We are just days away from the Solstice, and the official start of the summer cruising season. For Nordhavn owners, the best time for cruising is all year round, but there’s something about summertime adventure that’s a bit extra special – perhaps it relates back to childhood when nothing was better than deciding how to while away the months of school break. Certainly for the average person, this time of year hits the sweet spot for boat ownership. So we wondered, what will Nordhavn owners be doing to make this summer a special one out on the water?
The owners of 38 different Nordhavns offered up their itineraries, and they were as varied as the models represented. It’s probably no surprise that the most common response was the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. After all, even in the warm season it can feel downright chilly and windy in this part of the world. Nevertheless, it is a haven for Nordhavns, and in fact, Nordhavn 76 Seacret, which is based in Victoria, BC during the winters, departed for Alaska April 1 and travelled through Desolation Sound, the Broughtons, past Cape Caution, through the Canadian Fjords and on to Alaska. “We left a couple months earlier than ‘normal’ but have been rewarded with empty anchorages. It has been cooler and there is more rain than in the summer, but in between the rain there is sunshine,” wrote owner Jeremy Anwyl. The majority of those seeking the pristine and interesting grounds of the PNW will be doing it in the more traditional months, including Pacific Asian Enterprises (PAE)’s own ownership team who recently purchased a Nordhavn 57 Grande.
Nordhavn owners will also be exploring the other side of the North American coast. In New England and the Canadian Maritimes, summer has just about arrived (kinda sorta), and several Nordhavns based there are ready to get things started. Last weekend, N6310 Shanti departed Vinelhaven, ME en route to Shelbourne, Nova Scotia and will loosely buddy boat with N60 Olaf around the northern latitudes. Meanwhile N57 owner Dick Pedone wrote that he will be cruising around New England and Nova Scotia “proudly flying our 85,000 (Nordhavn mileage) pennant.”
When many people think of summer travel, they think European vacation, and, as it turns out, so do many Nordhavn owners. Several Nordhavn 41 owners who recently took delivery of their boats at the factory in Istanbul are cruising around Turkey, Greece and Cyprus this summer, with the owners of 4120 Nabi spending time in the Aegean Sea. “Our newly minted N4120 was completed three weeks ago,” says owner Peter Smith. “We left Istanbul and sailed 200 miles to Lemos in Greece. We have since visited Skyros and are presently at anchor in Lesvos.” Not to be outdone is Richard Carey aboard N5531 Tai-Pan, who will cruise the same area, this being his 15th season on the boat.
Other owners are exploring the Mediterranean, with the owner of the N56 Motorsailer Migaloo hitting all the “usual” spots: Greece, Italy, Croatia, France and Spain. And after many years of European adventuring, this will be the Thyrre family’s last summer there aboard their N64 Gratitude. They will wander around the UK, Scandinavia, Germany and the Netherlands and spend the winter in London before heading back home. “We plan to cross the Atlantic summer of 2024 back to the USA after almost six years cruising in Europe/Mediterranean,” writes Alec Thyrre.
Clear on the other side of the globe are N43 Opal Lady and N52 Fortuna Star with the latter cruising around the Cook Islands and the Society Islands. While Peter and Susan Beilby on Opal Lady will visit Vanuatu and New Caledonia before heading south to New Zealand in October prior to the start of the cyclone season there. “P.S.” writes Peter, “We do love our Starlink allowing us to stay in contact.”
Rounding out the summer itineraries are those boats that will be in Mexico, Central America and the Bahamas, where the weather is nice practically every day of the year.
No doubt these Nordhavn owners will be living their best summer cruising lives. What about you?
Which summer cruising itinerary would you choose?
HULL | BOAT NAME | CRUISING PLANS |
N6403 | Gratitude | Southampton, UK, Scotland (through the Caledonian canal), Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, and up the Thames to London for the winter. |
N4708 | Dagny | SE Alaska |
N5271 | Albedos | Washington, BC, Alaska |
N4025 | Cowabunga | Northern BC, Ketchikan and Wrangell, AK |
N5531 | Tai-Pan | Cyprus to mainland Turkey then the Emerald coast of southern Turkey before returning to the Karpaz area of northern Cyprus |
N4337 | Opal Lady | The islands of Vanuatu and New Caledonia before heading south to New Zealand in October |
N4329 | Mirabella | SE Alaska, returning to Anacortes in September |
N4033 | Li'l Grey Wolf | Gig Harbor, (S. Puget Sound), Vancouver, Vancouver Island and the Broughtons. |
N5715 | Echidna | circumnavigating Tasmania this coming Australian summer (US winter) |
N5263 | Fleeting Glimpse | Chesapeake Bay & kayaking |
N5027 | Kaiiti | Great Bear Rainforest and Outside Passage BC |
N6319 | Martini | Loreto, Mexico, Southern California, north to Bay of LA, mid islands and then back to La Paz in the fall to make our way south to Costa Rica and Panama next spring |
N5604 | Migaloo | Greece, Italy, Croatia, France and Spain |
N6050 | EbbnFlow | Mid coast of British Columbia,West coast of Vancouver Island for many fishing trips |
N7617 | Seacret | Desolation Sound, the Broughtons, past Cape Caution, through the Canadian Fjords and on to Alaska. So far, we visited the Misty Fjords National Monument, Fords Terror, Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka and as far north as Glacier Bay. |
N5276 | Sea Gypsy | Alaska and Vancouver Island, the San Juan Islands, up to Desolation Sound and the Broughtons |
N4305 | Wanderer | Various Rhode Island destinations, Shelter Island NY, Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket, and Acadia National Park (Penobscot Bay, ME) |
N4053 | Silver Hammer | Cruising and diving in the Keys and the Abacos |
N6310 | Shanti | Vinelhaven, Maine to Shelbourne, Nova Scotia and the maritimes, circumnavigate Newfoundland w/ a side trip to Labrador. |
N6044 | Sea Level II | SE Vancouver to Prince Rupert and then west to Haida Gwaii. We’ll be meeting up with Daybreak (N68) in Prince Rupert as they move south from Wrangell. |
N5720 | Dana A | New England and maybe Nova Scotia this summer. |
N4105 | Paloma | Bainbridge Island: San Juan and Gulf Islands |
N4014 | Aegis | Currently in Santa Marta, Colombia and plan on going to Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Venezuela, and Grenada. |
N4112 | Casalamy | En route to Southampton in the UK via coast hopping starting in Cartagena in Spain, north up Portugal, turn the corner at Cap Finisterre to the enjoy the wonderful Rias on the north coast of Spain, our familiar waters of Brittany, thence onward via the Channel Islands to home, and indeed being the first N41 in the UK. |
N7610 | L'Adagio -B.Blond IV | Starting In Malta, stop in Hammamet (Tunisia), then direct to Athens (Greece), cruising few weeks in between the Cyclades and Sporades (Aegian Greek Islands) , after sail the Corinto straits to continue for another week in between Kefalonia and Ithaca of Ionian Greek island. From the Iranian Sea direct (abt 1000 nm passage) to the Ballearic islands (out of Spain) and cruising Ibiza, Formentera and Mallorca. Back to Italy in September (Sardinia). |
N5267 | Sally Forth | Sally Forth has just arrived in the Mediterranean from Australia (aboard a ship - we didn’t fancy doing many thousands of miles across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope and up the western side of Africa) and our plan is to spend the next four months cruising the Italian Riviera, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily before heading over to Montenegro for several months. |
N5272 | Fortuna Star | We will cruise around the Society Islands (Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Huahine etc.) and Cook Islands in the South Pacific. |
N6063 | Wavelength | Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound, and Broughtons |
N4044 | Symphony | SE Alaska to Seattle and everywhere inbetween. Got 4 months off to cruise! |
N4734 | Windwhistle | Started early in Sicily then went to Malta, Gozo and Tunisia. We returned to Italy then set off for Montenegro and will spend the rest of the season cruising Croatia, returning to Sicily for the winter. |
N6815 | Zorro | Glacier Bay, AK |
N4023 | My Enfin | We did Alaska last summer and are slowly making our way towards Mexico for the winter. Currently in Astoria, OR and will take our time to get to Mexico. |
N4120 | Nabi | Cruising the Aegean this summer. Left Istanbul and sailed 200 miles to Lemnos in Greece. We have since visited Skyros, and are presently at anchor in Lesvos. |
N6215 | Emmanou | Cruising Southern Turkey around Gocek/Kas. |
N6830 | Vesper | Greece, Israel & Turkey in the Spring give way to home in Colorado in the summer. |
This Post Has 2 Comments
Storm Haven and Tesoro are in the Cook Islands moving on to Suwarrow, Nuie, Tonga, Fiji and ports beyond. Left Ensenada,MX March 12. Stops included
Islands of the Marquesas and Docieryy Islands. It’s been amazing!
Vinalhaven is the correct way to spell the island in Maine that your writer referred to as Vinelhaven.