annual staff meeting. In fact, so many famous yachts visited the waters of North Sound in Virgin Gorda that a turnstile should have been put in place. You're looking at the Westport Resolute (above) and the Christensen Thirteen (the ex-Barchetta, below).

Also spotted that week: the Benetti Domani, the Feadship Gallant Lady and the Broward Lady Francis IV . If I'd had a dollar for each time someone asked me, "Which yacht is that?" I'd own one instead of simply write about them.

Racing at Bitter End: It ain't over 'til the cooler's empty!

PMY's annual sales and edit meeting was held last week at the Bitter End Yacht Club (BEYC) on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. This is the second year in a row that we have been welcomed with open arms at the renowned sailing destination, regardless of our penchant for diesel. Who says blow boaters and stink potters can't get along?

BEYC sailing instructors even tried to convert us with a five-minute crash course in sailing followed by a regatta onboard the resort's fleet. Chaos ensued of course, but considering there were no collisions or MOBs, it was deemed a success.

The winning team included (from left to right) ad sales rep David Parkinson, senior editor Ken Kreisler, ad sales rep Joe Illes, and video & creative manager John Turner. They may have won the regatta, but they never do seem to let that cooler run empty at the BEYC—so I guess the race is still on!