Trawler Times News 

The Greatest Whale Show on Earth (Video), Oct. 15: The Atlantic Monterey witnessed an amazing show on Sunday when three humpback whales performed an extremely rare triple breach in Monterey Bay, CA.  And it was caught on video. WATCH IT

Betrayal in Georgia?​New Anchor Rules Appear Worse Than Ever, Oct. 13, 2020:  Back in 2018, the State of Georgia was in the process of enacting draconian anchoring restrictions, ostensibly designed to protect recreational and commercial shellfishing and other marine interests. ​Spurred to act, a coalition of boating groups sat down with Georgia officials and negotiated a better deal for their cruising constituents. Or at least they thought they had. Now Georgia has released final rules that are almost as bad as the originals, maybe even worse. READ MORE

First Covid, Now Anchor SNAFU: Shipwreck Scrap Plan Delayed Again, Oct. 10, 2020: Expected to begin this month, the dismantling and removal of the shipwrecked Golden Ray from the St. Simons Sound has been delayed once more, Unified Command announced earlier this week. The endeavor is on hold for at least several weeks due to engineering problems with a single stabilizing anchor for the massive crane vessel that will perform the demolition project’s heavy cutting and lifting. READ MORE

Chesapeake's Tangier Island: Enjoy It While You Can, Oct. 7, 2020: Tangier Island, listed on the U.S. National Registry of Historic Places, is a unique corner of past, present, and what little future it has left. The Virginia island may disappear someday if sea levels rise to what is expected to be too high. READ MORE

Boating Community Mourns Pied Piper of the Dismal Swamp (Video), Oct. 2, 2020: Robert Peek, lockmaster at Deep Creek on the Dismal Swamp Canal, was pronounced dead at about 3 a.m. on Oct. 1, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has confirmed. “Good natured,” “hospitable,” “legendary,” “beloved”—these are some of the words that precede the name of the late Robert Peek who was not just a lockmaster but “the world’s best conch player.” READ OUR TRIBUTE

Something Seems Squirrelly With GPS, U.S. Agency Says, Sept. 30: The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) is warniing mariners to be aware of possible interference to the global GPS signal. At the moment most examples have happened in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf regions and off the coast of China. MARAD urges mariners to exercise caution when operating underway and prior to getting underway. The U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center (NAVCEN) and NATO Shipping Center websites contain information regarding effective navigation practices for vessels experiencing GPS disruption. READ MORE

Navigating the ICW, Tips and Tricks from Rudy and Jill, Sept. 29, 2020: The authors of Anchoring: A Ground Tackler's Apprentice share their wisdom for transiting "The Ditch." READ MORE

TT35 Day at the 'Sausage Factory,' Sept. 22, 2020: The author was once quoted as saying that a visit to the Great Harbour manufacturing plant was like visiting a sausage factory. We're sure we heard him, but the truth is more general. Boat factories are factories; they're not medical centers. We're all making sausage, to be judged not by looking behind the bay door at a particular moment in time, but what comes out through it on delivery day.  At the moment the factory is humming, and three of Great Harbour's nicely spicey TT35 trailerables are moving closer to completion. TAKE A PHOTO TOUR

Trawler Versus Sail (Cat & Monohull) From Someone Who's Tried All Three, Sept. 21, 2020:  The comparison is often dismissed as an old-person versus young-person, apples-to-oranges argument. It’s assumed that a sailor will sail until his hands are too crippled to manage a line any longer, then buy a trawler that will sit dockside, until one day a dockmaster is notified of a disturbing smell coming from “that boat the old guy lives in.” But maybe there is more to it. For a quick background check on my credentials, let me just point out that Ali and I sailed around the world on our 35-foot  catamaran, and also spent a few years bopping around the West Coast of the U.S. and Mexico on a 43-foot monohull—thus giving myself some rolly-polly boat cred, as well. I think we all know how that debate turns out, don’t we? If we’re being honest. READ MORE

Loopers Warned To Linger in North Post-Sally (Video), Sept. 17, 2020: For those still on the western half of the loop and soon headed down the Tenn-Tom (or LMR), some unsolicited advice from a long-time disaster responder, licensed mariner, and Gold Looper. READ MORE

Coast Guard Seeks Input on Shallow Water Navigation Issues, Sept. 16, 2020: The Coast Guard is conducting a Waterways Analysis and Management System Study on the Shallow Draft System, which applies to waters less than 12 feet deep, to update its policies and make navigable waterways of the United States safer and more efficient. Waterway users, interested parties, and stakeholders are invited to provide comments in a survey. READ MORE

Why Batteries Explode, Aug. 29, 2020: Port Engine propulsion forward - check...Port Engine propulsion reverse - check...Starboard engine propulsion forward - check...Starboard engine propulsion reverse - check...Thruster propulsion to Port - KABOOM!  READ MORE

Tracking Hurricane Laura Live, Aug. 27, 2020: Using the latest images from the GOES 16 satellite , this Space Videos live tracker will follow the devastating Hurricane Laura as it makes landfall in the USA. WATCH HERE

The Things Nobody Tells You About Cruising Together, Aug. 23, 2020: 
This is a little difficult to write. The last thing I wish to do is deter anyone from following a dream. But at the same time, I find very few people talk about what the cruising lifestyle is really like. Take this as you will. I’m sure some people will look at some of these points and completely dismiss them. READ MORE

Marvin Creamer Dies at 104; Circumnavigated Without Navigational Instruments, Aug. 20, 2020: Martin Creamer, who died recently at the age of 104, once sailed around the world on a 36-foot sailboat without the use of navigational instruments. That is, without the use of a watch, a radio, a compass, a sextant or GPS. He is believed to be the only person ever to do so.

Maritime Liens: Defend Your 'Arrested' Boat With Qualified Representation, Aug. 18, 2020: A lien is a claim for an amount of money which is secured by a piece of personal or real property. A maritime lien entitles the lien-holder to have a vessel seized and sold to satisfy a debt. Since vessels can move, a maritime lien is enforceable by arresting the vessel and holding it in place until the debt is satisfied or secured with a bond. READ MORE

The Gulf Stream Is Slowing Down, Aug. 9, 2020: A key component of the Gulf Stream has markedly slowed over the past century—that’s the conclusion of a new research paper in Nature Communications published on August 7. The study develops a method of tracking the strength of near-shore ocean currents using measurements made at the coast, offering the potential to reduce one of the biggest uncertainties related to observations of climate change over the past century. READ MORE

Attention Cruisers, Perseids Meteor Shower Peaks Next Week, Aug. 4, 2020: One of the many great things about cruising is that we often find ourselves in splendid isolation, far from city lights with an unimpeded view of the sky. Today we have arrived to another August, probably the strangest August in our lives. If you are vexed by currents events--and it seems that just about every American is a little on edge at the moment--Peter Swanson suggests looking to the cosmos for comfort. READ A WEIRD STORY

Ladies Have Their Say in Great Loop Tell-All (Free Download), Aug. 3, 2020: Loopers have always amused me in an endearing way. First-time Loopers fuss as if it were a journey to darkest Africa back in Victorian times. Okay, okay…I admit it. I was wrong to be so dismissive. Years of managing seminars at TrawlerFest proved to me that even if the worries were overblown, they were no less real. And, dare I say it, this was particularly true among many of the wives. Now comes Susan Costa aboard Lucky Me, who has organized an anthology of stories from 35 Loop women. The name of the book is Ladies on the Loop.  READ MORE

New NOAA Model Forecasts Another Sahara Dust Cloud Arriving This Week (Animation), July 27, 2020: ​As another cloud of Saharan dust swirls across the Atlantic Ocean towards the southern United States, one of NOAA’s newest models is providing more accurate forecasts of where the air quality impacts of the dust will be felt. READ MORE

You're Invited: TT35 Sea Trials in North Central Florida Next Week, July 22, 2020: Great Harbour Trawlers will be conducting sea trials for its TT35 on the weekend of Aug. 1-2 at Lake Santa Fe, near the Great Harbour factory in Gainesville, Florida. Sales Director Eric Kraft invites you to join him to experience the innovation and performance of the TT35 for yourself. To mark the occasion, we've reprinted a PassageMaker story "The Latest Offering from Fickett's Factory of Peculiar Dreams." READ MORE

Busy Hurricane Season Predicted: Put Your Plan in Writing, July 19, 2020: The Atlantic hurricane season is upon us, and it is predicted to be a busy one. Contributor Michael Sutton says that now is the time to review and update your hurricane plan. If you don't have a written plan, it's important you make one. READ MORE

It's a Marina! It's a Mooring! No, It's a French Design (Video), July 16, 2020: A French company named Seafloatech is making some waves in the marine engineering world with a new moorage system that allows multiple boats to tie-up to a large moored platform as if they were at a shoreside marina. The platform is held in place by what is described as a "pod," not a traditional chain-and-anchor system. READ MORE

Giant Floating Chainsaw Ready To Rip Up Wrecked Car Carrier off ICW, July 7, 2020: The VB 10,000 will arrive in the Golden Isles to cut up and haul off the shipwrecked Golden Ray as early as this week. But if you are in earshot of the work, just off the Georgia Intracoastal Waterway, you will know it.

Erie Canal, Illinois Waterway To Open for a Fall Loop, June 30, 2024: With the repair schedules for the Erie and Illinois canals announced, the good news is that the American Great Loop is doable with a 2020 start date. The bad news is: It won't be that much fun. READ MORE

Georgia Caves, Defangs Draconian Anchoring Law (Video), June 24, 2020: Thanks to a coalition of boating groups, the Georgia legislature this week sent a bill to the governor that restores anchoring rights to cruisers passing through Georgia waters. The effort was spearheaded by the American Great Loop Cruisers Association, BoatUS, the National Marine Manufacturers Association and a group called Save Georgia's Anchorages. READ MORE

Heads Up, Boaters: Here Comes the Red Dust from Africa (Simulation), June 21, 2020: Every year, winds loft about 800 million metric tons of desert dust from North Africa—by far the planet’s largest source of airborne dust particles. The dust is often visible from space during the spring, summer, and early fall, when huge plumes of dry, dusty air from the Sahara Desert blow westward over the tropical Atlantic Ocean. READ MORE

Bahamas Changes Its Mind: Keeps Covid Test for Foreign Boaters, June 18, 2020: The Bahamas opened up for foreign boaters on June 15, two weeks ahead of the opening for general tourism as long as entrants came with documentation of a negative Covid-19 test. The requirement had been set to expire but the government has changed its mind and will continue the to ask for evidence of negative results indefinitely. READ MORE

The Importance of Disclosure in Buying Boat Insurance, June 17, 2020: Marine Insurance covers so many different situations that it tends to defy simple explanation -- from a Court's perspective, the risks faced by a ship are very different than those faced by a small runabout. But from an insurance perspective, these vessels are often covered by the same general coverage, and subject to the same general exclusions. READ MORE

Gulf  'Dead Zone' Smaller, Still Larger Than Connecticut, June 15, 2020: The bad news is that the annual summer “hypoxic” or “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico this year may be larger than average. The good news is that it will be about 15 percent smaller than last year’s model prediction and roughly 20 percent smaller than the record “dead zone” in 2017. Nevertheless, at 6,700 square miles, this year’s “dead zone” is still larger than the State of Connecticut. READ MORE

Clean Your Bottom or Drag Your A**, June 11, 2020:  Trawler Times contributor Michael Sutton says growing your own reef isn't hard to do. Just put your new boat in the water without anti-fouling paint and wait. You'll have large sheepshead feeding on her bottom in just a week or two. READ MORE

GPS Spo0fing Mystery: AIS 'Crop Circles' & Ghost Ships, June 7, 2020: A total of 12 ships’ AIS positions appeared to be thousands of miles from their actual position, traveling in circles or ovals, often partially over land. Most of the vessels reported circling positions off the coast of Northern California, though two were shown off Madrid, one to the vicinity of Hong Kong and another to the Chinese city of Shanwei. READ MORE

Yanmar To Install Fuel-Cell Propulsion on Boats, June 6, 2020: Yanmar, the Japanese maker of diesel engines for the recreational boating market, has announced the development of a hydrogen fuel cell system for maritime applications based on fuel cell technology for automobiles, as part of efforts to offer environment-friendly powertrain solutions. READ MORE

Bahamas Welcomes Back Boaters; Bring Your Masks, June 2, 2020: ​The Bahamas will begin welcoming back foreign cruisers beginning July 1. They'll expect advance notification of your arrival, and you'll be expected to wear a mask while ashore and practice all the social distancing measures we've become so familiar with. READ MORE

Citing Covid, Coast Guard Seeks To Keep Crew, Bring Back Vets, May 28, 2020: ​Member retention is especially important for those in critical enlisted ratings and in specialties associated with the officer ranks. Some of these critical jobs include aviators, engineers, boatswain mates, machinery technicians, marine inspectors, maritime enforcement specialists, and cooks, and other ratings. READ MORE

She Bought Herself a TT35 for Her 70th, May 24, 2020: Meet Cynthia Wommack. She’s a lifelong sailor who just turned 70. For her birthday, she bought herself a TT35 from Great Harbour. She says it’s the perfect liveaboard for her and can hardly wait for delivery. READ MORE

2020 Hurricane Forecast: Hold Onto Your Hats, May 21,2020: An above-normal 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is expected, according to forecasters with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. The outlook predicts a 60 percent chance of an above-normal season, a 30 percent chance of a near-normal season and only a 10 percent chance of a below-normal season. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. READ MORE

Going Ashore Is Now Okay for Cruisers, May 20, 2020: Boaters on pleasure craft anchored offshore in Bahamian waters (who have effectively been social distancing for 14 days or longer) are now permitted to go ashore to conduct routine business, while maintaining appropriate social distancing protocols. READ MORE

Catalina Island Re-Opens for Boating Visitors, May 14: ​Cruisers in Southern California aren't like the rest of us. They basically have nowhere to go, except really far. Hawaii, Tahiti or the Sea of Cortez--that far. There are few options for would-be weekenders, the most prominent of which has been Catalina Island. The  22-by-8-mile island stands about 29 miles south-southwest of Long Beach, but it's been closed to visiting boaters lately due to the Coronavirus. Well, No more. READ MORE

When Is a Boat Not a Boat? May 11, 2020: The Supreme Court decided that many structures which float and move on the water – floating homes, for instance – will no longer be considered “vessels” for purposes of federal law. This decision has sent shockwaves through the maritime community as the implications are enormous, for business and individuals alike. READ MORE

Coast Guard Introduces 911-Style Location System f0r Boaters, May 7, 2020: First Coast Guard District command center crews, from Maine to Northern New Jersey, have a new tool to help distressed mariners come home to their families after being out to sea. The i911 program allows for watchstanders to use a mariner’s cellphone number to assist in finding their location for Coast Guard rescue crews to locate them faster. READ MORE

Severe Weather Alerts Getting a Major Makeover (Video), May 4, 2020: Whether it's over the VHF radio, your cellphone or TV, you've probably heard the blaring alerts warning of severe weather such as a thunderstorm or tornado. Now the National Weather Service is revising the way these alerts are generated and disseminated.  WATCH THE VIDEO

Stuck on a Boat During the Pandemic: USVI Get Crowded, May 3, 2020: Unless you happened to be very wealthy, hiding out on a boat may not be the best strategy during a pandemic. While billionaires may be able to jet off to their yachts in the Grenadines, the merely comfortable may find themselves stuck with limited ports of call and few options. Across the Caribbean, the South Pacific and even ports on the East Coast, boaters are discovering ports closed to new arrivals or subject to new regulations that seem to change day-to-day. WATCH VIDEO

Catastrophe as Going Coastal Goes Under; Crew Saved, May 1, 2020: ​The Coast Guard rescued two boaters Thursday, April 30 after their 92-foot yacht sank about nine miles south of Monterey Bay in California. Crewmemers aboard the Going Coastal made a mayday call at approximately 11:45 a.m. via VHF-FM channel 16, reporting their yacht was taking on water approximately 35 miles south of Monterey. READ MORE

Erie Canal Deemed 'Non-Essential,' Repairs Cease, April 27, 2020: The Erie Canal has been deemed “non-essential” in the age of Coronavirus, so anyone planning to begin the Great Loop this year may be out of luck. The state has abandoned essential repair work due to the pandemic. READ MORE

Richard the Lionheart Wrote Early Boating Law, April 25, 2020: Boating Law. Admiralty Law. Maritime Law. All these are names that are given to the law that encompases all boats, ships, and things that float. In the first installment in a series of articles, maritime attorney Todd Lochner says the origins of today's law go back to one history's biggest badasses. READ MORE

Can Cannabis Save Florida Waterways? April 20, 2020: When it comes to leeching pollutants out of the water, which plant is more voracious: toxic algae or cannabis? Or, more specifically, the kind of cannabis without the psychoactive THC – industrial hemp. The answer could be worth billions either way. READ MORE

An Object Lesson in Buying Fast Boats, April 17, 2020: This is the story about a terrible boat, told to an audience of marine surveyors by the lawyer whose job it was to defend the builder of the terrible boat 14 years ago. The builder of the terrible boat was not a terrible company. Quite the opposite, the builder was Hatteras, a venerable brand in the sportfishing niche, but the model in question was, as Jimmy Buffet once sang, “a big mistake-a.” READ MORE

Legal Matters: Boating and Social Distancing, April 17, 2020: Taking your boat out on the water could be the perfect way to practice social distancing. Attorney Paul Hernandez from Kalfus and Nachman in Virginia tells us how to pull it off the right way on a new edition of Legal Matters. WATCH THE INTERVIEW

Tehuantapec Two-Step: Thundering Through a Mexican Gale (Video, Photo Gallery), April 15, 2020: The meteorological chain of events that causes Tehuanos is straightforward. In winter, cold high-pressure systems march southward from Texas over the Gulf of Mexico, creating pressure gradients that generate winds through three mountain passes - one in Mexico that leads to the Gulf of Tehuantepec, one in Costa Rica that empties into the Gulf of Papagayo and one in Panama. These passes through the cordilleras act like funnels, accelerating the winds. Counterintuitively, Tehuanos and their southern cousins produce waves coming out from land, not crashing against it. READ MORE

Bahamas to Cruisers: Stay Away; If You're Already Here, Please Get Out Now, April 15, 2020: The Government of The Bahamas on April 14 released official COVID-19 related protocols for foreign and local boats that are currently in the waters of The Bahamas. READ MORE

The Straight Poop: How We 'Composted,' the Low-Tech Alternative to Holding Tanks and Treatment, April 13, 2020: Admit it. That headline got you. You’re going to read this story because you’re curious, maybe even a bit voyeuristic toward the topic of onboard human waste. Yup, a few years ago we installed a composting head on our boat, and we’ve used it enough now to reach some conclusions. READ MORE

The Un-Tug: TT35 Ad Campaign Emphasizes Clean Lines, Performance and Off-the-Grid Design, April 8, 2020: We want to communicate the features that distinguish the TT35 from that competition, and that may require references to the also trailerable Ranger Tug line. Again, we are coming at this from the point of view that while we admire Ranger as a successful product, we want potential customers to know there are ways in which the TT35 may be a better cruising boat. READ MORE

Coronavirus Song: 'Drone Shot of My Yacht,' April 7, 2020: American singer-songwriter John Mayer has released a song that gently parodies Coronavirus social isolation as practiced by the super rich. Not a bad idea, weathering a plague on the water, if you scale back the wretched excess that invited Mayer to write "Drone Shot of My Yacht." LISTEN TO THE SONG

An Ode to Old (and New) Florida, April 1, 2020: For more than 200 years the southern tip of Florida has been a hangout for pirates, smugglers and thieves. Still considered the most porous border in the U.S., mile for mile more illegal drugs pass through southern Florida than any other border area. But you don’t have to be a drug runner to enjoy the scene. Cruisers have discovered the last bastion of frontier in the swamps, groves, islands (and high-rises) of the “Florida Mini-Loop.” STORY & PHOTOS

During the Lockdown, a Choice of Virtual Tours of USS Constitution, March 25: If you are among the hundreds of millions locked down during the current coronavirus outbreak and would like to get out, even virtually, you might want to take a virtual tour of the USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides.  TAKE THE TOUR

BoatUS Warns Gulfport That Its Anchoring Crackdown Is Illegal, March 25: The advocacy section of BoatUS has sent a stern warning to officials in Gulfport, spelling out how the Florida city's anchoring restrictions are illegal under state law. Yet, according to Deanna Phillips, the cruiser who penned our original story on the issue, the mayor and police chief are vowing to press on regardless. READ MORE

A Thief in Luperon Harbor: Is Past Prologue? March 17 ,2020: Luperon Harbor in the Dominican Republic has a swimmer, at least I think so. Others think the thieves are coming to the anchored cruising boats in native craft. That’s possible too. It’s also possible that the perpetrator is another cruiser, not a Dominican. In the most recent case, reported this week, a cruiser posted on Facebook that a large amount of cash had been stolen from his boat while he was ashore. READ MORE

Georgia Lawmakers Begin To Undo Anchoring Ban (Video), March 13, 2020: Relief is one step closer for boaters wanting to cruise the waterway of Georgia! The Georgia House of Representatives this week passed HB-833, a bill that “undoes” much of the damage created by rules put into place earlier this year that were widely viewed as unfriendly towards cruisers, and some of the most restrictive in the nation. READ MORE

Sadly, Gulfport Becomes the Latest Florida City To Shoo Away Cruisers, March 10, 2020: As other Pinellas County, Florida, municipalities have moved to restrict anchoring, more boats have dropped the hook in Gulfport, which then decided that it too should restrict anchoring. Gulfport police are now issuing citations to anyone who tries to anchor in Boca Ciega Bay for more than 72 hours at a time, including neighbors of the author, a 51-year-old woman with a small dog aboard a CSY 44 named Mad Dream. She recently made the case for anchoring freedom on the Save Florida's Anchorages Facebook Page. READ MORE

And Now the Movie: Dad-Son Boatbuilders Consult in Dominican Republic (Video), March 4, 2020: You may have read the story. Great Harbour spent three days in a Dominican hilltown advising a French boatbuilder friend on how to use new equipment and work more efficiently. Aventura Boats documented the events on video for us to post. WATCH VIDEO

Reward for Florida Dolphin Killer Now  at $54,000 (Video), March 4, 2020: The reward for a Florida dolphin killer has been raised from $20,000 to $54,000. According to Wink News, “Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder” of the Florida Keys is one of the organizations pooling its funds with those of NOAA, the federal agency that offered the original amount. READ MORE

Our Favorite Fugitive Docks Trawler in Mexico, Lists the Master Stateroom on AirBnB, March 2, 2020: The last time Jan Kanafoski was known to be in Mexico he sailed away on someone else’s boat, and the owners never got her back. Now "Capt. John," as he likes to call himself, has returned to Mexican waters, having docked a different boat belonging to someone else at Isla Mujeres. And, though wanted in Florida, he has gone into the hospitality business. READ MORE

Biggest Lift Vessel Ever Coming to Cut Up Overturned Car Carrier off ICW, Feb. 26, 2020: T&T Salvage will use the largest lift vessel ever built to cut the 656-foot-long Golden Ray into slices that it will lift onto awaiting barges. The VB 10,000 will arrive at St. Simons Sound, Georgia, sometime after construction of the 33-acre mesh-net environmental protection barrier. This barrier will surround the vessel to catch any debris that shakes loose during the cutting process, particularly any of the 4,200 vehicles inside its cargo hold. READ MORE

Avoid Getting Screwed by Georgia, Just Go Around It (Video), Feb. 23, 2020: Bless their hearts, Georgia officials have instituted restrictions on anchoring and turned the state’s coastal waters into one big no-discharge zone, which means that even boats with Coast Guard approved treatment systems cannot legally pump overboard. READ MORE

Weather Radar Detects Massive 'Fowl' Weather in the Keys, Feb.21, 2020: A natural phenomenon that usually goes unseen and unnoticed was seen and noticed over Key West on Monday: the massive nocturnal migration of birds was captured by the National Weather Service’s radar stationed there. READ MORE

Boatbuilder Abraham Lincoln Patents a Special Vessel (Video), Feb. 18, 2020: Only one U.S. president has ever been awarded a patent, and that president was Abraham Lincoln. And the patent—namely No. 6469—was for a boat! READ MORE

Feds Offer $20,000 Reward After Florida Dolphin Killings, Feb. 12, 2020: NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information that leads to a civil penalty or criminal conviction of the person or persons responsible for the recent deaths of two dolphins in Florida. READ MORE

Searching the Great Lakes for Sunken WW2 Aircraft, Feb. 10, 2020: "All existing carriers were needed on the front, so the Navy bought two sidewheel paddle steamers, the SS Seaandbee and Greater​ Buffalo, which they stripped and fitted with flight decks. Commissioned as the USS Wolverine and USS Sable these ships helped to train and qualify 17,820 pilots, including former President George H.W. Bush." READ MORE

Group Fickett Rumbles  in the Dominican Jungle (Gallery, Video), Feb. 8, 2020:  Ken and Travis Fickett, father and son, took a little trip recently to the Dominican Republic to advise a fellow boatbuilder down there. The Fickett family builds boats in North Central Florida under the brand names of Great Harbour and Mirage. Guessard, whose company is called Aventura Boats, is an unlikely phenomenon. Billed as the biggest builder in the Caribbean, his company is located in a hilly jungle town on the North Coast of the D.R., and not exactly near the water. GALLERY, VIDEO

Mayor Crapper McCrappie Blames Boaters for Fort Lauderdale’s Dismal Water Quality, Feb. 4, 2020: Despite seven massive residential sewage leaks in seven weeks, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis was recently caught on video saying the city’s real water quality problem was from “liveaboards or lazy people.” WATCH THE VIDEO

Wanna Loop? Even Grandad Will Need a Certificate by 2025, Jan. 27, 2020: Anyone wanting to do the Great Loop—regardless of how many years of actual boating experience—will need to hold a boating New York Boating Safety Certificate or its equivalent by 2025, out-of-state residents included. READ MORE

 Magazine Website 'Spikes' Dorian Dog Story, Jan. 26, 2020: This commentary was submitted to a boating magazine website in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. It was “spiked” for reasons never stated. The notion that people should be treated at least as well as dogs apparently crossed a line. What do you think? READ MORE

$209,000 for 61-Foot Hatteras: Low Bucks, Lots of Boat (Gallery), Jan. 22, 2020: Not everyone can afford a new Great Harbour trawler. Tulsa is an excellent alternative. She is a 1984 stabilized 61 Hatteras Cockpit Motor Yacht with a three-stateroom layout with a galley-down configuration. Designed by Jack Hargrave for comfortable cruising and entertaining, she incorporates a massive salon with wrap-around windows for great visibility all around. She is powered by a pair of Detroit 12V71 TI diesels and has two 20KW generators.
READ MORE

March or Sooner: Timetable To Refloat Boat That Dorian Left High and Dry, Jan. 21, 2010: The story of Australians Geoff and Jenny Bradley, owners of a 1989 Chris Craft 82 aground near the Sandy Point settlement of Great Abaco., made the cover of PassageMaker magazine recently. The sturdy aluminum motoryacht was remarkably undamaged after surviving Hurricane Dorian at anchor and being deposited inland. The Bradleys are set to receive fabrications needed for Anne Marie to get back to the water. READ MORE

 Download Your Free Bahamas Cruising Guide, Jan. 20, 2020: Greg and Susan Costa are full-time cruisers from Massachusetts have produced a nifty, little guide called Cruising the Bahamas with the Lucky Me, which is the name of their 35-foot Tiara. They are giving away this 57-page PDF for free, so Trawler Times  figured we would help the effort. After Hurricane Dorian's horrible destruction, the best thing we can do is encourage cruisers to visit those parts of the island nation that are still open for business. GET IT HERE

Bills To Ban Anchoring at Ortega and Crystal Rivers in Florida, Jan. 17, 2020: It looks like the Florida neighborhoods in Jacksonville and Crystal River will soon be joining the tony ranks of San Marino and San Marco islands and Sunset Lake in Miami. Bills are winding their way through the Florida legislature that would effectively ban anchoring in the Ortega River (a tributary of the St. Johns River) and Crystal River on the state’s West Coast. READ MORE

Military Exercises To Jam GPS, Jan. 15, 2020: The Federal Aviation Administration has announced that military exercises through Jan. 24 that will include jamming GPS signals for periods of several hours each day. The exercises will happen about 60 miles off the Florida-Georgia border, and resulting interference will extend 400 nautical miles at high altitudes down to 180 nautical miles near sea level. READ MORE

Psychedelic Fibers Advance Knot Theory (Video), Jan. 7, 2020: In sailing, rock climbing, construction, and any activity requiring the securing of ropes, certain knots are known to be stronger than others. Any seasoned sailor knows, for instance, that one type of knot will secure a sheet to a headsail, while another is better for hitching a boat to a piling. But what exactly makes one knot more stable than another has not been well-understood, until now. READ MORE

Wanted on the Waterways, Jan. 4, 2020: A fugitive from justice, known to prey on cruisers, may be near you on a DeFever 44. He failed to show for court on charges of vandalizing someone else's boat in Key West, Florida. In another case, he promised to deliver a couple's sailboat, and it was never seen again. Police say he may be capable of violence and want to know his whereabouts. READ MORE