A WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMALjune/july 2018cruisingworld.com53thought through every detail for comfort-
able living in their retirement but also set
the boat up for serious adventure on their
upcoming around-the-world voyage.
When Paul and I stepped on board, the
first things we noticed were the fine table
lamps and two free-standing lounge chairs
in the main saloon, neither of which
appeared to be bolted down. As monohull
sailors, this made us nervous.
I asked John about how these were to
be stowed offshore. He just smiled.
“You’re on a catamaran now. They
will just sit here for the whole passage.
You don’t have to stow things the way
you do on a monohull,” he assured me.
“You can even move the chairs around
to watch the large-screen TV.” He
continued to grin. This was going to be a
very different passage compared to what
we’re used to.
Paul and I had gotten somewhat
comfortable with leaving things sitting
on tables and countertops while sailing
on the catamarans we had chartered in
the past, but in the British Virgin Islands
we were sailing in the comfortable
confines of the protected Sir Francis
Drake Channel, not on the open sea.
John showed me how the chairs were
positioned on the floor with mere strips
of Velcro and how the heavy table lamps
sitting around the main saloon and nav-
igation station were sitting on nonskid
mats. I still wasn’t convinced that once
we got some serious waves at sea these
things wouldn’t go flying.
The next thing I noticed, as one who
loves to cook, was the expansive galley
on the bridgedeck, with an all-around
view and opening windows into thecockpit. There were large, easy-to-
clean Corian countertops, including a
peninsula countertop that you could
work at from three sides. There would
be six of us aboard, and although
Alexandra, Dan and I would be sharing
most of the meal preparations, everyone
liked to cook and would be pitching in,
so it was nice to see that there was space
for all of us to work.
To add to our culinary creativity,
there were a four-burner propane stove
and oven, a microwave and a large
front-opening fridge with two additional
fridge/freezers in the owners hull to
port. These had exterior temperature
monitors and alarms. There were also
numerous cupboards for storing supplies,
so stowing our provisions was going to be
a breeze!
Then Paul noticed a high-powered
electric kettle.
“The electric kettle is just for port,
right?” asked Paul.
“No, you can plug in this kettle
anytime, even at sea,” John told us. “It’s
the only one we’ve got or use.”Paul looked skeptical, thinking of the
power drain. Then John explained the
electrical system — a hard Bimini the
width of the cockpit, covered with solar
panels; a 6 kW generator; and a large
lithium battery bank. Right. The kettle
wasn’t going to be a problem.
Paul and I made our home in the
owners cabin, which featured a queen
bunk aft and a head with separate shower
and front-loading washer/dryer at the
forward end. There were two other en-
suite cabins on the starboard side. Dave
and Alexandra took the queen berth aft.
The forward cabin had a V- insert in the
berth, which was removed to make twin
bunks for Dan and Craig.
As soon as the crew was settled in,
Alexandra and I began the mammoth job
of provisioning for a crew of six people
with help from Dan and Craig. Dave and
Paul went over the boat’s systems with
John, organizing repairs, doing main-
tenance and ensuring that everything
was in good working order and that
we understood the equipment before
leaving for sea. Dan set up and testedClockwise from left: Paul investigated
a noise at the masthead; while the view
was outstanding, he found the motion
aloft to be quite jerky compared to a
monohull. Upon arrival in St. Lucia,
the crew of Zão received a warm wel-
come from friends and fellow cruisers.
Sheryl was happy to have “land ho” on
her watch. With a large fridge and two
freezers, everyone dined well on this
passage. In light conditions, dropping
sail and cooling off with a mid-Atlantic
swim was a highlight for the crew.