We had originally planned on doing our provisioning on arrival Anacortes, figuring we would get that out of the way before diving into meeting people and visiting boats. Anacortes Cap Sante marina is very well located, right at the center of town with very convenient shopping around. Safeway is across the street, West Marine a block away, and Do It Yourself Hardware store just across from Safeway. And best of all, an off-leash dog park within a couple of blocks for Princess to run around in and make new friends.
Of course that wasn't counting on the immediate bond with fellow Nordhavn owners, both meeting up with new faces and catching up with old friends from last year's edition. As soon as the last line was cast ashore and the engines turned off, we quickly rinsed the salt away from Enfin and set to greet and meet all.
The best part was that since last year I had attended on my own, by car, I could introduce everyone to Enfin, Di-Enid and Princess. (Not in order of importance, just alphabetic!)
Di -being her usual friendly self- was quick to make new friends, and Princess -being her usual Princess gorgeous- was quick to attract a lot of attention, pets and treats from all.
Within hours we were visiting boats, reciprocating with showing ours in turn, and time just flew by.
Last year's NAPS was devoid of N40s, but had 3 this year, as well as a number of 43s and a 46. That meant we had plenty of "small" boats to get ideas from and exchange tips with. The saying with Nordhavn owners is "if you've seen one Nordhavn, you've seen one Nordhavn". The meaning being that although they are built on the same base, natural design evolution through owners' feedback, owners' individual choices and selections mean that each boat is slightly different to the next. I was particularly interested in the door arrangement in the guest cabin of the N40 Mark II we visited. The doors open differently than on Enfin, which I found practical and may copy one day. Engine room access door is also wider, which is nice, but has a huge downside that you cannot open the door when the guest cabin's berth is extended. Everything on a boat is a compromise, but I'll keep my slightly smaller door that I can open whether or not the guest berth is in use.
Friday night was potluck night. Di and I aren't exactly familiar with the format, so we ran up to Safeway to get plenty of tomatoes, pesto sauce and fresh mozzarella to make a simple dish. We'd been told salads would be welcomed, and we hope people enjoyed it. Judging by the almost empty dish at the end of the evening, that may have been the case.
Sean (N43 Freedom) was on BBQ duty, with Princess keeping an eye on things. We hesitated bringing her along, but I have worked so much with her to stay calm in heavy crowds that I felt confident she'd behave. I let her run her heart out at the dog park before, and despite being a crazy husky at heart, she stayed very calm and quiet, sitting next to me. Training pays off!
Peter and Char (previous owners of Enfin, then "Medeek") attended dinner by car, and it was nice to catch up with them and for them to meet Di. We obviously invited them to use Enfin as their home base during the event as much as they needed to.
Saturday saw us meeting even more people. We're looking for deck chairs, so tried a few different types on various boats. It's amazing how fast a day can fly by when you're messing around boats and good people!
The N62 "Bee" got my attention. What a gorgeous boat she is. But then, all boats were beautiful. We also stepped on an MS56, the first one I ever got to visit. Another beauty,
Still, our favorite probably remains the N55. Di and I just love the one deck layout for living, topped by a 360 degree pilothouse with a Captain's cabin and day head. Perfect setup for a couple I think.
Despite visiting larger boats, getting back to ours felt right. Little Enfin is simply the right boat for us, and at no time did we get "3-footitis" when visiting others. We enjoyed them, but never thought we'd want to upgrade Enfin (yet?!).
We did joke with all that since we'd only just arrived from Texas and our last move, the boat wasn't "show ready" and in fact could easily earn the title of "messiest boat" of the event. Not a title we'll want to merit twice in a row, and I'm happy to report we've made great progress since.
BBQ on Sunday was kindly provided via PAE's (Nordhavn) generosity. We had volunteered our small oven for the meat, but got so busy we got too late and the bigger boats stepped in our place. Sorry guys! And thanks for stepping in!
Most of us went to bed late that night, with instant friendships being formed, and old ones rekindled.
Sunday saw the fleet slowly sail off. Di and I decided to stay behind for another day so we could finally catch-up on our provisioning and just slow down a bit. Retirement means we can set our own schedule after all.
Overall a great success. Bravo again to Kevin and Alison. We'll see you in British Columbia this summer.