£3.5 million new fleet

Sunsail purchase 40 new boats

Sunsail has added a brand new matched fleet of 40 Jeanneau SunFast 37s to its UK charter stable. The new yachts, which cost in excess of £3.5 million, will be delivered to the UK over the next few months ready for the start of the 2005 charter season.

With the increasing demand for corporate sailing regattas in high quality yachts, the new additions will mean that Sunsail at Port Solent will be able to run matched fleet corporate regattas for up to 50 boats. Additionally, Sunsail also charters the yachts on an individual basis for periods of anything from one day to two weeks at a time for corporate entertaining and general yacht charter purposes.

The new fleet will also benefit the large number of corporations that charter Sunsail yachts for events such as the Round the Island Race, Industry Sailing Challenge, Skandia Cowes Week and the Little Britain Cup.

The new fleet will be equipped with wheel steering, a keel-stepped double spreader rig, racing profile genoa furler, quality racing sails in laminate Mylar, Harken hardware, complete Raymarine electronic pack and the new Yanmar YM engine which complies with the new emission regulations to be introduced over the next two years.

Sunsail’s Largs base on the Clyde in Scotland will benefit from 12 of the existing Solent based Sunfast 37s which will be sailed up from Port Solent in the spring. These also have wheel steering and furling genoas making them excellent for charter work. These will replace the current Largs fleet of Sunfast 36s which have done such sterling service over the past few years.

Commenting on the acquisition of the 40 new Sunfast 37s, Chris Satchwell, General Manager of Sunsail’s UK operations, said: "Our corporate clients demand the very best in boats and quality of equipment and that is why we are introducing a complete new fleet of boats for the second time in two years. We have always maintained high standards of specification on our yachts and whether they are being used for corporate regattas or for corporate entertaining, the new Sunfast 37 fleet will meet the needs of even the most discerning charterer."