THRE E@SEA
A FAMILY’S VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
ure and simple, education drives this unusual voyage. It
really started in 1996, the year Ayla was born to Kathryn
and David Besemer of Boulder, Colorado. As excited
and proud as all new parents, they immediately began
to plan for her education. Envisioning an opportunity
for exposure to as many people, places, and cultures as
possible, they considered alternative methods of teaching
and learning.
Both successful in their chosen careers, David a
technology officer of a software firm, and Kathryn a
marketing consultant, they quickly decided that Kathryn
would resign and become a full-time mom. Since both
had traveled frequently and had seen much of the world,
they thought, “What better education could we provide
for Ayla than a travel-based experience?” But knowing
St or y By Bill J acobs P
Pho t ograp hy By Kathr yn Besemer
how difficult travel can be, particularly as a family with a
child, they began looking at alternatives. They targeted
her middle school years to have a plan in place.
A few months later while traveling on business, David
picked up a copy of PMM in a Los Angeles coffee shop.
He had never seen nor heard of the magazine before,
but a front cover photograph of a Nordhavn captured
his attention. After ordering reprints of all past issues,
he and Kathryn began poring over them. Based on their
research, they put together a list of boats to look at
including Krogen, Selene, and DeFever.
“We were impressed with the strength and quality of
the Nordhavns right from the start,” said Kathryn. “We
felt that if we could learn about cruising from the ground
up, a boat like that could take us anywhere in the world.
