ourtheory worth the wait

The Dana Point office was in a celebratory mood last week to honor the owners of Nordhavn 8002, Darren and Patty Rude, and the christening of their boat ourtheory.   More than 50 guests and PAE employees gathered at the docks at Nordhavn’s headquarters to take in the exciting event, the likes of which have been a rare occurrence in recent years due to COVID restrictions.  Darren and Patty live locally so their guest list was lengthy, and included close friends, relatives and even grandkids who were equally as excited to see them take delivery of this gorgeous vessel.  “This was a long time coming”, Darren told the crowd, alluding that he may, in fact, be the longest-tenured Nordhavn Dreamer on record, a role he assumed after touring his first Nordhavn about 20 years ago on Lake Union.  He’d been in the Seattle area for business, but somehow found himself cruising the docks asking about the boats that he had been admiring back in Dana Point where he lived.  Luckily, he met a Nordhavn owner who was willing to give him a tour, and hence, the “dream” was born. 

Former Nordhavn Northwest representative Don Kohlmann (who now works on Nordhavn’s southwest team in Dana Point) first met Darren and Patty when they finally made their way into our Seattle office to tour some Nordhavns, and has continued to be their representative all of these years.  Darren thanked Don for always giving them his full attention and jokes that they were “all over the board” in deciding which Nordhavn model was the one for them, showing interest in the N55, N72, back to the N55, and then finally settling on the N80.   

Building their N80 was an interesting process due to COVID, since they were only ever able to visit the South Coast factory in China to see the first N80 being molded; travel restrictions precluded future check-ins. As such, they took delivery of hull #2 sight unseen, having only set eyes upon their boat after it was completed and delivered to Ensenada earlier this year.  They put their faith in the capable, experienced hands of Project Manager Dave Harlow, publicly thanking him for masterfully overseeing the build process and ensuring all details were executed to the highest degree.  

Darren and Patty are still planning out their future cruising plans, but when they are local, they are sure to have plenty of friends and family enjoying “ourtheory”.