I began this post over on the Powerboat Forum, but the true confessional is here on the Sailboat Forum where I have lurked for years and whose stalwart participants are best able to judge my actions. And so, this post is really my
introduction to all on the Forum. My name is Kim.
I've been a sailor for 40+ years,
dinghy racing first, then ocean
racing, and later cruising on a variety of wonderful sailboats. My favorite has to be
Pathfinder, our Hinckley
Bermuda 40; she has seen us racing through the
Gulf Stream, gunkholing in Biscayne Bay, skirting
offshore hurricanes (twice), and frequenting numerous
anchorages from the
Bahamas to the
Marquesas. An older
boat (she was built in 1968 and then went through a massive
refit at Hinckley South Harbor a few years ago), for years she has been a magic carpet that safely and comfortably delivered us wherever we asked.
s/v Pathfinder
I've learned that
boats like
Pathfinder don't change so much as their owners do, and it was on my last trip that my attitude towards sailing shifted several degrees. Sailing in the Keys with a couple of friends, we encountered unseasonably cold and fierce
weather for the entire trip (e.g., a high of 55 degrees in Key West), resulting in one crew
member coming down with pneumonia. It was quite a let down from our expectations of a warm subtropical
cruise to the
Dry Tortugas. Foul winds, forty-degree temperatures, and cramped quarters were the
rule. Unfortunately,
work commitments meant the imposition of dastardly deadlines, and so we found ourselves motoring into headwinds much of the time, shivering all the while.
On my return I did some calculations based on many years of cruising for a week or two at a time and came to realize that, because we worked and faced deadlines, we historically used the
engine about 75% of the time! We used it exclusively about 25%; motor-sailed almost 50% of the time; and cruised under sail alone only 25% of our trips. That was an epiphany for me.
While very much your average '
give me a sailboat or give me death' chauvinist at that time, it dawned on me that both comfort and
passage times would improve - as would our ability to achieve our itinerary goals given our usually limited sailing time - if we were to have a powerboat. (Boy, even writing 'powerboat' bothers me.)
Of course, the thought was immediately repellant and my wife suggested that instead of a
new boat perhaps I just needed some therapy. But after doing some
research, we found that the Nordhavn could provide us with true
blue water, transoceanic capability in a sound, comfortable, and commodious
trawler. Factoring in things like an ice maker (!) standup SubZero
refrigerator and
freezer (!!) and central air-conditioning and
heating at
anchor (!!!) made the transition frighteningly appealing.
And so it was we bought a Nordhavn 40 that we christened
Tropic Explorer. Her sistership circumnavigated the globe in six months, so this is no 'coastal cruiser' but rather a full-fledged passagemaker. She boasts 3,000+ nm range on 950 gallons of
diesel; 6.0 - 7.5 knots into headseas; she sips 1.75 - 2.0 gph of
fuel; has tankage of 250 gallons of
water; has great stability and seakindliness thanks to both active (stabilizers) and passive (paravanes)
gear; has a
Yanmar wing-engine that provides a separate prop, shaft, and even
fuel tank that serves as a 'get-you-home' backup to the main Lugger
engine; and she has enough room to where we have to make a concerted effort to find our nine-year old. And she looks salty as hell and I'm not embarrassed to be seen in her (oh, the vanity of men). Admittedly she is occasionally mistaken for a shrimp
boat, but I can live with that.
m/v Tropic Explorer
m/v Tropic Explorer in Everglades City
m/v Tropic Explorer's Helm
m/v Tropic Explorer's Wheelhouse
We have already made several forays to the
Bahamas in our new 'expeditionary trawler' (sounds better than 'powerboat' doesn't it?), as well as a
circumnavigation of
Florida via the Okeechobee Waterway – a great trip that's highly recommended. And while a
circumnavigation of the
Caribbean is coming in a year or two, we are now making many weekend and week-long cruises where
weather and seas are a secondary concern.
For those of you contemplating a similar move to the dark side – whether due to age,
health, changing cruising goals, etc. – for us it has been an easy and fun transition. I'm told that the majority of Nordhavn owners are former sailboat owners, and like with our
Bermuda 40, we get lots of interest and kind comments on our boat, most often from sailors! It's been so successful that, while I never would have believed it, my beloved yawl is now
for sale (see the CF classifieds if interested).
There you have it. We'll always be sailors, whether it's bareboating in the BVIs or sailing with friends in a local
regatta. So, scoff if you will, but remember not to laugh when you pull up along side us in the Abacos asking for a bucket of ice. Oh, and knock hard on the
hull as the a/c may be running!
Both beautiful vessels. Congrats!
Not even in my species. They are the water equivalent of the goof that runs a "crotch missile" sport bike at 80 MPH between lanes of traffic-jammed cars. My hope for them is a bubbly end before they've had a chance to spawn with the "Jersey Shore" females usually riding pillion.
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