PMY - Power&Motoryacht

Audiences eager to see Capt. Jack Sparrow return to the big screen next month in Pirates of the Caribbean IV should check out a new discovery left behind by the real-life pirate of all pirates: Blackbeard.

What makes a boat a yacht? If I had a dime for every time someone asked me that, I could afford to buy one. Unfortunately, there’s no agreed-upon definition. Webster’s “any of various relatively small vessels for pleasure,” is hardly helpful, and Wikipedia’s “a high-end recreational boat” is absurdly all-encompassing. Little wonder that the term has evolved into an honorific that anyone can bestow on his boat.

I don't know if you guys have noticed, but lately giant, suicidal fish have been jumping into boats pretty much unprovoked. Seems counterintuitive to survival to me, but I guess that's why I'm at the top of the food chain and they're not. ("Oohhh but the mako shark is at the top of the food chain, Kevin! Blah, blah, blah." No. It's not. You know why? Because I've eaten a mako steak before and a mako has never had a Kevin steak. I know this for a fact.)

Feadship is comprised of the De Vries and Van Lent shipyard, and in some amazing serendipity, both high-profile yards launched yachts this past Saturday, March 26. Together, the yachts totaled 158.7 meters (520.6 feet).

A recent article in the New York Times investigates how the current protests in the Middle East may affect yacht sales in the region. It seems dealers are unconcerned over the recent political turmoil in countries like Egypt and Libya, and believe that if and when freedom rings across the region, more and more people will be looking to purchase a yacht. The article also notes that if things get too violent on land, motoring off in a megayacht is a great way to abscond . . .

After a successful Miami boat show that saw the sale of a number of Sanlorenzos, the shipyard has been busy finishing and launching a few more yachts.

There was Lady Kathleen last month. And now March brings Bubu Forever. (And yes, it is pronounced like Yogi's little buddy.)

The New York City Police Department just dropped a cool five million dollars on a 72-foot, high speed security boat that can hold upwards of 30 officers. The boat will be bulletproof and also feature an airtight cabin to protect policemen against airborne contaminants. A company in Somerset, Massachusetts is building the boat. Its main purpose will be to protect against potential maritime attacks like the one that happened in Mumbai in 2008, when 164 people lost their lives.

If you're thinking about selling your boat this spring, you're probably interested in what's happening in the general used-boat market. A recent report by the on-line brokerage site Yachtworld.com that was published in the March issue of Soundings Trade Only gives some idea of what you can expect. Here are some major conclusions:

The Netherlands-based Heesen launched another innovative yacht hot on the tails of Air and Satori. The 55-meter (180-foot) Quinta Essentia is the largest launch by the yard to date.

And sometimes...