AUGUSTUS - GUNBOAT NEWS

PHAEDO'S 427 MILE DAY....
For years we have extolled the daily range of a GUNBOAT. As early as 2002, TRIBE was averaging 270 miles per day offshore, with many days in the 330-385 mile range. We noted that 400 mile days are possible. During the TRANSPAC Race last week, PHAEDO recorded a 427 mile day, and was tracking towards an even bigger day, when....

   
 
GRAVITY STORM
Our hearts go out to the well-prepared and always professional PHAEDO team. According to PHAEDO owner Lloyd Thornburg, who was on the helm at the time, the top of the rig broke off while under a full main and A4 code sail. So ended PHAEDO'S remarkable run at the TRANSPAC Race. PHAEDO was well ahead of the entire TP52 and West Coast sled fleet at the time. The only boats on the course showing better pace were a 100' super-maxi, a turbo-charged Volvo 70, and a lengthened ORMA 60' tri. We may never know the exact reason why PHAEDO's rig succumbed. The crew wisely cut it away to preserve PHAEDO's hulls. She is the only GUNBOAT that chose to utilize PBO rigging. While it can reduce windage and save weight, it's track record for reliability would not be regarded as the best today. The manner of the rig's loss, in our opinion, is consistent with the failure of a windward diamond shroud. All GUNBOAT's today are specified with aramid shrouds and carbon diamond stays, which reflect industry best practices at this time. We salute Lloyd and his PHAEDO team for pushing so hard in so many epic races. PHAEDO is our cover girl, and has helped reset expectations of what an all-carbon world cruising GUNBOAT can achieve. We know PHAEDO's awesome team will rise again, and will be even more impressive when she returns!

 

MED DEGREES

 

 We are getting great reports from ZENYATTA, TIGER LILY, LAGUZ, and PANTHERA as they explore the Mediterranean Sea this season. These stories make our hearts sing as we watch these beautiful GUNBOATs deliver on their promise of world cruising in luxury at speed. ZENYATTA plans to enter the ARC Rally from the Canaries to St Lucia. TIGER LILY is thumbing a ride on Dock-Wise to make the fall season in New England. PANTHERA will keep cruising wherever her young family's heart desires. And LAGUZ plans to winter in the Med. Delivering these dreams keeps us fired up every day!


BATTAILE STATIONS 

 

 Lauren Battaile has left her career in the wine industry on the West Coast to be stationed at GUNBOAT as the new marketing manager. Lauren studied marketing as an undergrad, and applied those talents to two brands before joining us. A noted foodie and wine expert, she and her family are lifelong sailors from North Carolina. Lauren will be focused on traditional and social media, events, pr, shows and sales support. She will work closely with Meg Minetree, our sales director, and Peter Johnstone. This edition is Lauren's first effort. Welcome aboard!



WEEKNIGHT GUNBOAT CLASS RACING  

 

Tuesday and Thursday night saw the first ever weeknight beer-can racing between GUNBOATs. TRIBE's owner organized the series with the help of Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, CT. ELVIS and SLIM joined the host on the water. Winds were light, and racing was tight between the GUNBOATs racing on short courses, and in some cases through other yacht club races. The sight of three large cats towering over all other boats along the Connecticut shoreline led to several spectator boats following the fleet. Dave, the mate on ELVIS, employed his mass aloft on a halyard in a pseudo Spiderman wrecking ball technique to get ELVIS' battens to tack in the lighter winds. A big thank you to TRIBE's owner and Indian Harbor Yacht Club for a very special two nights. Thursday featured a barbecue for the GUNBOAT owners and crew at Indian Harbor's Sunfish bar and patio. These very special evenings show signs of growing. Upwards of seven GUNBOATs may be on the line in Long Island Sound in 2014! www.gunboat.com
 
FALCOR REFIT: THE SERVICE YARD IS LIVE

 

The new ramp at GUNBOAT's yard is proving to be a great addition. Owner Travis Rice sailed into town and left his beloved GUNBOAT 48 in our care for his snowboarding season. When he returns, he will find a spruced up eight year old GUNBOAT in new condition and ready for Travis' loop of the Pacific. CREAM is expected later this year, and up to three other GUNBOATs expect to get service at our NC yard in the coming months. More to come.

FLOW'S A GO!
 

The gorgeous new GUNBOAT 60 is completing sea trials, and will begin her delivery journey to the East Coast USA imminently. The best laid plans are to have her at the US Sailboat Show in Annapolis in October.

GUNBOAT 55-05 EMERGES, 55-06 STARTS & 60-05 INFUSES 

 The NC team led by Aaron Croswait pulled GUNBOAT 55-05 from the gorgeous female tooling this past week. The outer skins of 55-06 are already in the mold. Paul Hakes reports the successful infusion of GUNBOAT 60-05. GUNBOAT 60-04 had her decks installed. Production is on a roll!

SUNREEF SCORES 3 NEW LUXUCATAMARANS 80 FEET AND ABOVE

The first contract was the Sunreef 82 Double Deck sold to a Client in the Middle East. It will be the second unit of Sunreef 82 Double Deck after last year’s HOUBARA. In the double deck concept there is one spacious owner cabin in the front and a large, bright salon with an internal helm station enjoying sea views. The impressive 64 m2 cockpit holds a large dining table for up to 8 guests, sunbathing mats, wicker armchairs and storage for diving equipment. This will be the first yacht in the world with a folding mast shortening it 10 m, so that it can easily go under the bridge leading to the Owner’s property. This yacht is due to be launched in December 2013. Thanks to their spaciousness and comfort, Double Deck catamarans are a perfect alternative for a traditional mega yacht with its greener character offered by cruising on sails.
 
 
Second in order is the 90 Sunreef Power, a true milestone in luxury catamaran design. The main idea behind the concept is to stress the superb space offered by catamarans thanks to their large beam, and to arrange this space in a similar way to motor yachts. On a 90 feet yacht no less than 522 sqm will be available for the owner’s enchantment, this is something that one could never have on a regular motor yacht. This means a single large main deck spanning the entire beam, housing dining and lounging areas in both the exterior aft deck and inside the saloon to create a seamless, open space. The generously-sized master cabin is located in the front on the same level with its study area, walk-in wardrobe, private ensuite bathroom, etc. The flybridge will include the helm station and two lounge areas (inside and outside), while the intimate terrace at the front of the main deck will comprise a jet ski with its crane and sun pads. An interesting feature is a beach club on the aft, created thanks to a special platform which gives access to all numerous water toys in the aft garage. Finished in cozy, warm interior design featuring only natural materials, this power mega yacht will operate in Thailand and will be delivered in the beginning of 2015.
 
 
The third sale is the second unit of the Sunreef 80 Carbon Line, a superb sailing catamaran with the concept based on light displacement of 45 tones, performance and speed. It will made of an advanced composite sandwich combining vinylester, PVC foam and carbon/glass fiber, with a carbon mast and boom. First unit of this model was just launched at the shipyard and already gained a lot of attention from the clients. The second unit is expected to launch in May 2014. Purchased by an American client, looking for his perfect carbon-made, performance yacht for the last two years all around the world before placing the order at Sunreef. The new Sunreef 80 will feature a beautiful master cabin on the main deck and a sophisticated navcom system.
 

Sunreef Yachts with its in-house design team will be present during the upcoming prestigious Monaco Yacht Show held between 25 - 28th of September 2013. You are welcome to visit our stand located in DARSE NORD, booth QD27. Besides these three new superyachts underway, the company will promote its new projects with mega trimaran 210 and a new 165 ft super sailing catamaran

GUNBOAT ENDLESS SUMMER NEWS

GUNBOAT G4 

 

GUNBOAT expects to announce the new 40' GUNBOAT G4 imminently. Aimed at coastal cruising, weekends, daysailing and racing, the GUNBOAT G4 breaks new ground and redefines what sailing can be. Included will be everything you need, and set aside, will be everything you don't need. Innovations abound. We are thrilled to be nearing announcement with all details soon!  Please contact Meg Minetree if you would like to be included in future notifications on this series: meg@gunboat.com.

 

GUNBOAT WEATHER SEMINAR

This past weekend, GUNBOAT hosted a Weather Seminar for GUNBOAT 55 Owners and families at the College of the Ablemare in Manteo, NC. Bill Biewenga, a four time Whitbread/Volvo Race veteran (and winner) led the two-day session. Bill is one of the foremost weather gurus in the offshore world with his own book, DVD, and North U courses. With 400,000 miles offshore, Bill has seen just about everything. Eighteen attendees were immersed in advanced offshore weather teaching. GUNBOAT held a Friday evening welcome dinner at La Dolce Vita, and the gang gathered at Peter Johnstone's home for a Wanchese tuna cookout on Saturday. "Keeping our owners safe, and giving them confidence is critical. We will be offering these advanced weather seminars every 6-8 months. Every owner will receive advanced boat handling training as we have always done during sea trials," stated Meg Minetree, Director of Sales.  www.gunboat.com
 

FLOW TESTING

 William Jelbert, the GUNBOAT 60 project manager, announced the 'soft launch' of FLOW into the test pool at the yard. "We like to test all systems while afloat in the yard's pool before launching. Results look excellent and we expect to launch FLOW this coming week." Once again, the GUNBOAT Team at Hudson Yachts has delivered a gorgeous result. We look forward to reporting on sea trials in the coming weeks.   www.gunboat.com
 

HAIL TO THE CHIEF

Bruce Hopkins joins GUNBOAT as Chief Financial Officer. "It was time to bring in someone of Bruce's caliber," remarked founder Peter Johnstone. For the past 15 years, Bruce has been an industry leading CFO at two renown Maine boat builders, Lyman Morse and Hodgkin Yachts. After 30 years in Maine, Bruce and his wife Kate have made the move to North Carolina. "We're excited to be here. GUNBOAT is thriving, and we're looking forward to being able to sail in warm weather for six months out of the year, rather than six weeks!"  www.gunboat.com


 

GUNBOAT MARINA AND SERVICE YARD

GUNBOAT expects to close a deal to purchase the marina and yard a few hundred yards South of the GUNBOAT facility in Wanchese, NC. Included in the purchase are two piers and development rights to a third pier. When completed, the GUNBOAT marina will have dockage for up to 14 Gunboats. The gravel yard enables up to six hauled GUNBOATs, and features the brand new 40' wide ramp for launching and hauling via hydraulic trailer. The GUNBOAT Marina will be the base for all service activities, commissioning and sea trials. www.gunboat.com
 

ART GUNBOAT

Meredith and Nils Erickson's painting of the GUNBOAT 62 ZENYATTA on the Horta harbor wall deserves special mention. Many GUNBOATS have celebrated their successful Trans-Atlantic passages with a stopover at Horta in the Azores with a beautiful painting on the wall. The creativity of the ZENYATTA painting stands above all. Few people realize that the GUNBOAT logo is based on an aerial photo of TRIBE's bows. The ZENYATTA painting perfectly captures the spirit of the logo. Well done Meredith and Nils!  www.gunboat.com

 

 

HIRED GUN!

There must something in the water at GUNBOAT these days, as it continues to attract top industry talent. Frank Edwards joins GUNBOAT as our Production Engineer. Operations Manager Dan Bottjen remarked, "This is a real coup for GUNBOAT. Frank is the best I have seen at production engineering. He comes across from Hattaras Yachts, where he was a key person for 20 years, most recently running their design and engineering teams." Frank will be a key asset in further refining the Gunboat production set-up and organization.

 

FALCOR: FIRST GUNBOAT CUSTOMER!

   RED BULL extreme snowboarder Travis Rice arrives this week on his GUNBOAT 48 FALCOR. Her GUNBOAT service stop will prepare her for an intended circuit of the Pacific in 2014 that will include film work for Travis' next movie production, MIGRATIONS, to follow up on his epic snowboard movie FLIGHT.

  
 

GUNBOAT HALL INSPECTION  

  

Henry Maxwell, along with assistance from owners Eric and Ben Hall, gave GUNBOAT the full tour of Hall Spars at their flagship Bristol, RI facility last week. With the first two GUNBOAT 55 spar packages nearly complete, the tour, of course, featured GUNBOAT work in every area. We are really happy to welcome Hall to our team, and to have such a world-class vendor so close to our NC production facility!  

ADASTRA WINS 3 SHOWBOATS DESIGN 2013 AWARDS

Shuttleworth Design is delighted to announce that Superyacht Adastra, the 42.5m power trimaran received awards in three categories at the 2013 ShowBoats Design Awards.

• Exterior Design and Styling - Judges' Commendation
• Naval Architecture - Winner
• Newcomer of the Year - Winner

John and Orion proudly accepted the awards at the prize giving ceremony, held at the Monaco Opera House on June 21, 2013.

The judges gave the nod to Adastra for her "clean sheet of paper approach" to problem-solving, and noted that her tank tests, as well as the physical evidence provided by designs of similar theory indicate "this yacht will have the best performance in the most sea states of all those presented".

Sunreef Yachts Announces Spectacular Presence at the Cannes International Boat Show 2013

Established in 2002 by Francis Lapp, Sunreef Yachts has consequently grown to its current, strong position of the leading designer and builder of luxury sailing and power catamarans and catamaran-superyachts from 60 to 200 feet in the world.

In 2013 Sunreef Yachts will have no less than 6 yachts, the first ever such important Sunreef yachts gathering, on display with 2 world premieres: the superyacht Sunreef 80 Sailing LEVANTE and a new concept of a sailing catamaran, Sunreef 60 LOFT.

The new Sunreef 80 Sailing is a concept based on light displacement, performance and speed. Commissioned by a European owner, the Sunreef 80 is made of an advanced composite sandwich combining vinylester, PVC foam and carbon/glass fibre, with a carbon mast and boom, standing rigging with Kevlar and total sail area of 340 m², weighing just 45T lightship and 60T fully loaded. The sleek and sporty exterior line was designed carefully to reduce windage and water resistance.
 

The 2nd world premiere is the new concept of 60 footer, the Sunreef 60 LOFT, a ready- to- sail, luxury yacht with comfortable accommodation for 6 guests. Fully equipped open galley with both Siemens and Gorenje appliances is located in the portside hull, directly connected with the saloon. The cockpit and the saloon are both located on the same level and connected with a large sliding door which enhances the impression of one, seamless space. Actually two units of this new concept have already been sold, only two months after its presentation in spring this year.

In addition, the shipyard will exhibit its first poweryacht, the 60 Sunreef Power LILU YACHT equipped with the innovative IPS system allowing this imposing yacht easy maneuvering in tide marinas and side docking. Moreover, the system helps to be even more efficient on the fuel consumption side and increases maximum speed adding 2 knots.


Fourth yacht on display was launched in April 2013. The Sunreef 70 MAVERICK is the 12th unit of an extremely popular Sunreef 70 Sailing. Distinctively different, this superb modern catamaran features an ultra-sleek profile, flawless interior design, exceptional amenities, and the latest in entertainment technology.

Another big presence will be ensured by the superyacht HOUBARA. The Sunreef 82 Double Deck will be again the biggest unit on Sunreef Yachts display this year. Presented last year in Cannes, HOUBARA accommodates up to 7 guests in one beam-wide owner suite, one VIP queen cabin and one guest twin cabin convertible to a double cabin with an additional Pullman bed, attended by two crew.

 

On the power side, besides the 60 Sunreef Power, Sunreef will showcase again its extremely popular 70 Sunreef introduced in 2008. This yacht model attracts many motoryacht enthusiasts thanks to its stability and subsequently the comfort in cruising, an extended living and storage space thanks to its large beam, superb exterior space, and oceanic range combined with very low fuel consumption and all that in keeping with Sunreef’s customized design.

Both of them MAVERICK and LEVANTE are available for charters with Sunreef Yachts Charter.
The shipyard will also introduce more its new projects underway, the 90 Sunreef Power, the Trimaran 210 and the new sailing superyacht of 165ft.
 

LONG ISLAND 85 TIME LAPSE

Here is a time lapse made by JFA of the building of their 85 foot aluminium luxury catamaran.  Enjoy.