Bloomquist's Cruising History

The Early Years on KIVA: 2000-02

Our cruising life began in October, 2000 when we took delivery of our new Nordhavn 40, KIVA.  Eric was still working at the time and had planned to take extended leaves from his company, Colonial Craft.  As fate would have it, the week before we were to leave on our first six week cruise from California, Eric was contacted by a large publicly held company that expressed interest in purchasing Colonial Craft.  Since he had received these types of calls frequently throughout his 35 year career, he politely declined to speak with them until his return in November, at which time the interest was still quite strong.  They met for dinner, signed non-disclosure agreements and due diligence was done.  Eric's attitude was, "We're really not for sale, but everything is for sale at the right price.  Make me an offer."  And so they did.  The deal was closed in just four months - cash deal, no strings attached.  Eric was suddenly retired and free to cruise!

Ann's story begins with having met Eric while working at Colonial Craft and marrying him in 1999.  She had been in charge of large accounts, customer service, order processing and the like for eight years.  With plans to cruise, she retired in early October, 2000.  Being violently sick for the first several weeks of cruising, she began to wonder if she could fulfill this dream.  Little did she know, she was seven weeks pregnant!  The baby had been in the plan so cruising was not interrupted and our next stage of life began with a new boat and a baby on the way. 

2001: Our first destination was the Sea of Cortez off the Baja peninsula.  We based out of La Paz, Mexico throughout the Spring and spent most of our time in the islands north of there.  The weather was cooler than we had hoped, but the area was beautiful and we enjoyed our time there.  At the end of the season, Eric and some friends took KIVA north and east to San Carlos where they put it on the hard for the summer season.  Ann was nearing her third trimester and headed back to Minnesota to get ready for the birth. 

Robert Connor Bloomquist was born on June 29, 2001 in St. Louis Park, MN.  Big and healthy, he was strong and full of personality from the beginning.  After a short summer at the cabin in northern Wisconsin, we returned to the boat in early October when Robert was just three months old. 

In the small town of San Carlos, a white, pudgy baby was welcome with open arms.  Upon entering the quaint local restaurants there, he was swept up in the staff's arms and whisked away!  At first disconcerting, this became a normal occurrence that we welcomed as it gave us a needed break.  The Mexican people adore babies and gush all over them.  And a white baby was even more beautiful to them as he was different.  They nicknamed him "Bertito" from the Spanish version of Roberto.  (His name later morphed into Bear which has stuck with him.)  We credit some of Bear's self-confidence and outgoing personality to this overt attention early in his development. 

November, 2002- May, 2003:  Back on the water, we headed south along the west coast of Mexico, stopping at all the hot spots:  Matzatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Barre de Navidad, Ixtapa/Zihuantanejo.  We fell in love with Mexico!  It was in late Spring that we decided we needed another stateroom.  Bear needed his own space that he wasn't shoved out of when guests were aboard.  We ordered a Nordhavn 47 and, in late May, returned to California to sell KIVA.

June, 2002-March 2003:  To avoid owning two boats, KIVA was sold well before the new Nordhavn 47 was to arrive.  After spending another summer in Wisconsin, we purchased a fixer-upper house in Salt Lake City, Utah and spent the winter skiing.  It was a fantastic snow year and we skied almost daily.  And dreamed of being back on the water.

The First Oso Blanco, Nordhavn 47:  2003-2006

Fall, 2003:  We took delivery of the new Nordhavn 47 in late March, 2003.  We named her after our son:  Oso Blanco (White Bear).  We headed north to the San Juan Islands in British Columbia with Alex and Deb Haase on Kellie Anne, who became our dear friends.  We would end up being within sight of Kellie Anne for over a year and a half.  After a few months in BC, we parked Oso in Blaine, WA for a couple months (summer 2003) while we took Bear home to see family. 

Back on the boat in the fall, we headed for Mexico where we spent Thanksgiving 2003 in La Paz. We put on over 10,000 in this next season going all the way from BC down the west coast into Mexico, Central America, through the Panama Canal and up to Chesapeake Bay.  We left the boat in Norfolk, VA for the summer of 2004.

Fall, 2005:  The following year we wandered slowly down the west coast of US then crossed to the Bahamas for the winter.  We met another couple in the Abacos who have become dear friends, Mel and John Jensen aboard Saliente.  Bear was three and a half this season and learned to snorkel.  That opened up a whole new world for us and we spent much time in the water and on beaches.  The weather was perfect and we met lots of other cruisers.  The Bahamas are truly a paradise and we very much enjoyed our time there. 

Somewhere along the way, we ordered a Nordhavn 64.  It seemed a long time off, but to once again avoid owning two boats, we put Oso Blanco 47 up for sale in Florida in May, 2006.  She sold quickly.

The New Oso Blanco, Nordhavn 64:  2008

March, 2008-Present:  It was almost two years before we moved back aboard.  We had once again spent the interim in Salt Lake City skiing for two winter seasons.  Taking delivery in Dana Point, CA again, we were back on the west coast and decided to take advantage of that by going all the way to Alaska before setting off to faraway countries.  This website picks up our story from there.... Return Home