Project s/y Fanny Rhodes to Kalamata and La Seyne-sur-Mer

The Turkish coast again

Cruising South of France

On the 10th we departed Monaco for St. Tropez and did the usual morning anchorage at Pampelonne beach and evening in front of the town for two days. On the 12th we moved in front of Juan les Pins and on the 13th we departed for Porto Cervo.

m/y Predator

South of France

South of France

South of France

South of France

m/y Force India

m/y Force India

Sailing the Italian riviera

So 30th July we departed Valletta for Monaco and arrived there on the 1st August early morning and were kept busy by provisions and last minute setups. We moored in the corner next to the cruise line jetty next to Niarchos m/y Atlantis II.

M/y Christina O

Porto Cervo entrance

We soon left again on the 2nd for Cannes and departed same evening, then we arrived Porto Cervo on the 3rd morning where we moored inside the marina stern to. 

Porto Cervo

Porto Cervo

m/y Nero

On the 4th we were on the move again and arrived Capri on the 5th where we anchored in front of Marina Piccola. 

m/y Nero

Sunset

We did not tarry long here either and left the same day for Bonifacio where we arrived on the 6th. At Bonifacio we anchored for the day to admire the stairs and the fortifications from times gone by. 

Sunset 

Later in the afternoon we shifted to the Roccapina beach for the evening in Corsica. We left by nightfall and arrived St. Tropez on the 7th in front of Pampelonne beach and shifted in front of St. Tropez itself by late afternoon. 

Sunset

Sunrise

Bonifacio

Bonifacio

Bonifacio

Bonifacio

Bonifacio

Indian Empress in front of Bonifacio

We left St Tropez on the morning of the 8th for Monaco and arrived there a few hours later. We arrived Monaco in good order despite the strong mistral wind blowing.

m/y Air

m/y Air

m/y Le Grande Bleu

m/y Maltese Falcon

St. Tropez

French riviera while mistral is blowing

Cannes - Valencia

On the 4th June morning we heave up anchor and depart Cannes for Valencia. Weather is fine for a change and it is nice to get to the open seas for a change from ports and marinas, albeit a short time.

Islas Columbretes

5th June in the morning we pass the Islas Columbretes in the distance. Me as a keen diver can't resist the thought of thinking how the diving is there. It is indicated on the chart that the area is designated a nature reserve with no anchoring allowed. Sounds promising. 

Canal to Americas Cup basin

In the afternoon we arrive Valencia, take pilot and proceed alongside. There is a tricky "S" bend just straight after the wavebreaker but we manage well. After that it is to go along a narrow canal to the "Americas cup" basin where we make alongside on the South side.

Americas Cup Basin

After that agents starts boarding, local officials etc. The usual circus and another voyage is completed. I start planning maintenance jobs for the boys for the next event, the F1 in a few weeks time.

The commercial port is just next to Americas Cup

M/y Fathom survey

I was asked to have a look at m/y Fathom in case interest would arise in purchasing her. Onboard I was welcomed by Captain Oscar Wollstein who showed me around every nook and cranny that was possible to see when afloat. She is a very interesting small yacht.

M/y Fathom

M/Y FATHOM

TECHNICAL PARTICULARS:
- Year of built: 2007, Turkey, steelhull (faired);
- Flag & registration: Malta, commercial yacht, max 12 persons;
- LOA, Beam, draft: 45m/ 8.4m / 3m;
- ME’s & DG’s: 2 x 800 hp (MAN) / 2 x 80kW (Kohler);
- Range: 3000’+ (trans-Atlantic), (fuel cons w/ generator: 170 ltr/ h);
- Cruising speed: 10kts;
- RO plant capacity: 5t/ day;
- Also equipped with sewage treatment plant, Hi-fog sprinklers & Quantum zero speed stabilizers;

ACCOMMODATION:
- There are 3 staterooms on lower deck and a Master cabin on main deck, this will be complicated if the boat charters for 12 guests as there are only 8 beds;
- One of the lower deck cabins are a bit noisy due to AV cupboard in there;
- The state rooms and Master cabin are quite spacious but the ensuites a bit smallish and difficult to enter due to door arrangements;
- On main deck is a large “formal” saloon with sitting and dining area (entry to lower deck state rooms). On sb side is a small office and dayhead (w/ shower), on port the pantry and galley with Master suite extreme fwd;
- On upper deck is a more “casual” looking TV lounge with navigation bridge and Captains cabin extreme fwd;
- The crew accommodation caters for Captain (single cabin), Engineer (single cabin), Mate, Bosun, Deckhand, Chef, Ch. Stewardess, 1st Stewardess, 2ndStewardess (total 9);
- The crew mess is small for 9 persons but the cabins are of comfortable size;

TECHNICAL ISSUES:
- The stern was modified after delivery as it was constantly awash from passing boats, now the height is abt 1’ and dry, also the heightened aft houses the engine spares now;
- The equipment onboard is generally of very good quality, the crew have spent a lot of effort to iron out the kinks of the Turkish workmanship and now at the age of 5yrs she seems to be quite “run in”;
- Main engines have run abt 2000+ hrs (which is not much);
- The ER looked very clean and maintained (Russian Engineer);
- As working point of view there is pending following items;
o Hot water heaters needs to be changed into s/s as the current onesleaks rust into the lines;
o All pipe bulkhead penetrations are still of mild steel but otherwisemost piping has been changed into PVC, (the penetrations could prove problematic at a later stage);
o Boat has Crestron controllers for the AV systems (very hard to service in India);
o Bridge equipment all in good condition, major brand is Furuno;
o Dive compressor and gear onboard but has been mainly used for ship maintenance only;
o Acc. To Captain the stabilisers are working well at sea but in port I could see she rolled a bit;
o Because of the gym on top she has about 22tons of fixed ballast in her keel, this is not a problem, it just points out that there has been a stability issue;
o The hull has not been painted in some time and she is scheduled to have new A/F done;
o She don’t have satellite broadband, comm’s via mini-M or local wi-fi;
o The 2nd smaller tender (Novurania) seemed to have a leak on the tube;
o There is no dedicated large space for bonded stores and beverages;

OUTER DECKS:
- She has a rather small aft deck on main deck with a small round table for 6 persons. Also entry to a large “formal” indoor lounge;
- Upper deck has a movable big dining table and outdoor bar adjoining another indoor lounge (the tender is stored on this deck and fills it up almost completely);
- Sun deck is excellent for sunbathing and the gym in between is adequate, the Jacuzzi is located here;
- The gym can be stowed completely for events like, e.g. parties;
- Fwd deck stores the second smaller tender and 2 jetski’s. This area is not very likely to be frequented by guests. The Captain said she seldom takes much water on deck in bad seas, I would concur to this seeing her high bow testifying to her seaworthiness;
- Generally all teak decks looked to be in good condition;

 

High bow of m/y Fathom

CRUISING IN INDIA:
- Technically I don’t envisage too much trouble maintaining her in Indian waters;
- As her cruising speed is only 10 kts, she is like Kalizma, not a very fast boat to get around long distances;
- Her zero speed stabilizers makes an asset in Indian waters with the more or less ever present swell;
- Her small ME size makes her fuel wise quite economical, but in bad weather she will lose speed;
- The galley can be provisioned comfortably for 7-10 days but requires access to fresh produce;
- Both tenders and jetski’s runs on petrol;
- In general I would say she is a quite well setup and compact yacht working wise but the 4 guest cabins sets a limit of 8 persons for cruising overnight.

Deck plan of m/y Fathom