At the end of December, we launched Sea Fever, the sixth Nomad 40 (already!) in the series. As it prepares to leave towards Guernsey, its home port, we wanted to share the story of its owners: Richard and Julia. They are far from strangers to the shipyard... as this is their third JPK!
In 2016, Richard ordered a JPK 1010 for a real ‘cruising-racing’ programme in the English Channel.
A few years later, he and Julia changed their plans to focus purely on cruising, wanting more comfort on board... but without compromising on performance! They turned to us again to order a JPK 39 Fast Cruiser in 2022 (the same year, the boat won the European Boat of the Year award).
This marked the start of a superb programme: first, the JPK Cup in Larmor-Plage – old habits die hard – then three months in the Baltic Sea before embarking on a grand tour of the Atlantic.
From the very first tack, they told us they had the same ‘ JPK feeling ’ as on the JPK 1010, i.e. " an indescribable feeling, linked to the boat's excellent stability and the fact that the boat never surprises its helmsman... It's very stiff and accelerates in the gusts instead of broaching! It was incredible to sail down the Atlantic like that... We had a very experienced crew member who had sailed on many boats and was fascinated by this stability: he was laughing about it all the time!"
The landscapes fly by: descent to Cape Verde, crossing the Atlantic, then up to Canada... Richard has a stroke in Halifax, but convinces the doctor that he can return to sea, and off they go again in the other direction. Conclusion: « Ne didn't broach once during this long Atlantic loop, even when pushing the boat hard! Jacques [Valer] is a hero, as is JP... ils font des bateaux simples, légers et très efficaces !"
Back in Lorient, our friends came to see us and Julia spotted the first Nomad 40 under construction in its mould and immediately put them on the waiting list: " We love the sea, we want to live on the sea, and with this Nomad we can enjoy it to the full without the inconvenience of the manoeuvres and equipment of a sailing boat: running aground in the Channel Islands, enjoying the English Channel, entering ports with shallow depths, teleworking on board thanks to the satellite internet connection... "
All this while sailing at 12 knots (cruising speed to save fuel, approximately 1L/mile), which may seem moderately fast for a motorboat... but very fast for sailors: ‘ and it's nice, at this speed we can hear each other talking on board and we enjoy sailing’.
This boat has been configured as a distillation of their experience with their two previous JPKs. To their sailing friends who ask them if they are really crossing the Rubicon by buying a motorboat, they have the best answer: ‘ No, we are buying another JPK… »
The name of their boat, ‘Sea Fever’, was not chosen at random: it is a poem written in 1902 by John Masefield that evokes the call of the sea...
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
Richard and Julia, thank you for your loyalty to our shipyard! We wish you smooth sailing aboard Sea Fever.
— The JPK Composites team
Link to their YouTube channel with videos of the Atlantic travelling
Link to their JPK 39 FC "Photon Infinity" for sale second-hand
