Beneteau 393 video on SF Bay - summer fun!

Just another summer day on San Francisco Bay! Thanks to our customers the Kerr's on their Beneteau 393 Jabulani for the video!

New Beneteau 40 - offshore delivery

Thanks to Passage Broker Torben Bentsen,

Here is a little clip from 5 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge with a brand new Beneteau 40 last week.

Windspeed in the low 20’s, and pretty good seas.

IT WAS FUN!!

Beneteau 36.7 photos - our newest boat arrives

Galley - yes, a bit cluttered at the moment.

Starboard Settee - note the Blond Oak Alpi wood finish... very nice!

Nav Station

I like the black mast - very sexy!

Nice Bruce Farr designed bow...

Clean engine instrument cluster

Autopilot controls on the molded steering pedestal

Tridata and wind instrument over companionway

Molded steering pedestal and large wheel

A nice looking boat!


Look for 6 of these fast fun racer/cruisers to be going head to head at the Rolex Big Boat Regatta coming up next month!

Sailing small boats on San Francisco Bay

Hedley arrives in Western Samoa

An update from our fearless Australian client who is singlehanding his way home aboard the small, older used Beneteau he purchased from us.....

These are some emails received by his broker
Klaus Kutz:

8/1/09

Hi Klaus,

Hope you recieved my last email in reply to yours of July 28th.

Lots of hard work on Mirage III in the last so many days with Hedley having all sorts of problems with the wind and trying to get to Tahiti. He has sent me the following message to pass to you.

" After leaving Hilo was able to make some Easting but S of 4 Deg N became very uncomfortable trying to just maintain Long against 20/25 KT wind and 2KT current. Vicinity Malden Is gave up and headed for Apia. Arrive about 7 August.

Best Hedley "

Needless to say I will join him there, not as delightful as Tahiti I'm sure....maybe next time!!

Hope all goes well for you'

Cheers

Donna

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8/2/09

Hi Klaus,

Another quick message for you from Hedley......." Wind dropping and progress slowed, lightening ship by increasing beer intake, Cheers and Best Hedley."

Cheers

Donna

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8/12/09

Hello Klaus,

Somewhere along the line I have obviously offended the wind gods. The wind was out of sorts between San Francisco and Hilo but once I left Hilo the wind became positively venomous. I had hoped to make a lot of easting out of Hilo to enable me to have a good run past the Marquesas to
Tahiti.

However, it was not to be - the wind was mainly from the E and once through the doldrums it was mainly from the SE. The effect was I made very little easting ex Hilo and once south of the equator, made none at all. It became obvious fairly early I was not going to make Tahiti however, I persevered for some days hoping for a change. Eventually, the pounding beat me and I gave up and headed for Apia in Western Samoa, where there is proper marina and which is where I am now with Donna.

The leg from Hilo took 25 days mainly because, for nearly a week, I was virtually becalmed in the SE "variables". The trip was uneventful, except for the breakages in the headsail furling line, caused by the furling line chafing against the sharp edges of the Harken drum. It is a poor piece of design, and I hope they have modified the feed - it is a simple job. As it was, when the line broke, it was during difficult conditions, and it was no help having the headsail extend itself fully.

The other incident concerned some whales a few days out of Apia I was horrified/delighted/horrified to see this whale following me about 100 feet behind the boat alternatively diving and surfacing . I thought he may be about to attack the boat but he left me alone and he and his mate eventually went off in another direction.

I expect to be in Apia for about 10 days or so, and then will press on to Noumea and Brisbane. I should be home by end September. I will be in touch again when I have some more news.

Regards to all in the office.
Cheers,
Hedley

Island Packet SP Cruiser

If you can find a copy, check out the upcoming September issue of Soundings Magazine...

Here is a tease of an article they will be running:

The motorsailer: power and sail

For long-distance cruising, a good motorsailer is hard to beat. It’s roomier and less vulnerable to weather than a pure sailboat and has more range than a powerboat. Its

typically shallower draft gives it more versatility. And the time spent under sail

reduces fuel costs and extends range.

If you can't wait for the article, email me and I will send you an early release:)

Discover Boating video contest finalist

The winning entry was a little too powerboat only for me... I like this one!

Here is a link to all the finalists... you can decide which one you like too!

Our own Jim Tull featured in sailing article...

Our own Jim Tull is proudly featured in this great article in the Marin IJ.

Here is a short excerpt:

LEAPING OFF THE BACK of their sailboat first thing in the morning is the kind of wake up call that the Tull family revels in - even in the toasty muddy waters of the Sacramento River Delta. As soon as school is out for the summer, Jim and Meredith Tull of Tiburon grab 13-year-old twins Emily and Jane and pack up the family sailboat, a Beneteau Oceanis 321 known as Bella Luna. They fill the ice chest, tie the dinghies and rafts astern and leave the slip at the Corinthian Yacht Club to head east up San Pablo Bay, through the Carquinas Strait and into the thousand-plus miles of navigable Delta waterways....

by - Michelle Slade, Marin IJ

Marin resident Michelle Slade is a sailing journalist. Contact her results, upcoming competitions and story ideas at www.sladecommunications.com.

Island Packet Estero video review

Lattitudes and Attitudes are doing some great boat review videos! Here is another one of the new Island Packet Estero! This is our boat from the last boat show.... she is still available if you haven't found that perfect cruising boat for your big trip this fall!
Click the photo for the review.

Tartan 4400 video review

Just found this great video review for the Tartan 4400. Thought I would share it as I have a gorgeous, well priced, 2005 model for sale on the brokerage market!
Click on the photo for the video!

Beneteau USA wins NMMA CSI award!

BENETEAU USA RECEIVES CSI AWARD

MARION, SC: The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) has announced that Beneteau USA is a recipient of the 2009 Marine Industry CSI Awards. This award marks the third consecutive year that Beneteau USA has secured this honor. NMMA launched its CSI program in 2001 to provide boat and engine manufacturers with an independently-measured, cost-effective means of improving customer satisfaction in the boating industry.

Award recipients will be acknowledged during the 2009 International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX), taking place October 12-14 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

The Marine Industry CSI Awards program honors participating manufacturers that actively measure customer satisfaction and pursue continuous improvement to better serve the customer. Award recipients achieved and maintained an independently-measured standard of excellence of 90 percent or higher in customer satisfaction over the past year, based on information provided by customers purchasing a new boat or engine during the period between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009. Participating manufacturers are required to survey all new boat buyers during this period.

“As we work to strengthen our industry, customer satisfaction and retention will always be our foundation for growth,” said NMMA president Thom Dammrich. “This year’s Marine Industry CSI Award recipients are at the forefront of our industry’s growth potential and are helping ensure the experience of purchasing and owning a boat add value to the overall enjoyment of the boating lifestyle.”

“Consistently surveying our customers to measure their satisfaction levels has been a strategic commitment of ours for years. The objective of participating in the NMMA program has always been to use this valuable information to drive ourselves towards even higher levels of quality while exceeding the expectations of the owners of the beautiful floating dreams our Beneteau team in Marion creates.” said Wayne Burdick, President. "We are so proud to learn that Beneteau USA is the only sailboat manufacturer in the world to receive the NMMA 2009 Marine Industry CSI Award."

Beneteau USA, the American division of the world’s largest sailboat manufacturer, builds hundreds of 31-49 foot production sailboats in Marion, SC and imports sailing and power yachts up to 57 feet in length from its parent company in France.