l the wildest dreamsNo Limits
in Georgia, Lake Lanier was
a great place to dream about
someday owning a boat. The
owner of the 63-foot Nord-
havn Asturias was one of those
kids, playing on ski boats and
sailboats that his father and
grandfather owned. ¶ “I’d been
planning on it since I was 12
years old, going to boat shows,”
he says of buying his own ride.
“I’ve been dreaming about this
every day of my life.” ¶ After
graduating from college, he
took seven years of classes
with the United States Power
Squadrons and became a pilot-
ing instructor—still without
owning a boat of his own. He
amassed boating magazines
to learn about boat styles and
builders. Today, he has 2,000
of them, including Yachting,
organized chronologically by
publication date. ¶ When he
fi nally had enough money to
buy the yacht of his dreams,
he commissioned a Nordhavn- “It’s the biggest boat that I
can operate myself, but it’s also
the smallest boat that I could
really have a captain on board,”
he says. “It is right in that mid-
dle range that can go either way.”
¶ He took delivery in 2017 with
a plan of crossing oceans and
exploring the world, starting in- During his fi rst two years
of ownership, he did smaller
cruises, including up to New
England and down to the Ba-
hamas, with a stop at the Poto-
mac River in Washington, D. C.
¶ “I’ve had the boat in some
pretty big storms,” he says.
“We’ve hit 30-foot waves for
a day and a half, and the boat
did fi ne, and the crew did fi ne
with me and three of my friends.
The boat is as strong and as safe
as they know how to make it.”
¶ Asturias handling so well
and being so much fun to be
aboard, he says, are why he is
off ering her for charter. He still
owns his auto dealership and
has a couple more years before
he can cruise off on his own
adventure, and he wants the
boat to be used in the interim.
¶ That is great news for anyone
interested in chartering a
Nordhavn because they rarely
come onto the charter market.
Most people who buy them are
like the owner of Asturias—
eager to live out their own
cruising dreams—so the boats
remain private. ¶ “It’s defi nite-
ly rare,” says Jeff Shaff er, who
manages Asturias as part of
the fl eet at Superyacht Sales
and Charter. “It’s for theA lot of people who
buy Nordhavn
yachts want to
live out their own
dreams of long-
distance cruising as
owner-operators—
which means
precious few
Nordhavns go into
charter. Asturias is
believed to be one
of only two available
with professional
charter crew.
I WANTED
A BOAT TH AT
COULD GO
A C R O S S O C E A N S.
I’VE BEEN
DREAMING
ABOUT THIS
EVERY DAY
OF MY LIFE.THE
CHARTER
FILEasturiasyear built: 2017 shipyard: Nordhavn number of charter guests: six number of
crew: two destinations for charter: New England during summers, Bahamas and the
Caribbean during winters fishing fanatics, take note: The owner keeps “tons” of rods aboard
for trolling. thinking about buying a nordhavn? A long-weekend charter can be arranged.
charter company: Superyacht Sales and Charter lowest weekly base rate: $25,00072 YACHTINGSEPTEMBER2 019