MAKING
Change THE
Thinking of changing over from a monohull to a multihull? Caroline Strainig interviews two couples who have done just that to see how they found the transition.
W
hen Sydney couple Joe and Karen Atkinson decided to buy a multihull, they really did their homework. Both accountants by profession and with a long history of running tourism-related businesses, they conducted exhaustive research and testsailed just about every brand of multihull available in Australia. Fast forward a few years and they are now the proud owners of a Hélia 44 Evolution called Dos Peregrinos, which is Spanish for ‘Two Pilgrims’. They took delivery of their boat at La Rochelle in France from the Fountaine Pajot shipyard in May 2018.
14 MULTIHULLSOLUTIONS.COM.AU
At the time of writing, Dos Peregrinos was on the hardstand in Spain for the European winter, while Joe and Karen enjoyed a break at home in Australia before getting ready to head back overseas for some more cruising. Their plan is to explore the Med and Caribbean before gradually making their way home to Sydney. In 2017, Lauren and Connan James also took ex-factory delivery of their Fountaine Pajot Lucia 40 catamaran Tigger in France and have now sailed the Mediterranean for three European summers. The New Zealanders had virtually no multihull experience when they decided to test sail a Lucia 40, but, like Joe and Karen, the couple couldn’t be happier with their decision to switch to a multihull. And it isn’t just because they are seeing their boat through rose-coloured glasses after visiting a list of exotic Mediterranean destinations. Ask them what they love about their new catamaran and the enthusiasm in their voices shines through.