In 1999 my partner, Jess, and I decided to invest in a cruising yacht to be placed in the charter fleet in the Whitsundays. After many years racing dinghies (mainly NS14s) together, we were to embark on a journey that would eventually lead us to owning and cruising a blue water capable yacht and sailing nearly 28,000 together. I had previously read about cruising catamarans so we visited the 1999 Sydney Boat Show and inspected a Seawind 1000. We fell in love and after receiving a lot of positive feedback from the charter businessw we decided that a cat would be the best way to proceed. So we chose a Seawind 1000 and lined up with a company called Tropical Sailing. The boat (#1073) was built in Wollongong by Seawind and because Tropical preferred their boats to have “Tropical” in the name (they already…

The amazing Privilege Serie 6 – Rolls Royce of the Sea A walk through guided tour by Brent Vaughan There are few that catamaran manufactures in the world you could compare to Rolls Royce, but that’s where Privilege comfortably sit in the spectrum of builders. Exquisite finishes and attention to detail, large luxurious living spaces and accommodation, and solid uncompromising engineering and construction making the boat not only a real sailors boat, but one that you would not second guess when crossing the Atlantic. I was lucky enough to spend a day exploring the latest 6 Serie recently launched and on display at the Prilege factory located at the famous Les Sables d’Olone on the Atlantic Coast of France in the Bay of Biscay.     Les Sables d’Olone is famous for the Vendee Globe round the world yacht race that starts and finishes…

  Aquila 44 3rd Charter Boat for Arundell Family Wendy and Tony Arundell were all smiles as they stepped onboard their new Aquila 44 power catamaran “Champagne Sunset” in the first week of 2018 with their growing family, setting the tone of exciting year ahead on the water. After falling in love with the Aquila 44 at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show in 2017, they placed an order on the spot and immediately set plans in motion to enter her into a bareboat charter operation with Cumberland Charter Yachts. “We didn’t actually come to the boat show to buy the Aquila,” Tony said of their trip to Sanctuary Cove visit last year, “In fact we only came onboard to rule it out from our short list, but the minute we saw it, we fell in love and the rest is history”. Cumberland Charter Yachts…

 155 people packed the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron on December 17th to have lunch with Sailing La Vagabonde couple and YouTube sensations, Riley and Elayna as they shared their story of adventure of sailing the world followed by the introduction of the new ‘Sailing La Vagabonde Syndicate’.   Inspired by Sailing La Vagabonde’s recent upgrade to a new Outremer 45 catamaran that they plan to eventually sail to the South Pacific, Outremer’s exclusive Australian distributors in partnership with Yachtshare have packaged a brand new Outremer 45 with an extensive array of options suitable for blue cruising at a fraction of the cost of an outright boat with a full management support program. For just $135,000 per 1/10th share, Sailing La Vagabonde Syndicate owners will enjoy more than a month a year onboard their new Outremer 45 that will be based in Manly Brisbane with…

Champagne Sailing – a Seawind 1160 Resort for Charter in Sydney  What an incredible summer it has been so far! Tim & Julie were lucky enough to buy a brand new catamaran during the Winter of 2017, and took ownership of her in December 2017, smack bang in the middle of peak season!! They named her ‘Champagne Sailing’ as she truly represents our company, a great sailing catamaran, perfect for relaxing onboard and sipping Champagne or your drink of choice. She comfortably holds up to 43 people, and they have been jam packed with bookings for corporates, hens partys, birthday parties and lots of social events over Christmas and New Year. The boat itself has great flow between an undercover area and the outdoor area, with heaps of seating and tables to lay out food and drinks. Best of all 2 brand new bathrooms…

2017 2018 Twilights Sydney Harbour   Sailing Instructions for Multihull Central Twilights-Sydney Harbour The event is a rally and we will require all entrants to sign a disclaimer on prior to sailing. Start and Finish Lines: The Start Line for Rally 1, 2 & 3 will be the transit line defined by the port hand channel mark located immediately north of Garden Island, and the Robertson’s Point Light (at Cremorne Point). The finish Line for Rally 1, 2 & 3 will be the transit line defined by the port hand channel mark located immediately north of Garden Island, and the Robertson’s Point Light (at Cremorne Point). The course for Rally 1 2 & 3 will be: Start_SP_SI_CI__Finish (Cremorne Pt). Rounding marks: LM5 – YA spar buoy off Shark Island (33°51.606′ – 151°15.596′ – 50m from cardinal mark), CI – Clark Island, SP – Sow…

  A fleet of a dozen Seawind catamarans and other multihulls enjoyed a weekend of fun racing, waterside partying and dining surrounded by the spectacular sights of Sydney Harbour at a rally hosted by Multihull Central on the 27th and 28th of October. The flotilla consisted of ten Seawinds, a Corsair trimaran, a Schionning, and GBE completed the fleet, with an Aquila 44 powercat hosting media. “This is one of the best events we have held for years,” said Brent Vaughan, Director of Multihull Central, “Thanks to our Seawind Club members getting involved and making it a real social occasion as much as a sailing event” “We tried to tailor the event to bring newly initiated boat owners together with really experienced sailors who all share a common love of their boats and a passion for the adventure on the sea,” On Friday, the…

  If you have been living your cruising ambitions vicariously through YouTube, then you may have seen the Outremer 45 thanks to some recent attention generated when a young Aussie couple, who go by the name Sailing La Vagabond, received a little help from Outremer to upgrade their yacht to a 45. Riley and Elayna from La Vagabond have been exploring the islands of the Med showing a fantastic insight into what it is like to cruise on this this vibrant, culturally rich, spectacularly beautiful and incredibly popular cruising destination. I visit the Outremer factory just days after the Cannes Boat Show to take our newest Aussie customers, John and Anne Strickland, through the factory, go sailing on their future boat (the Outremer 51), and get the lay of the land for when they take delivery of their boat and start their epic cruising…

Have you ever considering owning a luxury cruising yacht or motor boat but couldn’t justify buying one due to the costs, lack of time to use it or your limited big boat experience? Have you ever considering owning a luxury cruising yacht or motor boat but couldn’t justify buying one due to the costs, lack of time to use it or your limited big boat experience?  These are some of the questions that were addressed at the Charter Boat Master Class that was held at White Bay 6 Marine Park. Now more than ever with the demand of charter boats in short supply due to the effects of recent cyclones around the world, plus the strong Australia dollar, it is a great time to look at pursuing this opportunity.  We provided an opportunity for prospective owners to understand why dozens of business owners and professional have purchased…

SEAbbatical Destination: Vanuatu By Brent Vaughan Port Orla It’s the middle of winter, 26 degrees, sunny and almost humid, but there is a nice gentle breeze that drifts across the ocean. We are in the small coastal town of Luganville on the north island of Vanuatu, Espiritu Santos, to enjoy some of the local hospitality and the most accessible wreck dive in the world. While Luganville isn’t much to write home about itself, it was once a major US military base during World War II and it provides the gateway to exploring these remnants of the past and the spectacular landscapes and islander culture that surround it on the islands of Espiritu Santo. While Vanuatu is most famous for its Volcanoes (its located on a fault line), the originator of bungy jumping (tribes on Pentacoste Island tie vines to their ankles and jump from…