Browsing: Nordhavn

Cruising Life
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The Hamiltons Pass a Milestone, Keep Cruising North in Scotland

Just as James and Jennifer Hamilton were ready to move even farther up the west coast of Scotland, riding out the coronavirus pandemic in some of the more remote harbors there, they passed a milestone. “We just crossed 11,000 trouble-free hours on our John Deere main engine,” James wrote on their blog, mvdirona.com. The Hamiltons, a high-tech couple from Seattle, now have put about 75,000 miles under the hull of Dirona, a Nordhavn 52 they bought new in 2009. They’ve been living and working aboard since 2012, and have completed one circumnavigation and two Atlantic crossings. After spending the winter…

Boat Reviews
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Nordhavn Gets Ready To Launch New 41 Passagemaker

Nordhavn is putting the final touches on its new 41, and will launch it soon. The 41, the successor to the 40 that went around the world in 2001 and 2002, is the smallest vessel in Nordhavn’s fleet, and it’s the only one made in Turkey. It also has twin diesel engines, a bit of a change for Nordhavn’s smaller boats, instead of a single and perhaps a wing engine. Work on the 41 is almost complete, but the company needs permission from the Turkish government to launch it. Turkey has closed all marinas because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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New Cruising Grounds: Home. Here’s How To Enjoy It

Many of us are locked down at home, trying to make it through the seemingly endless coronavirus pandemic. We miss the water, we miss our boats, we miss going places. But there are things we can do to ease the pain. In fact, some of them are fun, and you might even want to keep doing them once we get back to the days when we have a choice in where we can go, what we can do. And those days will return. First, you can dream a bit. The Moorings is here to help you with that (see the…

Cruising Life
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The Best-Laid Plans: Dirona Changes Course

Ever since they bought Dirona, their Nordhavn 52 in 2009, James and Jennifer Hamilton, a high-tech couple from Seattle, have been cruising. At first they concentrated on the Pacific Northwest while still working in shore, but in 2012 they started cruising full time. Since then they’ve completed a circumnavigation and much more. Indeed, they’ve put more than 74,000 miles under their hull. The Hamiltons know how to plan, and to plan well. But now, in a time of the coronavirus, even the best-laid plans go by the wayside. Last summer and fall the Hamiltons cruised through Scandinavia, and ended up…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Increasingly Popular Palm Beach Show Opens March 26

The Palm Beach International Boat Show, which has been growing in size and importance the past few years, starts on Thursday, March 26, and runs through Sunday, March 29. A handful of significant cruising powerboats will make their debuts there this year, while hundreds more will be on display. Now in its  35th year, the Palm Beach show has become increasingly popular because of its location and its manageable size. The show’s on Flagler Drive on West Palm Beach, where downtown meets the Intracoastal Waterway. It’s easy to get to, with lots of nearby parking, and it doesn’t have all…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Cruising in Mexico: “What We’ve Learned So Far”

After cruising in Mexico since October on their 2005 Nordhavn 55 Red Rover, Kevin and Allison Jeffries took a break recently to fly home to Seattle for the big boat show there. The time away from the boat gave them the chance to reflect on their trip, and to put together some thoughts that might help other cruising people heading that way. The Jeffries (and their two shelter dogs, Zoe and Max) are hardly new to cruising. They’ve put more than 6,000 nm under their hull since they sold their house in Seattle and moved aboard Red Rover full time…

Cruising Life
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Cruising With a Cat – Around the World

Long-range cruising is one thing; long-range cruising with a pet is another. But James and Jennifer Hamilton have managed to make all this seem easy, as they’ve been cruising – literally around the world – with their cat Spitfire ever since they left Seattle on their Nordhavn 52 Dirona in 2012. The Hamiltons, who now are in Amsterdam, have written an account of life on board with Spitfire on their blog, MVDirona.com. Here’s how they – and Spitfire – have managed so far: When we first started planning our boat trip around the world, we expected that cruising internationally with…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Surviving Marriage at Sea: Tales from Mermaid Monster

In July, 2018, Brooke and Braden Palmer “sold everything,” rented out their house in Newport Beach, California, drove across the country and moved on to the 2008 Nordhavn 55 they had just bought in Southport, North California. With them: their daughter, Rooney, now 6; their son Penn, now 4, and two dogs, Fraiser and Captain. The Palmers named the boat Mermaid Monster, and decided to make a life at sea. Since then, they’ve cruised more than 2,000 nm up and down the East Coast and the Bahamas. Ultimately, they want to circumnavigate, but they’ll start with crossing the Atlantic in…

Boat Reviews
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New Nordhavn 41 To Debut at Palm Beach Show

The new Nordhavn 41, the successor to the Nordhavn 40 that cruised around the world in 2001 and 2002, will be launched at the Palm Beach boat show, starting March 26. It will be Nordhavn’s new entry-level passagemaker, and is designed to cruise anywhere in the world. “We are dedicated to producing an exceptionally good boat,” said Jim Leishman, Nordhavn’s vice president. He said the new 41 will be more efficient and advanced than the 40, and also will carry a CE rating of Category A, the highest level of safety, which requires exceptional stability and commercial-rated windows and doors.…

Cruising Life
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Cruising Down the Tenn-Tom Waterway on a Nordhavn 59

When we last checked in with Larry and Jamie McCullough on Independence, their Nordhavn 59 Coastal Pilot, they were in Lake Michigan, about halfway through the Great Loop journey they had started last April in Florida. Now they’ve cruised down the Tenn-Tom Waterway, the 253-mile long cut from Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee River to the Tombigbee River near Demopolis, Alabama. Before the Tenn-Tom opened in 1985, boats had to continue down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, and then head east across the Gulf of Mexico. The Tenn-Tom basically was a shortcut, saving hundreds of miles. In addition, the…

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