By Dennis Lawrence

Nordhavn 64 hull #2 just splashed into the Mediterranean Sea near the Balearic Islands after crossing the Atlantic as cargo on a container ship. The new owner has waited two years for his new yacht to finish and was on the dock to receive her in Ibiza, Spain, where she will be kept. Christened, B2, she will keep busy running around the Med as both a personal pleasure cruiser and eventually a part-time charter. But she had her first cruise upon her delivery to the Bahamas and I was lucky enough to have enjoyed the ride.

The N64 is definitely a “hot” boat right now so I was excited to be able to spend some time on board. I accompanied B2’s captain, Joshua Nogueiras, as well as first mate Oscar Contreras and an electronics technician to West End, Bahamas. We set out at high tide needing specifically to go to West End because of B2’s British registration.

When we arrived at Ole Bahama Bay at 7:30 AM, the docks were totally full, so we dropped anchor in a small anchorage, just to the north of the harbor.  Within an hour, the activity on the docks was very busy with engines starting and boats heading out for a day of fishing, diving and gunk holing, leaving us plenty of space to pull into.

The Customs Office is right there at the dock – very convenient. But their start of operation wasn’t until 9:00 am, leaving us time to take advantage of a nearby restaurant’s breakfast buffet. It was the perfect sight for four hungry seamen!  We could not stop eating until we were busting at our seams. Typical guys, we provisioned B2 the night before with a few beers and junk food. Within the first few hours, our stash was history.

After over-indulging, we left the restaurant only to find a line at the Customs Office.  We had an appointment to meet with our attorney for getting the paperwork notarized at 9:00 AM.  Instead of waiting out the line, we headed back over to the restaurant for coffee and a nicely air conditioned spot to do our work.

Upon completion of our paperwork for the Bahama handover, we immediately fired up the 425 hp Lugger, untied the lines and “charged” it back to Fort Lauderdale. Why the hurry?  B2 had a hard shipping date. The new owner wanted the boat in the Med for July and August – the prime vacation months in that area of the world.

As expected, the crossing went well with some minor excitement. We were the nearest to a 57-foot motoryacht that was putting out a distress call on the VHF.  They had an electrical fire aboard, so we altered coarse heading their way.  B2 is equipped with a serious fire fighting system, one of the requirements for the MCA regulation, which B2, as a charter yacht, is certified for. So we felt reasonably sure that we could lend assistance in more than one way.  Fortunately, the fire subsided rather quickly and the distressed vessel’s captain felt that they could limp into West End on their own. We peeled off and assumed our original heading for Fort Lauderdale.

Pulling into Fort Lauderdale and tying up at the famed Pier 66 Marina at about 9:00 PM, we took quick inventory of the boat.  There were a few items that needed to be tweaked prior to B2being loaded on the ship, so our great commissioning crew came down pronto.

Altogether, it went like many other deliveries before her: a flawless boat and a whirlwind of activity surrounding her ensuring last minute details were attended to, final touches got put on hardware and electronics loose ends got tied up. All in the name of an owner getting to relax and enjoy his new boat at long last.

Dennis Lawrence is a salesman in our southeast sales office. He can be reached at dennis@nordhavn.com.