BOATS AT THE CLUB

This is another in the series of articles aimed at providing you with an insight into new boats and other boats of interest at the Club. Contact Patricia Catley through the Club if you are interested in having your boat featured here.

The word ‘andante’ is a musical expression meaning at a steady pace, and is the perfect name for the cruising boat moored close to the CYCSA clubhouse. The club’s former first female commodore Tess McGrath with husband Geoff Gowing are the proud owners of Andante and I am delighted to write about their boat for Groundswell readers. Andante is a long distance cruiser, a serious ocean going vessel with a range of approximately 1,000 nautical miles at 8-10 knots. Andante is a Fleming 55 built by Fleming Yachts in Taiwan, and collected by Tess and Geoff in Sydney in October 2006. They made several trips to Taiwan while the boat was being built, and had a number of extra specifications added. One addition was a full teak fit-out inside. This later became standard for Australian delivered vessels. The Fleming 55 is a well-proven raised pilothouse motor yacht, designed for enjoyable cruising. Her semi-displacement hull gives great flexibility in performance and can attain a top speed of approximately 18-20 knots. Maximum sustained cruising speed is around 17 knots where her moderate dead-rise provides a very comfortable ride. Stabilisers ensure the boat remains steady for those long ocean voyages while the flared bow turns aside green water and provides a forward deck of unusually generous proportions The beam on Andante is 4.88 metres, and her length 18.5 metres. She has two Cummins engines, each producing 500 HP and two Onan generators at 13 and 9kVA respectively. A sea recovery water maker produces approximately 160 litres per hour. Three cabins provide plenty of room for guests. The master cabin has an ensuite and marble topped vanity, shower and toilet. The port cabin has three single beds, one a Pullman upper berth, while the starboard cabin has two bunk beds. All cabins have plenty of hanging space, cupboards and drawers and there is an additional starboard bathroom with marble topped vanity and a toilet. The galley is very well equipped with a Dometic side-by-side fridge freezer, a Miele induction cooktop, oven, dishwasher, microwave and exhaust fan. Twin sinks have instant boiling water and an insinkerater. There is a garbage compactor under the bench top. A dumb waiter to the flybridge delivers snacks and drinks when needed while in the salon is a large table with comfortable seats accessible to the cocktail cabinet and bar fridge. Andante’s pilothouse is the prime all-weather command centre. It can be isolated from other areas of the boat to assist concentrating on navigation in difficult situations. Radar is enhanced with FLIR and assists navigating at night, especially when there is tight manoeuvring. All navigation aids are fully integrated: the Furuno screens, Max sea charts, depth and 72nm radar including AIS class A to communicate both ways with ships at sea. There is a satellite phone, HF and VHF radios. The engine controls and navigation information are duplicated in the flybridge with a second wheel so the boat can be controlled from there. On the upper aft deck are a crane and dinghy. Andante has made numerous trips cruising from Adelaide around the east coast to Hamilton Island and the Great Barrier Reef. For a couple of years the boat officiated as the start boat for Hamilton Island Race Week. That was quite an experience with the big boats bearing down on Andante’s stern, but they always missed with a silent swish of the hull and sail, and barely a word spoken. One of the highlights for Tess and Geoff has been cruising to Cairns and out to the Louisiade Archipelago PNG. This group of many interesting islands is a wonderful part of the world and was off the beaten track in 2008, though has probably been discovered by other cruisers now. The islands are inhabited by beautiful people who live quite happily at a subsistence level. They are predominantly Christian but the society is

matriarchal. The women own the islands and the men travel around to find a wife. They keep the occasional pig and chickens, grow vegetables and like to fish. The locals also love to barter, and Tess traded clothes, fishing gear, tools, writing paper, pencils and magazines with them, receiving bananas, vegetables, eggs and a lot of shells in return. A couple of times Tess and Geoff took them fishing to places they could not normally reach. They were chuffed and proved to be deadly fishermen, catching fish on feathers! Tess and Geoff have had a lot of pleasure cruising Andante around South Australian waters. One of Tess’s favourite places is the Sir Joseph Banks Group in Spencer Gulf, and they have discovered many other good anchorages around the SA coast. Andante is a very special boat for them, and has been reliable in some seriously bad weather. Although this article is about Andante, I have learnt so much about Tess’s sailing life I would like to share a few of her achievements. Newer members to the CYCSA may not be aware that our first female Commodore is also a great sailor and true inspiration and asset to our club. Tess spent the first seven years of her sailing life in dinghies; a Sabot and Puffin Pacer. For the next ten years she sailed small keel boats on Flying 15s and Etchells, then an RL28 trailer sailer. Moving on to large keel boats, the next 10 years included being skipper on her own Swarbrick 11.1 Celebrity, sailing an Oceanic 45, a Swan 48, and a Swan 43, on which she was skipper. Also a Nantucket 43 Changabang which she sailed from Melbourne to Adelaide. Tess joined the CYCSA in 1986 and it was here she bought the Swarbrick 11.1 named Celebrity. In January 1992 she entered the inaugural Keelboat Triathlon Cup, as part of the ‘Life Be In It’ campaign. With Tess at the wheel and a great crew, Celebrity won the first race. In 1992 Tess sailed on a 120 foot Brigantine, Eye of the Wind, from Puerto Rico to Bermuda, New York and Boston. In 1996 she sailed in the Swan World Cup, Porto Cuervo, Sardinia, Italy on a Swan 51 Rum Trader, and then in 1998 on a Swan 48 named Endeavor IV. Over twenty seasons, Tess took part in over 200 races, including State and National titles, and has won many trophies, including local and offshore races at the CYCSA. She has participated and skippered in the Adelaide to Port Lincoln, Sydney to Southport/Gold Coast and several Hamilton Island races where she scored two third places. The Hamilton Island Race Weeks are very competitive with many gun boats participating. Tess and Geoff had two boats named Leda, both of which she skippered and raced. In 1995 with her Swan 43 Leda, Tess was the first South Australian woman to skipper in a Sydney to Hobart race. The second Leda was a Swan 48 which they had built in Finland and raced at the CYCSA over many seasons. During Tess’s time of racing, very few women raced keelboats, and those that did were all from the east coast. In South Australia, women were generally relegated to the Ladies Day race. In her day, Tess was the only woman who owned and raced a keelboat, and took it seriously. Tess was elected as the first female Board member of the CYCSA in 1994. In 1998 she retired from the Board to become our first female Commodore.

A wonderful history of your sailing life Tess, and the adventures you’ve enjoyed on Andante. I wish you and Geoff many more happy years relaxing and cruising.

Patricia Catley Tess McGrath with former Flag Officers, Geoff Catt and Rowland Richardson

SLIPPING AT THE CYCSA

BOUTIQUE SLIPWAY

COMPETITIVE RATES | CONVENIENT

NO NEED TO LEAVE NORTH HAVEN MARINA The Cruising Yacht Club of SA located at North Haven offers excellent slipping facilities for basic repairs and maintenance work. All bookings are to be made through the Club office. If you wish to book in your boat or inspect our facilities, please contact Reception to arrange a suitable time.

e: reception@cycsa.com.au | ph: 8248 4222

A boat bearing the name Ain’t Misbehavin must be a fun boat and have some tales to tell and the owner certainly fulfils that role. Brian Degenhardt joined the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia in 2013 when he purchased a Mustang 38 LE Sport Cruiser named Sea Spray. The boat was moored in Noosa, Queensland and after completing the sale Brian had the boat trucked to the CYCSA via Broken Hill. Once settled into her berth it was time for a change of name and Ain’t Misbehavin was perfect. The boat was built in 2004 and powered by twin 320hp Volvo Pentas with legs and duo props. The exterior has all the extra trim and fittings of the Limited Edition including a bow thruster. Both engines were replaced last year with new units installed by Ian Brown of Taz Marine who Brian relies on to keep the engines in great shape. The 38 Sport Cruiser was designed with comfort, style and speed in mind and the interior has all the creature comforts needed for a comfortable cruise on the sea or enjoying afternoon drinks in the marina with friends. The lower deck comprises two double beds forward and aft with a full head and shower. There is a well-appointed galley with fridge, freezer and ice maker and the dining area is set amidships. A reverse cycle air conditioner allows the comfort for any climate while two TVs and DVD players have an upgraded sound system. The generator is 7.5KW and there are two 500 litre fuel tanks. The boat is capable of a maximum speed of 36 knots at 190 litres per hour and a cruising speed at 21 knots which uses 90 litres per hour. Brian’s previous boat was a Haines Signature 2250 with a 225 Mariner. There were many raft ups with mates and much fun was had by all. Fishing isn’t on the agenda for Brian as there is a lot of white leather and carpet on the boat that could easily be messed up. Apart from the mess, Brian and the fish don’t keep the same hours. About seven years ago Brian purchased a new tender and a 3.3hp outboard with the intention of joining the New Year’s celebrations on Kangaroo Island. This is still something to be achieved. The tender and engine currently only have two hours use. Brian was hoping there would be as strong a party scene going on as there was in the trailer boat days but he missed that by about 15 years. Anyone seeing Brian on his boat, or rafted up somewhere, there’s an invitation to join him for a cleansing ale or two. The name Ain’t Misbehavin isn’t new to Brian. His previous passion was building and flying award winning two seat sport aircraft. His outgoing Vans RV 7, a sport aircraft, was named Ain’t Misbehavin and he carried the name forward to his Mustang boat. The aircraft are two seat, single engine, lowwing homebuilt aircraft sold in kit form by Vans Aircraft. Brian is a valuable club member, also being a corporate sponsor. His company Daytona Signs did the signage for our Elliotts, the club ute and other signage around the club. Contact him at his business in Melrose Park if you need any type of signage. Brian loves to welcome visitors on Ain’t Misbehavin whenever he is onboard. He’s always ready to chat over a beer about boats, planes or anything else, so keep your eye open and head that way. Thank you Brian for the interesting history of your life with planes and boats. Readers might see you at the New Year’s Eve celebrations at Kangaroo Island one day.

Patricia Catley