Peter B. Voss of Krumbach, Bavaria DEU asks:
Hi Scott, you and your wife do a wonderful trip around the world; congratulations! I crossed 7 times the North and Sout-Atlantic with a SY SWAN 62 and get every time - if I cross the Atlantic- a lot of new experiences about the sea. I read, that you and your wife are alone on the NH; how do you handle the watch by crossing? We are a crew with 7 people, every guard (3 or 4 hours) we have to watch with 2 crewmembers. For us this is a part of security on our boat. Have you had contact with containers or sleeping wales? We had... and could pass. I am also verry interested to buy a NH, so I am happy to follow the discussion in the forum. Have a nice Christmas and a happy New Year and all the best for you and your wife - best regards, Peter. As we say, "Have every time a hand water under your keel"!

Scott Flanders from Egret responds:
Peter, Congratulations on your near decision to buy a Nordhavn. You will love it. A Swan is the Nordhavn of sailboats, however you will find a NH much easier to run and more comfortable. It is very cool outside at the moment along with wind blown spray. We are wearing tee shirts and shorts inside and are comfortable. In addition to my wife and I we have a single crewmember who will be with us until Tahiti. We stand four hour watches at night and a loose schedule during the day. The night watch consists of watching the radar, doing an hourly engine room check and occasionally adjusting engine speed to match the sea conditions. Very simple. Egret has but two ocean crossings but we have had no issues with whales or containers. In shallow waters with whales like where we are currently we leave a depth finder running hoping that will help. Also a propeller turning in a powerboat should help as well. Merry Christmas to you and your family as well. We will do our best to keep the shiny side up and not leave bottom paint on any rocks. Scott and Mary