Le Grand Tour
by John Curnow, Global Editor, SailWorldCruising.com 2 Feb 21:00 UTC
Excess 14 - blast time © Excess Catamarans
Have you noticed that when not in France, just about every marina has a zillion French production boats with names like French Bred, Carte Blanch, or Plus Vin. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We got it. So, when it came to the name for this here ditty I kind of applied it in reverse.
Back in the Victorian era, the gentry took off on a Grand Tour that might take in the Pyramids of Egypt, La tour Eiffel, and perhaps even Asia Minor. The super-adventurous might even go for Asia Major! Like wow... Think of all the trinkets they could bring back. As long as somebody else was manhandling your shipping trunks, who cared?
So then, here's the twist. Take some Antipodeans, in our case Pete, Cass, young Heidi, and even younger Benny, and set them off from the far end of the world back to the Continent.
First stop, Bali, and collect your Buddhas and fake Rolexes now. Next the exotic Middle East. This was not just for Benny's fave, the tallest building in the world, but also what one hell of a lot of the West's money can do when traded for oil, and hey presto, it's a shopping mall with an aquarium in it and through it, literally. Keep the Pacific Pesos close, you've got a boat trip to budget for. Next, Heidi had to get to grips firsthand with some Greek Mythology, Philosophy, and Architecture, so all roads lead to Athens when that happens.
Now as this is a boat story, the family end up near Les Sables-d'Olonne, and one of the many Groupe Beneteau factories. This one makes the Excess catamarans, and your Excess 14 is just about ready as this piece goes to air. Now if you were after a kicker, once there, and you've toured around both coasts of France and the Western M9ed a good deal, you're going to haul it all the way back Downunder. Think of all the trinkets a cat can carry. Like, there's a wow! So yeah, let's make that the Grand Tour squared.
Life's all about timing...
It most certainly is. Now is the time. Many pieces of the puzzle have all arrived at the precise juncture required for a lifetime memory. For all. If served lemons, just make lemonade. So, pack the bags. Throw the mothballs around. Lock the door. You're going. Sort the dog out. Give the cat to your aunt, and the goldfish to another. Long way to come back to feed them when you get on the kerosene canary.
Pete can sail. He's done a load of racing and all that entails, and for a long while too. The yachting thing he'll be fine at. The Captain thing, and for one's own family, we'll he'll have plenty of time to get acquainted with the boat and the things he needs to do for each passage when they get to France. Chin up, and it is not like you're trying to make three or four hundred nauticals in a day. 150 or so will be fine. Plenty of time at that pace to check, and check again, then hone and refine.
Prudently, and by way of highlighting that it is not all about pure bravado, Pete describes the time he has spent with experts in navigation and passage making as, "Discovering what I do know, what I don't know, and what I didn't know that was there to be found. And some stuff, well, wow, I never realised I could be applying it that way."
Taking it on
So, you've done the triple jump to get there, and then you have 90 days for France and Corsica (make sure you fly the correct courtesy flag...). Marvellous stuff that, as Ritchie Beanaud used to say. Two entire coasts, and a magical island. BTW, did someone say heaps of land excursions for sights, cheese, wine, and food? Yes please! Do pass Portugal, Gibraltar, and Spain, and avoid the Orcas whilst you're at it, as you go from West to East.
Pete commented about the vastness of the experiences their mobile home will afford them, "The kids will see snow for the first time! Going to the French Alps will be amazing for all of us actually... Up to 14,000 feet there, versus a couple of thousand here at home. Cass and I can't wait. Not really sure the kids even know what they're in for. None of us have travelled that much, before."
"There really will be plenty to do as we wobble around France, before our visa runs out. Once we depart, there's Monaco, and the West coast of Italy to explore with all their cultural, visual, and gastronomic delights, as well as the Sardinia and the Straits of Messina. Pete's choice for that latter one, and another tick for Heidi there, BTW. We'd love to get to Malta, but we'll just have to see how our overall timing goes. Any other plans we might have had when this all began will just have to wait for a second tour," commented Pete with a smile.
Talking about France, and the rest of the Western Med in a paragraph each is not meant to sound trite. I for one want to be a part of their WhatsApp group or whatever they choose, as I REALLY want to be totally vicarious when it comes to their trip. We are not talking whistle stop for the tour, but there are certainly gates they have to make.
After the Med, the first of these is to join the 2026 ARC Plus at the Canaries for the haul across the Atlantic. That's in late October. It starts on November 8 at Las Palmas, goes to Mindelo, Sao Vicente, and then restarts for St George's, Grenada on November 20, with the prize-giving occurring on December 10.
That last date is important, for it is the second gate, per se. Decision time. Is Benny going to a new school in 2027, or is it the school of life for him for a little while longer, as the entire family then take on the Pacific? Well, well, well. Now that's a hard choice (for them). "I really hope the kids are loving it by that stage, or certainly not hating it. Hopefully the low digital time and always plenty of things to do when you're self-sufficient at sea will win out. If so, it will make the decision to push on a lot easier," said Pete.
Wandering up through the rest of the Windward Islands is the plan, more than likely making Antigua before peeling off to Panama, and getting there early in February. Pete is keen to investigate the San Blas Archipelago (Guna Yala) off the coast of Panama, as he has heard there are locales in that 365-island/cay group that time forgot, just like Port Davey (West Coast of Tasmania) that he has visited. "Simplicity is such a fabulous thing," Pete added for emphasis.
The Galapagos have the kids inspired (Mum and Dad too, I gather), and there is over two months to get across the Pacific to be on the Gold Coast in Queensland (or Brisbane) by early May. They should get some time in Polynesia, and that is definitely part of the Master Plan.
"If it is just me after Grenada, then there are already friends who have signed on. One has a leave pass from home, so long as when he returns there is no more talk of selling up, buying a boat, and going cruising. That may or may not work for him...
"We also have to be clear about not entering the named storm zone at a time when it is not just challenging, meteorologically, but also fiscally - i.e. insurance wise. So being in the Equatorial band (convergence zone) for the bulk of it is critical," added Pete. That's definitely what you call a weather eye. Manage that risk. Good thing real time weather, along with lightening and storm alerts, are now available to all.
"I really want to see David at Sail Tahiti. He and his family sailed through there 12 years ago, and never left. They're an Excess representative, and been really helpful, just like Rohan Veal who has put our whole Excess 14 package together. From there it will be Fiji, New Caledonia and on to Australia. Naturally, it all depends on weather," stated Pete.
Owner version, or is it?
So, the Excess 14 is very much Excess 2.0. A VPLP penned gem, that will be on show, and also for purchase too, at the 2027 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show. Very fine entry. Slender bow sections. A lot less rocker. Shorter, but deeper keelsons (not too deep mind you, so you can anchor near to shore), a real aft-centric bias, with a big rig (Pulse Line), square top main, boom over the transoms, and a 'let-me-loose' sort of vibe.
It's that cool someone is already showing interest. Seriously. Queue starts behind them. 'As new', and what a shakedown cruise to ensure the next owner does not have to fix a thing. You never know. Someone might step on and head back to the Continent with it! How big are your plans?
"This is a three-cabin version. Best part of it is with the Excess 14, the bathroom in the starboard owner's hull is midships. So, there's a multi-purpose room for'ard that can be a walk in wardrobe, or the extra bunks allow it to become the kids home when guests occupy the two cabins (each with private en suite midships, and space for a washing machine too) in the port hull," said Rohan Veal from the supplying dealer, 38 South.
"There is factory fitted air-con (an essential in European and Queensland marinas), and Pete is having a forward-looking camera for docking, SOLAS radar reflector (AIS will demand a response from other traffic), additional solar panels, stored supply, and a smart inverter fitted to provide for extended voyaging. That will take care of hotel loads and all the autopilot you could ever want.
"The standard-length prodder is on so that there are no additional mooring fees and North Sails are supplying an all-purpose downwind 'Screecher' with a complete luff torque-line built in that is on a furler to make it all very simple, and both quick to activate and deliver power when deployed."
"I sailed this model in France and we were doing six knots uphill in just eight to nine knots TWS. It is great to be able to get going early, and then just de-power as needs be, or go for the afterburner, and unleash the bag on a furler when you clock it aft enough. The headsail is a short overlapping genoa, so plenty of drive, but really easy to tack with both sheets going back to the primary on the starboard side. In other words, easy to sail on your own, and you could even let the autopilot perform the tack for you. You could centre the traveller, and then use the electric winch to get it up to windward once you're moving," added Veal.
"With the rig set aft, the trampoline is just huge. No doubt the kids will enjoy that."
A new term
All of this goes to highlight the versatility of the Excess 14. Gone are the days of cats in charter all being 'charter versions'. Owner versions are ever more popular now. In the Excess 14, you can have spill over for guests, or two families with two children each. Two Plus Two, By Two. Never a GT that could claim that one, but the Excess 14 can. Take that on!
Solid Biminis over the helm stations is a good feature (first seen on Excess 13 and now across 11 and 14), but it is the openness of the main saloon, the aft galley and direct connection to the expanse that is the cockpit that will make this not just family friendly, but party capable. All in all, here's a boat capable of taking on the two biggest oceans on the planet. Alas, that is the master plan...
Not just a tour, but a grand tour. Planes, trains, and automobiles for sure, plus un bateau!
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Finally, stay safe, love your yachting, and be respectful to oceans and other sailors alike.
John Curnow
Global Editor, SailWorldCruising.com