Yachting USA — March 2018

childlike enthusiasm and mentions the places he

would like to visit again, such as Hilton Head, North

Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach and more. Then there

is the unexpected, like the night spent at Roland

& Mary Ann Martin’s Marina and Resort on Lake

Okeechobee while crossing Florida. They happened

upon a fi ne restaurant with a great live band within

walking distance of the boat, Adrian says with the

excitement of discovering something fun and new.

He signs off with sage advice for aspiring cruising

enthusiasts who have yet to single up lines: “You

can’t be afraid, afraid to go, to try new things.”

from the water, it made an impression. “We had the
same view that our ancestors saw,” she says with pride.
Their fi rst night in New York, they cruised around
Manhattan and up the Harlem River near Spuyten
Duyvil in the Bronx, and then cruised back down
the Hudson, docking at Liberty Landing on the New
Jersey side. The couple then completed the cruise
down to Florida, and afterward decided that they
needed a larger platform, one to expand their cruising
dreams, possibly across the Gulf Stream.
The Roverses saw the Galeon 510 Skydeck three
years ago at the Miami International Boat Show,
and it was love at fi rst sight. The way the side decks
fold out to add entertaining space caught their eye.
“It goes from about 14 feet to 19 feet wide,” Adrian
says enthusiastically, adding that with the way the
boat expands, its usable acreage is “almost like an
RV.” Stephanie says that everywhere they cruise,
people come by and take pictures of the boat when
she’s wide open with the bar stools in place. “It’s
just beautiful,” she adds. Adrian says the grandkids
love to fi sh and dive off the side platforms too.
Twin 670 hp Volvo Pentas give the 510 Skydeck a
25-knot cruise speed, which Adrian enjoys, especially
when there is nice weather and they can pop out
of the Intracoastal Waterway to run on the ocean.
“I can make the trip [from New York to Florida] in
two weeks,” he says, noting that he is a Type A indi-
vidual but still thinks that, on occasion, they should
slow down a bit more and truly take in the journey.
In addition to loving the Galeon’s speed, Adrian
likes that its canopy drops down, making the air draft
just about 15 feet 6 inches. So the 510 is bridge-friendly
— an important feature for the Roverses, since bridges
near their home top out around 17 feet.
Adrian and I talk for two hours as he recounts
their trek from New York to southwest Florida and
over to the Bahamas. He recalls every stop with

Comforts of Home

Adrian Rovers says one of the things he likes most about his Galeon 510 Skydeck is the 360-degree salon windows. The glass brings in light and

provides impressive vistas in all directions. He also says he pilots the boat from the lower helm most of the time. Knowing that he and

Stephanie would be cruising to tropical climes, the Roverses tinted all the glass and increased the air-conditioning capacity of their vessel,

ensuring that those cool views would come with an equally cool and comfortable climate inside the salon and helm.

North to South

Montebello on the

Ottawa River is a

must-see Canadian

stop for the couple.

Emerald Bay in the

Exumas (above) is a

southern favorite.

CURRENTS CRUISING LIFE The Roving Roverses

courtesy sandals resorts

50 YACHTING MARCH 2018