Sailing to virtually anywhere on Earth — as long as it makes sense and the risks are acceptable.
It is an operating standard. Blue Rim 5™ moves when the weather, the seamanship, and the judgment all say go — and stops when any one of them says wait. The ocean doesn't negotiate. Neither do we.
Blue Rim 5™ is a multi-phase, multi-year global sailing expedition operating with small expedition sailboats and larger guardian vessels, conducting disciplined coastal and island-hopping exploration along international coastlines and river mouths worldwide. The adventure is real — because the standards are real.
Led by Catamaran Dan — Ove Ironhand — U.S. Coast Guard–licensed captain, ASA sailing instructor, former U.S. Navy submariner, Blue Nose, Shellback, and expedition sailor who has been doing hard things on the water since before most sailing influencers were born.
This combination shapes the culture of Blue Rim 5™: calm decision-making, conservative risk management, and preparation over bravado — knowing when to go, when to wait, and when to say no. This is not a highlight reel. There are no sponsored sunsets here, no carefully filtered anchoring photos designed to make the life look easier than it is. The life is genuinely extraordinary — and it's extraordinary because the standards are real.
Blue Rim 5™ is a long-range, multi-year global sailing expedition tracing the blue edge of the planet — coastlines, islands, harbors, and river mouths reachable under sail, one leg at a time, with a mixed fleet of small expedition sailboats and larger guardian vessels.
There is no race. No sponsor deadline. No itinerary that can't be overruled by a reef worth staying on, a community worth knowing, or a weather window worth waiting for. Progress is measured in seamanship, understanding, and human connection — not miles per day.
The model is simple: start small, learn fast, go deep, keep going. Each captain covers their own expenses. Each vessel operates independently with shared purpose and shared standards. Kids and families are central to the mission — because the reefs and coastlines we're sailing are changing fast, and young people deserve to see them while they're still extraordinary.
We will not trace the planet's rim and lie to children about what's happening to it.
Phase 1 expedition overview — Belize to Panama and back
The Rim Run™ is the seasonal Belize → Panama → Belize coastal circuit. Home base: Placencia, Belize. Southbound in winter. Northbound in fall. Same loop, every year — refined each season. No leg is hurried.
| Dates | Country | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 1 – Jan 25 | Belize | 86 |
| Jan 26 – Feb 22 | Guatemala — Río Dulce | 28 |
| Feb 23 – May 20 | Honduras — Bay Islands | 87 |
| May 21 – Jun 19 | Nicaragua — Corn Islands | 30 |
| Jun 20 – Aug 15 | Costa Rica — Caribbean Coast | 57 |
| Aug 16 – Oct 10 | Panama — Bocas + San Blas | 56 |
| Oct 11 – Oct 31 | Northbound Return to Placencia | 21 |
When the Blue Rim 5™ fleet makes landfall, we don't rush and we don't consume. We slow down. We swim, snorkel, and spend time in the water that brought us there — learning reefs, currents, and shorelines the way sailors always have.
We go ashore deliberately, meeting the people who live along these coasts not as spectators, but as guests. We share meals when invited, trade stories, and — when the moment is right — music. We hike inland, visit places that carry real meaning, and take the time to understand how a place works beyond its anchorages.
The fleet favors daylight passage planning. Clear landfalls, rested crews, and good judgment matter more than speed or schedules.
Fins on before breakfast. The reef at first light is a different animal — quieter, the big things still moving. This is what the Rim Run™ is built around.
The cast net. Fresh protein from 1,850 miles of Caribbean reef. Provisions ride along as the safety net, not the plan.
Every coastline belongs first to the people who live there. We arrive as guests — not conquerors, consumers, or spectators.
Daylight. Deliberation. Discipline.
The Vikings weren't just raiders. They were farmers, traders, navigators, and families who crossed cold seas in shallow-draft boats without charts, built community wherever their keels touched shore, and used the word viking as a verb — not a noun. To go viking meant to set out. To explore, trade, test skill, take risk, and return changed.
Nevado Raiders™ carries that forward. Every leg of Blue Rim 5™ is a raid in the original sense — not conquest, but earned discovery. Modern Y-DNA work traces Catamaran Dan's paternal line through Norse seafarers of the 10th century — through Thorvald Asvaldsson, Erik the Red, and Leif Erikson — into the I1 haplogroup common among Scandinavia's working seafarers. Signing as Ove Ironhand honors that legacy.
We are assembling the Nevado Raiders™ fleet — not a flotilla of matching boats and matching egos, but a disciplined collection of real sailors on real boats with a shared operating standard and a genuine appetite for what lies beyond the marina breakwater.
Ideal small expedition boats include the Hobie Getaway, Catalina 22 Sport, and similar shoal-draft / centerboard / swing-keel boats with small cabins and portable heads. Larger guardian vessels (sail or power) are welcomed and valued — this is an and/and fleet. If your boat operates safely around 24" draft and you bring a serious expedition mindset, you belong with us.
Join the fleet: [email protected]
When the sun starts to drop, the Rim Runner™ comes out. Heavy rocks glass, blue-rimmed, salt-and-sugar rim, the equatorial blue base over fresh ice, dark rum floated on top like the storm cloud it's named after. First toast goes to the horizon.
What the Mint Julep is to horse racing, Bourbon Storm™ is to the yachting community. Born on a blue-sky equatorial Pacific day in 1984 that turned dark, wet, and alive — then cleared just as fast. The recipe remained private for forty-one years. Full recipe →
The Rim Runner™ • Born in an equatorial squall, 1984
