Bloke takes boat on 11,000km cruise
Epic US trip clocks up the miles, Whittley’s new dealer, top-notch Squadron, and when bikes and boats do mixA retired US air force employee is close to completing an epic on-water equivalent of the great American road trip – circumnavigating the US east coast via the Great Lakes, and parts of Canada.
Bert Allen took his Grady-White Gulfstream 232 fitted with twin Yamaha 200hp outboard engines on what will be a year-long journey, travelling via the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the New York State Canals, the Canadian Canals, the Great Lakes, inland rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico.
To officially complete the Great Loop, “loopers” can start anywhere along the route, but must travel the whole way in their own boat.
Allen kicked off the trip in April last year, and still has some distance to go when Grady Life magazine caught up with him. “While I’m three-quarters of the way complete with the loop, I’ve still got a lot of great experiences ahead of me, in particular, the Bahamas,” he said.
Follow his journey on Touch the Horizon.
Fairline offers sneak peek at Squadron 68
Fairline’s replacement for the Squadron 65, the Squadron 68, has been teased ahead of its official reveal at the 2019 Cannes festival of Yachting.
The British motor yacht maker said the first of the new line of Squadron 68s was already under construction at its new manufacturing hub in Southampton in the UK.
Fairline recently changed the name of its newest yacht, dropping the “64” in favour of the “68” to “reflect its grand proportions”.
“The Squadron 68 offers 12 per cent more lower deck accommodation space, a 5 per cent larger main deck saloon area and a 10 per cent bigger flybridge than the outgoing Squadron 65,” it said.
The Squadron 68 is also available with three cabins and day head, or a four-cabin layout. An optional extension to the bathing platform adds more space to tender a jet ski or space for sun lounges.
Whittley appoints Queensland dealer
Melbourne-based Whittley Boats has appointed another Queensland-based dealer, Cavs Marine, as it expands into markets outside its traditional customer base.
Tully-based Cav Marine, in the far north of the state, is also an authorised dealer for Yamaha outboard engines, a key partner of the boat-builder. The dealership has also recently been appointed as a Volvo penta stern drive and Mackay trailer dealer.
“This new partnership will allow potential northern Queensland customers to see more new Whittley boats,” Whittley managing director Nelille Whittley said. “It will also offer higher levels of after sales support with Whittley factory trained technicians in more locations to support customers post purchase.”
Boats on display include the CR 2080 OB and Fleetmaster 26 trailerable cruisers, the SL 20 OB and SL 25 HT OB offshore sports fishing models, and the CW 1650 and CW 1950 entry-level fishing models.
On ya bike, Princess
Princess Yachts has launched its motor yacht line-up at the 2019 Singapore Yacht Show by revealing a carbon-fibre bike that it says is ideal for the marine environment.
The show, which opened this week, features a Hummingbird folding bike alongside the British motor yacht maker’s line-up. The newest member of the Hummingbird line-up, revealed last week, uses a toothed, carbon-fibre reinforced belt-drive system rather than a chain to drive the rear wheel.
According to Hummingbird, the $7000-plus belt-drive bike needs no oil, is low maintenance, and super-quiet to ride.
Princess is showing a line-up of seven yachts at the show, including models from its flybridge range including the F70, F62, F55 and the F49.
It also has the Princess 30M, what the company claims is one of the most luxurious raised pilothouse motor yachts in the world, on display.
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