PMY - Power&Motoryacht

As the PMY summer editorial intern, I’m relatively new to the intricacies of megayachts. I came in with basic knowledge of boats from experiences on my family’s 28-foot catamaran. I’ve even reported on river races in the past. But megayachts are a new ball game for me. So, what have I learned in the past four weeks?  Here’s a taste:

Once a novelty accommodation for vacation, houseboats are becoming more and more popular as full-time residences.

While some are still modest, these floating homes are becoming just as modern and chic as other modest metropolitan living arrangements. They’re also capable of producing more environmentally friendly living situations.

Regular PMY readers are probably familiar with the Wider, a new Italian boat with a major twist: This 42'4" center-console-ish craft has a maximum beam of 11'6" that with the mere touch of a button expands to 21'6", giving her the room of a 60-footer. The brainchild of Tilli Antonelli, founder of Pershing Yachts, she made her debut a few months back (below) and performed as predicted.

Last week, I wrote about my father's yacht spotting shutterbug ways and asked which boats you'd seen recently. Almost immediately after hitting "Post" my inbox pinged with a note from Capt. Bill Pike. He'd spotted a couple while working hard on Italy's Amalfi coast reporting on the Maestro 82 for an upcoming issue.

I shot the photo shown above while solo-cruising Betty Jane just this past weekend. I say solo-cruising because my wife BJ did not exactly declare that she wouldn't join me but somehow, at the last minute more or less, found an excuse for not going along. The reasoning behind her decision was an elemental one, I suspect, albeit quite common in the Sunny South this time of year.

As the sun began its downward track, I looked around the picnic table at the group of our friends laughing as they enjoyed cheese and crackers and crisp, chilled white wine. We were gathered on a yacht-club deck to celebrate as Father’s Day drew to a close. Our young children played nearby in the golden light before the backdrop of the mooring field and Long Island Sound beyond.

Welp, it's that time of year again. I'm headed down to the Brett T. Bailey Mako Rodeo out of Hoffman's Marina in Brielle, NJ, tomorrow. Ahh, the old stomping grounds. I love getting down to the Jersey Shore in the summertime. Just me, the Boss, and the Situation palling around together on the boardwalk, sharing cotton candy, rocking out to Bon Jovi, maybe grabbing some late night cheeseballs. Fantastic.

I remember the constant battle every time my parents and I set out to spend a day on our boat. I was 13, and all I wanted to do was spend time on the water without a personal flotation device strapped about me.