Hi, Mike:

What size vessel (Nordhavn or otherwise) would you have set out in sooner,
without awaiting this window?

What attributes would this vessel have to have, other than size, in order  to
have departed  in the previously mentioned bad conditions that have  existed
for some time?

Regards,

John
"Seahorse"

Mike, and another to finally leave Dana  Point aboard Scott's newly acquired,
very lightly used (100 hours), 2005  Nordhavn 40 Mark II, Alanui.  They spent
last night in Santa Barbara,  departing this morning at 7 am.  12 noon found
them off of dreaded Point  Conception with 5' white caps and a 20 knot NW
wind.  They had to detour  into Coho Bay to tighten dinghy tie-downs.  At
2:45 they were off of  Point Arguello enjoying a 1' chop on top of 3' swells.
This evening will be  spent in Half Moon Bay near San Francisco.  They have
been traveling at  half-load at 7.1 knots.  The trip will end at the home
port of Seattle,  Washington.

I delivered a lot of Nordhavns up this coast - the
same route Mike is heading. For me, the question
wasn't whether the boat could take it (it could), but
there's a lot of other ways to damage a boat besides
heavy weather. Most owner's don't just want their boat
to show up, but they want it to show up in roughly the
same condition as it departed (or better). You see,
the upright human form isn't very stable and tends to
knock into cabinets, microwaves, open a refrigerator
just as a wave hits to lauch a 6-pack of soda across a
sole, etc. Or drop binoculars onto a finely varnished
table. You get the picture. I was quite proud of my
"never an insurance claim" track record: I drove an
85-foot dinner cruise charter boat in San Francisco
Bay, and about 80,000 miles of deliveries, have done
dozens of lessons and boat show demonstrations, and
logged a ton of personal miles.

But probably the most prevelant weather-related vessel
damage during deliveries is from heavy spray - heading
north into 25 knots and 8-foot seas means there will
be a lot of spray over the bow. On lesser boats, it
seeps through windows, ports, and deck fittings and
destroys carpets, window treatments, wood finish, and
furniture. Technically, the boat isn't at a loss-risk,
but there is tremendous potential for moderate damage,
which really ticks-off owners.

At the very least, it's a complex equation of crew,
boat/equipment, route/safe harbors, conditions
(whether they're getting better or worse), and time.
It's the skipper's judgement call - and sometimes its
a hard decision.

Peter
www.SeaSkills.com