About us and the boat

About us and the boat:

We were lucky enough to retire early at the start of 2013 so we could head off and "live the dream" on board our Nordhavn 47 Trawler Yacht. The idea is to see some of the planet, at a slow 6 - 7 knots pace. There are no fixed goals or timings, we just had a plan to visit Scotland and then probably the Baltic before heading south.

The idea is to visit the nicer areas in these latitudes before heading south for warmer weather. If we like somewhere, we will stay for a while. If not, we will just move on. So, for the people who love forward planning and targets, this might seem a little relaxed!

If anyone else is contemplating a trawler yacht life, maybe our experiences will be enough to make you think again, or maybe do it sooner then you intended!

The boat is called Rockland and she is built for long distance cruising and a comfortable life on board too. If you want to see more about trawler yachts and the Nordhavn 47 in particular, there is a link to the manufacturers website in our "useful stuff" section. For the technically minded, there is a little info and pictures of the boat and equipment in the same section

Regards

Richard and June

Saturday, 5 March 2016

Salty seadog tales (or Gosport to Shamrock Quay)

OK, the title might be a bit overdone but with news thin on the ground at this time of year, you have to make the best of any opportunity you get.

We needed to move the boat from Portsmouth harbour around to Shamrock Quay (Southampton) ready for the annual lift out courtesy of the careful folks there. We also needed to reposition the Defender (known as the mobile shed for the duration of the boat out of the water fun) so we could use it. Here, Anne came to our rescue with a lift. Then, after sorting out a lifejacket for Euan the 3 year old and Izzy the puppy, we braved the Solent with extra crew. Euan enjoyed steering:



Izzy seemed very at home on board but looked a little chilly until she borrowed a hat:


However, she certainly qualified as a salty seadog, happily wandering around the boat and ignoring the movement caused by the wake of the big ships heading from Southampton docks and the 35 knot gusts of wind. Of course, the flybridge was a touch colder than we would have wished so everyone wanted to cuddle Izzy as she was like a mobile hot water bottle:


Arriving in Shamrock Quay is not a pleasure cruise though, the river Itchen really is a tip once you get beyond the docks area. However, we did enjoy a small Nordhavn overload as we passed Ocean Village. "Sweet Hope", a gorgeous 64 that is for sale was visible. Here is a stock picture of her:


She is the one brokerage boat that we have been very tempted by. Very tempted. 

Also in Ocean Village were a 76 (Spirit of Ulysses, saw her in Craobh a couple of years ago, have a look at Craobh blog post) and Owen's new 60 "Annie M" which we looked at on the Hamble whilst she was being commissioned. Kind of a Nordhavn porn thing going on. Our little 47 looked quite insignificant - no doubt we will revisit that thought when she is out of the water and needs cleaning.

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