May the Force be with you…

by Jardine Media on 17 Feb 2008 Star Wars fans have a new reason to celebrate. Newcastle Yachting is busily gathering Dart SB3s together for a corporate racing program and a Star Wars naming craze has hit the fleet. Expect to see ‘Dart Vader’ taking on ‘The Force’ with ‘R2D2’ and ‘SB3PO’ carving up the waters of Newcastle Harbour. The good news is that all the best names aren’t taken…yet. It’s only a matter of time before a Luke Skywalker, Jabba the Hutt or Princess Leia inspired Dart SB3 takes to the water.

Newcastle Yachting is currently trialling their Dart fleet every Thursday from about 5pm on Newcastle Harbour with a formal racing program still in the pipeline. They joke that people are walking out of their waterfront offices, throwing off their suits and hopping on a boat. If you’d like to join the fun ring Newcastle Yachting on (02) 4962 5288 or flick an email to sales@newcastleyachting.com.au

‘We’re always open for people to crew either on our club racing or in the SB3s. With the SB3s they’re sometimes looking for some rather light people’ commented Newcastle Yachting’s business manager Elizabeth Kuruilaca.

Well known Newcastle business identities Scott Walkom, of Walkom Real Estate, and Mark Prince of MAP projects are both proud Dart SB3 converts and it is likely that other business people and corporate entities will follow suit. Businesses will be able to advertise on the hulls and kites with plans to set up a live video link so that harbourside spectators can enjoy the racing.

Prince started the Star Wars naming craze after one of his young children thought that Dart sounded like Darth, as in Darth Vader.

‘Mark has got young children so it was ‘Dart Vader.Yeah!’

Dart Vader recently competed in inaugural national championships at Skandia Race Week, Geelong and placed 11th overall.

Recognising the Dart SB3’s potential for fun club racing, Newcastle Yachting started selling the boats alongside their well known Archambault and Jeanneau brands. The first Dart arrived late last year and immediately attracted the attention of punters looking for the convenience of a trailerable yacht coupled with the performance of a sportsboat.

What’s good about the 20 foot Dart SB3s is how easy they are to rig, tow and pop in the water: the manufacturers say that you can be rigged and ready to go within 30 minutes of arriving at your venue. Obviously the time it takes to get a sailing boat ready to go is one of the small but significant factors which impacts on the enjoyment a man or woman gets out of their vessel.

A boat that is always ready to go at a moments notice means that the average owner will spend more time on the water and less on the couch thinking about sailing.

Another common problem that the Dart SB3s solve is the need to round up a large crew. Many keel boat owners find that assembling a crew can be like getting cats to march in formation, it’s even more difficult if you insist on having skilled people on board, and once you’ve trained someone up it’s more than likely that they’ll be poached by another skipper or buy their own boat. Dart SB3s only need three people on board so skippers will not be spending their Saturday mornings on the mobile asking absent crew ‘where are you?’

The strict one design limitations and no hiking rule mean that the Dart breed is popular with older sailors and those wanting serious competition on a budget. These restrictions help level the playing field and mean that teamwork, sail handling and tactics come to the fore. Winning doesn’t rely so much on athleticism and a high budget, whereas cunning and experience will help get you across the line.

‘The Dart SB3s are a very clever design because they cater for the broadest cross section of the sailing market of any boat I’ve ever sailed’ observed Newcastle Yachting broker Glenn Coulton. ‘They have a performance component to the boat: downwind they’ll go quite hard.’

‘There’s a no hiking rule so therefore it takes out that component of having to be fit, young and athletic to perform and to compete well in the class. They’re a very well ballasted boat: they have almost a 60% ballast ratio which means they’re very stable.’

‘Yet you turn the corner and put the asymmetrical spinnaker up in above 10-12 knots and they’ll be planing.’

Another great option that Newcastle Yachting is currently offering local boaties is syndicate ownership of a brand new Jeanneau Prestige 42. The first Jeanneau to be syndicated, a luxurious 46 foot powerboat named ‘Platinum Two’ has just gone out for her first cruise with one of her four owners.

‘The yacht only arrived late January so it’s just gone off this weekend with its owner on its maiden voyage.’

‘The four owners will share in one week a month on it. And it will travel between Port Stephens and Sydney, depending on where they want to go. We look after all the maintenance, cleaning, laundry, berthing and that side of it. They basically just hop on and enjoy….’ explained Elizabeth.

Both the Jeanneau 42 and the 46 will be syndicated for a three year period and after that time the owners will decide whether to continue the syndication, sell their share or sell the boat.

‘We think that after a three year run, if you want to put a yacht back into the market place, you’d be looking at a better return.’

Ownership is split into 12 units with owners able to purchase multiples thereof; the owners of the 46 foot ‘Platinum Two’ chose to buy three units each, thus giving them all an equal quarter share of the vessel.

For more information on either the Dart SB3s corporate racing program or syndication of the Jeanneau Prestige 42 please contact Newcastle Yachting.

And may the Force be with you!

Newcastle Yachting Office Phone:
+61 (02) 4962 5288

Fax: +61 (02) 4962 5388
4/91 Hannel Street
Wickham NSW 2293
Australia

Broker’s Mobile:
Glenn Coulton 041 0493 144

Email: sales@newcastleyachting.com.au