The following is a post I made last night on the Nordhavn Dreamers web-site which I thought some people considering buying a trawler may appreciate and see use as a little push to move on with your decision. I hope you enjoy!
Things are little quiet on the dreamers site this week so I thought a short post with the theme of "if we can do it, anyone can" was in order to help those with any doubts about testing the Nordhavn waters. For those who do not remember who we are, we previously owned N4050 and N4061 located in southern California and lived aboard (part time) for about five years until life hit us hard and we had sell the boat. Four years of medical issues didn't allow much time for dreaming but the little dreaming I did do combined with staying in touch with the new owners of N4061 and Jeff Merrill at PAE helped me get through some rough times.
Fast forward to earlier this year we decided it was time to try and get our lives back. A number of lingering medical issues would limit out ability to travel far in a car or airplane so the next best plan was another boat with all the comforts of home. N3522 became the answer as we slowly test the waters and see how far we can venture. Talk about therapy, amazing what can happen to someone who has been thru hell when they are able to think about something other than pain. The purchase process and refurbishment (mostly new interior) has been heaven sent for the both of us.
Today was only the forth time we were able to drive to San Diego and spend a couple of nights aboard. After the two hour drive we arrived at the marina and were welcomed with clear skies and 76 degree temperatures (warm for SD in January). The marina parking lot was full, like a summer weekend. After unloading the car and getting everything to the boat Mary was making the final touches to the interior when she said, "John, there are two guys outside the boat saying "that's a Nordhavn - beautiful boat". That never gets old. After awhile it was time to run to the local supermarket for weekend provisioning as well as picking up our favorite pizza from Pizza Nova. Back aboard dinner was complimented by a pitcher of margaritas while watching a DVD of Don Henley of the Eagles. After dinner a walk along the bay overlooking the million dollar view of nighttime lights of downtown San Diego followed by a visit to the fire rings, pool side at the marina. We returned back to the boat for a cozy night looking forward to a bay cruise and lunch while on the hook (first time) listening to some more music and just being thankful for another day with a little less suffering.
At the end of our dock is N68 that just returned from Mexico. As I look up at the pilothouse high above and think to myself how cool it would be to own such a boat, I think back to what another well respected Nordhavn owner and contributor to this site once said "the few is the same from the aft deck regardless of the size of your boat" (or something close to that). Its not just the view but the overall experience of just being aboard "your boat". It doesn't matter the size, year or make, it is just being there with someone special to share those moments. While we do not know what our future holds we are thankful for today and if some day we can point our bow south, then Cabo here we come! Few dreamers will face what we have and if we can take the chance to live our dream so can you. Waiting doesn't help anything except insure that you have a little less time. If you dream of owning a boat (any boat) my advise is to do it now even if it isn't the dream boat. The memories you will have will be priceless compared to the dreaming and a few extra savings which you may never be able to enjoy. OK, enough rambling from me for today beside the last song "Hotel California" is about over. I apologize if this was not the normal post but thought someone may appreciate the message.
I cannot express enough our gratitude to our good friend Jeff Merrill who helped us through the past 13 years and three boats. If not for Jeff we would never had experienced this great life style. We wish him the best in his new adventure.
John T.
N3522
La Tempestad
