Megayachts in

Yachting

Megayachts in the Pacific

Story and photography by

Sally Andrew

More and more megayachts symbols of wealth, luxury, per fection - are leaving the shel tered waters of the Mediterranean and Caribbean and braving the blue water and adventure of the South Pacific. Many of these professionally crewed big boats are anchored at Musket Cove this season.

Their owners and guests flew in and out of Nadi (Fiji), the centre of international trans-Pacific air traffic.

Each year, a growing number of large yachts are constructed. Worldwide, there were 900 boats over 100 feet in length in 1990. In 1996, the numbers increased to 1300. According to Yachting World (UK, November 1996), the United States, Italy and the Netherlands produce the greatest number of new boats in excess of 100 feet.

Technological developments are

responsible for this trend. Increased sophistication and reliability in equipment like roller furling and roller reefing mean no more flogging cloth and flying ropes.

This makes sailing safer. Hydraulic power translates into push button sailing and

simplifies all halyard, sheet and running

backstay operations.

The simultaneous evolution of new marine alloys, cored and veneered joinery materials, propulsion systems, mechani cal and electrical systems and carbon fire

(in rigs particularly) has helped boat

speed and handling by reducing weight

and increasing strength. Advances in sail materials, too, have resulted in increased durability and decreased weight. The mainsail on Imagine weighs about 210 kg - half of a similarly sized dacron mainsail.

Even with all these developments, pro fessional crews are required to sail and maintain these luxury yachts. The excel lence of care - scrubbed-teak decks, per fect brightwork, polished stainless and

lavish interiors - makes them a joy to behold.

Adix I was invited aboard Adix on a hot afternoon in Fiji. In the ultra-modem gal ley, crew member Sean Whitney made espressos while I adjusted to the air con ditioning. Sean has messed around with boats most of his life and has been aboard Adix for five-and-a-half years. Skipper Paul Goss heads up the ship’s crew of 13.

Built in Mallorca in 1984, Adix is London registered and owned by a European sailing adventure company. She was originally named Jessica, then renamed Schooner XXXX after her pur chase by Australian Alan Bond. In her present incarnation, Adix is a modem clas sic - a three-masted, gaff-rigged schooner, 225 feet overall with a draft of 15.6 feet and a beam of 28. She can sail at speeds up to 19 knots.

I first saw Adix in January 1994 after she finished the 50th Sydney-Hobart and the Hobart-Wellington leg of the Tasman Triangle. Tied to the dock in Wellington, Adix and her acres of varnished teak were pulling in the crowds on the waterfront.

From New Zealand, Adix headed north to Alaska via French Polynesia and Hawaii.

This year, Adix sailed back to the South Pacific via Hawaii, Papeete, Western Samoa and Tonga. After cruising in Fiji this year, Adix sails to Pitcairn and Easter Islands, then on to Chile and Cape Horn.

She will shoot across to the Antarctic Peninsula, then via the Falkland Islands to Rio de Janeiro for Carnival, then on to the Caribbean. In May, Adix will contest the

Atlantic Challenge Cup record held by

Schooner Atlantic since 1905 and com

plete her 100,000-mile circumnavigation.

Saudade

Saudade is a boat that will catch the eye of any appreciative sailor. When I rowed over to take a closer look, ship

engineer Alan gave me a tour of her spa cious decks and luxurious cabins.

Everything, above and below decks, is designed for offshore efficiency and unpretentious elegance. Forward of the cockpit, an airy pilothouse-cum-ship’s office is surrounded by large windows.

Four steps down is the saloon, then galley

Mustang, a bright-red 83-foot sloop sailing in the Mamanucas

and crew’s quarters forward. The owner’s suite and two guest cabins are located aft.

Registered in Bermuda and owned by a German businessman, Saudade is a high-performance 34.3-meter (114-foot) Judel and Vrolijk design built in Holland by the Royal Huisman Shipyard.

Saudade’s dark green aluminium hull is 23.5 feet wide, with a draft of 13 feet.

Saudade is easy to sail with a carbon-

fibre rollaway slab-reef boom, developed specifically to improve the operation and performance of large yachts. With wire less remote control, one person can unfurl, trim and refurl the full-batten mainsail.

After her launching in September 1994, skipper John Shawcross and crew sailed Saudade across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, then north to Maine and Nova Scotia before heading south through the Panama Canal to the Galapagos, French Polynesia, Aitutaki in the Cooks, Vava’u (Tonga) and Fiji. At the start of cyclone season, Saudade sails to New Zealand, Australia and west around the world.

Imagine

Designed by Ed Dubois, a British superyacht designer based in Lymington, Imagine is a sleek, midnight-blue sailing yacht - 110 feet on deck with a 131-foot carbon fibre spar. The rig is masthead cut ter configuration with roller furling on both genoa and staysail. Mainsail reefing is conventional with no sail furling sys tems other than lazy jacks. She boasts an impressive 11 knots upwind in only 10 knots of breeze.

Built by Allow Yachts International (New Zealand), Imagine' s aluminium hulls is 25 feet wide and is finished with a long, low-profile pilot-house and wraparound windows. Her large cockpit has two four-foot steering wheels. A long sloping transom opens up, garage-like, to accommodate a 15-foot yacht tender. A

570 hp Lugger diesel provides auxiliary power.

Trailfinder

While not exactly a megayacht, Trailfinder' s owner - Trailfinder Travel, Inc (UK) - thinks big. Trailfinder, a cutter rig of fibreglass construction, was the sec ond Oyster 61 built by Southhampton Yacht Service Ltd. Launched in September 1995, auxiliary power is pro vided by a 225 hp Perkins.

Skipper Simon Probert and his Kiwi wife, Jane, joined the boat in Tahiti, after four years working in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. They sailed Trailfinder to Lautoka via Vava’u (Tonga) where they stopped long enough to bar gain for baskets and visit Swallows Cave.

In Fiji, they cruised through the Yasawa group and found plenty of good anchor ages. After three months in Fiji, they sail to Australia via Vanuatu.

Trailfinder ’s skipper praised the facili ties at the new Vuda Point Marina, Fiji, which can accommodate boats up to 110’ at reasonable prices.

Other big boats cruising in Fiji this season include; Mustang, a bright-red 83foot sloop with homeport Georgetown, Cayman Islands; Jugra, a Swan 68 owned by the Crown Prince of Malaysia; Fleur de Singapour, an 86-foot London-regis tered ketch; Timoneer, a 110’ Sparkman and Stevens design; and Shenandoah, built in 1902, one of the oldest profes sionally run big boats. ■

Adix at anchor in Fiji