BIRDS OF PASSAGE

A Florida couple explore the seas with their two parrots on board their Outer Reef 650 Motoryacht.

- KRISTIN BAIRD RATTINI

FOR DAVID AND NICOLE KRUEGEL, cruising is for their birds. Leeloo, a white-bellied caique parrot, and Atticus (Atti for short), an eclectus parrot, take to the seas as eagerly as they do the air. The Kruegels are significantly expanding their voyages in their new full-time home on the water-a 2009 Outer Reef 650 Motoryacht-and the 7-year-old parrots are enthusiastic companions. ¶ Boats and birds have been constants in Nicole's life. Her childhood home was Tempest, a 1937 46-foot wooden sloop anchored in Dana Point, California. She got her first bird, a lovebird, at age 7 and has had feathered friends ever since. David grew up in Ormond Beach, Florida, and has spent countless hours water-skiing, surfing and scuba diving. Their mutual love of the water drew them together and assured they would always be a boating couple.