We first ran into Jan and Tom Newman soon after they had taken delivery of their new Nordhavn 41 Meraki at the Nordhavn factory in Turkey. They were, as they said then, setting out to live their cruising dreams after years of working, saving and planning. We can report now, almost three years later, that those dreams have come true.
Tom and Jan spent their first two years cruising the northern Med before pointing their bow northward to France’s Rhone River and the canals that would take them to Scandinavia. Along the way they thorough explored Turkey, Greece, The Adriatic, Ital and the French and Spanish rivieras.
They have been posting regular updates and excellent photos on their blog on their website www.mvmeraki.com. We pick them up back in March when they first entered the Rhone at the French river port at Aigues Mortes. Now experienced travelers as well as cruisers, Jan and Tom seem endlessly curious about every new village and town they visit.
In Aigues-Mortes, a fortified, walled city, they took their time. On their blog they wrote, “. We were fortunate enough to be moored directly beneath the famous Constance Tower, one of five towers on the ramparts encircling the town. Surrounded by sandy marshes Aigues-Mortes was originally a small hamlet of fishermen and salt collectors. To the south of the city, the vast flooded lands have been shaped for centuries by variations in sea level and changes in the bed of the Rhône River. Saltwater lagoons, reed beds, marshes and freshwater ponds, create one of the most unique landscapes in France. This vast wetland is home to a huge variety of birds and wildlife – making it a Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot.”
The Newmans posted this week that they had, since March, traversed the length of France, entered the North Sea, transited the Kiel Canal and were starting the Baltic chapter of their cruising adventures. We went back to this year’s first blog to keep the continuity consistent. Enjoy.
