Catamaran Dan's Nevado Raiders™ & Blue Rim 5™

Blue Rim 5™ Global Sailing Expedition

Blue Rim 5™

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. It moves one leg at a time with a mixed fleet of small expedition sailboats and larger guardian vessels, following a simple rule: we go where it makes sense, when it makes sense—and stop or reroute when it doesn’t.

This expedition is not a race. No leg is intended to be hurried. Progress is measured in seamanship, understanding, and human connection—not miles per day.

Blue Rim 5™ is not a cruise, not a yacht club, and not a packaged tour. Crews join for the legs that fit their lives and operate as independent vessels with shared purpose. Each captain/vessel/crew covers their own expenses (food, fuel, maintenance, fees, local activities, and personal costs). Only expenses explicitly incurred by the fleet as a whole—and agreed to in advance— are shared and divided evenly among participating vessels.

Kids and families are central to the mission—putting young people on real shorelines so they can see, first-hand, how a dangerously warming world is already reshaping life along the waterline.

The model is built for the century we actually live in: start small, learn fast, build the fleet, and keep going as long as the risks are acceptable. We will not trace the planet’s rim and lie to children about what’s happening to it.

Leadership & Seamanship

Blue Rim 5™ is led by Catamaran Dan, an experienced mariner whose background combines formal qualification, instruction, military discipline, and decades of real-world adventure sailing.

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.

Expedition overview • first chapters

Blue Rim 5™ — First Chapters

The opening chapters of Blue Rim 5™ are designed to unfold over multiple years, moving deliberately along coastlines rather than racing between destinations. The focus is on learning regions deeply, building seamanship through repetition, spending real time in the water, and forming lasting connections with local communities.

Rather than fixed dates, the expedition is organized around flexible time blocks, allowing weather, safety, and opportunity to guide progress.

Blue Rim 5™ — Life Ashore & Passage Philosophy

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 local “must-see” places that carry real meaning, and take the time to understand how a place works beyond its anchorages.

One crew member always remains with the vessels, maintaining watch and respect for both boat and community.

The Blue Rim 5™ fleet favors daylight navigation and conservative passage planning. We do not sail at night unless conditions, safety, or geography require it to reach the next destination. Clear landfalls, rested crews, and good judgment matter more than speed or schedules.

Daylight. Deliberation. Discipline.

These stops—and the way we move between them—aren’t boxes to check. They’re how the expedition stays human. Every coast has its own rhythm, and the Blue Rim 5™ fleet listens long enough to hear it before moving on.

Early expedition timeframe (approximate)

• Gulf Coast & Florida — ~3 months
  Skill-building, routines, shallow-water cruising, and preparation
• Bahamas — ~2 months
  Core water chapter with extended anchoring, snorkeling, and repetition
• Eastern Caribbean — ~3 months
  Island-to-island sailing, reef systems, and cultural exchange
• Northern South America (Guianas) — ~1 month
  Rivers, coastlines, and cultural immersion
• Northern Brazil — ~6 months
  A slow-living chapter focused on language, culture, and daily water life
• Brazil to Panama — ~3–4 months
  Deliberate coastal transit emphasizing patience and human connection
• Panama — open-ended
  Staging, rest, and fleet assembly before worldwide expansion

Participation is modular. Sailors and vessels may join for specific regions or chapters. Boats come together, separate, and rejoin organically—guided by shared values, not schedules.

This overview reflects intent, not obligation. Routes adapt. Timing remains flexible. No leg is hurried.

The Viking Way — old values, modern raids

Viking Spirit

The Vikings weren’t just raiders. They were farmers, traders, artisans, and families who lived boldly—crossing cold seas in shallow-draft boats, navigating without charts, and building community wherever their keels touched shore. In Norse times, “Viking” was used as a verb—not a noun. To go viking meant to set out—explore, trade, test skill, take risk, and return changed. Nevado Raiders™ carries that same spirit forward: each raid is about the crews, the skills we test together, and the stories we bring home.

Ove Ironhand: 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. Our “sagas” will be logbooks, film, and the wakes we leave behind.

Apply to join the Raiders: NevadoRaiders@gmail.com

Core mission

Cultural Exchange

Every coastline belongs first to the people who live there. We arrive as guests—not as conquerors, consumers, or spectators. Nevado Raiders™ move slowly enough to listen, learn, and earn trust. We respect local rules, local waters, and local knowledge that has kept families alive on these shores for generations.

When it makes sense, we spend money locally, hire local guides, and support the people who call these places home. Cultural exchange isn’t a slogan—it’s behavior: humility, curiosity, and respect in the real world.

We sit at real tables. We share meals. We learn names and stories. And when there’s music, we don’t just record it—we join it. We trade songs, jam with local musicians, and record sessions together when invited. Those moments—shared rhythms and shared laughter— carry the truth of a place in a way no postcard ever can.

Peace, human connection, and shared responsibility aren’t side benefits of the expedition—they’re the point. If we can’t move through a place with respect, we don’t belong there.

Origin story

Rim Lightning (1984)

This photograph was taken while crossing the equator in 1984. Mid-ocean, the line itself barely announces its presence—but the weather often does. That day, conditions shifted fast: blue sky giving way to stacked clouds, pressure building, wind sharpening, lightning striking the water ahead. For a time, the sea demanded full attention—trim right, stay disciplined, let preparation do the work.

Then it passed. What remained was a moment every sailor remembers: storm energy still in the water, air clearing, light returning around the edges. Blue below. Dark above. Salt, sky, and motion layered together. That exact moment became the inspiration for Rim Runner™.

Rim Lightning set the standard that followed: preparation over bravado, competence over comfort, and calm execution when conditions change. Not to celebrate danger—only to honor readiness and respect for the sea. The storm passed. The lesson stayed.