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Yachts to Sea Yachts to Sea is your boating headquarters for Southern & Central Illinois, St. Louis, Kentucky, Missouri & Indiana. Every day is a boat show at Yachts to Sea! We have multiple indoor showrooms with 20-25 new boats on display inside at all times. We are located in Nashville, IL on Hwy 127 just south of Interstate 64. We offer a great selection of top-of-the-line runabouts, deck boats, pontoons, jet boats, and outboard motors. We offer new and pre-owned boats and motors from major brands including: Chaparral, Harris Pontoons, Barletta Pontoons, Robalo Fishing Boats, Berkshire Pontoons, Mercury Stern Drives and Outboards, Volvo Penta Stern Drives, Yamaha Outboards, and more! Our highly rated service department offers experienced, factory certified technicians who take care of your boat like it is their own. Stop in and browse the great selection of boats at our large, indoor showroom and let our honest and friendly sales staff help you find the boat of your dreams!

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Lynch Yacht Sinking Off Sicily Proves as Baffling as It Is Tragic

As bodies were recovered, the authorities and experts wondered how a $40 million, stable and secure vessel could have sunk so quickly.

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By Emma Bubola and Michael J. de la Merced

Emma Bubola reported from Porticello, Italy, and Michael J. de la Merced from London.

Two months after being cleared in a bruising legal battle over fraud charges, the British tech mogul Mike Lynch celebrated his freedom with a cruise. He invited his family, friends and part of his legal team on board his luxury sailing yacht, a majestic 180-foot vessel named Bayesian after the mathematical theorem around which he had built his empire.

On Sunday night, after a tour of the Gulf of Naples, including Capri, and volcanic islands in the Eolian archipelago, the boat anchored half a mile off the Sicilian coast in Porticello, Italy. It chose a stretch of water favored by the Phoenicians thousands of years ago for its protection from the mistral wind and, in more recent times, by the yachts of tech billionaires. The boat was lit “like a Christmas tree,” local residents said, standing out against the full moon.

But about 4 a.m., calamity unfolded. A violent and fast storm hit the area with some of the strongest winds locals said they had ever felt. Fabio Cefalù, a fisherman, said he saw a flare pierce the darkness shortly after 4.

Minutes later, the yacht was underwater. Only dozens of cushions from the boat’s deck and a gigantic radar from its mast floated on the surface of the sea, fishermen said.

In all, 22 people were on board, 15 of whom were rescued. Six bodies — five passengers and the ship’s cook — had been recovered by Thursday afternoon, including that of Mr. Lynch, an Italian government official said, adding that the search was continuing for his daughter.

It was a tragic and mystifying turn of events for Mr. Lynch, 59, who had spent years seeking to clear his name and was finally inaugurating a new chapter in his life. Experts wondered how a $40 million yacht, so robust and stable could have been sunk by a storm near a port within minutes.

“It drives me insane,” said Giovanni Costantino, the chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which in 2022 bought the company, Perini, that made the Bayesian. “Following all the proper procedures, that boat is unsinkable.”

The aura of misfortune only deepened when it emerged that Stephen Chamberlain, 52, a former vice president of finance for Mr. Lynch’s former company and a co-defendant in the fraud case, was killed two days earlier, when he was hit by a car while jogging near his house in England.

Since June, the two men had been in a jubilant mood. A jury in San Francisco had acquitted both on fraud charges that could have sent them to prison for two decades. There were hugs and tears, and they and their legal teams went for a celebratory dinner party at a restaurant in the city, said Gary S. Lincenberg, a lawyer for Mr. Chamberlain.

The sea excursion was meant as a thank-you by Mr. Lynch to those who had helped him in his legal travails. Among the guests was Christopher J. Morvillo, 59, a scion of a prominent New York family of lawyers who had represented Mr. Lynch for 12 years. He and his wife, Neda, 57, were among the missing.

So, too, was Jonathan Bloomer, 70, a veteran British insurance executive who chaired Morgan Stanley International and the insurer Hiscox.

The body of the ship’s cook, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered. All the other crew members survived. Among them was Leo Eppel, 19, of South Africa, who was on his first yacht voyage working as a deck steward, said a friend, who asked not to be identified.

Since the sinking, the recovery effort and investigation have turned the tiny port town of Porticello, a quiet enclave where older men sit bare-chested on balconies, into what feels like the set of a movie.

Helicopters have flown overhead. Ambulances have sped by with the sirens blaring. The Coast Guard has patrolled the waters off shore, within sight of a cordoned-off dock that had been turned into an emergency headquarters.

On Wednesday afternoon, a church bell tolled after the first body bag was loaded into an ambulance, a crowd watching in silence.

The survivors were sheltering in a sprawling resort near Porticello, with a view of the shipwreck spot, and had so far declined to comment.

Attilio Di Diodato, director of the Italian Air Force’s Center for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology, said that the yacht had most likely been hit by a fierce “down burst” — when air generated within a thunderstorm descends rapidly — or by a waterspout , similar to a tornado over water.

He added that his agency had put out rough-sea warnings the previous evening, alerting sailors about storms and strong winds. Locals said the winds “felt like an earthquake.”

Mr. Costantino, the boat executive, said the yacht had been specifically designed for having a tall mast — the second-tallest aluminum mast in the world. He said the Bayesian was an extremely safe and secure boat that could list even to 75 degrees without capsizing.

But he said that if some of the hatches on the side and in the stern, or some of the deck doors, had been open, the boat could have taken on water and sunk. Standard procedure in such storms, he said, is to switch on the engine, lift the anchor and turn the boat into the wind, lowering the keel for extra stability, closing doors and gathering the guests in the main hall inside the deck.

12 guests occupied the yacht’s six cabins. There were also 10 crew members.

Open hatches, doors and cabin windows could have let in water during a storm, according to the manufacturer.

Open hatches, doors and

cabin windows could

have let in water

during a storm,

according to the

manufacturer.

Source: Superyacht Times, YachtCharterFleet, MarineTraffic

By Veronica Penney

The New York Times attempted to reach the captain, James Cutfield, who had survived, for comment through social media, his brother and the management company of the yacht (which did not hire the crew), but did not make contact.

So far none of the surviving crew members have made a public statement about what happened that night.

Fabio Genco, the director of Palermo’s emergency services, who treated some of the survivors, said that the victims had recounted feeling as if the boat was being lifted, then suddenly dropped, with objects from the cabins falling on them.

The Italian Coast Guard said it had deployed a remotely operated vehicle that can prowl underwater for up to seven hours at a depth of more than 980 feet and record videos and images that they hoped would help them reconstruct the dynamics of the sinking. Such devices were used during the search and rescue operations of the Titan vessel that is believed to have imploded last summer near the wreckage of the Titanic.

After rescuers broke inside the yacht, they struggled to navigate the ropes and many pieces of furniture cluttering the vessel, said Luca Cari, a spokesman for Italy’s national firefighter corps.

Finally, as of Thursday morning, they had managed to retrieve all but one of the missing bodies, and hopes of finding the missing person alive were thin. “Can a human being be underwater for two days?” Mr. Cari asked.

What was certain was that Mr. Lynch’s death was yet another cruel twist of fate for a man who had spent years seeking to clear his name.

He earned a fortune in technology and was nicknamed Britain’s Bill Gates. But for more than a decade, he had been treated as anything but a respected tech leader.

He was accused by Hewlett-Packard, the American technological pioneer that had bought his software company, Autonomy, for $11 billion, of misleading it about his company’s worth. (Hewlett-Packard wrote down the value of the transaction by about $8.8 billion, and critics called it one of the worst deals of all time .) He had been increasingly shunned by the British establishment that he sought to break into after growing up working-class outside London.

He was extradited to San Francisco to face criminal charges, and confined to house arrest and 24-hour surveillance on his dime. In a townhouse in the Pacific Heights neighborhood — with security people he jokingly told associates were his “roommates” — he spent his mornings talking with researchers whom he funded personally on new applications for artificial intelligence. Afterward, he devoted hours to discussing legal strategy with his team.

Despite his persistent claims of innocence, even those close to Mr. Lynch had believed his odds of victory were slim. Autonomy’s chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, was convicted in 2018 of similar fraud charges and spent five years in prison.

During Mr. Lynch’s house arrest, his brother and mother died. His wife, Angela Bacares, frequently flew over from England, and she became a constant presence in the San Francisco courtroom during the trial.

After he was finally acquitted, Mr. Lynch had his eye on the future. “I am looking forward to returning to the U.K. and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field,” he said.

Elisabetta Povoledo contributed reporting from Pallanza, Italy.

Emma Bubola is a Times reporter based in Rome. More about Emma Bubola

Michael J. de la Merced has covered global business and finance news for The Times since 2006. More about Michael J. de la Merced

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Yacht Sank in Sicily Due to ‘Endless Chain of Errors,' Ship Maker's Owner Speculates: ‘Everything Was Predictable’

"A series of activities should have been done to avoid finding oneself in that situation," argues Giovanni Costantino, who owns the firm that built the vessel in 2008

• Giovanni Costantino — who is the CEO of The Italian Sea Group, the company that now owns Perini Navi, which built the  Bayesian  in 2008 — blames an "endless chain of errors" for the luxury yacht’s sinking on Monday, Aug. 19
• "Everything was predictable. I have the weather charts in front of me here," Constantino told Italian newspaper  Corriere della Sera  of the storm the boat was caught in
• "An unsinkable ship but from the crew an endless chain of errors," the CEO claimed to the outlet

The sinking of the luxury Bayesian  yacht off the coast of Sicily this week  resulted from an "endless chain of errors" by the crew, the ship maker's CEO is speculating.

"This episode sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact," Giovanni Costantino — who leads The Italian Sea Group, the company that now owns Perini Navi, which built the  Bayesian  in 2008 — said,  according to CNN .

While speaking to  Italian newspaper  Corriere della Sera , Costantino said he believes those on board should not have been in their cabins, as he claims they were, when the Bayesian sank in the early hours of Monday, Aug. 19. 

Many details of why the yacht went into the water so quickly remain unclear and it's not yet known what the passengers and crew were doing before tragedy struck.

PERINI NAVI PRESS OFFICE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The 183-foot British vessel sank around 5 a.m. local time on Monday after a "violent storm" while near Porticello, the Italian coast guard said in a statement that was previously obtained by PEOPLE.

"Everything that has been done reveals a very long sum of errors. The people should not have been in the cabins, the boat should not have been at anchor. And then why didn't the crew know about the incoming disturbance?" Costantino said in his interview, translated from Italian.

"The passengers reported an absurd thing, namely that the storm came unexpected, suddenly. It's not true. Everything was predictable. I have the weather charts in front of me here. Nothing came suddenly ... Ask yourself, why was no fisherman from Porticello out that night? A fisherman reads the weather conditions and a ship doesn't? The disturbance was fully readable in all the weather charts. One could not not know," he argued.

"An unsinkable ship but from the crew an endless chain of errors," the CEO asserted.

The coast guard has said 22 people were aboard the  Bayesian  when it sank — 12 passengers and 10 crew — and that 15 of those were subsequently rescued.

The body of the yacht's chef, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered nearby. 

ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty

Costantino's comments came as it was reported that five bodies had been found in the search for the missing six people as of Wednesday, Aug. 21, a source close to the rescue operations confirmed to PEOPLE. Authorities have said that their work is ongoing. 

An Italian government official, Massimo Mariani, reportedly named one of the dead as British tech tycoon Mike Lynch . The other bodies have not yet been publicly identified by authorities. 

Lynch was celebrating with family and friends on the yacht following his acquittal in a fraud trial in June, PEOPLE previously reported.

Costantino offered his view of how the tragedy could have been avoided: "To begin with, in a weather alert situation it was inappropriate to have, as I read, a party. Not that evening. The hull and deck needed to be secured by closing all doors and hatches, after putting the guests at the ship's meeting point as per emergency procedure. Then start the engines and pull up the anchor or release it automatically, put the bow to the wind and lower the keel.

"The next morning they would have departed with zero damage." 

Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty

When discussing whether the crew were at fault, Costantino reiterated to the Italian outlet that he believes "errors were made."

"A series of activities should have been done to avoid finding oneself in that situation," he said. "I as the ship's captain would have moved, but even if for some reason I had to stay there, I would have managed those weather conditions which then, let's face it, weren't so crazy."

Never miss a story — sign up for  PEOPLE's free daily newsletter  to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.  

Costantino contended that there would have been "a zero risk if the correct maneuvers had been made and if situations that compromised the ship's stability had not occurred," adding to the newspaper that reports that the boat went down in seconds is "nonsense." He believes the yacht would have "went down" after water "started to enter" within "six minutes."

The remaining missing  Bayesian  passengers are Lynch's daughter Hannah as well as Chairman of Morgan Stanley International  Jonathan Bloomer, his wife, Judy , and New York City-based lawyer  Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda , sources have said.

Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, was among those rescued, PEOPLE previously reported.

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The shepherd of the sea guiding small boats home to safety in South Africa

In the isolated village of Hondeklip Bay, Patrick Rulph is the lone voice on the radio bringing fishers back to shore.

Hondeklip Bay, South Africa – Before day breaks on a cloudy morning in Hondeklip Bay, a small fishing village in South Africa’s semi-arid Namaqualand region, Patrick Rulph rushes out of his front door in track pants, a loose-fitting hoodie and a dark cap.

The 61-year-old moves with urgency as he makes his way down the 200-metre-long dirt road to the beach, hoping to catch the fishers before they head to sea.

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From the cape: south africa’s bo-kaap, the surfer chef behind south africa’s first fine dining halal restaurant, in search of ramadan with south africa’s men who sight the moon.

“They don’t go to sea at set times, and I want to see exactly how many fishers are out,” says Rulph, with a knowing smile that reflects the pride he takes in his work monitoring and guiding the small boats that go out to sea.

On the shore, bags holding fishing gear and lunches sit at the high watermark on the sand. The fishers try and warm themselves in pockets of defiant sunlight while their fellow crew members arrive one by one.

Ruins of the old fish canning factory and the remains of a jetty that was destroyed by a storm years ago are evidence of a once-booming fishing industry that employed nearly anyone in the village.

Across the road from the ruins, five orange-coloured boats lie in front of a two-storey, weather-worn building, with a sign that reads: “Hondeklip Bay Small Vessel Safety Monitoring Center”, or VMS, where Rulph spends most of his days.

The VMS has two rooms: a first-floor office that contains the monitoring and communication equipment he uses and a small room on the ground floor, which houses orange electronic devices called locators that help track vessels out at sea. Rulph grabs a few locators from the room and hurries back down to the various fishing crews on the beach, handing them out and making meticulous notes in a pocketbook he carries with him.

He makes sure all the boats that leave in the morning return, and when necessary, he guides them home using the Small Vessel Monitoring System, which uses mapping software to track the locators.

As the only person working at the safety centre, Rulph has become indispensable to the small-scale fishers of Hondeklip Bay. Even after a loss of funding meant he stopped being paid to do the job this year, he has continued out of a strong sense of duty to the community.

At the shore, the crews of two or three men assemble, before rowing out to their anchored ski-boats on worn but sound dinghies. After boarding, they fire up their outboard motors and make their way out to sea, skipping on the incoming waves as they leave the harbour mouth one by one.

Hondeklip Bay has a population of about 540 people, according to the latest census in 2022. Rulph estimates that the size of the community is much larger, based on information he has seen at the local clinic, but he maintains that the community remains very close-knit.

Gainful employment is hard to come by. While some residents work for companies that reprocess overburden from diamond mines, most others work for low-paying municipal projects.

Daniel Ruyter, one of the members of the Hondeklip Bay Small-Scale Fishing Cooperative, says that despite only having 27 members, the co-op provides some form of income to 90-100 people. At the height of the annual snoek fishing season, over the Easter period, travelling fishers from all over the Western Cape visit Hondeklip Bay “chasing the snoek”. During their stay, they rent accommodation from community members and many more are given odd jobs such as cleaning fish.

Hondeklip Bay

Hondeklip Bay was established in the mid-1800s to transport copper ore by sea from its natural harbour to other towns in the Northern Cape. Rulph’s grandparents moved there in the early 1900s to work in the commercial fishing industry. His father was a fisherman and his mother worked in the Namaqua Canning Company’s fish factory.

When Rulph grew up during apartheid, he was classified as “coloured”. The racial discrimination was hard to miss, he recalls. While white residents had electricity and piped water in their homes, non-white residents could only collect drinking water from a reservoir in the village on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they could only access brackish water.

“My friends and I saw it as a chance to earn pocket money. We delivered buckets of water for our neighbours, and they would give us a few cents that we would use to buy sweets and chocolates,” he laughs.

Conditions improved after Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress was voted into power in 1994, with piped water as well as electricity reaching all residents by 1996. Yet, 30 years later, Hondeklip Bay still has no grocery store, petrol station or high school, and the village remains accessible by gravel roads that stretch through past decommissioned diamond mines for tens of kilometres.

Rulph decided to quit high school when he was 16 to start working. After spending one season at the same canning factory as his mother, he began working for diamond companies, first De Beers and then the Trans Hex Group, when he was retrenched after 20 years. Due to the decline in the diamond industry and the collapse of the commercial fishing industry at home, he sought employment in Cape Town but returned after two years.

Fortunately, the Hondeklip Bay VMS and the monitoring system were donated to the village by the Namaqua District Municipality in 2014 and a post was advertised. Rulph got the job.

In the VMS office, which looks out over the ruins of the canning factory, he has a portable short-range radio, a fixed long-range radio, and two screens on which he can see satellite images of as much of the coastline as he wants to see along with the locations of each of the boats carrying the orange devices.

On days when the coastline is covered in dense fog, Rulph has to keep his eyes on his screens, making sure that all the boats are together. At the start, it was very stressful, as the fog tends to interfere with the satellite imagery, but he has since learned to deal with the quirks of the system.

Rulph recalls one very misty day that could have ended in a disaster. An old fisher went to sea with a young crew member, and when they decided to head home, it was so misty that they ended up arguing about where they were. The young crew member won the argument and thinking they were north of Hondeklip Bay, they headed south. After a while, the old fisher recognised a set of rocks along the shore and realised that they had gone too far south. They had nearly run out of fuel so they headed out into water that was deep enough for them to safely drop anchor and waited for the fog to clear.

Meanwhile, the other fishers that were out with them assuming they had made it home safely were surprised to find them not there. Members of the community built a huge bonfire on the beach hoping that the fishers would see the light from the sea and find their way home.

“I contacted the police and sent two boats with tracking devices out to go and look for them. When the mist cleared at about 11:30pm the old fisher saw that the boats were looking for them, but they didn’t have any way of drawing attention to themselves,” said Rulph.

When the “lost” fishers saw that the rescue boats were heading back home, they decided to row back to Hondeklip Bay.

“They reached the harbour mouth at about 4:30am, they fired up the motor and made it safely to shore. The community was still on the beach when they returned,” says Rulph, with a sense of delayed relief that the worst outcome was avoided.

Reflecting on that situation, Rulph says: “I realised that when the fishers are all at sea together, if a boat leaves, they just assume that it made it safely home, but that isn’t always the case. For that reason, I make sure that I know exactly how many boats go out every morning.”

‘We are making do’

In the decade that Rulph has worked at the safety centre, there have been no instances of fishers drowning at sea in Hondeklip Bay, a statistic he is simultaneously thankful for and proud of.

The Namakwa District Municipality paid Rulph’s salary through an annually renewed contract. But in 2024, his contract was not renewed because of a lack of funds. There is some talk of third parties attempting to secure funding for his position, but there are no concrete plans as yet, he says.

At home, Rulph is the sole breadwinner in his household. His wife and two daughters depend on his state pension. Yet, with the optimism that reveals a deep acknowledgement of the resourcefulness of his community, he says: “We aren’t hungry, we aren’t cold. We are making do.”

And even without a salary, over the last few months, he has continued to perform the role he was once paid to do, in service of the community he has been a part of for six decades.

“Patrick’s work is important. He does it well. We don’t have to ask him to do it, or look for him, he’s always ready,” says Daniel Ruyter, who has known Rulph nearly all his life and has been his friend for decades.

Ruyter has been fishing for over 50 years and knows the surrounding coastline better than almost anyone. Yet he says that even he has been in situations where, due to the thick fog, he got lost while trying to make his way home, instead ending up in a different bay.

“We don’t all have GPS systems. And without the radios, our only means of communication from the sea is our mobile phones. If something out there happens you have to hope that you can access the network,” he said.

Indicating the value of Rulph’s dependability and the value of his work, Ruyter says: “Now we have radios, and we know that if we need help, Patrick will be ready to help us.”

Rulph’s service-oriented approach extends beyond just his profession, and his neighbours say it’s something that comes naturally to him. Ruyter says that when catches are good during the snoek season, Rulph goes around to the fishers asking them to donate some fish to poorer families in the community, before distributing the donations himself.

It’s the same compassion to help those in need that guides his tireless unpaid work at the VMS.

“I understand the risks and the dangers of going to sea,” Rulph says in a lowered voice that conveys the seriousness with which he views his work. “Tomorrow someone could drown just because they didn’t have a locator and there was no one to guide them in. It would be a life that could have been saved.”

Fishing is the only gainful employment in the village, he says, and there are no other vocational opportunities for young men other than to become fishermen.

“My son is also a fisherman. Just as I care about my son, there are other parents that feel the same way about their children,” Rulph adds.

For as long as he is able, he is committed to continuing to shepherd Hondeklip Bay’s fishers home, making sure none get left behind.

“I believe if I bless others, then I will be blessed as well,” he says with a satisfied smile.

Reporting for this story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.

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Best Ocean Boats: Types and Brands to Buy

15th nov 2023 by samantha wilson.

What makes a good ocean boat ? It’s a valid question, commonly asked, but as with many boating questions, there is no one answer. In fact, there is no best ocean boat either. Only the best ocean-going boat for you and what you want it to do. Whether it’s offshore fishing, sailing around the world, coastal cruising, or extended voyages, there will be good boats for the task—and others, not so good. 

Of course there are many characteristics that ocean-going boats will need to have that are different from those designed to ply gentler inland waters where breaking seas, long distances, and inclement weather rarely if ever are a factor. Here we’ll take a look at the types of boats that are designed for the ocean and also look at some of the best ocean boat brands on the market today. 

What Characteristics Do the Best Ocean Boats Have?

Seaworthy in open water and stormy weather: A boat tackling ocean waters needs to be sturdy enough, large enough, and/or nimble enough to navigate the bigger seas and stronger winds that can arise. If you’re tackling oceans, you’ll typically want a boat that is 20 feet long or larger and built with strength. It’s important to know your boat’s limitations, to check the weather carefully before venturing out, and prepare accordingly. Knowing your boat’s range—is it a long-distance, bluewater voyager or a day-sailing coastal boat?—is also key to staying safe. 

Deep-V hulls and deep draft: Most ocean-going boats have deep-V hulls and adequate draft to provide extra stability in turbulent waters, high waves, and bad weather. An exception to that are multihulls, which can offer excellent stability thanks to their multiple hulls and wide shape. In addition to a deep V hull, ocean-going boats are often designed with strakes—molded lines running down the hull of motorboats that help them reach planing speed and reduce the slap from large waves. If you don’t plan to venture offshore or undertake long voyages, a shallow or modified V hull is often ideal for more coastal ocean cruising in shallower waters. 

Corrosion resistance : In contrast to fresh water, salt water is highly corrosive and damaging to boats, and they need to be designed for and maintained to cope with those damaging effects (see our guide to the differences between saltwater and freshwater boats for more advice). Boats designed for salt water will have marine-grade metals such as stainless steel, and must be built with corrosion-resistant hardware.  

Power and fuel capacity : If you’re going to cruise farther, it makes sense that your boat will need a fuel-efficient engine as well as a larger fuel tank to allow you to carry on longer without refueling. Fast boats such as those used for offshore fishing commonly have large powerful engines, allowing you to get to the offshore fishing grounds in less time. For those crossing oceans, sailboats have long been the boat of choice since wind-power is free, if occasionally finicky. 

Sleeping and storage capacity: If you’re cruising long distances, you’ll need to ensure that you have enough cabin space, living space, and storage space for supplies to accommodate all those on board. Bunks will typically be fitted with lee cloths to securely hold sleeping crew members in their berths. Ventilation is also critical, allowing fresh air below decks without bringing sea water along at the same time.

The Best Types and Brands of Ocean Boats

Ocean sailboats.

Sailboats bring the romance to cruising the oceans, and are able to sail motor-less for thousands of miles, making them the top choice when it comes to long range ocean cruising. The choice of sailboat is endless, but it depends how far you want to travel as to how big a sailboat you’ll need. Coastal sailing can be done in most sizes and styles of sailboat, while you’ll ideally be looking for a strong and sturdy sailboat over 35 feet to travel long distances (see our guide to bluewater sailboats under 40 feet for some exciting small sailboat options and what to look for in an ocean sailboat). 

The best ocean sailboat brands

• Hallberg-Rassy has been producing quality ocean-going cruising boats in Sweden for more than half a century. The company’s current lineup of comfortable, seaworthy, premium-priced yachts from 34 to 69 feet LOA.  Hallberg-Rassy boats for sale
• Beneteau ’s impressive range of Oceanis cruisers ranges from 31 to 60 feet and offers spacious, versatile layouts and sound performance at a moderate price.  Beneteau boats for sale
• Jeanneau has produced ocean-capable sailboats for more than 60 years and has a good reputation for building innovative boats that perform well. The company’s current range includes large yachts, small ocean racers, and 35- to 49-foot cruising models.  Jeanneau boats for sale

Hallberg Rassy 400. Hallberg Rassy photo.

Trawler Yachts

Known for their long-range capabilities and excellent fuel efficiency, trawlers are becoming increasingly popular as ocean-going liveaboards. Unlike the fishing vessels from which they draw their name, this new breed of power-cruising yacht typically offers extensive living space, home comforts, and even luxury living, which is highly regarded among many cruising great distances or spending extended periods of time living aboard.  

The best trawler yacht brands

• Nordhavn is a long-standing, all-American brand producing some of the best trawler yachts on the market today. Ranging from 41 feet all the way into superyacht classification sizes, Nordhavn trawlers balance robustness with comfort.  Nordhavn yachts for sale
• Selene is a Dutch brand, building up to 100 world class boats every year. Their impressive inventory includes boats from 40 feet to 128 feet, with their mid-sized models in particular offering excellent use of space and a classic styling.  Selene boats for sale
• American Tugs is one of the best smaller shipyards, with 20 years’ experience producing high quality coastal cruisers under 45 feet.  American Tugs boats for sale

Nordhavn 475. Nordhavn photo.

Center Console Boats

  Center consoles boats are high-powered vessels, commonly used for offshore fishing due to their open deck layout allowing for 360 fishability. Fast, stable, roomy, and well-equipped, they are wonderfully versatile and are available from trailerable 17-foot models up to 45 feet and longer, with cabins and heads. They are typically able to handle big seas and weather, but don’t have the sleeping, living, and storage space of longer-range types of ocean boats. 

The best center console boat brands

• Boston Whaler have been around since 1958 and have one of the best reputations in the center console industry for both their fishing and recreational boats.  Boston Whaler boats for sale
• Everglades is a brand offering 23- to 45-foot center consoles with a clear focus on fishing offshore. It is known equally for premium quality finishings and strong hull construction using high-density foam core to offer a smooth ride in waves. https://www.rightboat.com/boats-for-sale/everglades Everglades boats for sale
• For more check out our article on the best center console boat brands and the best center consoles over 40 feet . 

Boston Whaler 250 Dauntless. Boston Whaler photo. 

Sport Fishing Yachts

Powerful, robust, and equipped to take anglers on deep sea fishing adventures, sport fishing boats are more than capable when it comes to big ocean conditions. They’re capable of cruising up to 100 miles offshore where the big pelagic creatures such as bluefin tuna and marlin live, allowing anglers to fish for several days at a time in comfort. With all the equipment needed for fishing, storing, and living, sport fishing yachts aren’t inexpensive, but you can buy a seriously high-performance yacht for the money. 

The best sport fishing yacht brands

• Viking Yachts has a huge range of world-class sport fishing yachts ranging from towable 38 footers all the way up to 90 feet, although the majority fall within the 45 to 70 feet range. Impeccable finish and extremely high performance is the norm throughout the fleet.  Viking Yachts for sale
• Hatteras Yachts bring elegance and innovation to sportfishing with their four convertible sport fishing yachts from 45 to 70 feet. For more than 60 years, the firm has been creating high-performance sport fishing boats that ooze luxury.  Hatteras Yachts for sale
• Bertram has a long history of building fishing yachts focused on seaworthiness, stability, and safety. The company offers serious blue water fishing machines, as well as smaller, capable boats ranging from 28 to 61 feet.  Bertram boats for sale

For more top fishing boat brands, see Best Offshore Fishing Boat Brands .

Viking 68C. Viking Yachts photo.

Cabin Cruisers

Cabin cruisers make up one of the most versatile and popular of ocean boats as they are multifunctional, seaworthy, and well-designed for coastal cruising. While not normally suited to prolonged periods at sea or long-range cruising, this style of boat features home comforts, modest galley areas, and cabins that can be used for extended trips.

The best ocean cabin cruisers

• Sea Ray are masters in producing small, luxurious cabin cruisers that offer weekends at sea, plenty of home comforts, and reassuring seaworthiness. Their Sundancer range is from 26 feet to 37 feet, and the SLX series goes up to 40 feet.  Sea Ray boats for sale
• Chris-Craft has been producing elegant, traditionally styled cabin cruisers (as well as center consoles) for decades, and their range of boats certainly turn heads. Offering pocket-sized luxury and packed with amenities, they remain one of the best brands in the industry.  Chris-Craft boats for sale
• Grand Banks Yachts is a brand that has shifted over the years from producing what was the iconic ocean-going trawler yacht to a higher-performance luxury motoryacht that fits better in the cabin cruiser category. Design and construction attend to hull shapes, weights, and materials to produce a capable, quiet boat in rough conditions.  Grand Banks Yachts

Grand Banks 54. Grand Banks photo.

Cruising Catamarans

Cruising catamarans are fast gaining popularity for their long-range capabilities as well as their stability and huge amounts of extra living and storage space compared to monohulls of the same size. With salons and cockpits that stand well above the water line you get wrap around sea views, as well as huge cabin and galley space. They’re extremely capable blue water cruisers, but also perfect for coastal adventures with larger groups than you could comfortably get on a monohull. They don’t keel over in the same way as sailboats, offering impressive stability and speed, and are fast becoming a popular choice for around the world cruisers and charter companies. 

The best cruising catamarans

• Fountaine Pajot is one of the biggest names in the cruising catamaran world and are instrumental in shaping this new industry of long range, high performance blue water multihulls.  Fountaine Pajot Catamarans for sale
• Lagoon Catamarans have a huge inventory of cruising catamaran models throughout the size ranges, and are one of the top choices for charter companies.  Lagoon Catamarans for sale
• Leopard Catamarans offer a huge range of top-of-the-range sailing and motor cruising catamarans through boat builders Robertson and Caine. In their 50 years of business they’ve delivered an impressive 2,500 vessels, making them one of the most popular cruising catamaran brands out there.  Leopard Catamarans for sale

Leopard 40 Powercat. Leopard Catamarans photo.

Written By: Samantha Wilson

Samantha Wilson has spent her entire life on and around boats, from tiny sailing dinghies all the way up to superyachts. She writes for many boating and yachting publications, top charter agencies, and some of the largest travel businesses in the industry, combining her knowledge and passion of boating, travel and writing to create topical, useful and engaging content.

More from: Samantha Wilson

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Sailing yachts like Mike Lynch's are 'unsinkable bodies', CEO of boat manufacturing firm says

Bayesian superyacht which sank off Italy is an "unsinkable" vessel, Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, said.

By Ashna Hurynag, news correspondent and Eleonora Chiarella, producer

Sunday 25 August 2024 08:48, UK

Vessels like Mike Lynch's stricken superyacht are "unsinkable", according to the chief executive of the firm which makes and sells them.

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, told Sky News there are no flaws with the design and construction of the Bayesian superyacht which capsized in a storm off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, on Monday.

Five bodies were found by divers on Wednesday - taking the number of confirmed dead to six.

The Italian Sea Group also owns the firm that built British tech tycoon Mr Lynch's Bayesian, and Mr Costantino said the vessels "are the safest in the most absolute sense".

"Being the manufacturer of Perini [boats], I know very well how the boats have always been designed and built," he said.

"And as Perini is a sailing ship... sailing ships are renowned to be the safest ever."

He said their structure and keel made them "unsinkable bodies".

Read more on this story: Why search of superyacht wreck has been so difficult Hero mum 'slept with baby on deck when storm sank yacht'

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Mr Costantino said news of the sinking "put me in a state of sadness on one side and of disbelief on the other".

"This incident sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact," he said.

It is understood Italian prosecutors investigating the incident are continuing to hold interviews with the survivors.

On Tuesday they questioned the captain for more than two hours to help reconstruct what happened and provide useful technical details.

Four British inspectors are also in Porticello and have begun a preliminary assessment of events.

It is understood they will look at all relevant aspects of the incident, including the design, stability, and operation of the vessel. They will also examine the effects of the weather conditions experienced.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Twenty-two people were on board the vessel, 15 of whom were rescued - including Briton Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter Sofia.

Divers will resume efforts on Thursday morning to bring ashore a body they found earlier. One more person remains missing.

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Russian sailors are practicing flying drones in swings so they can hunt Ukraine's exploding drone boats from warships on the waves

• Ukraine has used naval drones to damage and destroy ships of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
• Russia has started using small FPV drones to train its sailors how to locate and defeat the threat.
• It's now having sailors operate these drones while rocking back and forth on swings to mimic waves.

Russia has consistently struggled to effectively protect its Black Sea Fleet from Ukraine's arsenal of exploding naval drones, which Kyiv has used throughout the war in attacks targeting Moscow's warships.

But a new video suggests Russia's defense ministry is taking additional steps to defend its naval assets from the Ukrainian drones by putting sailors through a more realistic — albeit strange-looking — training process.

Zvezda News, a state-owned network run by Russia's defense ministry, shared footage on Wednesday that showed Russian sailors rocking back and forth on swings while piloting first-person view, or FPV, drones above the waters of the Gulf of Finland.

In the video, a Russian naval drone, also known as an uncrewed surface vessel, or USV, can be seen on the surface of the water, supposedly mimicking the Ukrainian systems that have wreaked havoc on the Black Sea Fleet.

In a Telegram statement, Zvezda said that the swinging motion is meant to familiarize sailors with the waves. The channel said drones are in "great demand" among sailors and can "effectively combat" naval drones.

Russian military sailors are learning how to fly FPVs and quadcopters as counters to Ukrainian USVs - the sitting on a swing is supposed to mimic the motion of the waves so that operators can pilot these drones in bad weather. https://t.co/WivAYjES2s pic.twitter.com/ILkFbR1VI5 — Samuel Bendett (@sambendett) August 21, 2024

Ukraine claims to have sunk, damaged, or destroyed at least a third of the Black Sea Fleet since the start of the war, according to Britain's defense ministry.

Related stories

The Ukrainian military and security forces have used a combination of locally produced naval drones and anti-ship missiles during this successful campaign, which has forced the Black Sea Fleet to disperse from its headquarters in the occupied Crimean peninsula and relocate closer to Russia.

The naval drones — the main ones being the Sea Baby and Magura V5 — have been especially troublesome. Russia has taken some countermeasures to try and protect its warships, such as flying increased combat aircraft patrols, putting machine gun crews aboard its vessels, and adding more defenses in port .

Many of these labor-intensive efforts have been largely unsuccessful at curbing the threat. A more cost-effective solution for Russia to defeat Ukrainian drones could be to use its own drones.

Samuel Bendett, an advisor with the Center for Naval Analyses and an expert on drones and Russian defense issues, said Moscow has been using FPV drones in training to defeat Ukrainian naval drones for a while now.

"They're basically refining the efforts of using the most advanced technologies to look for and destroy these drones," Bendett, who pointed out the development in a post on X , told Business Insider.

While the FPV drones are cheap, attritable systems, Bendett said that they are far more dynamic than using a machine gun to simply destroy the inbound threat. Russia can use the FPV drones for a range of missions, including intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance purposes, in addition to threat elimination.

Using swings to mimic the motion of waves in adverse weather is a relatively new aspect of this training, Bendett said. However, the effectiveness of FPV drones may end up being quite limited in bad weather anyways because they're small and light and would be vulnerable to strong winds and rains.

It's not uncommon for Russia to put its soldiers through training like this. In fact, it's a practice other militaries do as well. For example, US soldiers training to defeat FPV drones are doing so by shooting at balloons flapping in wind , which is supposed to mimic the unpredictable movement of an FPV drone in combat.

FPV drones strapped with various types of explosives have been an omnipresent threat on the battlefield in Ukraine, with both sides regularly using them to carry out precision strikes on enemy armor, positions, and troops.

"What we have is this application of technology that's proven itself in ground combat. Now we have it applied on water and in maritime engagements," Bendett said.

Bendett pointed out that in the Zvezda video of the counter-drone training, Russia is using a domestically produced naval drone to mimic a Ukrainian system. This gives sailors an even more realistic training environment, as opposed to simply placing an object in the water that's only simulating a naval drone.

Little is known about Russia's naval drone program, but these systems will likely be used beyond training scenarios.

"They obviously didn't build it just so it can be a target for USVs," Bendett said. "They built it for counter-USV operations, they built it for [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] operations, they built it for possible combat operations — whatever that means to them and for them."

Watch: Ukraine's sea drones vs. Russia's Black Sea Fleet

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Modi in Ukraine After Visiting Moscow; Putin Accuses Ukraine of Attacking Nuclear Plant in Kursk

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Ukraine for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, just weeks after Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Modi has called on both parties to “return to peace” as he attempts to push a diplomatic resolution to Russia’s invasion.

This comes amid reports of intense fighting in the eastern Ukrainian town of New York. Putin has accused Ukraine of trying to attack a nuclear plant in Kursk, where Ukrainian forces have been making major advances following its surprise incursion earlier this month.

President Vladimir Putin : “The enemy tried to strike at the Kursk nuclear power station last night. The International Atomic Energy Agency has been informed. They promise to come themselves, to send specialists to assess the situation. I hope that, in the end, this will be done on their part.”

U.N. nuclear agents will visit Russia’s Kursk plant next week.

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 10393 SR 127 N, NASHVILLE, IL 62263

Sales:     618-327-3719, service:     618-327-3719,   yachts to sea.

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BROWSE INVENTORY

Featured new inventory.

2024 232 Explorer

Length: 23'   width: 8' 6", call for price.

2024 226 Cayman Bay Boat

Length: 22' 6"   width: 8' 6".

2024 307 SSX

Length: 30' 2"   width: 9', welcome to yachts to sea.

Yachts to Sea Yachts to Sea is your boating headquarters for Southern & Central Illinois, St. Louis, Kentucky, Missouri & Indiana. Every day is a boat show at Yachts to Sea! We have multiple indoor showrooms with 20-25 new boats on display inside at all times. We are located in Nashville, IL on Hwy 127 just south of Interstate 64. We offer a great selection of top-of-the-line runabouts, deck boats, pontoons, jet boats, and outboard motors. We offer new and pre-owned boats and motors from major brands including: Chaparral, Harris Pontoons, Barletta Pontoons, Robalo Fishing Boats, Berkshire Pontoons, Mercury Stern Drives and Outboards, Volvo Penta Stern Drives, Yamaha Outboards, and more! Our highly rated service department offers experienced, factory certified technicians who take care of your boat like it is their own. Stop in and browse the great selection of boats at our large, indoor showroom and let our honest and friendly sales staff help you find the boat of your dreams!

* Monthly payment calculations are for example purposes only. Calculations are on the base price of the boat and do not include options, destination charges, title or other fees and incentives. Assume an excellent credit rating and have no bearing on any loan approval. Estimated payments are based on standard industry data. The values that apply to your purchase are likely to vary. Results received from this calculator are designed for comparative purposes only, and accuracy is not guaranteed.

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YACHTS TO SEA

Yachts to sea hours.

*Hours may vary based on season and holidays. Please call the store at 618-327-3719 to verify store hours.

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© 2008-2024 Robalo Boats, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ROBALO REEL DEAL PRICING DOES NOT INCLUDE OPTIONS, DEALER PREP AND FREIGHT CHARGES. FEES FOR DEALER INSTALLATION OF OPTIONS, TAXES, TITLE, REGISTRATION, DOCUMENTATION AND LICENSING MAY VARY BY LOCATION AND ARE IN ADDITION TO PRICES SHOWN. PRICES SHOWN MAY INCLUDE MOTORS THAT HAVE LIMITED AVAILABILITY. ALL PRICING SHOWN IN USD. PHOTOS MAY SHOW OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT. SOME TRAILERS, EQUIPMENT OR ENGINES OFFERED MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN SOME AREAS OR REQUIRE ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT AT AN ADDED COST. OPTIONS, STANDARD EQUIPMENT AND PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE OR IMPLIED OBLIGATION. SEE YOUR DEALER FOR DETAILS. ROBALO IS CONSTANTLY SEEKING WAYS TO IMPROVE THE SPECIFICATION, DESIGN, AND PRODUCTION OF ITS BOATS. ALTERATIONS TAKE PLACE CONTINUALLY. WHILE EVERY EFFORT IS MADE TO PRODUCE UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION, THIS WEBSITE SHOULD NOT BE REGARDED AS AN INFALLIBLE GUIDE TO CURRENT SPECIFICATIONS, NOR DOES IT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR THE SALE OF ANY PARTICULAR BOAT. YOUR AUTHORIZED ROBALO DEALER CAN CONFIRM MATERIALS, ACCESSORIES AND EQUIPMENT AVAILABILITY PRIOR TO PURCHASE. ROBALO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT INCURRING OBLIGATIONS. Icon pack by Icons8

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