How did this unfold? Taking delivery of a 12.5m catamaran in Vietnam ?

Relatively easily actually!

A half listened to conversation, overheard in the early hours of the morning, in the boat, on the way to the Fairway Buoy, for another 'mission'. A vague nagging uneasiness, due to a period of  prolonged,unsettling and drawn out change with my employer, ultimately leading to my general dissatisfaction, with the  ” joy of work” and finally a thought in January 2014, what’s “IT” all about.

 “IT” being my raison detré , what was the future, where am I going? The usual ‘whoopsie, other side of halfway now’ thoughts, but the first time, I had really entertained them.
In retrospect I think the death of my father in 2008, of natural causes, the very unexpected and accidental death, of a recently retired colleague in 2011 and the gradual demise of my mother as she succumbed to Parkinsons, all played a part in the "IT" moment thoughts.

A wet January day, off work, a cup of coffee and a bit of an idle dig around the internet.
What harm could there possibly be in tapping that very enticing ‘contact us’ tab? 

How hard would it be, to just make an enquiry?

 It’s not hard at all, in fact, it’s simplicity itself. Couple of contact details, a very generalized question about likely ball park cost figures, and hit the submit tab. The satisfying whoosh as the email spins its way to who knows where, and it’s gone.

So apparently, was I!

My email, had been a general enquiry into the whys and wherefores of owning a charter boat.

All my working life has been on the water. Childhood weekends were on the water. Sailing was the family pass time.

When we children in Sydney growing up, Dad and Mum had a Bluebird yacht, 22 feet length over all. It looked huge to us, as kids. My older brother had "been set adrift", (according to our maternal grandmother, who pondered aloud about the apparent recklessness of having children, if one was determined to let them drown), in a Sabot at about the age of seven  or eight, and by the time I was six years old, and he ten, he was the skipper and I, his crew, in a Manly Junior dinghy (8.5feet).  So Dad's boat was enormous- 2.5 times the length of our wee racing machine.

Admittedly Dad and Mum spent more time taking us to regattas, than sailing the Bluebird, but whenever possible Dad would sail his yacht to the regatta location around Sydney. If time permitted, we would sail under our own power, if not, he would tow us.

So, salt water was in the veins, as they say.

My professional life took me away on the ocean. In 1979 I was on a container ship, steaming from Liverpool to Fos Sur Mer. We traversed the Irish Sea and English Channel, at 18knots, in what were glorious conditions. A few days later, the carnage that was the infamous Fastnet race had unfolded, in which 15 sailors died, yachts were sunk, knocked down or turned turtle. From that time onwards, I understood how quickly the might, power and sheer fury that could be unleashed by Mother Nature potentially was.

I have friends who have sailed offshore.’ Very heroic’, I had been known to comment on more than one occasion, but not for me. I know what can happen out there…

A few days later, following the very satisfactory whooshing of the departing email, an enticing ping alerted my attention to an incoming email. What I wonder would have happened, if it had gone to spam or not come at all. Guess we will never know. That was my "sliding door, or perhaps more nautically apt, ships passing in the night" moment.

Of course in seconds the email was opened. Further contact was required, telephone number in Brisbane supplied. Having been asked to supply some more information, 'to enable a better of understanding of what I had in mind', which of course, immediately and erroneously, presumed I actually had something in mind at all, I rang the number.

Despite the tiny glitch,of  the complete lack of  a rational well thought out strategy, I phoned and chatted , and we agreed this was merely a tentative first tiny step along the way….to where?

“By the way”, inevitably came the question, “where have you sailed one of these?”

“Ah well, no  I haven’t.”

“Seen one?”

“No”

Despite the fact that the recipient of the phone call was obviously speaking to a potentially deranged person, we agreed to meet at a mutually convenient time, on the off chance, I would like to actually see what we were talking about.

So,  the seed is sewn.

.

A meeting a couple of weekends later in January, with the most enthusiastic Seawind owner I had met, well the only one, at that stage in fact. A beautiful set of glossy brochures, showing all three current production models, an actual look at and an on-board tour the 1000XL2 model (10m length), an external viewing of an 1160 (11.6m), back to the brochures, and the obvious question of costs. We talked that through and of course there are the ‘optioning up’ add ons , and then I hear myself actually saying “well whilst I’m here, go on, just scribble the price of that 1250 (12.5m) down again”.

Much information for thought and to digest.

Driving away my gut feeling is, ‘YES, I’m going to do this’, followed by “very heroic, don’t be silly”

Two hours of sobering traffic later, ‘of course it’s a ridiculous notion…but it would be fun’.

Over the next few months, hours spent on the internet. A visit to Sanctuary Cove Boat show in May, where wouldn’t you know it, there is a 1250 moored up, just looking beautiful. On board, apart from the company reps, there are a couple of real life owners. I talk to them, asking for the downside, the reasons they opted for this particular company, I even ask them, to tell me why I shouldn’t do this! Fatally I ask for phone numbers from a couple of the owners who had just dropped by , just in case I need to get in touch with more questions. These were unhesitatingly supplied.

Dragging myself away from the 1250, I spend hours going over every other catamaran at the boat show, mentally comparing one against other. Dagger boards take up access room, but allow you to sail closer to the wind. Fixed keels solve the problem of not wanting dagger boards,but you lose a bit in how close you can point to the wind.The height of the bunks/beds versus the headroom, the number of cabins, toilets, showers, galley up/ galley down below, definitely galley down below for me, I’m not the tidiest of cooks and don’t want the debris on display! Engine access, internal or external, diesels or outboards? Ease of access along the deck to the bow, ease of operation, VISION from steering position and cockpit, the comparisons were endless, as were the options and of course the prices.

My out at this stage is of course, it’s a ridiculous notion, I haven’t even sailed one yet…

The harmless ,benign, laptop beckons me when I get home and yes it’s just a couple of taps and I find there are a couple of yacht charter companies who actually have some of these boats in their fleet. One at Hervey Bay, and a couple of the Whitsunday companies.

School holidays in only 6 weeks and I could probably rustle up some family crew, if there were in fact any of these particular catamarans available to charter.

Answer to the question of availability was positive from a company in the Whitsundays and it didn’t take more than floating the notion of 8 days in the Whitsundays, to my siblings and I had instant crew!

I explained to my sister that I was vaguely considering the possibility of maybe venturing into charter yacht ownership, which is why I had chosen the particular boat on which we found ourselves six weeks later.

The crew initially was four, a colleague from work, my sister, her son (14) and myself. This became three after only two days, as my work colleague succumbed to the lurgy and rather than smite us all down with it, requested (heroically) we put him ashore again.

It was brilliant fun .Easy to sail, sailed well, comfortable, spacious, excellent vision.

 Oh dear getting in deeper and deeper.

Then over a meal, my nephew simply asked, “well are you going to get one or not?” He thought he wouldn’t mind crewing on it if I did , “and maybe Mum will give me time off school to help you out”!
I wasn’t aware he knew of the ulterior motive behind the holiday.

More discussion, this time with my friends, dedicated mono hull sailors, who had cruised extensively for many years. The very friends to whom I had made “very heroic ,but not for me” statements. After a moment or two of  silence, or perhaps just the time it took to dissect and understand what I had just mentioned to them, I heard two comments , from him “why a Cat?” and from her “ what was it you used to say to me, about very heroic?”  Touché!

The whys and wherefores of Charter boat ownership were discussed, as they had been with my accountant, and already I knew  within myself, that if  I  was going to do this, it would be for me, and me alone, so the position put forward by my friends merely cemented the notion, not to put it in the charter fleet.  However, try as he would, my “mono forever” friend could not dissuaded me  from the catamaran idea.

Back in my real world, and the whole work/ life balance is totally out of kilter, as the work place morale has plummeted to such a level, that it’s actually becoming a depressing place to be. Sad after 22 years of this particular phase of my professional life  . Amazing how a single appointment in the 'stratosphere' of management, can have such devastating effects across a work place.

For me however, there is a solution. I have decided , the winds of change are literally what are going to get me out of the toxic environment that work has become.

I’m rapidly  committing to that passing thought, which has now germinated into a whole new life plan.

Well that wasn’t too difficult was it? Only eight months in the gestation, and I assume the birth won’t be too tricky!

The deed is done, my course is set, the contract is signed on August 22^nd.  Contracted delivery date 1^st April 2015. Changed that immediately to April 2^nd.    
Hopefully,  I’m nobody’s  fool.

March 2015

Time and tides keep on changing, flights are booked for the delivery voyage.

There have been a few changes since August. First and foremost, I’m now working part time. With my employment, this is going to mean 3 months at work and three months off. A consequence of having three months off, is now the seed of an idea has been planted in my very fertile mind, as I plan the rest of my life.

I have the knowledge and skill base to actually sail my  boat back to Australia, so why not?

Sailing it back home, has to be easier than trying to think of a name for my boat. That took months. Goodness knows how authors or musicians name books and  albums. How do parents name their children, it just comes, I suppose? Eventually I decided that of all the names I had considered, or family had thought of , that it has to be short , sharp, easily pronounceable, easy to spell phonetically and wasn’t full of hideous double entendre.

 So that is the why and the how of  my  K’Gari, a beautiful 12.5m Seawind Catamaran, and its creation. 

The significance of the name , which means Paradise, in Butchulla language , and is also the Butchulla tribal  language name for Fraser Island? As her new home will eventually be a berth in Tin Can Bay , just south of the southern end of Fraser Island,  in combination with  the fact that it meant Paradise, were among the reasons of  how and why,  she came to be so named.
K'Gari, also fulfils the other  criteria mentioned previously, for the name.

What else has been decided in the intervening months? The colour design of the MPS. (Multi Purpose Sail- which is a spinnaker without a pole basically)

I loathe interior design and having to make decisions about where light switches go , what colour tiles the bathroom needs, or the style and colour of carpets, curtains and soft furnishings.My wonderful mother thrived on it, but that gene passed me by. I have never built a house for exactly those reasons.

This was again an exercise in patience by those contributing ideas for the colour and design. Once I ultimately decided,the final colours would only be revealed to anyone else, the day the MPS is first set.

My mind working  in overtime, making ever lengthening lists of equipment required on board. 

As K'Gari is brand new, everything from cutlery,linen ,towels, crockery,spares for engines, tools, pencils,pens needs to be procured somehow. 

How easy was that going to be in Vietnam? Certainly not as easy as fitting out the boat if she had been shipped to Australia.
 Time will tell.