Capt. Barry Kallander, owner of Commander, a Nordhavn 40, tells the story behind the dramatic photograph of a summer squall off Cape Cod, Mass.
I spend most of my time cruising New England, including a trip to Maine each summer. I have been providing charters since I bought Commander in 2005, focused on trawler training, from marine systems to navigation to vessel operation.
The Cuttyhunk photo was during an overnight charter for a family form Virginia (a husband, wife and two grown children).
The Weather was foul, with thunderstorms moving through the area. We had tied to the end of the fish dock at Cuttyhunk temporarily, and the harbormaster asked us to move about 50 feet to make room for a larger vessel coming in. While the skies were ominous, the breeze was only 12 knots. We threw lines to the harbormaster, a squall suddenly came to 50 knots and was pushing us away from the dock. I called to pull in lines to maneuver the boat away from the docks and rocks evident in the background and get out into the fairway until the wind settled.
Coincidentally, Gavin Ashworth, a professional photographer and Nordhavn lover, was on his Sabre on a mooring. He was shooting the ominous sky and clouds from the safety of his saloon and began to snap pictures of Commander.
After the weather settled – about 15 minutes – we approached the dock and tied. Gavin came over in his tender and said, “I got an incredible picture of your boat coming off the dock.” We since became good friends and dine together each summer at Cuttyhunk. Gavin kindly gave me the rights to the photo, but it was his good timing that captured Commandeer as she veered off with 50 knots of wind on her port beam.
For information about chartering Commander, visit www.nordhavn.com and click through “Resources” to the “Charters” page.
See related articles:
– Checklist for your cruising destination
This article originally appeared in the June 2012 issue.
