Fandango is a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 39i (12m) made at Cholet in France and delivered in April 2008 at Les Sables d'Olonne on the coast, towards the top of the Bay of Biscay. We left on Thursday May 15th after negotiating a temporary lifting of the fishermen's blockade of the river entrance, by a long steel cable. These blockades were to affect other areas.

We have had some problems with the boat and there are some improvements needed here and there. Overall, we are happy with boat and she should be just the ticket for the Whitsundays in tropical Oz. She is not a blue water boat, so we hope that we can avoid bad weather on her voyage back to Oz. If you are interested in buying or already own a Jeanneau, please look at the Owners Club for issues and tips at link

The highest failure rate goes to the can opener, which we don't use very often. We are on our fifth one.

We have all the usual gear including mobile and fixed VHF with cockpit extension, Wide Band receiver (inc SSB for weather) Sat Phone, EPIRB, Radar, Navtex, Raymarine C80 plotter with integrated MOB tags, Autopilot, separate Computer & Nav Software with 2nd GPS, handheld 3rd GPS unit, Sat & Mobile phone links to computer, small inverter, AM/FM radio, TV, CD, DVD, iPod, fax, scanner and printer. We also carry charts for passages, pilots and other guides.

She has a six man offshore liferaft with manual desalinator, extra water and food. This is kept in a dedicated transom locker. A four man RIB mounts on the foredeck. We use the pole topper to hoist it on board which is quick and easy. The outboard is a light weight Honda 2.3hp air cooled little gem. We row whenever we can and the RIB makes this easier than you would think.

We have a Duogen 12v generator. This works in the water and an air blade can be fitted for working out of the water, although this is not as effective.

Fandango has twin helms with twin instrumentation and twin compasses. Also emergency tiller, steering drogues, sea anchor and two 35lb Manson Supreme (Lloyds approved) anchors. The bower has 60m of 10mm chain and the kedge has 25m of 8mm chain and 40m of 14mm nylon. We carry spare lengths of 25m of 8mm chain and 40m of 14mm nylon, as well as 40m of 18mm nylon for extending the rode in a severe storm. We use shackles and gal thimbled eye splices for the nylon sections. The windlass has been modified to make this easier to handle (this Quick model was badly designed anyway). The extra detail is for anchor buffs.

Andrew is a divemaster and the boat carries scuba gear.

Sails include two mains, both tripple reefed and one with Selden track cars for easy hoist and drop. For the foredeck, we have a twin grooved furler, two genoas, reacher, jib, cruising shute with prod, pole and stormsail.

Everyone has a manually inflating PFD with harness and three point strop. Jackstays are set permanently. Lifelines can be dropped for recovery and we have an MOB lift system. Lifebuoy and attachments, Lifesling and throwing lines are easy to deploy.

There are two comfortable double-berthed cabins and we can put a single and a double in the saloon if necessary. We have one head, a separate shower cubicle and an engine driven watermaker operating at 76 lt/hr.

We have a decent sized electric fridge for the Guinness with ice tray for the martinis, gas oven with twin burners and when we have shore power, we use an electric keetle and toaster.

If you have never been sailing before or were put off by cramped conditions on an older boat, we think you'll be pleasantly surprised how comfortable it is on Fandango. Check out the boat by clicking on "Boat Layout & Specifications" under the Chart Table heading.