The sizzling temps are perhaps the most obvious indicator of what season we are smack in the middle of, but one look around Nordhavn’s UK office and there’s absolutely no mistaking that summer in Europe is in full swing.
With it conjures expected images of Americans in Paris, but for Nordhavn owners, summer in Europe could mean, really, anywhere within the continent. A crop of American Nordhavn owners are defining their 2023 European vacations by exploring Scotland, Ireland, Spain, and of course, Britain’s south coast and have used NEL’s docks and service facility in Hamble as a jumping off – or midway – point of their European cruising.
However, the whirlwind of activity at Nordhavn’s Europe headquarters began long before the high season kicked off; the office’s success laid out by its relocation from Southampton to a brand new site at the Premier Marina in Swanwick. “Similar to the way the Nordhavn yacht esthetic has evolved, we wanted a new, refreshed feel to our sales office,” said NEL marketing manager Jessica Emmans. With the move to the luxury marine district, there was a clear goal: “We wanted to inject a similarly contemporary style that provides clients with surroundings embodying the spirit of the modern Nordhavn.”
Meanwhile, the service center, which has become a maintenance and commissioning mainstay for European residents and anyone looking to begin their new Nordhavn ownership reign in that part of the globe, remains in Southampton.
The owners of Nordhavn 64 GRATITUDE kicked off their final summer session on the eastern side of the Atlantic with a service refresh at NEL before heading down the coast, on to Scotland and through the Caledonia Canal en route to Norway. After five years exploring the nooks and crannies of Europe, the American family entrusted NEL to get GRATITUDE in ship shape so they could focus fully on the last days of their overseas cruising experience.
Canadian owners of N55 CARMANAH had kept their boat on the east coast of the US before jumping across the Atlantic last year with their boat partner in crime N57 FESTUS. The two boats wintered in London and then made their way down to use NEL’s service facility for maintenance while spending time cruising around England. They’ll make one more pit stop back to NEL before returning to the States in the fall. Another Nordhavn, BOREAS, a 55-footer that also crossed from the U.S. last summer and has spent much of its time cruising Ireland, recently checked in for some routine work.
This was followed by Australia-based Nordhavn 52 SALLY FORTH whose owners shipped her over from Sydney. With plans to cruise the Mediterranean, the owners had NEL assist with the install of a passarelle. Service manager David Madsen worked with a carbon fiber specialist to outfit a gangway that was attached without having to drill through the caprail.“NEL remains the superior and most experienced service and care provider for Nordhavns in Europe,” said NEL co-director Neil Russell, who started working as a project manager with the then-factory of the Nordhavn 40 back in the late 1990s. Russell opened Nordhavn Europe in 2004 and has never looked back. Together with business partner and co-owner, Phil Roach, Russell has established NEL into the go-to for Nordhavn business in Europe.
This includes a brokerage market that is nearly back to its pre-pandemic robustness. As with the worldwide recovery of used Nordhavn listings, NEL have a number of new brokerage offerings available this summer including the beautiful American owned Nordhavn 76 AQUILLA RENEE they are currently overseeing as well as N52 SONAS, which has just undergone a price reduction. And, hints Emmans, expect a few new-to-market pre-owned listings coming just around the corner. As soon as their summer in Europe is complete, that is.
To learn more about Nordhavn Europe, please visit nordhavneurope.com.