Three Nordhavns are currently making their way across the Atlantic bound for Europe. Nordhavn 68 Dragon and Nordhavn 62 Gray Matter have already completed the first leg of the trip while Nordhavn 76 B.BLOND IV is making its way from Fort Lauderdale. The three boats will each lay over in Bermuda and the Azores before continuing on to explore Europe.
John and Erin Ellis left Nordhavn’s Southeast office in North Palm Beach on May 1 and have been docked at St. George’s since they arrived on May 6th. They planned for an extended stay in Bermuda so they could fly to southern California for their daughter’s graduation from USC. The idea is to fuel up and leave next week (weather window pending) for the Azores. Erin won’t make this leg of the trip, and instead, John will be joined by fellow Nordhavn owner Brian Chinn, to help crew to Horta. John described Leg 2 as a “boys adventure trip” where lots of fishing, diving, exploring the different Azorean islands and copious amounts of fun will take place.
Mark Mohler on board Gray Matter will be mirroring Dragon’s route to the Azores, and if the timing aligns, will closely follow their wake as both boats make their way to Ireland with Gray Matter heading to Kinsale, Dragon to Cork.
It will be the second crossing for Mark and wife, Christine, aboard Gray Matter, which went across the Pacific in 2012. The couple were based in San Francisco when Christine received an academic appointment in Brisbane, Australia. “Lucky us – we had a Nordhavn!” said Mark. “So we crossed the Pacific.” Following five years in Australia and New Zealand, they shipped the boat back to the east coast and relocated to Boston. After Covid, Mark decided to retire and Christine shifted to working remotely. They’ve spent the last three seasons in the Caribbean, but, says Mark, “We were ready for a change in scenery…and for another crossing.”
B. BLOND IV is following suit and will catch up with the other two Nordhavns in Bermuda this week. Although owner Paolo Passalacqua will also make his way to the Azores, his route will take a decided turn as he plans to set off for the picturesque Olbia on Sardinia. From there B. BLOND IV will spend the summer cruising around Sardinia and the Italian west coast.
Paolo had always set his sights on crossing an ocean since he purchased his Nordhavn 76 back in 2019. The boat was laying in Malta when he bought it and, Paolo, who was living in Italy with wife, Cinzia, decided to explore the Mediterranean before bringing it across to Florida last year. “It was always the plan to cross an ocean,” Paolo said, and it was a key reason into his and Cinzia’s decision to go with Nordhavn, “but not the only reason!” After a year spent cruising around the Caribbean, it’s time to go back home.
Summer plans for Dragon include circumnavigating Ireland, going to the Isle of Sky and tranisiting the Caledonian Canal. They’ll spend the fall cruising around Scotland and then plan to winter at St. Catherine’s dock and spending Christmas in London. One item on John’s bucket list is to scuba dive in Loch Ness “to go looking for monsters!”
Gray Matter, too, will work its way around Scotland and Ireland, as well as laying up in the UK for winter. Mark’s itinerary extends out into next year with some land travel options to Japan, Chile and Patagonia and following up with a summer in the Baltic in 2026. The far future calls for the Med, some more extensive travel in Europe and then off to Asia. “I would say we always had a vague dream of this kind of lifestyle,” Mark says. “It has evolved because we have a boat-slash-home that can go anywhere.”