Many of you have noticed that our boat is for sale and have contacted me with questions.
SOLD!
You’ve probably also noticed that I haven’t posted any blog entries this year.
We are, and will always be, world cruisers. We spent three months or more on the boat each of the last few seasons, and just returned from a couple weeks of cruising.
Cygnus has been exactly what we wanted in a boat. It’s fast, simple, reliable, seaworthy, and overall perfect for Roberta and I. Unfortunately, a combination of Covid and going back to work (building a video game) kept us from world cruising the past few years. I haven’t been blogging because my #1 promise to my readers has always been that, if I had nothing interesting to say, I wouldn’t post anything. We’ve been cruising within a 300 mile radius of Seattle, like thousands of other boats, whereas my blog is focused more on world cruising to off-grid places.
The bottom line: we are thinking about going back to a heavier ocean-crossing explorer boat, and venturing to places like Polynesia where it is difficult to ship a boat. We are selling now, because the boat is still “like new”, and we don’t want to get caught owning multiple boats. It has been a tough decision and Roberta and I will be quite sad when Cygnus sells.
As to what we’ll buy, I’m not sure. We are likely to buy a used boat. It can take two to three years to build a new boat, plus the first year on a new boat can often be dicey as you put it to the test. Now that our lives have returned somewhat to normal, we’re eager to start venturing into the unknown again. We will see what is available when it comes time for us to buy something, and if Cygnus doesn’t sell this summer we might just ship it to the Med or the Caribbean and cruise there.
Anyway ..if anyone reading this wants to learn more about Cygnus, contact Scott Whittaker at 206-660-9741
10 Responses
My money’s on a 77’ Doggersbank. 😎
Very close! How did you know???
Many used boats fitting the bill, start their descriptions with the word “expedition” and some are steel vessels from commercial fields like fishing. I think of Berings as steel, commercial standard Nordhavns. If I were sailing one to Polynesia, I’d be tempted to have an engineer onboard because vessels appear to be getting more complex. An alternative might be redundancy in-depth. The open ocean distances are significant. I’ve been watching Bering construction videos and am very impressed.
Ron
I was moored next to Cygnus while in Roche in early July (coincidentally a day after this blog post came out). She’s a stunning vessel but completely understand your desires to get back to a full displacement world cruiser. I followed your posts while building Cygnus and am hopeful the future owners appreciate the amazing systems and attention to detail you put into the design and build. – Brigadoon
as long as you and roberta are happy, then all is well
I came upon your blog when researching our next boat purchase. We are going back and forth between GB 54 and Nordhavn 59CP. We like both boats for different reasons. Since you have owned both brands, I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts, if you don’t mind. We want to do the Loop and some Caribbean cruising for now.
That would be a tough decision. Both are great boats. I remember the 59cp as much less expensive. To be honest I suspect we bought the GB60 because it was more expensive. We thought we were buying the last boat we’d ever own and wanted to spare no expense. I remember Dan Streech (Nordhavn’s President) asking why I selected the GB60 and that was the answer I gave him. The GB54 and GB60 are “trophy” boats. Grand Banks does an amazing job of focusing on every detail. And that said, Nordhavn boats are rugged and extremely well built. The Grand Banks boats are faster, and sleeker. I’d try to spend with both and see what you think. It’s a tough decision. Both are excellent brands.
Thanks for your reply! It is a touch decision!
Glad you have a plan! Maybe a Fleming? Nice 58 for sale in Seattle.
Currently, our planning is being driven by when our current boat (Cygnus) sells. We have several boats picked out, but don’t want to get caught owning two boats, so we’re waiting to see what is still on the market when the time comes. Interestingly, with one exception, every boat we’ve considered over the past year is still on the market. I think a lot of people are hesitant to make any major purchase now, waiting to see what is happening with the economy.
We’re not too worried about it. We’ll see what happens, but if Cygnus doesn’t sell we’ll probably cruise this winter, somewhere, and then see what we are thinking next summer.
As to Fleming, they are great boats! If you’ve never watched Tony Fleming’s youtube videos, they are a must-watch. My first reaction would be to say that Flemings aren’t ocean crossers, but Tony would certainly disagree. That said, all of the boats currently on our list are heavy full displacement boats. Our list includes boats from: Nordhavn, Bering, Doggersbank, CDM and Moonen.
Roberta thinks the market won’t turn around until 2025, and that not much will sell until it does. Hopefully she’s wrong, but … we shall see.