Countdown til Flamingo Bay auction - 7 October

by Jeni Bone on 24 Sep 2013 In less than three weeks, RV Flamingo Bay will go under the hammer at auction at Southport Yacht Club on Queensland's Gold Coast.

Scheduled for Monday 7 October, the auction has been promoted globally and generated interest from every continent.
The majestic adventure ship has just returned from a period in slips at Harwoods, on the Clarence River, near Yamba, where she was lifted and thoroughly checked by a naval architect and surveyor, her hull thickness inspected and her shaft, painted and anti-fouled to produce a full current 2B survey, in preparation for her new owner.

David Tomlinson, owner and skipper for the past 13 years of RV Flamingo Bay, you gather he is both extremely excited to sell her and move on to the next chapter in his life, and torn, with a torrent of memories and adventures aboard this unique vessel.

'There’s no doubt that she will be sold,' he says. 'Within the first week of starting the campaign, we had at least 10 serious enquiries and there are currently about six potential buyers from all over the world, and local operators in Australia.'

Built by Belliard Creighton for the Belgian government in 1956, the product of two years planning and designing and two years construction to the highest specifications, the 36m vessel was originally built for coastal patrols and rescues in the treacherous North Sea.

Intended as an ice breaker, her engineering is second to none. 'This is the boat you want to come rescue you if you’re in trouble anywhere at sea,' says Tomlinson. 'I’ve taken on 20ft waves in this and she hasn’t missed a beat.'

He continues: 'She has saved many ships and lives during her earlier life as the Belgium government’s ice-breaking rescue tug. I found her 13 years ago in the Caribbean and brought her back to Australia. Since then, we have created the perfect ‘get away from it all’ platform.

View Flamingo Bay and register your interest at www.adventureshipauction.com