Fantazia
New adventures from David and Joan on our new toy Fantazia. Fantazia is a Switch 55 sailing catamaran manufactured by SUD composites of France in 2005. OMG! How did we end up on such a big beast of a boat. After living in the mountains of Southern Ecuador for the last six years, the opportunity came up for us to return to the sailing life and it was more than we could resist. This was the first time we had lived away from oceans and sailboats in over 30 years and the lure was strong. We love Ecuador and still have our house there to return to when we want to get off the boat. We built a small cabin on the property and found someone to stay in it in exchange for feeding our cat and light maintenance. We saw a few very tempting boats come and go before we got our financials in place to make a move.
Looking for the right boat turned into an exhaustive study of what we really wanted in a sailboat. Choosing a sailboat, like so much of life, is a series of compromises to find the best possible fit for your perceived needs. Early on I decided that we didn't need a big boat, as there are only two of us and our guests are few and far between. I saw a 50 footer that I had lusted after in the 1990's and got shot down by the idea that a boat that old would need too much refurbishment, and we would never get to go play on it. We looked at ex charter boats from the Carribean, but most were built for the charter trade and had 4 cabins and 4 heads(bathrooms) and were built to be a luxurious mobile condo for a weeks charter splurge. These generally had poor sailing performance because they needed to have conservative sail plans and simple to operate systems for the credit card captains with limited experience sailing who just needed to go look at paradise for a week every year. This type of boat is well used and shows it in most cases.
We determined that our perfect sailboat included comfortable standing headroom for me, light weight with a generous sail plan and dagger boards for upwind performance, easily managed short handed systems, and capacity to bring anything we might want along.
We had seen a couple of boats at boat shows that we liked such as Mainecats and Seawinds, but there were almost none available used and those generally cost about the base price of a new one. We wanted dagger boards(liftable keels) on our boat so that they could sail well to windward, so that eliminated the Seawinds. We came across a newer boat named a Balance 451 on a forum and it ticked most of the boxes for us.
We inquired about it and got a chance to come to the Chesapeake and sail on the one I had read the owners review of. It was a great demo sail with building winds and the opportunity to see what it had to offer in a variety of conditions. It sailed well but I had the nagging feeling that we would miss the performance of Hot Sauce and a boat that size couldn't deliver that kind of performance and still have the capacity we wanted. We proceeded to price out a new one from the builder, but found the price difference from base model to what we really had in mind to be about a 50% increase over where we started. They are built in Hong Kong and things were getting dicey there politically. We would have to wait 6 or 7 months for them to build it, and take delivery in Hong Kong, as we really didn't plan to sail it in the USA or pay the new tariffs and shipping to do so.
I came across Fantazia in the listings and now instead of being out of our potential range of boats, it was a bargain for a lot more boat built to a very high standard and as well equipped as we had wanted. It had just undergone an extensive refit, and had not been used since due to the owners health issues. Yes it is much larger at 55 feet, but that would translate into more carrying capacity, faster sailing, and a smoother ride in all conditions. I came across a French magazine review of this boat and they dubbed it the "limousine of the sea". It definitely ticked all the appropriate boxes with power assisted winches and anchor handling, good electronics and more than we wanted in the way of comforts of home, like air conditioning, generators, and a deep freeze. We agreed that this would likely be the last sailboat we would own, so why not the best one possible?
We went to have a look, have it surveyed, sea trialed it, and negotiated a deal within a month. We took delivery of Fantazia in August and sailed down from the Annapolis area to Norfolk, VA., beginning our trek to the warm tropical isles of the Caribbean sea. We had sailed a little on the inspection trip and liked the performance in light air, making about 10 knots to windward in 12 knots of wind. We had more of the same on the trip down to Norfolk, but all in pretty light winds. She is clearly faster than most sailboats even without much wind.
When we dropped anchor on the trip down, the second Joan idled the engines the electronics shut down. We looked at the voltage and the batteries we almost dead even though we had motored for several hours. We fired up the generator to charge them and keep the fridge cold, and it was all good.
The next day was similar with a few hours motoring and several hours sailing in light wind. Then we arrived in Norfolk to find out that hurricane Dorian was in play and may be headed our way. We were stuck on the dock in a marina which had a nice big floating dock known locally as the super dock, but no other facilities, like showers, laundry or WiFi.
I checked out the batteries and was not surprised to see that one was stone dead and a couple were headed that way. Not a surprise, but not convenient, as we had no idea when Dorian would make its presence felt, or when we could get new batteries. We went with LiFeP04 lithium batteries for their light weight and large capacity. Spending fortunes building this boat light and then carrying 250 pounds of lithium batteries instead of 800 pounds of lead batteries was an easy decision. All of these batteries come from the west coast and have to be shipped hazmat, so we couldn't buy them until we were more certain of our plans. The marina cost as much as a full service one, but had no service, so we had to change that to establish a shipping address for the new batteries. We had scheduled a family get together in California so we put it on hold and off we went for a couple of weeks.
When we got back to the boat, we moved to another marina with actual facilities which cost half as much and was a bit quieter out of the flight path of the Norfolk airport. I ordered the batteries and after about a week they showed up. Now what to do with the 800 pounds of lead we already had. I called a local metal recycler and inquired about an independent r recycler who might come pick them up for the bounty. They had a guy, who showed up in a few hours to do the deed. As soon as we tried to move the first one, he said he had a bad back and would need some help. Of course I had to get these off the boat and gave him a hand, causing me about a month of shooting electric pain in my back and hip. Live and don't learn, I guess. This slowed some of the progress for a bit, but was not a show stopper. Our insurance carrier won't cover named storms much south of here until the end of hurricane season or the first of November, so we had a month to get ready.
We ordered new sails, as the broker had promised me a deal through his contacts and the main and genoa were pretty worn. The sail maker told me it takes about 3 weeks to make a sail and this time of year there was no one in the queue. I inquired about them being made in China and having complications because of this, and he assured me no China problems. As it went, they took twice as long as expected, and we watched as the winter weather began to set in. November was an epic month with 2 bomb cyclones and a snowfall, so the opportunities to leave were few and far between.
The weather cycles this year are a bit more severe than usual with more severe weather more frequently than expected. The usual pattern is southerly winds clocking around to the southwest, west and northwest, with the cold northers ending the cycle. When the northers blow themselves out, the cycle repeats after a pause. The best winds for a smooth, fast trip are from side on or behind. The big winds in your face make for a very wet rough trip with little sailing. Fantazia can motor in calm seas at 8 knots for about 700 miles, but like going up a mountain, you use more fuel to windward. Sailing in fair winds with 15 to 25 knots of wind should let us make double the speed of motoring, so a much shorter trip with less fuel used and less wear on the boat in general.
We ordered new batten cars for the mainsail, as the originals were showing signs of wear. After several weeks of missed expectations, the sails shipped and I got a tracking number. Expecting about 3 days shipping, I was kind of stunned to see a 10 day estimate for delivery. They were made in the Philippines, shipped through China to Anchorage. The batten cars were on back order from Australia, so no telling when it would all come together.
The sail and the batten cars arrived on a Thursday, 4 days early for the sails.I had gotten some help taking the sails down and gave them to one of the marina employees for helping me move them. For about 3 weeks, I had had to ask him not to dispose of them yet as I might have to use them instead of the late new ones. When I took the batten cars off the track it was obvious that not only were they worn, the bearings had deformed and disintegrated enough to need replacement. I shopped around for new bearings, but no one had them in sufficient quantities to get us on our way. I made a small order from Defender, but not enough for the whole job. The new cars came with bearings, but there were 6 intermediate cars and the headboard which needed refreshing. I found the manufacturer and called right after the sails arrived to see if they could rush some to me. No problem shipping them out same day, we should have them by Saturday. I got notice from the shipper that they got them at 8:49 at night and should show up by Tuesday. Arrrgh.....
The install of the sails was a very busy process taking about 4 days. When first hoisted the main sail, the halyard was twisted at the top and it could not go all the way up. We got some local help to go up and untangle the halyard and help get the sail ready to use.
Meanwhile, I had contacted a captain who had sailed Fantazia before, and he was willing to come down on Monday to get her ready and head for Florida. By Sunday, it was obvious that another weather window was closing, and the main sail still needed to be set up. It seems that all things boat related have there own sense of time, not in any way related to your needs. We are continued getting everything ready to go, and hoped the weather will be good in about a week. Weather forecasting is pretty imprecise more that a few days ahead, so you really cant rely on forecasts more than a few days ahead. The last thing we want is to go out and beat ourselves and Fantzia up on the first voyage.
We picked a weather window, found a local captain, and planned a voyage. The other captain Lucas, who knew the boat, said he was available. I signed them both up so that we would not have to do anything unless we wanted to. We went out in weather exactly as forecast and made it out to the ocean, where Joan had a medical issue which required immediate attention. It was decided we would go to Norfolk and have her checked out. We went to the local ER, and they decided to admit her for observation and consult their neurologist the next day. The crew wanted to continue and deliver the boat without us, but not knowing the future for Joan, I just couldn't make that call. I sent them home, and we will wait for another window when Joan is better. She came home from the hospital with a diagnosis of chemical imbalance and some guidelines to prevent it in the future.
Lucas told me that the boat was the best he had seen it and he had delivered it 3 times for the prior owner and overseen most of the refit. All the things I had repaired worked perfectly and we could take her anywhere, anytime. The other crew, Evan, happens to own a sail loft, and they agreed that the new sails looked really good. We shall try again this weekend, Sunday the 15th of Dec. You can look on vesselfinder.com to track our AIS progress, search for Fantazia. We plan to leave around 7 am.
Looking for the right boat turned into an exhaustive study of what we really wanted in a sailboat. Choosing a sailboat, like so much of life, is a series of compromises to find the best possible fit for your perceived needs. Early on I decided that we didn't need a big boat, as there are only two of us and our guests are few and far between. I saw a 50 footer that I had lusted after in the 1990's and got shot down by the idea that a boat that old would need too much refurbishment, and we would never get to go play on it. We looked at ex charter boats from the Carribean, but most were built for the charter trade and had 4 cabins and 4 heads(bathrooms) and were built to be a luxurious mobile condo for a weeks charter splurge. These generally had poor sailing performance because they needed to have conservative sail plans and simple to operate systems for the credit card captains with limited experience sailing who just needed to go look at paradise for a week every year. This type of boat is well used and shows it in most cases.
We determined that our perfect sailboat included comfortable standing headroom for me, light weight with a generous sail plan and dagger boards for upwind performance, easily managed short handed systems, and capacity to bring anything we might want along.
We had seen a couple of boats at boat shows that we liked such as Mainecats and Seawinds, but there were almost none available used and those generally cost about the base price of a new one. We wanted dagger boards(liftable keels) on our boat so that they could sail well to windward, so that eliminated the Seawinds. We came across a newer boat named a Balance 451 on a forum and it ticked most of the boxes for us.
We inquired about it and got a chance to come to the Chesapeake and sail on the one I had read the owners review of. It was a great demo sail with building winds and the opportunity to see what it had to offer in a variety of conditions. It sailed well but I had the nagging feeling that we would miss the performance of Hot Sauce and a boat that size couldn't deliver that kind of performance and still have the capacity we wanted. We proceeded to price out a new one from the builder, but found the price difference from base model to what we really had in mind to be about a 50% increase over where we started. They are built in Hong Kong and things were getting dicey there politically. We would have to wait 6 or 7 months for them to build it, and take delivery in Hong Kong, as we really didn't plan to sail it in the USA or pay the new tariffs and shipping to do so.
I came across Fantazia in the listings and now instead of being out of our potential range of boats, it was a bargain for a lot more boat built to a very high standard and as well equipped as we had wanted. It had just undergone an extensive refit, and had not been used since due to the owners health issues. Yes it is much larger at 55 feet, but that would translate into more carrying capacity, faster sailing, and a smoother ride in all conditions. I came across a French magazine review of this boat and they dubbed it the "limousine of the sea". It definitely ticked all the appropriate boxes with power assisted winches and anchor handling, good electronics and more than we wanted in the way of comforts of home, like air conditioning, generators, and a deep freeze. We agreed that this would likely be the last sailboat we would own, so why not the best one possible?
We went to have a look, have it surveyed, sea trialed it, and negotiated a deal within a month. We took delivery of Fantazia in August and sailed down from the Annapolis area to Norfolk, VA., beginning our trek to the warm tropical isles of the Caribbean sea. We had sailed a little on the inspection trip and liked the performance in light air, making about 10 knots to windward in 12 knots of wind. We had more of the same on the trip down to Norfolk, but all in pretty light winds. She is clearly faster than most sailboats even without much wind.
When we dropped anchor on the trip down, the second Joan idled the engines the electronics shut down. We looked at the voltage and the batteries we almost dead even though we had motored for several hours. We fired up the generator to charge them and keep the fridge cold, and it was all good.
The next day was similar with a few hours motoring and several hours sailing in light wind. Then we arrived in Norfolk to find out that hurricane Dorian was in play and may be headed our way. We were stuck on the dock in a marina which had a nice big floating dock known locally as the super dock, but no other facilities, like showers, laundry or WiFi.
Look carefully and you can see Joan standing in front of the mast,
The tired, old mainsail at the super dock
I checked out the batteries and was not surprised to see that one was stone dead and a couple were headed that way. Not a surprise, but not convenient, as we had no idea when Dorian would make its presence felt, or when we could get new batteries. We went with LiFeP04 lithium batteries for their light weight and large capacity. Spending fortunes building this boat light and then carrying 250 pounds of lithium batteries instead of 800 pounds of lead batteries was an easy decision. All of these batteries come from the west coast and have to be shipped hazmat, so we couldn't buy them until we were more certain of our plans. The marina cost as much as a full service one, but had no service, so we had to change that to establish a shipping address for the new batteries. We had scheduled a family get together in California so we put it on hold and off we went for a couple of weeks.
When we got back to the boat, we moved to another marina with actual facilities which cost half as much and was a bit quieter out of the flight path of the Norfolk airport. I ordered the batteries and after about a week they showed up. Now what to do with the 800 pounds of lead we already had. I called a local metal recycler and inquired about an independent r recycler who might come pick them up for the bounty. They had a guy, who showed up in a few hours to do the deed. As soon as we tried to move the first one, he said he had a bad back and would need some help. Of course I had to get these off the boat and gave him a hand, causing me about a month of shooting electric pain in my back and hip. Live and don't learn, I guess. This slowed some of the progress for a bit, but was not a show stopper. Our insurance carrier won't cover named storms much south of here until the end of hurricane season or the first of November, so we had a month to get ready.
We ordered new sails, as the broker had promised me a deal through his contacts and the main and genoa were pretty worn. The sail maker told me it takes about 3 weeks to make a sail and this time of year there was no one in the queue. I inquired about them being made in China and having complications because of this, and he assured me no China problems. As it went, they took twice as long as expected, and we watched as the winter weather began to set in. November was an epic month with 2 bomb cyclones and a snowfall, so the opportunities to leave were few and far between.
The weather cycles this year are a bit more severe than usual with more severe weather more frequently than expected. The usual pattern is southerly winds clocking around to the southwest, west and northwest, with the cold northers ending the cycle. When the northers blow themselves out, the cycle repeats after a pause. The best winds for a smooth, fast trip are from side on or behind. The big winds in your face make for a very wet rough trip with little sailing. Fantazia can motor in calm seas at 8 knots for about 700 miles, but like going up a mountain, you use more fuel to windward. Sailing in fair winds with 15 to 25 knots of wind should let us make double the speed of motoring, so a much shorter trip with less fuel used and less wear on the boat in general.
We ordered new batten cars for the mainsail, as the originals were showing signs of wear. After several weeks of missed expectations, the sails shipped and I got a tracking number. Expecting about 3 days shipping, I was kind of stunned to see a 10 day estimate for delivery. They were made in the Philippines, shipped through China to Anchorage. The batten cars were on back order from Australia, so no telling when it would all come together.
The sail and the batten cars arrived on a Thursday, 4 days early for the sails.I had gotten some help taking the sails down and gave them to one of the marina employees for helping me move them. For about 3 weeks, I had had to ask him not to dispose of them yet as I might have to use them instead of the late new ones. When I took the batten cars off the track it was obvious that not only were they worn, the bearings had deformed and disintegrated enough to need replacement. I shopped around for new bearings, but no one had them in sufficient quantities to get us on our way. I made a small order from Defender, but not enough for the whole job. The new cars came with bearings, but there were 6 intermediate cars and the headboard which needed refreshing. I found the manufacturer and called right after the sails arrived to see if they could rush some to me. No problem shipping them out same day, we should have them by Saturday. I got notice from the shipper that they got them at 8:49 at night and should show up by Tuesday. Arrrgh.....
The install of the sails was a very busy process taking about 4 days. When first hoisted the main sail, the halyard was twisted at the top and it could not go all the way up. We got some local help to go up and untangle the halyard and help get the sail ready to use.
Meanwhile, I had contacted a captain who had sailed Fantazia before, and he was willing to come down on Monday to get her ready and head for Florida. By Sunday, it was obvious that another weather window was closing, and the main sail still needed to be set up. It seems that all things boat related have there own sense of time, not in any way related to your needs. We are continued getting everything ready to go, and hoped the weather will be good in about a week. Weather forecasting is pretty imprecise more that a few days ahead, so you really cant rely on forecasts more than a few days ahead. The last thing we want is to go out and beat ourselves and Fantzia up on the first voyage.
We picked a weather window, found a local captain, and planned a voyage. The other captain Lucas, who knew the boat, said he was available. I signed them both up so that we would not have to do anything unless we wanted to. We went out in weather exactly as forecast and made it out to the ocean, where Joan had a medical issue which required immediate attention. It was decided we would go to Norfolk and have her checked out. We went to the local ER, and they decided to admit her for observation and consult their neurologist the next day. The crew wanted to continue and deliver the boat without us, but not knowing the future for Joan, I just couldn't make that call. I sent them home, and we will wait for another window when Joan is better. She came home from the hospital with a diagnosis of chemical imbalance and some guidelines to prevent it in the future.
Lucas told me that the boat was the best he had seen it and he had delivered it 3 times for the prior owner and overseen most of the refit. All the things I had repaired worked perfectly and we could take her anywhere, anytime. The other crew, Evan, happens to own a sail loft, and they agreed that the new sails looked really good. We shall try again this weekend, Sunday the 15th of Dec. You can look on vesselfinder.com to track our AIS progress, search for Fantazia. We plan to leave around 7 am.
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