NORDHAVN AUSTRALASIA NEWSLETTER
Installment #1
NORDHAVN 55 DEBUTS IN AUSTRALIA
Nordhavn 55 "MV SKIE"
THE NEW NORDHAVN 55 HAS FINALLY ARRIVED. Underlying this innocuous heading is a story of great expectations, grinding boredom, uncertainty and elation that only a Nordhavn owner waiting for his new boat could experience. Just like a baby grey elephant, born after a long gestation period, Peter and Margaret Sheppard's new grey baby has finally been delivered to the new Nordhavn base in Brisbane. But unlike a baby elephant, with wobbly legs and an uncertain future, Peter and Margaret's new baby has arrived ready to take on the oceans of the world. She is big, uncompromisingly bold and beautiful.
The Commitment
Peter and Margaret have named their new baby SKIE (Spending the Kids Inheritance Early) which may have met with mixed reactions from their grown-up children. Peter and Margaret have experienced a broad range of emotions, since signing the contract in Dana Point California exactly one year to the day before she arrived. This is their first 'big' boat. Peter enjoyed a successful foray into keel boat racing in earlier times, before business and other pursuits took priority. Peter has handed the reins of his business on to his family, and now has more time on his hands. He wanted to find a safe and robust boat on which he and Margaret could spend time together, and experience the joys of long term cruising in style and comfort. Also high on Peter's agenda was finding a vessel which protected his investment, by having as high a resale value. On the recommendation of a much respected old sailing buddy, Peter decided to investigate the Nordhavn range. And when he saw the drawings for the Nordhavn 55, he knew he'd found the 'right boat'. What immediately appealed to Peter was the N55's versatility, offering a strongly built hull with a high prow, economical operation and vast interior accommodation spaces, combined with a practical and private layout.
The Waiting Game
The long wait started on that afternoon in California, and after the first excitement of committing to the building project started to wane, Peter and Margaret gradually realised that it would be a long and frustrating wait for their new baby. They joined the Nordhavn owner's blog, and started to communicate with other Nordy owners already out there cruising. While this helped them to learn much about their new chosen lifestyle, it sometimes increased Peter's frustration not being out there on the water. Peter and Margaret had chosen a slight variation to the layout of Skie by converting the office space to another large bunk for grandchildren, and they had ticked off a very complete options package. And during the long gestation period, there were numerous minor changes and additions along the way.
While Peter and Margaret were at home in Melbourne waiting, sometimes patiently, sometimes impatiently, their new grey baby was slowly but surely beginning to take shape. The master craftsmen and women at South Coast Marine in Xiamen, southern China were swarming over her every day, gradually transforming a bare hull into a nautical masterpiece. Their dedication and commitment to Peter and Margaret's dream was most obvious by their attention to detail and superb individual skills.
As "Skie's'" completion date got nearer, Peter and Margaret's excitement levels began to rise again, and after months of waiting, their new grey baby was almost finished. So the time had come for PAE to arrange a ship to bring her to Melbourne. This turned out to be a difficult exercise. By carrying Skie as break bulk deck cargo, her sheer mass meant that she displaced scores of containers. No shipping company would take a booking. Many frustrating weeks were spent searching for a ship willing to take Skie on her delivery to her new owners, whose emotions had now taken another turn, from high anticipation to nervous anxiety and disappointment! Would they ever get to see their new baby?
Decision Time
Timing was now critical, as Peter and Margaret had graciously offered to display their beautiful new grey baby at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show on 24th -27th May, to allow all the other Nordhavn devotees in Australia to see her close up, before they sailed away on their adventure. The plan was to offload in Melbourne, commission her there, before a big launching party for all of Peter and Margaret's family and friends. And then set off north to Sanctuary Cove. As the cut-off date for getting her to Sanctuary Cove drew near, Peter and Margaret took the unbelievably generous decision to forego the launching party in Melbourne to allow PAE to secure a spot on a ship direct to Brisbane. This kind gesture will always be appreciated by all at PAE, and especially by the Nordhavn Australasia team. This breathing space allowed PAE to find a ship, and also allowed Peter and Margaret's anxiety levels to dissipate a little! A ship was finally booked, and an arrival date in Brisbane was confirmed. This new plan would give PAE time to commission Skie, give Peter and Margaret time to add their personal touch to interior soft furnishings, and give Nordhavn Australsia time to arrange the detailing and final preparations for the Boat Show.
Australia Bound
Skie was finally loaded onto the container ship OOCL Sydney on 13th April and sailed at 0800 hours bound for Brisbane, via Perth Melbourne and Sydney. Upon hearing that the ship was to sail via their home town of Melbourne, emotions were on a high again, and Peter and Margaret made plans to be the first in Australia to see their baby. They visited the wharf area were the OOCL Sydney was docked, and after some negotiations were able to peer through security wire, and see Skie sitting proudly on the deck, dwarfed by hundreds of huge containers which seemed to close in around her. The ship was about to depart for Sydney, so Peter phoned all of their friends on the Mornington Peninsula, and told them to take their binoculars to the nearest headland, where they too could get a glimpse of her, as the ship sailed down the channel and out through the bay heading for the 'rip'. More mixed emotions-sadness that Skie was so near and yet so far, and mounting excitement that she would soon be theirs.
Skie Arrives At Last
About a week later, on Thursday 3rd May, the OOCL Sydney docked at P&O Terminal No. 4 at the Port of Brisbane. Peter and Margaret had decided that the offloading phase of the delivery would be better left to others. The Nordhavn Australasia team met with PAE's shipping agent at the Terminal, and accompanied the Australian Quarantine inspectors on board the ship for a routine inspection, while the P&O stevedores began making preparations to lift Skie off her heavy steel cradle, and lower her into the water. Pleasure boats are not designed to be slung high into the air on a couple of slings. Their place is 'on' the water and not above it. So the job of preparing slings and carefully lifting her high above the ship and into the water is always one of great concern to all involved. Perhaps this is why Peter and Margaret decided to keep their stress levels in check, by staying in Melbourne until Skie was safely tied up at her dock! With the quarantine inspection completed, the Nordhavn Australasia team were escorted off the ship and made their way down to a waiting SeaTow tender, to standby to board her once she was 'splashed'. The stevedores took a long time to set up the slings, and the Nordhavn team were beginning to wonder what was wrong, as they couldn't see Skie from the little tender on the water. After almost two hours of anxious waiting, and several false starts, (just as well Peter and Margaret were a thousand miles away!) the massive container crane began to slowly, and carefully haul Skie up over the ships huge load of containers. The crane driver deftly but gently moved Skie inboard over the dock until she was clear of the ship, lowering her until she almost touched the ground, and then with sirens sounding, the crane began to move along the dock towards the front of the ship. Accompanied by an army of stevedores, he slowly edged her past the front of the ship until there was room to once more lift her and extend her out over the water. With shrill whistles, and subtle hand signals, the crane driver held Skie out over the Brisbane River, and ever so slowly lowered her until she was just centimetres over the water. With the tide running swiftly, and with no control from the stevedores ropes now, the next stage would be the trickiest of all. Once the tender had transferred the Nordhavn team on board Skie, tow ropes were made ready to tow her clear of the slings, and the main engine started ready for the run up the river. With one final signal, Skie was lowered into home waters, and the tender took up the slack on the tow rope. A few anxious moments as the slings were uncoupled on the port side and dropped into the river, and a few more until the tender had her clear of the ropes and slings, and then a huge sigh of relief, and lots of shouts of "You Beauty!" and "Thanks guys" across the water to the stevedores lined up on the dock.
Then, after checking the engine room, and ensuring that the lineswere all clear, Skie began her proud first passage up the river to her new home at Rivergate Marina. Time at last to make the call to Peter and Margaret, to let them know their baby was home! And time for Peter and Margaret to at last celebrate with a quiet drink and reflect on a very big year.
Peter Devers is the sales manager of Nordhavn Australasia. Contact Peter at peter@nordhavn.com.au.
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