It’s hard to think of a better testament to how much someone has loved their Nordhavn than John and Tina Philippson. The couple owned N7502 Sockeye Blue for five years but work obligations forced them to sell her in 2017, just short of plans to bring the boat to Europe and cruise the Mediterranean. 

They focused on work for over a year before buying a brokerage boat, which they cruised in for two years all around the Pacific Northwest until Covid forced them to stick to the waters of their native Canada. As boat inventory dried up, the folks who sold them their boat came calling to ask about buying it. “Used boats were scarce,” said John. “And they missed their boat and wanted it back,” said John. The Philippsons agreed to sell and almost immediately after ordered a new build Nordhavn 41, hull #7. “We got great introductory pricing and signed an agreement to purchase in spring 2021.” They took delivery at the factory and finally got to explore Europe, just as they’d planned four years prior. They left the boat with the Nordhavn Eastern Med team in Gocek, Turkey, for the winter and returned the following spring, but with an ailing Tina who was in bad need of hip surgery. With Tina’s physical limitations plus their foiled plans of traveling up the Black Sea and into Central Europe – due to the Ukraine War – they reluctantly made the decision to put the boat on the market. It sold in just eight weeks.

After selling their company in 2024, John and Tina went on the hunt for a new boat with thoughts of building a new big Nordhavn but didn’t want to wait almost two years for delivery. Then they caught wind of Sockyeye Blue’s owner – the same one they sold the boat to – preparing to take delivery of a new, 80-foot Nordhavn EYF. Sockeye Blue would be available. The Philippsons had missed their boat and wanted it back. Was it strange to buy a boat they sold over eight years ago? Turns out it absolutely was not. A deal was struck with the current owner who required use of the boat for all of 2025 before he would be willing to turn it over. The schedule worked for John and Tina, and in three weeks they will fly to Australia to pick the boat up, “in better condition than when we last owned her,” notes John. They plan to spend the next three years cruising Southeast Asia, Japan, Alaska and then on to their home in Comox, BC. 

Guess it was meant to be.