Trevor - November (ARC) & on
Jersey (British). Reputed to be the only yachty who has two pairs of carefully maintained leather Dubarry sailing boots. Trevor also has one of the most carefully maintained haircuts, less than a number one - more a number 0.75.


Linda - October November
Filipina/Australian. One or two of Linda's black hairs about the cabin make a pleasant change from all the grey ones. Diligent and hard working, she is good crew and kept a watchfull eye on the rest of us.


David - October November
Australian. With his engineering background we got a few things sorted out. Coming from the deep north of tropical Oz, he was not keen on the colder water for swimming. As the new owner of a genuine Berber rug, he will have warm feet this winter.


Chris - September & ARC
British. Another early retiree set on adventure but unfortunately not much for him on his short trip other than sashimi and wasabi.


Danny - September
Scottish. An outdoorsman and keen swimmer who kept track of daily changes in the sea temperature. Armed with this information and the rate at which he drank cups of tea, we were able tell that it was indeed getting colder as we progressed towards Gibraltar.


Attila - August
Swiss. Sicilian tour maestro and our sommelier. His fencing skills made him an excellent choice for cutting the salami. He even takes his own crepe pan with him on tour.


Urs - August
Swiss. Always laughing and cheerful. Our lead Sicilian driver. Marching and swing band music made him whistle by day and snore at night.


George - August
British. We shall miss his lairy trousers in the viewfinder and cut'n thrust at meal times. Not until his feet were firmly outside the departures gate did he ever think he would make Trapani airport.


Adrian - August & ARC
British. Our pursuit driver on the Sicilian tour. Why burn the rubber on four wheels when two will do? Our engineer, giving us more of an understanding of things whirly.


Theo - July August
Australian. An ex-skipper of mine, persistent photographer and expert on white pointers and palacinkes. If you lose him whilst walking around, just look for the nearest ice cream vendor.


Val - July
Australian. Theo's better half and our historian. Hiker and explorer with the patience of a saint. If you lose her in the crowd, try looking up to the top of the nearest high building.


Ken - June
British. "Last drop" Ken joins us again for more of Croatia. Bargaining hard with restaurant touts and with an ever watchful eye on astringency, he has won us a few free bottles of the local plonk.


John - June
Scottish. Being used to colder waters, he is soon lured in for a swim by the balmy 27.2 degree temperature shown on the instruments. His expletives confirm that the gauge always seems to add VAT to the real temperature.


Ken - June July
British. A keen sailor and fisherman, he hopes each day for bream and beamy breezes but both elude him. In the cabin he is our DJ, bringing back memories from the days when there were more fish in the sea.


Heather - May June
The skipper's mate back for more moussaka, then in July she goes to Kerala in India to recover. See last year.


Sheena - May June
Scottish/Australian. Heather's sister and long time secretary of the Ord River Yacht Club. Outback on trucks in the Kimberley, camping in the bush or messing around in boats anywhere as long as it's away from the big smoke.


Beryl - May June
Australian. It's been over twenty years since we all cruised together and we're having fun again. She is one of the best dressed crew we have had on the boat and her laundry over the rail gives Fandango a certain flair in the anchorages.

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.