PMY - Power&Motoryacht

Designing new boats on computers is now so common, it's hardly worth mentioning. But while everyone seems to be doing it, a few boatbuilders have discovered—some the hard way—that CAD is not perfect. Indeed, they're learning that despite the wonders of this new technology, nothing can substitute for actually walking through a full-scale mockup to determine if all the proportions and dimensions really work.

According to a report in Soundings Trade Only this week, gyro stablizer manufacturer Seakeeper will offer to pay the entry fees for one of two major East Coast billfish tournaments this summer to customers who purchase one of its gyros.

I just returned from an IYC-organized trip to the Exuma islands of the Bahamas. The trip gathered five megayachts into a flotilla and set off to cruise the clear blue water of the lands. Included in the flotilla were Tuscan Sun, Big City (with their tender Small Town), At Last (tender: At Least), Hooter Patrol 4, and Independence.

Bealls Department Stores has donated more than $200,000 to the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation for oil spill-related research. The Bradenton, Florida-based retail chain raised the funds following the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The store solicited donations from customers and raised funds through “Save Our Gulf” branded merchandise. “Last year’s oil spill is an ongoing issue that needs serious research and resolve in the immediate short-term,” said Mary Beth Fox, vice president of marketing for Bealls.

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.)