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Our industry recently returned from its largest annual event: the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. I usually dread FLIBS — mostly because of its size. We’re talking in the neighborhood of 100,000 visitors, 1,500 boats and more than 1,000 exhibitors across seven locations that span 3 million square feet, with everything from 8-foot RIBs to the 257-foot Lurssen-built superyacht TV. So it’s important to breathe deeply, wear comfortable shoes, have a plan and pace yourself. Much to my surprise, this was the best FLIBS ever for me. New show producers had introduced colored and alphabetized zones to make getting around easier, and even as a FLIBS vet, I found that helpful. Also, the weather was delightful: clear skies, a steady but gentle breeze and air that was warm but devoid…
VHF YES-YES After reading in the December issue Capt. David J. Mahler’s “VHF No-No” letter in reply to the November letter “Bridge-to-Car Communications,” I wish to advise that the FCC has amended the rules for use of VHF radios on land. Refer to 47CFR Section 80.115 and the amendment adopted Aug. 30, 2016, which allows the use of handheld marine radios “only in areas adjacent to the water, such as docks and beaches.” In addition, as suggested by the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services and consistent with our requirements for offshore use, onshore communications using such radios must relate to the business needs of the associated vessel and be limited to the minimum practicable transmission time. It is now legal to call from land to your boat on the…
Southport Boats has added a dual console to its lineup of center consoles. The Southport 33 DC rides the same hull, designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates, as the Southport 33, 33 LX and 33 ST. The new boat has a bow lounge, an Lshaped cockpit lounge with an adjoining bench seat, and helm and companion seating abaft a windshield with centerline access forward. The enclosed helm area has a hardtop with a power sunroof and side panes of glass. The port console holds twin 6-foot berths, and the starboard console houses the head compartment The 33 DC is geared toward family cruising, but Southport is known for its fishing boats. Among the boat’s fishing features are a starboard hull-side door, twin 5-foot insulated fishboxes with insulated drains, a transom…
“This is a center truly worthy of the Ocean State,” said Rhode Island’s governor, Gina Raimondo. “The state-of-the-art, sustainable design will allow Sail Newport to bring the magical experience of being out on the water to more Rhode Islanders. In particular, the center will teach our younger generation that these natural resources are gifts we must protect and preserve for the future.” About 200 supporters attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, where Raimondo spoke in August, at Sail Newport’s new Mid- Park Marine Education and Recreation Center. They included Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; Janet Coit, director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management; and, of course, Sail Newport’s executive director, Brad Read. The 8,500-square-foot building in Fort Adams State Park meets the standards established by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design,…
ODE TO TICONDEROGA Designed by Bruce King and inspired by L. Francis Herreshoff’s Ticonderoga, Whitehawk’s 105-foot, cold-molded hull launched in 1978 from Rockland, Maine. This stately ketch has a three-stateroom, three-head layout with crew quarters. Lyman-Morse refitted her during the winter of 2010-11, replacing the teak decks and refurbishing the interior. Whitehawk’s towering Sitka spruce masts were refinished in 2017. She is listed through Sparkman & Stephens for $3.95 million. sparkmanstephens.com BUCKET AND CHUCK IT The 5-gallon-bucket: It’s the unsung hero of boat gear. These plastic companions hold scrubbing suds, stow tools and, ahem, are there when nature calls and there’s no onboard facility. The problem is that most buckets fail after a few years of use. Yeti, known for coolers that hold ice for ages, aims to solve that…
Learn more about lightships in this video: soundingsonline.com/boats/classic-boats For a vessel with such a big history, the lightship Ambrose looks surprisingly small. Perhaps it’s because South Street Seaport Museum has the 135-footer tied up across from the 325-foot iron-hulled Wavertree. Or maybe it’s because so many of us have forgotten just how large the Ambrose used to loom in the hearts and minds not only of Americans, but also of immigrants who came to New York Harbor from all around the world. A $4.5 million grant to begin restoring the Ambrose will help remind us of this lightship’s significance in U.S. history — with the work coming at a time when the national political discourse has many people wanting the stories of America’s immigrants brought back to the fore. She’s…
