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Venture Charter
Nicky,
We are safely back from a wonderful week in BC. The boat was fantastic and we successfully exceeded everyones expectation of the trip. My parents enjoyed reminiscing about the trip we made 25 years ago and appreciated the significant upgrades in accommodation. We managed to accommodate all seven of us quite comfortably. On the last day we went on a fishing charter and landed a 20lb Salmon, one of the objectives of the trip.Please let you father know that i think he is a genius. We loved the boat, I appreciated all of the details that make it so practical yet stylish beyond her peers. We also enjoyed watching DVD's of his adventures on Venture II, quite professional. My kids thought it was narrated by David Attenborough.
Many thanks for everything.
Sincerely,
Ian
A Fleming Great Adventure
The phone rang. It was Bill Ebsary calling to ask if I was available to assist him in bringing his new Fleming 55 back to Pittwater, Sydney, from the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show in Queensland. Bill and I have been friends for more than 50 years and over that time have shared many thousands of miles racing yachts both with and against each other as well as enjoying one another’s company just cruising. I prevaricated for about a nano second before accepting his invitation. I had been on board Bill’s Fleming “Le Billet” just after he took delivery in Sydney a couple of months before and had been very impressed by the overall appearance of the vessel, the build quality and the practical layout. Over my 40 years professional experience as a coastal engineer and researcher I had clocked up many tens of thousands of miles rolling around at sea on research vessels ranging from a few metres long to over 40 m, in all sorts of weather, and so was keen to see how Bill’s new acquisition handled at sea.
55-175
55/175 An ocean perspective
To all the admirers of our Fleming 55 we tell them there are very few vessels out there that can match the design and ocean going capability of a Fleming. A Fleming is one of the most desired vessels amongst seafarers of all kinds.
Tie up a Fleming alongside a 'plastic fantastic' and see which one draws the most admirers. We've been to enough Boat Shows to speak with some authority. Our Fleming 55, 'ANDANTE,' is just over four years old now and has completed 21,500 nm of ocean cruising around the East coast of Australia and overseas. This includes nine 700 nm passages through the notorious Bass Strait located between the SE corner of Australia and Tasmania. Passing through the Strait is always a challenge and an exercise in weather watching and timing. The extreme weather that comes in from the Southern Indian Ocean - one stretch is ominously named 'The Shipwreck Coast' because it presents a lee shore to all shipping and is a coastline dotted with many shipwrecks.
Andante has never faltered or hesitated through this treacherous stretch. We are constantly reassured through all legs of our journeys by the solid construction and workmanship that has gone into the building of ANDANTE. The things like the reinforced hull, engine installation, the fuel management system, the sea handling capabilities, and all the associated equipment and electronics that make a Fleming a solid, reliable, ocean going ship.
On our long passages, we find that the quiet seclusion of the separate pilothouse keeps the business end away from the distractions of the busy galley and salon area. In our four years of ocean going we have had very few problems with the installed equipment - this we feel comes from the Fleming philosophy of building a vessel with quality materials, fittings and equipment - they are built to a standard not found in many other semi-production vessels.
Wherever we are berthed our Fleming 55 is always subject to much comment on her looks - even people who know very little about boats never fail to stop and admire her lines. During our visit to the remote islands of the Louisiades Archipelago in Papua New Guinea even the local fisher folk commented on ANDANTE and her seagoing lines.
Our next ocean passage in ANDANTE will be across the Coral Sea to New Caledonia, which is 800 nm from Australia and then another 300nm to Vanuatu later this year.
Our Fleming is not just an entry level ship - it is a lifestyle.
Thanks to all the team at Fleming Yachts
Geoff Gowing
Chartering VENTURE I
Nicky:
I don't know where to begin so I will just say "thank you!" Julia, Trent and I just got off "Venture" today at April Point and had Kenmore Air fly us back to Seattle. What a cruise!Over the years we have cruised on boats and yachts of all sizes in 15 countries and we want you to know that this was, without a doubt, the most fun and best charter we ever had. The captain you provided was terrific; could not have been better. Low key, was great with Trent, had the patience to teach me what I wanted to learn, etc. On top of that, he let me bring Venture in to an assigned space at Dent Island Lodge that required us to pass between a bunch of large yachts on both sides and then somehow secure her alongside a finger pier that was maybe a maximum of 68 ft. for our 65 ft boat. I won't even try to tell you how nervous I was but, fortunately, I managed to do it with a dozen people watching and never bumped anything. I felt like a kid who just hit a home run and he gave me the confidence to pull it off.
Venture is a magnificent yacht and we will be buying a Fleming; no question about it. For the past 5 years or so we have studied every detail of the Flemings versus the competitors and we are among your biggest fans. Despite all of the studying, however, we had never actually been on a Fleming under way. That was why we wanted to charter Venture. Quite honestly, it was better than even our very high expectations. I am the only person I know who has watched every one of your father's DVDs multiple times and I knew what to expect on this trip. Incredibly, the reality was even better than the expectation. We went to Ganges Harbor, Gardner Marina, Chatter Box Falls, Gorge Harbor, Fredrick Arm, Dent Island, April Point, etc. Virtually all of these places were in the DVDs I had watched.
There is nothing like a Fleming. In every harbor we drew a crowd and all sorts of people wanted tours and to know everything about her. We felt like commissioned salesmen but loved every minute of it. We passed out brochures, told them why they should buy one, pointed out why Venture was better than what they were on, etc. We have endless stories and it was magical.
Thank you for allowing us to charter Venture. For Julia and I it was a real opportunity to develop experiences and memories with Trent that (we hope) will last him a lifetime. We are older than most couples with a 9 year old and we work hard to give him enriching experiences. This trip was part of that plan.
Attached is a picture of Trent in front of Chatter Box Falls. It was breathtaking. And, you might like to know, Trent lost a tooth while on Venture and was visited by the tooth fairy. I don't know for sure but my guess is that it was the first time Venture ever had a visit from the tooth fairy.
David Bianchi
We are delighted with our Fleming 55, Izafel, it is a rare occurrence in this world for the reality to exceed the expectations of the dream but in this case our Fleming 55 has exceeded our expectations.
With very kind regards
Allan Duggin
55-171
Our family had been looking at several options as to what we wanted our "Next Boat" to be. We had looked at long range, 8 knot, Trawler style boats. We had looked at express cruisers, that would "get us there fast". As it turned out, the Fleming 55' gave us the best attributes of both of those style boats while delivering much more. The performance, safety, fit and finish of the Fleming leaves nothing behind. When we have friends aboard they are amazed at how beautiful and thoughtfully the boat has been carried out. We were stepping up from a 28 foot vintage mahogany runabout. Chuck Hovey Yachts and Team Fleming delivered us Tracy Lynne with a comprehensive owner education program. This made learning the capabilities and operation of numerous onboard systems intimidation free, enabling us to truly enjoy the boat. The support and follow through post-purchase are second to none.
Mark & Tracy Widder Newport Beach, Calif