A Matter Of ChoiceRiviera’s new Enclosed Flybridge lets you pick your power and your point of view.Some boaters are all about choice—they want options and plenty of them. Others avoid making...
Riviera 53 Enclosed FlybridgeIn May 2011 at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in Australia, Riviera splashed its 53 Enclosed Flybridge, a boat that, judging by early customer response, is...
It’s All About the BoatRiviera builds a boat that makes you forget about pods.Over the last few years I’ve tested quite a few boats that were equipped with pod drives. Some were more successful than...
Steadfast AussieA seaworthy cruiser that combines speed and al fresco livability.Because it’s the semi-formal staging area for the annual Sydney-to-Hobart race, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s...
The best match for Riviera’s new 70? a salty, seasoned, well-travelled owner.After arriving at an Adelaide hotel late the night before, semi-starved and tuckered out from a long trip to Australia, I...
An offshoot of the Rodriquez Shipyard, which was founded in 1887, Morgan Yachts has been building Italian versions of classic U.S. workboats since 1991. Traditionally, downeast-style and commuter-...
It was a spectacular morning. The sun was sparkling like diamonds on the Pacific, and a cobalt sky vaulted over the Gold Coast of Australia. Denby Browning, marketing honcho for Riviera Yachts, sat...
Sometimes boat tests start problematically. Take my wring-out of Riviera's 45 Open Flybridge. The morning I was to fly down to Stuart, Florida, to jump aboard her at Riviera Yachts' facility, Brett...
Riviera M470If Riviera's new M470 anchored near the hamlet of Amity, you can be sure a mob of frantic swimmers would soon be on the beach. With lines like Jaws, her aspect is aggressive—even...
Riviera 4700 Sport YachtAustralia-based Riviera Yachts is known stateside for its line of convertibles, but the builder made a big splash at last year's Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show with a...
Okay, I'm gonna brazenly reveal my vintage here—I sea trialed the very first Riviera Yacht to arrive in the United States from the Gold Coast of Australia in 1988, back when Supertramp, Billy...
When Riviera Yachts announced plans to premiere a 36-foot sport cruiser at last year's Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, I didn't know what to expect. Because of the success Riviera has...
Ever wonder where your marina fees go—maintenance, repairs, maybe a new dock cleat every now and then? In Hawaii, about $100,000 in docking fees went to lining the wallet of a state boating official, according to police.
A few weekends ago, I was elbow deep in Betty Jane's annual oil-change (a day-long extravaganza that usually entails, besides the oil deal, a total swap-out of coolant and filters) when I heard something strange and seemingly far off.
A bagpipe? Playing The Marine's Hymn?
On the wall of my office, right above my desk where I have to look at it every day, hangs a large black-and-white photograph of a ship. It lends a nautical ambience to what would otherwise be a cold and sterile space. But this isn’t a photo of just any ship. It’s of the RMS Titanic, as she’s leaving Southampton, England, on her maiden voyage, almost exactly 100 years ago.
The picture has been with me for a long time and adorned many offices because it has been a constant reminder of two rules that have been important to me, not only in magazine publishing but in life: Expect the unexpected, and you’re never as smart as you think you are.
If you’re headed to Miami this week to buy a boat, you know everybody and their brother has plenty of advice on how to spend your hard-earned money. We say: Why bother? All that planning and careful consideration don’t sound like fun. Just go—it will all work out for the best. Here are five ways to waste your time at a boat show: