The Journey Isn't Over For The Very First Fleming Yacht
The very first Fleming ever built, more than 40 years ago, is still cruising today. We were delighted to hear that the Chernoff's had purchased Fleming 50-001 after moving on from their 1930 Classic after 28 years of ownership and were settled in at their berth in Vancouver.
"We love the boat and are enjoying the process of familiarizing ourselves with its many systems and features. We are upgrading the electrical to include 1000 amp hour lithium iron house battery bank to reduce the time required for using the generator," Russ wrote to Nicky Fleming, Tony's daughter. "We have been waiting for a nice day to take some photos."
Every Fleming model built each year remains at the forefront of technology and innovation in order to enhance the cruising experience for our owners, but unlike most shipyards each Fleming also bears the distinctive look of the very first boat. The first Fleming ever built in the late 1980's was the Fleming 50, which would soon go on to become the Fleming 53, followed by the current F55. We were obviously very excited to see what had become of this piece of Fleming history, as well as get Tony's reaction of the news.
From Tony Fleming:
"I was so delighted to hear that the very first Fleming motoryacht had moved to another new owner and is continuing to cruise.
It was by one of those strange coincidences in life that recent news about the very first Fleming motoryacht reached me on the 39th anniversary of the exact date in October 1985 that I arrived in Taiwan to start the Fleming project. I knew no one there and did not speak the language so it was quite a challenge. The country was still ruled under martial law at that time and was a very different place than it is today. Nevertheless, it was the support and skills of the people of Taiwan that made it possible to build and ship this first of more than 400 Fleming motor yachts - and still counting.
The memories came flooding back of the excitement of creation and of the difficulties overcome - including transporting the finished boat the many miles from the Tung Hwa boatyard to Kaohsiung Harbor just one year later. And indeed the challenges of driving the untested boat from Long Beach harbor to Chuck Hovey Yachts in Newport Beach in the middle of the night.
Fortunately, this early history is fully documented in a You Tube video titled “The Building of the first Fleming Motoryacht."
"I wish the new owners of this historic boat many miles of wonderful cruising in the Pacific Northwest," Tony said.
Coincidentally, the Chernoffs have decided to name their new boat, "Fleming1" as an ode to its place in the history of the Fleming legacy. Thank you for sharing your pictures with us and we wish you many more years of cruising and making memories on the water!