Nautical Luxuries Blog | Sea Views & News

An extraordinarly talented interior designer friend, whom I’ve known for many years, joined me for a cruise around the harbor last weekend, and prompted a significant discovery. No, not the ‘beneath-the-sea’ type of discovery, but rather the realization that Nautical Luxuries has, in essence, become synonymous with an entirely new and distinctive decor style. After a bit more cruising and animated discussion, we officially coined the name “Urban Coastal”.  Urban Coastal may well be the very essence of Nautical Luxuries.

Throughout our entire collection, you will find a common thread of simply elegant design, and an undeniable appreciation for the natural beauty of all things coastal/nautical. We celebrate here, a few of our favorite and newly coined, “Urban Coastal” pieces. We look forward to continuing the trend. Enjoy!

DJ

  The Urban Coastal Bar:
Bohemian Crystal Martini Glass

The Urban Coastal Hostess: Imported
French Cleat-Handled Deck Tray

Urban Coastal Lighting:
Tortoise Shell Lamp

Urban Coastal Accents:
Hand Blown Glass Rope Knots

Urban Coastal Wall Decor:
Painted Metal Surf Break Wall Sculpture

 The Urban Coastal Coffee Table;
Giant Clam  Centerpiece

 Urban Coastal Sculpture:
Copper Sheen Nautilus Sculpture

Summer may be coming to a close, but it seems Pirates & Wenches know how to have a swashbuckling good time all year long!  Southern Boating’s August issue had a short article about Pirates & Wenches Fantasy Weekend, held in Rock Hall, Maryland, August 12-14. By the looks of things, ( see: rockhallpirates.com), it was just as Southern Boating predicted - a colorful mix of mayhem, music and good family fun!  With boat decorating contests, races, beach parties, giveaways, grog and grub, island music, rum tasting, sea shanty sing-a-longs, and contests (for a date with Captain Black, arrr!), it sounds like a great weekend for any sea-going scallywag.

A quick search online revealed that there are a veritable gaggle of Pirate Faires and Events, held coast-to-coast, and year-round. Here’s a link to find an event near you: http://piratefestivals.com/

And a partial list of pirate events coming up in September:

Marcus Hook Pirate Festival – Marcus Hook, PA
BrethrenCon 2010: A Pirate’s Life For Me – Denver, CO
Lake Chelan Pirate Fest – Lake Chelan, WA
Pirates of the St. Juans – Sanford, FL
Pirate’s Day – Barnegat, NJ
Long Island Pirate Festival- Long Island, NY
Happy Harbor Pirate Fest, Sun Harbor Marina – Orange Beach, AL
Portland Pirate Festival – Portland, OR
Eastport Pirate Festival – Eastport, ME
Pyrate Fest – Memphis, TN
Treasure Coast Pirate Fest – Stuart, FL
Surfside Beach Pirate Fest – Surfside Beach, TX
St. Louis Pirate Festival – Wentzville, MO-West of St. Louis
Pirates Weekend at the Ohio Renaissance Festival – Harveysburg, OH
Toshiba Tall Ships Festival – Dana Point Harbor, CA
Gold Coast Pirate Faire – Ventura, CA area

There’s even a Pirates Magazine, with their own list of Festivals and Events!

Last but, aaaaarrrrr-guably not least, mark your calendar for Talk Like A Pirate Day, September 19th.

Summer may be nearing an end, and the warm weather cruising and racing season may be winding down, but we’ve still got Pirates! … and football …and hockey …and a bottle of rum, yo ho.

DJ

Code Flags, with their bold colors and sharp angles, are a terrific nautical accent any time of the year. Summer, though, seems like the best time of year to indulge in a little code flag fun!

Out on the back patio in Newport Beach, these canvas code flag pillows represent the initials of the owner’s four children. Each pillow is made to order, so you can spell out the name of your boat, or your own private message. They’re available in standard canvas and Sunbrella canvas for your outside patio or aft deck.  You’ll find them on the last page of the Pillows & Throws section.

These hand-hooked, 100% wool code flags pillows add a bright, cozy touch to any seaside home or yacht. Also available in hand-hooked 100% rugs and runners of various sizes to fit any room or hallway. You’ll find these in the Curtains & Rugs section.

Your guests will enjoy this fun set of code flag glasses; available in either acrylic or glass. Each of four glasses features a different code flag with the mariner’s meaning, including U: “You are running into danger” and K: “I want to communicate with you.”

Set a casual, nautical table this summer with our versatile and virtually indestructible Waving Flags melamine dinnerware. They come in a complete service for four, which includes 16 pieces.

Add a nautical touch to your year-round wardrobe with our silk Code Flag Scarf. Scarves are available in a variety of designs, and each is completely custom made, with your choice of up to 20 code flag letters. Get creative with a great fashion accessory and be a stand-out at the next yacht club event.

For him, a beatiful, bespoke set of gold Code Flag
Cufflinks with up to three enameled initials. A true
Nautical luxury! Find them in the Trophies & 
Jewelry section, under Men’s Accessories

Here’s a treat for you both!  His and hers Code Flag Watches, in elegant gold and in a stainless steel sport design. You’ll find them in the Trophies & Jewelry section, under Bracelets. 

There are plenty of other great ways to accessorize your home, your boat, or yourself, with colorful, nautical code flags! See more great ideas by searching “code flags” on the home page.

DJ

There’s no shortage of smiles and laughter around here, each time we get a new Bobblehead order in from the sculptors. It’s hard not to laugh at those little heads bobbling about!  Too bad we can’t capture that in a still photo.

Just received a thank you note from another happy helms-couple:

“Caryn LOVED the Bobbleheads of us. We look at them and laugh often. Enclosed is a photo of our bobbleheads. Thanks again.    Best regards,  Bill”

What yachtsman or yachtswoman wouldn’t get a kick out of a miniature caricature of themselves at the helm! From their deck shoes to their sailing jackets, our bobblehead figures are truly a one-of-a-kind gift idea for any sailor. All we need to create your very own bobblehead figure is a front and side close-up photograph of the face and head.

Can you imagine an entire AC team of Bobblehead Sailors? Larry Ellison? Russell Coutts? Spithill? Cayard? How about Dennis Connor? Lowell North? … bobbling away on YouTube? The mind bobbles – boggles!

DJ

Images of the new superyacht design concepts from Schopfer Yachts just arrived in my inbox, making my jaw drop, and making me wonder… is this really the future of superyachts and, if so, why am I having such a hard time embracing it!

It’s a showstopper, to be sure, and I applaud the innovation E. Kevin Schopfer has employed in the design of these extraordinary vessels. The specs reveal an enviable level of comfort and style, with accomodation for 12 guests and “speeds upwards of 25 knots.” Yet, in my old-school opinion, that design innovation also presents a curious contradiction between exterior lines that (purposefully?) associate the vessel with the sea, through their resemblance to a whale’s eye and jawline, and a reverse bow that counters my long-held expectations of what a seagoing vessel should look like. This is definitely not your father’s superyacht!

I’m trying to imagine feeling comfortable with an intimate group of friends, under the 12 foot high ceiling in the main salon, or in the cylindrical double height dining room, or getting cozy on furnishings that look like they were designed for an intergalactic space shuttle. 

So is this the future? Maybe. With an increasing number of superyacht purchases being a first-boat purchase, more and more owners have no previous yachting, (much less sailing), background. They approach yachting with no preconceived expectations.

Why am I not quick to embrace it? I’m still not sure, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the fact that I’d still rather be sailing than looking, like Jonah, through a whale’s eye, at the surrounding seas while sitting next to an onboard water feature. In the mean time, I enjoy the imaginative creativity of new concepts like this and look forward to what the future has in store.

DJ

I have so may wonderful memories of the International America’s Cup Class, (IACC), yachts – from building our own USA 50 and 54 in Hawaii, to competing in Auckland, to seeing IACC yachts compete alongside 12 Metres and other classic AC yachts during the America’s Cup Jubilee in Cowes, to their final “battles” in Valencia.  

With the shift to catamarans for AC 34, the IACC has officially become a matter of record and an important part of Cup history. Twenty years of design innovation, 100 boats constructed, and over 1,100 fiercely fought races. It was a great run!

Thank you, Bruno, for organizing this farewell tribute, as well as nearly 30 years of Louis Vuitton Cup competition! It is welcome news that Louis Vuitton will be onboard for the next (FB?) generation of Cup racing in San Francisco.

Wyland painting 50                                                            And at the helm

USA50 Sailing off Diamond Head                               50 & 54 Awaiting Offloading in Auckland

Farewell to the IACC!

DJ

Or, is that A Sailor’s Favorite Competition?  Surely, the race back to the bar is one our crew has won a time or two!  For the second year running, Wight Vodka partnered with Scuttlebutt Europe to present one of the most “important” contests in the sailing world…. the Favorite Yachting Bar of 2010! 

Last year’s winner was  Peter Café Sport, located in Horta in the Azores. This year, voting was done on the Scuttlebutt Europe website, with the winner announced on New Year’s Eve… but before we reveal the winner… a tasty cocktail idea from Wight: 

NORTHERN WIGHT

- 1/2 shot chilled Wight Vodka
- 1 shot Cranberry Juice
- 1 shot Pomegranate Juice
- Champagne
- Chambord

Combine Vodka and juices in a cocktail shaker with ice and mix for a minute or two to really chill it. Strain into your favorite (Nautical Luxuries) champagne flutes, top with champagne and a splash of Chambord.

Back to the competition, “hundreds and hundreds” of submissions were received this year, but the winner was the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke in the BVI. The birthplace of the Painkiller cocktail, the bar derives its name from the yachtsmen and women who swim ashore to enjoy the food, drink and conversation there, paying with wet dollar bills pulled from their pockets.

If you find yourself in the BVI, make your way to the south coast of Jost Van Dyke and enjoy a few cocktails while overlooking White Bay. If you can’t make it to the BVI this winter, mix up a batch of Northern Wight cocktails and make plans for next year!

DJ

Admittedly, I am passionate about the sea - the lifestyle it engenders, the beauty it embodies, the pleasurable moments it brings - and I feel strongly that with that passion comes a responsibility to preserve this priceless resource. 

Once again this December, Nautical Luxuries is donating a percentage of wreath sales to the International SeaKeepers Society. The SeaKeepers not only share my passion for the sea, but are also actively involved in protecting it. A US-based non-profit organization, SeaKeepers monitors the health of the world’s oceans by deploying information-gathering modules on private yachts, cruise ships, and other vessels and coastal locations around the planet. 

I cannot think of a more beautifully appropriate gift for nautical enthusiasts to give or receive, than a holiday wreath adorned with the sea’s bounty;  a beautiful statement of their passion and commitment to the sea! 

Included with each wreath is a note letting the recipient know that the wreath they’ve received has helped to protect our oceans. 

Learn more about the SeaKeepers. 

See our entire selection of coastal wreaths. 

  DJ     

It isn’t often that we introduce such a great fashion accessory!
Quintessentially nautical, fashionably elegant and truly clever fun, these hand-painted scarves are now on my Christmas wish list! And, I hope every gift-challenged man out there who thinks a polo shirt and a matching team hat are exactly what she wants for Christmas, is listening. Not only will she look terrific stepping off the boat, attending this year’s Installation Banquet, or even sitting in a meeting at the office, you’ll score extra points for creating something that’s uniquely hers.

Customized code flags let you create your own special message, just for her. Four different scarf styles allow for up to 20 letters along one side, or up to 10 letters on each end. Our staff came up with a few favorite ideas:

ITS HAPPY HOUR SOMEWHERE         LOVE TO SAIL  
 WINK IF YOU CAN READ THIS         SAILING NUT
 CHAMPAGNE FOR EVERYONE         TROPHY WIFE 
I AM THE COMMODORES WIFE       BORN TO SAIL
 I AM NO MANS GALLEY SLAVE      WINCH WENCH
   THIS IS MY SAILING SCARF          I SAIL DO YOU
  WILL SAIL FOR CHAMPAGNE         TIME FOR RUM

Have fun getting creative, but do order by December 1st to ensure delivery in time for Christmas!

DJ

In the ‘bizarre but thematically timely’ nautical decor category, this surreal set from an editorial in Vogue magazine has an extravagantly haunting impact. According to the editorial, (about ice, of all things), the lowly ice cube has been elevated to new heights by bartending cognoscenti. Designer ice. Who knew. Love the set design, and fully intend to ask the bartender about my ice’s pedigree, next happy hour.

DJ