2800nm on our Najad 451 CC

Please introduce yourselves and tell us more about your background.

We are Tricia & Richard Bunten from Duluth, the port city on Lake Superior in Minnesota, USA. Richard learned how to sail on Lake Superior aboard 30ft sailing boats and, with our son, got his sailing qualifications there too.

Previous sailing adventures?

We had chartered sailboats in various locations, including Croatia, over the years and looked forward to owning our own yacht.

How long had you been researching prior to purchase?

We started looking for our own yacht about four years ago. Initially visiting boot Düsseldorf where we looked around the Najad 395 AC on display there. We had followed some YouTube sailing channels, and one of them had a Najad. We said to ourselves, is this something we want to do? And so, it kind of became a goal of ours that we would work towards, selling our house and moving on to a boat over the next, I don’t know, about 8 years. So, we sold our house, and we bought a smaller house that we rent out when we’re sailing.

What was your criteria?

We came over to Europe and set up a meeting with Fredrik (Malmqvist, Najad CEO). And we also combined it with looking for a used/brokerage boat. We weren’t sure we could afford a new Najad and we looked at a few used boats. And then we met with Fredrik. After we saw a few Najads in the yard in Henån and saw the quality of the boats when we were there, we just said wow. This is amazing. We basically said, let’s do it and so we bought the new Najad 451 CC.

Why did you choose the Najad 451 CC?

The thing that we really like about the boat is the quality. We were looking for a boat that could sail around the world and could be sailed singlehanded or easily sailed by two. I [Tricia] also wanted it to be a pretty boat. I mean, it’s going to be our home, not just a racing boat or something you’re on a few days.

For us, I [Tricia] wanted it to feel like a home, but also to feel safe. That was my biggest criteria. And Tricia really likes the Centre Cockpit. She liked the idea of a Centre Cockpit boat, so you’re not so close to the stern – having the water right there.

You’ve just completed your first 2000+ miles on your Najad. So where have you explored so far?

Last spring and early summer, after a trip to Norway, we sailed over to Denmark down to Germany because the boat was on display at the boat show there.

And then, then we sailed back up the East Coast of Sweden to Stockholm. We left the boat there for a month and a half and went back to Minnesota. Then when we came back in late August, sailed the Stockholm archipelago a little bit, and then we went over to Åland. Then around the Finnish group of islands by Turku & Helsinki. Then we sailed over to Tallinn, around Estonia down to Riga.

And then we did a crossing from Riga over to Gotland. One of their sons came over from the States to help us with the sail since we knew it would be a 2-day sail. And now we’re making our way down the southeast coast, and then we’ll take it back up to Henån for the winter. We plan to go along the south coast here and then, go to Copenhagen, stay in Copenhagen for about a week. We’ll go back to Minnesota for probably 3-4 months.

Any adventures?

Our son grabbed my passport by accident just before he got the ferry from Gotland to Stockholm! And so all of a sudden, he had 8 hours until he was going to get on a flight, and he didn’t have his passport! Tricia got on the ferry and went to Stockholm that night. Luckily, there was one at, like, 1AM. And I [Richard] ended up sailing across from Gotland to Västervik solo. The boat was really easy to handle. And it was strong wind. I had 25 to 30 knot winds and sailing by myself, and I never felt like I was out of control.

Tricia met our son at the airport. It was pretty amazing that it all worked out and he made his flight with his own passport in hand!

What are your favourite features of your Najad 451 CC?

When we saw Najad yachts at the yard in Henån, we could see the craftsmanship in them. And, to be honest, we really didn’t realise how respected Najad was until we actually got the boat and started sailing around Sweden. And everybody just started looking at the boat and we were stopped all the time just along the dock there saying, “wow, that’s a beautiful boat. And I didn’t know they were making boats again.”

The fact that we can sail it all from the cockpit is great. The performance has really surprised me. This 15-ton boat can perform in light wind and also be really good in heavy wind. I enjoy the ease of sailing it. I mean, today, we were sailing in, I don’t know, 8 knots of wind, and we’re doing 5 knots overground. And 6. Sometimes 6. It may take a few minutes to get up to that speed, but once you’re there, it goes.

And I was just amazed at how solid the boat is. I mean, I’ve sailed other boats chartering. And when you’re in waves, I mean, this boat just carves right through the waves.

[Tricia] loves the galley. I mean I love to cook, and I love this galley. And I’m amazed at how much I can store, and how easy it is to cook.

[Tricia said] I think also because Richard’s the sailor – I’m still learning. I’m still not always a 100% comfortable. I mean, I enjoy it. I love it, but I couldn’t do it by myself. So I you know, when you don’t fully understand something, you’re going to be a little bit more nervous. So I think for me, I like that I feel safe in this boat. I mean, we’ve sailed in some really rough weather. And while it might not have been pleasurable because of the wind and the bumps, you know, just in the waves, I always felt safe. And that’s a really important thing for me.....