http://www.boatinternational.com | July 2018Bob Eichler
Yacht: Altair
Length: 29.3m
Year: 1996
Location: Fort Lauderdale
You’re back in the US...
We just returned after spending the last two years in the
Med. In 2016 we entered the Newport Bermuda Race and
then continued on to Gibraltar. It was a great crossing – in
fact we only put about four hours on the engine all the way
across. We had wonderful winds in the 25 knot range and
that gave us a perfect sail. In the Med we visited Palma,
Venice, Croatia and Montenegro. We then wintered Altair
in Mataró in Spain. Last year we visited Greece, but opted
not to use her in June, July or August because of the heat
and the crowds. But we were back in the Med in September
visiting Sardinia, Positano, Naples, Capri and Corsica.
There’s such wonderful cruising in that area
When did you come back across?
We entered the ARC in November 2017 and came back
via the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and St Lucia. We spent
Christmas on board in the Caribbean. A real highlight was
the New York Yacht Club/Royal Yacht Squadron rally in
St Kitts, Nevis and Antigua. It began just after the St Barths
Bucket. Christophe Harbour has done a really nice job of
making us feel at home. There is a restaurant there called
The Pavilion which we love. From there you can
also get the ferry across to Nevis, the birthplace
of Alexander Hamilton. It’s a beautiful island with
several fabulous “sugar mill” restaurants. Altair
didn’t race in the Bucket this year, but I spent one
day with the 56m Perini Zenji and really enjoyed
that experience
What’s next?
In June Altair will leave for two weeks in New York City,
then to Newport for the Fourth of July and Maine for
August, before returning to Fort Lauderdale for November
and December. After that I’m really excited because we
leave for a big trip to Seattle (where I live) and the beautiful
Pacific Northwest. British Columbia is just the best for
sailing and beauty. The water is clear and the mountains
absolutely majestic. We call it “Maine on steroids”. Most of
the best cruising is on the inside of Vancouver Island, where
there is very little swell to deal with. The weather is never
too hot so no air con is required. Plus, there’s amazing
salmon fishing, crabbing and shrimpingJack McClurg
Yacht: Marcato
Length: 43m
Year: 2006
Location: Fort LauderdaleWe caught up with you in Newport
last summer. Where have you
been since?
We’ve been pretty busy since
then – we did 7,000 miles last
year alone. After Newport, we
went to New York, Long Island,
Baltimore, on to Charleston and
then Savannah, Georgia, and Cuba
again. We’re in Fort Lauderdale
now planning our most ambitious
trip to date – down to Patagonia.
From there we’ll go to Peru,
the Galápagos and Costa Rica.
Hopefully we’ll pick up some
charters along the way. We
were at the Palm Beach
boat show earlier in the
year and that generated
lots of interest in the boat
You’ve just been in the
Bahamas. How was that?
We teamed up with
an organisation called
Beneath the Waves and
went on a shark tagging
expedition with itsfounder and CEO Austin Gallagher,
along with 10 of his team. The crew
picked them up in Nassau and then
spent six days on the expedition.
The first day they tagged nine
sharks, including a 3.6m tiger shark.
They’d bring the shark up alongside
the tender, measure it and take
some vitals, a tissue sample and
also some blood. A scientist would
then insert a tag to track the shark.
The Bahamas are a shark sanctuary
and part of this effort is to prove
it’s working. They put out receivers
on the ocean floor to help track
the sharks, and also set up camera
traps. One of the scientists on
board had a big camera system
and he’d drop it down with bait
attached and film what happened
over six hours. He made some
genuine discoveries, such as a
shark that had never been seen
in the Bahamas before, and the
camera also picked up a wahoo
at 800 metres. That’s the deepest
one has ever been spotted92