Wow! Take a look at the latest Nordhavn 96, a massive, powerful, blue-water cruiser that fulfills the company’s promise to take its owners to the corners of the world, or anywhere else they might want to go. The exterior lines, while impressive, are still recognizable as a Nordhavn. But take a look at everything else, inside and out, to see what can be done.
The new Nordhavn, named New Journey, is hull #18 of the 96 series. It was delivered to its new owners last month. They didn’t waste any time, heading south to the Sea of Cortez and then north, going uphill against the prevailing winds and current, about 1,500 nm to Victoria, British Columbia, where they are now. The owners plan to spend the summer in Alaska, and them embark on a five-year world cruise next spring.
World cruises are nothing new for Nordhavns. A Nordhavn 40 cruised around the world in 2001 and 2002, and Nordhavns have completed nine other circumnavigations since then.
The new owners are a recently retired couple who wanted to a built a luxurious haven for relaxing and entertaining friends and family. They worked with Jeff Leishman, Nordhavn’s design chief, starting with their own cabin amidships, the most stable part of the yacht. It is large enough to hold an on-board office, with a table and two settees built on top of a raised platform as a workstation. Large windows fitted with Smartglass offer views outside; they can be switched to an opaque setting for privacy.
New Journey has three guest staterooms, all with their own heads, on the accommodations deck. It also has two separate crew quarters.
Up top, the enclosed Skylounge is built for the owners’ “free time” activities, and it includes fitness equipment recessed into the deck sole for headroom clearance and a dedicated music area so the owner, an avid musician, can play the drums with his friends.
The Skylounge also has a curved bar and lounge, looking like a nightclub, with an open space for dancing. The underside of the hardtop has a recessed, color-changing LED light strip. There’s also a barbecue up there, plus a hot tub. A dining area is next to the bar, where an L-shaped settee surrounds two high-low tables that can be converted to a dining table for eight.
Another bar is on the aft deck for more casual dining and entertaining, with a boat-shaped dining table for ten, all protected by removable Eisenglass.
The owners worked with Scott Cole of Ardeo Design in Bainbridge Island, Washington, to create interior and exterior areas emphasizing warmth. The backdrops feature subtle textures, woven leathers and natural colors. The interior includes raised paneling on doors and inset panels on drawers, fabric-wrapped wall panels, mosaic-glass tiles, stone countertops, and leather-wrapped handrails.
For exploring, New Journey has two sets of davits. One holds a custom 18-foot GXE tender with a diesel outboard so it can be refueled from the yacht’s main tanks. A second davit is on the upper deck for launching toys and an electric jet ski.
