First Impression: Nimrod

Date toured: December 2007

The 80-foot sailing yacht Nimrod, built in 2001 by Marten Marine in New Zealand, started out life with the name Happy Joss. She got a new owner in December 2005 and a new crew in mid-2006, and she has been a busy charter yacht ever since.
     “We’re a proper sailing yacht, not a motoryacht with sticks,” the captain told me. “As soon as the anchor is up, we sail.”
     Families are the typical charter clients onboard (“I can’t even think how many miles I’ve towed kids on wakeboards and skis,” the captain says with a chuckle). There’s a master cabin as well as a queen-bed cabin and a third guest cabin with bunk-style berths that are ideal for children. The outdoor cockpit seating area is large, with more than enough room for six guests. The indoor saloon, too, feels quite voluminous because the yacht is 21 feet wide.
     The chef told me that she enjoys cooking fresh fish and vegetables above all else. “If the guests like heavy meals, I will prepare it, but I prefer to make lots of smaller, healthier dishes.” Three meals a day are included in the $23,000 weekly base rate, no matter which tastes appeal to you.
     And whatever kind of food you enjoy, you will have the choice of dining in the cockpit or at the large table in the main saloon (see photograph at right). It is a lovely, comfortable space, just like the rest of this yacht's interior.
     Nimrod was virtually fully booked for the winter at the time I was onboard, so your next chance to charter her will be this summer, when she is bound for the Mediterranean. She’s part of the fleet at Ocean Independence. Contact any reputable charter broker for more information.—Kim Kavin