It’s incredible to think that we are about to close the book on yet another year. For us at Nordhavn, it is – with all hopes – the final chapter in what has been a long and arduous five-year struggle to stay afloat in a massively deflated yacht market. A strong fourth quarter bolstered by several new boat contracts and reservations as well as a record-setting year in brokerage sales is ushering us into the New Year with cautious optimism. But when so much focus is placed on the balance sheet, it’s sometimes easy to forget what drives us to do what we do every day here, and that’s changing the lives of the people who buy our boats. It’s not just about going around the world or spending weeks on end at sea, it’s giving folks the tool to change and enjoy their lives.

One such couple is Cal David and Donna Reno, who ended 2012 by purchasing a used Nordhavn 57. What follows is their Christmas letter that synopsizes the past 12 months of their lives, spent getting to know the ins and outs of using and enjoying their Nordhavn. Cheers to Cal and Donna for a year well spent. Who knows… come December 2014, maybe you’ll be the one looking back on your first year as a Nordhavn owner.

Cal and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2014 from Barcelona, Spain on board New Fidelity ; our Christmas present from last year. We were inspired tobuy a Nordhavn ocean trawler after having completed our circumnavigation of the Mediterranean on board our friends 47’ Nordhavn,  Seque II, owned by Kay and Dave Poulsen. We had a great time with them on the Eastern Med Yacht Rally, cruising from Turkey to Egypt and realized that we should expandour cruising plan and perhaps think about a bigger more luxurious boat. We became dreamers.

After sailing out of San Francisco for 2 seasons and joining the South Beach Yacht Club, a most cordial and party prone yacht club, we sold our beloved Exile after 18 years, left it on the west coast and bought   a 57’ Nordhavn, in Ft. Lauderdale last November.  Donna agreed to be an enthusiastic partner if Cal would refurbish the galley with a Blue Star professional  gas oven, 5 burner gas stove top and a new refrigerator. Done!  In the meantime the boat was upgraded to bristol condition and after one driving lesson with Bernie Francis, we left the dock in Miami and headed north following Summer Star, a 57’ Nordhavn owned by Atle and Kristina.

We then traveled up the Intercostal Waterway (ICW)  with Summer Skis, owned by Jim and Marge Fuller, who helped us take baby steps through the ICW to the Carolinas. In Charleston, we met up with Chris, a global sailor and owner of SilverLining from Hong Kong who was butchering two wild boars. We put our new galley into action and cooked up a slow roasted wild boar dish.  A culinary highlight of the trip.

In July we met up with Steadfast friends from Miami, Judy and Seth Stopek in Baltimore, on their Kady-Krogen  48.  We discovered the culinary scene of the city and we were introduced to a most enthusiastic 80-year-old couple on Cloverleaf, who we followed to Long Island. Beverly, 82, drove and Dave was the deck man.

We loved cruising on Long Island Sound and visited Oyster Bay, with our son- in- law Peter, Ella and Chloe, two of our five grandchildren.  We also visited the Seawanhaka Yacht  Club, very posh, pink Bermuda shorts and members dining on the lawn, Northport, Greenport, Sag Harbor, Montauk and the North Fork farms and vineyards. We met Helga’s Car from Miami Beach. The Indian summer evenings in Essex, Conn. were turning frosty by the time we left for our last stop, Newport, Rhode Island. We really enjoyed the town and consider it the most prominent sailingcenter of the East Coast.  We loaded on Dockwise on November 4 and New Fidelity reached Palma, Majorca on Thanksgiving Day.

We brought the boat from Palma to Barcelona a week later, where we will stay for the winter.

We want to thank everyone who made this first year a little bit easier and definitely more fun which would include the Nordhavn Owners Group and our friends and family who send emails and photos so we can stay in touch.

THE ADVENTURE CONTIUES.

Love, Donna & Calvin