23m Nordhavn "Kahu" Up In Flames

It's always sad to see megayachts go on fire or sink and that's what happened the 23m (75ft) Nordhavn "Kahu" on Tuesday afternoon on the 5th of November whilst she was docked at East Cowes Marina. The fire started onboard Kahu just after 13.00 and the incident was attended by the Fire, Police and Cowes Harbour Commission Services.

Credit to George Chastney

Teams tackled the fire from nearby pontoons and with the assistance of Cowes Harbour Commission's 16m Multi-Cat Seaclear. Despite this, the Kahu sadly sank at 22.45 on Tuesday evening, with approximately 8,000 litres of marine diesel fuel oil on board. Cowes Harbour Commission (CHC) deployed oil spill prevention booms around the vessel during the fire.

Cowes Harbour Commission’s response was directed by Harbour Master Capt. Stuart McIntosh, who immediately activated CHC’s Harbour Emergency Plan and Oil Spill Response Plan in order to minimise the impact of any potential pollution incident arising from the sunken vessel.

Capt. Stuart McIntosh reported: "Cowes Harbour Commission has a well planned and rehearsed response for pollution incidents with back-up from specialist Oil Spill Response contractor Adler and Allan. The majority of the diesel fuel appears to be contained within the vessel’s fuel tanks. The team from Adler and Allen mobilised their oil spill emergency response unit yesterday evening, which is still on scene, and involved deploying further oil booms around the vessel to minimise any potential pollution."

"CHC has a statutory obligation to have an effective Oil Spill Response Plan in place, and our staff are trained to respond to just such an incident. We continuously review and update the plan, and hold regular exercises to test effectiveness so that we are prepared for scenarios like the unfortunate sinking of the Kahu."

Adler and Allan are still working with Cowes Harbour Commission to contain and recover the oil from the incident. Thank you to Capt. Stuart McIntosh for the comments on the indecent.

Gearing Up For Delivery

Nordhavn's flagship the N120 is gearing up for her long delivery voyage from the P.A.E yard on the south coast of China to her new home in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is the first hull in the 120 series and is currently undergoing her final sea trials in preparation for her maiden voyage which is scheduled for the end of this month.

The delivery crew will include P.A.E vice president Jim Leishman, naval architect Jeff Leishman, the excited new owner and some the factory staff. She will only stop off once in Hong Kong throughout her whole 5,000nm voyage but if this was my maiden voyage I think a pit-stop in the South Pacific island maybe "Bora Bora" would have to be incorporated into the planning, wouldn't you agree?

For everyone wondering where she is at anytime of the day there will be a special website section set up on nordhavn.com which will include daily onboard commentary, statistics, photos, tracking and even a questions & answers section with the crew. We will keep you posted on our Facebook and twitter pages as to when the N120 site is up and running.

The Nordhavn 120 Launched Into The Test Tank

Its exciting times in Nordhavn as their largest megayacht to date gets its first taste of water as she was lowered into the test tank at South Coast Marine in Xiamen in China, today the 22nd of April.

Dan Streech, president of Nordhavn's parent company Pacific Asian Enterprises, Inc. (P.A.E.) noted that so far the future queenship of the Nordhavn fleet has functioned in the water exactly as expected. "She floats perfectly," Streech said. "All 800,000 lbs. of fiberglass, steel, wood, stone and glass have been brilliantly engineered and managed to float exactly as predicted."

The tank test is the final stage for the N120 prior to being delivered to her new owner in July. She will remain in the tank for approximately one month as systems are fired up and tested. When completed, she'll undergo final ocean trials and ABS certification assessment in preparation for delivery to Vancouver, Canada.

Her delivery which she'll undertake under her own hull will be non-stop from China to Vancouver at a speed of within 3kts of what freighters typically travel, the decision to "drive" her home was made thoughtfully but confidently. The current plan is that she will be departing the factory July 1st by a delivery crew led by P.A.E. vice president Jim Leishman.

The goal is to make a quick and efficient passage running as fast as possible using the same classic fuel management as the crews on board the Nordhavn 40 during the Around The World voyage (as well as by hundreds of other Nordhavn owners during their own long passages). The non-stop passage from China to Vancouver is expected to take 24-28 days.

Nordhavn Owner Releases Book

You might remember, a couple of months ago we ran a four part series about owner James, his Nordhavn 62' "Pendana" and the planning of their trip to New Zealand. Unfortunately James had to cancel his trip to New Zealand due to adverse weather conditions, but we all know "never underestimate mother nature". James is now in the process of planning his next trip and hopefully mother nature will be on his side this time. But in the middle of all the planning and trips he has been working hard completing his book which is due for release at the end of March 2013. The book will be available for purchase on Amazon and also on Pendana.net.

From Family to Crew is the true account of Dr. James Ellingford and his family as they embark on a remarkable journey with Pendana, a beautiful vessel designed for open-ocean cruising that is docked in beautiful Bobbin Head, Broken Bay, approximately twenty nautical miles north of Sydney, Australia. Ellingford and his wife have owned several boats over the course of their lives, but none so impressive and capable as Pendana, a Nordhavn 62. The doctor and his family purchased the boat and decided to write about their experiences over the first year of ownership, feeling that it would have been helpful for them if such a book was available at the time that they decided to buy Pendana.

From Family to Crew shows anyone interested in voyaging with their families that it may be challenging at times yet absolutely possible for a couple with no real hands-on knowledge or experience of crossing oceans, to successfully own and operate such a sophisticated vessel. Ellingford's account of his adventurous first year holds nothing back, offering brutal honesty about the myriad of challenges he and his family worked hard to overcome. Many obvious aspects of boat ownership are thoroughly covered, along with others that one might not even think of before purchasing such a boat.

Ellingford's story is all the more compelling given the aspect of his family's role in the maintenance and use of Pendana. While there are many stories about a man alone with his vessel, the presence of a wife and children gives the book a much more interesting and unusual twist that will appeal to a wide range of readers. How will they deal with the usual pressures of family life compounded with the notoriously difficult life at sea? How will the doctor and his wife learn how to confidently operate the boat enough to justify its purchase? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this exhilarating firsthand account of life with Pendana.
 

Exclusive: The Story of Pendana, Part 4

This is the final part of an exclusive four part series spread out over the past few months about M/Y Pendana, her passionate owners James and his wife Claire and the planned expedition that James and his family are planning, which is to cross the notorious Tasman Sea at the end of the year.

Pendana’s New Zealand Trip - The Adventure That Wasn’t

It is with some sadness that I have to report that Pendana didn’t make it across the notorious Tasman Sea due to a severe weather pattern which saw a tropical low depression enter the Tasman Sea and a Cyclone form north of New Zealand.

I spoke with James a few days after the decision was made who said the main reasons why the New Zealand trip was cancelled at 0700 on Tuesday 11th December 2012 were:

1. He had made a promise to his family and Parents In-Law not to go if weather wasn’t good enough.

2. He mentioned that the forecast received on day of departure (11th December) had absolutely no signs of weather conditions improving and all the signs were, that the weather could potentially get a lot worse.

3. James mentioned that at the time the decision was made (0700) there was a tropical low that was becoming more organised with the chance of becoming a cyclone/hurricane. One thing James knows about cyclones in the South Pacific is that it is incredibly difficult to predict their speed and direction and history has proven this to be the case on countless occasions.

4. James also said that Pendana would have to ensure Short period seas of 5-7 seconds for the entire trip. The average forecast was for 10ft seas with a five second period which would not be comfortable in most small ships! James said that for him short period seas are to be avoided at all costs.

5. Finally, James said that the chance of the high pressure cell that we were being routed through becoming over-run by what were two strong and large low pressure systems to the north and south of Pendana’s planned route/track was too much risk.

On December 13th, two days after planned departure on the 11th, the tropical low that James was worried about became a cyclone/hurricane and was officially named Cyclone Evan, packing winds of between 180kph/111mph and 360kph/222mph causing havoc to commercial shipping. While Cyclone Evan is further north part of it did break apart during formation and headed south as a deep tropical low depression which would have impacted Pendana’s transit around North Cape/Cape Reinga, New Zealand.

Clearly on this map below you can see the low pressure system and how close it would have been to our route and the north tip of New Zealand which is just off this map to the south.

James said that he was satisfied that the call not to go was the correct one however difficult to make. I am sure there are lots of mariners who would have battened down the hatches and soldiered on but for us, this is pleasure boating and not a test of one’s endurance. The idea of being smacked around in short period seas was and is not something I am too interested in doing for two days, let alone six!

James sang the praises of Fleetweather and said they were, in a word, brilliant. Their forecasts were so much more than he was getting via online subscriber or free website services. Without Fleetweather we would have made the wrong decision. James wanted to stress, that if they had made the trip, then Pendana would have had no problems at all in combating the seas, swell, period or winds. The reason for not going was not so much based on safety but rather the comfort of the passengers and crew aboard Pendana.

To set course in sustained bad conditions is not something I will ever do and while a few days of rotten weather is manageable the relentless reality of what we were facing would have worn thin after the first twenty four hours.

James did say that one thing throughout all of this that he had learned is that when using a weather forecasting company one must be very specific about what weather is acceptable and what is not. He did initially tell Fleetweather winds below 25kts, seas under 3mtrs/10ft were fine but went onto say that he didn’t expect to cop this for the full six days. What James said, he should have said was, over the six day passage he wanted at least half with winds under 20kts and a swell/wave period greater than the height of the combined swell/wave for 90% of the trip.

James and his wife Claire are now planning to spend New Year’s Eve in Sydney Harbour with friends and after that, who knows? Let the adventures begin.

Exclusive: The Story of Pendana, Part 3

This is part three of an exclusive five part series spread out over the four months about M/Y Pendana, her passionate owners James and his wife Claire and the planned expedition that James and his family are planning, which is to cross the notorious Tasman Sea at the end of the year.

There is little doubt that James and Claire have planned meticulously for this trip and after speaking with him again to get the latest on his trip I find that he is full of excitement and anticipation as the trip nears. James is also keeping his fingers crossed for the right weather window to open.

James told me that his forecasting ability is not that great and while Pendana has been caught out on occasion in nasty weather it has only ever lasted a day or so. James said that as this crossing will take six days it is imperative that we get the forecast right. As such, he has engaged the services of Fleetweather in the USA to make sure he does. Fleetweather is used by both commercial and private marine crew as an aid to ensure forecasting and routing is within the vessel’s and crews’ capabilities. James mentioned that he really didn’t want to see seas greater than three metres or winds in excess of 20kts for any extended period. He did go onto say that he realises that the seas approaching the North Island of New Zealand can and often are between seven to ten metres. While he is prepared for this it is certainly not something he wants to face for the entire trip. James mentioned that he has a great respect for the power of the ocean as it can snap Pendana like a tooth-pick and, as such, getting the weather right is imperative.

James went on to talk about the customs’ clearance process and said that he was confident that all requirements for a successful clearance and arrival have been crossed off his ever growing list. As Australia and New Zealand have some of the strictest quarantine and customs laws in the world James said that making sure he gets this right is important. James went onto say that he had heard horror stories from mariners who entered New Zealand and Australia where the entire contents of the ship’s stores were removed and where overzealous customs and quarantine officials made life very hard indeed for mariners trying their best to enter or exit the country. That being said, he was adamant that his experience so far in dealing with both countries’ officials has been nothing but pleasant and highly professional. He went on to say that there is a process to follow and rules to abide by and so long as you follow them then there should be no issues or areas of concern. The rules are in place mainly to protect the countries’ agricultural economy and while ignorance is bliss it is certainly no excuse for not doing one’s homework and preparing accordingly. James went on to explain that he had a suspicion that most mariners who encounter problems only had themselves to blame.

James did go on to say that if you arrive unannounced, unplanned and unprepared in a foreign country there is no doubt that this will not endear you and your crew to the officials waiting to greet you on arrival. If you decide to drop anchor before clearing customs then it is no wonder you receive a fine and if you take strictly prohibited food into a country that clearly forbids it then one should not take issue at it being confiscated. James did say that while his experience at this stage has only been by phone he is confident that Pendana will meet all the requirements for exit and entry and will whiz through the customs process without any issues at all. We shall see!

Abi and Bianca (12yrs & 8yrs respectively), James’ and Claire’s children, are incredibly excited and are looking forward to the trip. James said that he and his wife made a mistake recently and have been fielding questions from the children ever since. The family decided to watch the film’ Titanic’ and while it is a great film the children were somewhat horrified to see the ship go down. Oooops! Questions like, "Daddy, will Pendana sink?" "What if it does?" "What if our life-raft blows away?" "How long can we survive in a lifejacket?" "Daddy, what if we don’t get time to activate the EPRIB?" These are just some of the questions coming thick and fast around the dinner table each night. James mentioned that the answers to these questions have been honest at all times and that the questions are slowly starting to ebb. It will be very interesting to see how two relatively young children handle what is a major trip across some potentially nasty waters.

Mega Yacht Global will bring you part four in early January as we re-join James and his family in New Zealand to find out how the trip actually went and what their experiences were. For more information on Pendana visit www.pendana.net

Exclusive: The Story of Pendana, part 1

This is part one of an exclusive five part series spread out over the next four months about M/Y Pendana, her passionate owner James, the expeditions James and his family have experienced, and not to mention the up coming expedition planned for the end of the year.

James was born in West Africa and raised in England and Australia, with his passion for yachts starting when he purchased his first yacht, a 25ft Bertram. From here James' yachts got larger as he became hooked on the yachting bug. He went on to acquire a 36ft Scarab, a 46ft Riviera and just last year purchased the beautiful Nordhavn 62 M/Y Pendana (seen in the image above).

A lot of thought and planning went into finding Pendana, says James, I kept asking myself what is the right yacht? I knew when I came across Nordhavn that they would be the right yachts as they ticked all the right boxes, it was just a matter of finding the right model. One of the reasons that Nordhavn appealed to James was their attention to detail and the perfection of the finishing. The quality of ten year old Pendana was definitely put to the test when she arrived into Brisbane Australia on the 20th December 2011 after being delivered from Florida on dockwise. After she got unloaded, she was boarded by fifteen customs officers who used special moisture detection devices to look for moisture in the wooden interior, but after many hours she passed with a perfect score. They couldn't detect any moisture and James was told this only happens once every four years, so it just goes to show how good of a build she is.

After the great news, which was an early Christmas present Pendana and her new crew made their way towards Sydney on a 450nm delivery to her new home. Since arriving in Sydney James and his family have been taking her on trips all up and down the Gold Coast, where they have encountered all the elements the weather has to offer. Now James, his family and crew are busy planning their next trip where they will tackle the open ocean on their crossing from Sydney to New Zealand in mid December.

Mega Yacht Global will bring you part two in November as we re-join James, family and Pendana as they prepare for their trip to New Zealand. For more information on Pendana visit www.pendana.net

The Nordhavn 120 Moves Closer To Completion

Nordhavn's N120 is progressing smoothly towards her completion date at the end of the year. The newest video released last month by Nordhavn shows her build progression, with a full interior tour showing her dark wood paneling and interior layout. You can see how her interior will be finished in the below image, the combination of light and dark will create a very homely feel for those long passages. Hull No.1, was sold in early 2010 to an owner who must have in mind to use this yacht to its full exploring potential on the worlds oceans.


Specifications

• Length: 120ft (36.75m)
• Beam: 27ft (8.51m)
• Draft: 9ft (2.74m)
• Displacement: 848,994 lbs
• Fuel: 17,500 gals
• Twin Engines: MTU Series 2000 M72

The N120 has 4 decks and is able to accommodate up to 8 guests in 4 king sized guest cabins and a full beam owners cabin forward on the main deck. The real beauty of the N120 is that she is built to handle the seas as well as she handles her guests. Naval architect Jeff Leishman has designed her waterline length perfect to make long passages a very comfortable experience for all guests and crew on the yacht.This is your perfect explorer and for more pictures and information of the N120 visit our earlier post here: Nordhavn N120

Nordhavn's N120 Hull No.1 Progress Pictures

Nordhavn's N120 hull No.1 is on schedule for a launch near the end of 2012. Below are some pictures released by the yard this week and shows the progress that the yard is making on the exterior and interior of the yacht.

Nordhavn's N120 Hull No.1 in Construction

Nordhavn's first N120 hull is currently in construction and is due for completion in late 2012, the hull was sold in early 2010 to an owner who must have in mind to use this yacht to its full exploring potential on the worlds oceans.

She is a beautiful sleek modern explorer with a bold look ready to take on what the ocean has to offer, while keeping her guests in complete luxury and comfort. The interior can be fully customized to the owners wishes, using the finest hardwoods and finishing Nordhavn will work closely with the owners designer to create the look and feel the owner desires. The image below is the main salon, you can see that the balance of light colors with dark woods gives a relaxed and warm feeling for those exploration voyages.

The N120 has 4 decks and is able to accommodate up to 8 guests in 4 king sized guest cabins and a full beam owners cabin forward on the main deck. The real beauty of the N120 is that she is built to handle the seas as well as she handles her guests. Naval architect Jeff Leishman has designed her waterline length perfect to make long passages a very comfortable experience for all guests and crew on the yacht.

Specifications

• Length: 120ft (36.75m)
• Beam: 27ft (8.51m)
• Draft: 9ft (2.74m)
• Displacement: 848,994 lbs
• Fuel: 17,500 gals
• Twin Engines: MTU Series 2000 M72

This is your perfect explorer for those who want to travel and explore the worlds oceans and the far off uninhabited islands.

www.nordhavn.com