Christine Lynn, the proud owner of Norwegian Queen tells Grace Trofa how she fell in love with her late husband, and then with boats...
I’m always busy except when I am on my boat. Then I have no schedule, which I love. I’m from Norway and the only boat I ever had was a little rowboat. When I married Eugene, he had a 13.7 metre Bertram; I thought it was the most luxurious thing I had ever seen. As the years went by, we had a 16.4 metre, then we escalated to a 32.3 metre and built a 40.2 metre that unfortunately my husband didn’t live to see completed. I then built a 50 metre Trinity. I had always admired the workmanship and the lines of Trinity yachts. I wanted to make sure it would fit in my back yard because I didn’t want it docked anywhere else.
My boat is called Norwegian Queen. When we bought the 50 metre boat my husband wanted to call it the Viking Queen. I said, I don’t think so. All I could envision was this huge Viking woman dressed in skins wearing a helmet with horns, so he came up with the name Norwegian Queen, which I thought was nice. I have eight full-time crew; I take good care of them and they take wonderful care of me. One of the scariest moments we had was when we received an SOS from a sailboat in rough seas and rescued two sailors who had lost their engine and sails.
My favourite cruising ground is the Bahamas. My family and friends like snorkelling and swimming and the water is so crystal clear, you can actually see the colour on your painted toenails. I really enjoy the sky lounge where we gather in the evening for cocktails before dinner, and during the day I love being on the upper deck by the hot tub.
Of all my philanthropic activities, I am the most active in healthcare and education. During our 20-year marriage, my husband was very involved in education and I followed in his footsteps, but healthcare has always been close to my heart. I was a surgical nurse and an RN and when I met my American husband on a cruise ship, I was the head nurse on board. My latest endeavor is the Christine E Lynn Women’s Health and Wellness Institute at the Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Florida.
We started using Dockwise Express to ship the boat to the Med. One day, while waiting our turn, I took a sightseeing boat trip in Fort Lauderdale. We were cruising by Bahia Mar when the guide pointed out Norwegian Queen, commenting on how we fly the American flag, supporting America and paying our taxes. My friends urged me to raise my hand and say, “Hello, that’s my boat,” but I remained silent.
You don’t forget those early memories; I laugh sometimes thinking my first boat was a little rowboat not even big enough for two people.