Gemini Catamarans Debuts in France at Grand Pavois

o buy.
Gemini Catamarans Debuts in France
at Grand Pavois – La Rochelle
Grand
Pav
Septem ois
16 - 21 ber
, 2015
La Roc
hel
France le,
catamarans.c
A
s Gemini Catamarans, with representation
from The Catamaran Company, prepares
to make their debut in Europe at La Rochelle’s Grand Pavois Boat Show – from September
16 through 21 2015, we thought a little insight as
Where cats t
to how this opportunity came about would a nice
thing to share. Below is Daniel Tardy’s journey to
choosing a Gemini Legacy 35. Highlights include her
French-friendly beam and shallow draft along with
her sailing ability and use of space.
Adoption in France
Hull 1185,
Gemini Legacy 35
AVIS ALBA
“White Bird”
by Michèle and Daniel Tardy
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MULTIHULLS Magazine | May/June 2015
Noleen, the Gemini Legacy 35
that started it all for the Tardys.
A
s the summer of 2014 came to an end, we
returned to Brest (France) to sail our Feeling 39 DI monohull down the Atlantic coast
to La Rochelle. After leaving the port of Pornichet,
towards the island of Yeu, a boat caught my attention.
She was facing the wind, with a sail looser than ours,
but still moving forward and not heeling! I don’t know
why, but I watched until it was out of sight. As the
wind started to ease, we decided to start the engine
and make our way further east towards the nearest
port, Herbaudière to Noirmoutier Island (south of the
estuary of the Loire).
A moment after we arrived, a small catamaran flying the Irish flag entered the harbor. Obviously, this
was the boat I had observed in the morning.
I quickly invited him to moor just behind
us. From our cockpit, I could see it was a
GEMINI LEGACY 35 catamaran named
Noleen. This cat was barely wider than our
39-foot monohull and could easily moor in
any our French ports, even though they are
always crowded in summer season.
Two days later, while in Port Jouiville
aboard our Feeling 39 DI, we happened to
see Noleen again (this is the name of the
GEMINI LEGACY 35. I could not help
taking a lap around this Gem to see it from
all angles. Tony and Marita, the Irish owners, invited me to come aboard and visit.
To my surprise, she was THE BOAT OF
MY DREAMS!
www.multihullsmag.com | MULTIHULLS Magazine
For a long time, in my imagination, I tried to conceive such a boat, but a catamaran with reasonable
width to access all the small French ports was unavailable – until now! The Gemini has plenty of space
on one level and the two judiciously spaced hulls
provide volume without handicapping the width!
When Marita invited my wife Michèle on board – it
had the same thunderbolt effect...
In short, after a lengthy discussion on marine
qualities of this small catamaran, even though we
were very satisfied with the behavior of our renowned marine Feeling 39 DI, we decided that
evening that we would trade it in for a Gemini
Legacy 35.
Exploring the quaint
village of Emsworth.
37
Michèle arriving in Emsworth to check
out their new Gemini Legacy 35.
The only problem was, this boat is manufactured in the USA by Gemini Catamarans, and not marketed in Europe, so we
eagerly began e-mailing back and forth
with the US firm. On October 17, 2014,
after a month of numerous exchanges
with Gemini Catamarans and especially
The Catamaran Company, we committed to buy the 2014 Gemini Legacy 35
“Hull 1185,” which had been ferried a
few months earlier for the Portsmouth
and Southampton boat shows, now in
Emsworth, south England.
The agreement stated that we would take
delivery in Emsworth (Thornham Marina)
on March 20, 2015, which would give us
time to sell our current boat and allow us to
wait for more pleasant weather in the spring
to deliver by sea to La Rochelle in France.
In fact, given the legendary qualities of the
Feeling 39 DI, and our level of equipment
and maintenance, it is sold without negotiations soon after we advertise it.
38
Daniel on his way to La Rochelle
aboard Avis Alba.
MULTIHULLS Magazine | May/June 2015
It turned out, the time that was allotted to us was almost too short to
settle—you guessed it—Customs
formalities…what a nightmare!
We were still missing a document
and the printed versions weren’t
good enough or properly filed!
That being said, DetailsDetails,
the “Closing Department” of The
Catamaran Company, has now
learned the system and knows
exactly what French Customs requires, which should make future
purchases much more efficient.
After two trips to England to
visit and outfit this new boat (and
explore the wonderful village
of Emsworth), on March 31 we
found ourselves in English Harbour with our two
Irish friends Marita and Tony, who had the brilliant
idea and kindness to sail with me to La Rochelle to
help me get acquainted with the new boat.
Because Tony has the experience and the same boat,
I designated him as captain, but only to Brest because
then it will be time for me to be the real ship captain!
Tony and Marita
For a detailed log of the trip from Emsworth to La
Rochelle, in French and English, please visit www.
multihullsmag.com.
For more info about the Gemini Legacy 35, visit:
www.gemini-catamarans.com or www.catamarans.com
For more information about the Grand Pavois Boat
Show, visit: www.grand-pavois.com
Michèle and her grandchildren enjoying the ample space their new Gemini provides.
www.multihullsmag.com | MULTIHULLS Magazine
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