Dana Point, CA – (June 22, 2023) –NEW JOURNEY is the latest Nordhavn 96 motor yacht to be delivered to her new owners, having immediately embarked on a six-week maiden voyage following her handover last month. Hull #18 of the N96 series, she initiated her cruise in the Sea of Cortez and traveled 1,500 nautical miles to Victoria, British Columbia, where she is currently exploring – just the tip of the cruising iceberg this formidable yacht will enjoy over the next several years. The owners are a recently retired couple who wanted the boat to be a floating resort which would take them on a five-year journey around the world. The goal was to create a luxurious haven for relaxing and celebrating via big dining, entertaining, and activity spaces that will serve as a welcoming home base to their global excursions.Nordhavn’s Chief of Design, Jeff Leishman, worked with the owners to produce a yacht that would provide endless comfort and enjoyment at sea, addressing the owners’ requests to situate the primary cabin amidships below deck at the most stable part of the yacht. The skylounge was also tailored to suit their “free time” hobbies including recessing fitness equipment into the deck sole necessary for headroom clearance, plus a dedicated music space so the owner, an avid musician, could practice playing drums with his musician friends.
The owners will employ a full-time crew of four and will have a rotating guest list of friends and family who will join them at various ports. In addition to the owners’ suite, there are three ensuite guest staterooms, and a convertible guest cabin in the skylounge, plus two separate crew quarters.
To accomplish the personal cruise ship vibe, NEW JOURNEY was equipped with two bars – one on the flybridge, and a large bar aft of the sizeable galley that was designed for their more relaxed and casual dining and entertaining lifestyle. For more formal dinners, a beautifully detailed, boat shaped dining table for ten is located in the cockpit aft (outfitted with removable Eisenglass) where guests can enjoy dinner al fresco. A second dining area is adjacent to the flybridge bar where a large L-shaped settee surrounds two hi-low cocktail tables that convert into a single large dining table that seats eight.
The owners worked with designer Scott Cole of Ardeo Design on the interior and outdoor areas that emphasize community and warmth. To achieve this, communal and individual spaces were designed and set within a backdrop that features subtle textures, woven leathers and a natural color palette. Cole curated a transitional style interior, combining raised paneling in doors and inset panels on drawers with fabric-wrapped wall panels, mosaic glass tiles and stone countertops, as well as leather-wrapped handrails.
The entire interior of NEW JOURNEY is crafted from Walnut, with both quartersawn and crown-cut veneers specified for different areas. The beautiful horseshoe-shaped bar countertop in the Galley, as well as the coffee center and Day Head countertops, were fabricated from a Fusion multi-color quartzite selected in Seattle and shipped to the South Coast shipyard in Xiamen, China. The other countertops in the galley are a White Spring granite, while the heads and exterior area countertops are crafted from varying natural stone slabs.
In keeping with the boat’s theme of promoting group synergy, the brief for the flybridge called for creating the ultimate social spot and was achieved with the show stopping, nightclub-inspired curved bar and lounge area, intentionally placed around the perimeter of the deck to leave a giant open space for dancing. To enhance the mood, Cole designed the underside center of the flybridge hardtop with a subtly darker color, framed by a recessed color-changing LED light strip for when the owners want to up the dance party tone at the flip of a switch. Additionally, a barbecue was incorporated for afternoon or after-hours snacks, and a hot tub for anytime dips was installed at the aft end of the flybridge. A recessed rainshower head in the hard top is conveniently located just forward of the hot tub.
Although the owners are no longer working full-time, they did request an area in the owner’s cabin be reserved for an office. A table flanked by two settees atop a raised platform serve as an ideal workstation. Large windows fitted with Smartglass offer a view or can be switched to an opaque setting for privacy and light control.
The owners will spend this summer in Alaska and intend to commence with a world cruising itinerary starting in late Spring of 2024. To accommodate the needs that go with remote cruising, NEW JOURNEY is equipped with two davits including one specifically for their 18’ custom GXE tender which is equipped with a big diesel outboard allowing for fueling of it to concur with the fueling of NEW JOURNEY’s main tanks. A second davit on the flybridge deck is reserved for launching toys including an electric jet ski which will charge via a large outlet on the deck. N9618 was also built with a dive locker on the transom and automatic air compressor to fill dive tanks.
It should be noted that NEW JOURNEY was produced entirely during the stringent travel restrictions of Covid meaning everything from the curved dining table and bar to the extensive lighting schedule, cabinetry and joinerwork were fabricated from detailed drawings and specifications. There were zero in-person inspections done for this boat, an exceptional achievement for all involved and especially the craftspeople at South Coast.
