From the Admiral’s Cabin

It’s been an awesome year. Starting with the 2005 Miami Show and ending with launch of Mike & Jane’s boat, Blue Dog Cat. Although we are looking forward to a well deserved rest over December, after having worked substantially long hours over the past few months, we are also gearing up to an exceptionally busy 2006.

For those of you who are not aware, our factory closes each year from the 14th December to the 16th January. To all the new clients and friends made over the last year, we thank you for being part of the Admiral Experience and sincerely hope you are still enjoying the adventure.

Everyone here at the factory wishes you and your family a safe festive season and a happy and prosperous new year. Just a reminder, we have limited complimentary tickets for the 2006 Miami Show, and these will be available on a first come first served basis.

All the best for the festive season and 2006! - Dave

Craft Improvements

As always, there have been a number of improvements to the latest boat which have included new laminated glass windows that will not craze. This will help to cool the boat down inside substantially and looks absolutely fabulous.

Craig has also fitted a DVD player to each aft cabin and to the saloon, which is great for entertainment. We’ve fitted ceiling liners in the binimi in the cockpit area, which has helped to reduce glare tremendously.

Another improvement, which is sure to go down well with the lads, is the ice chest which we’ve added to the outside table. Thanks to Didi Mau for the suggestion. It’s nice and convenient and holds around 12 beers and about 2 bottles of champagne. Our interior is now sporting additional wooden panelling, which gives an overall feeling of warmth and elegance.

Due the increase in our US client base, we commissioned the services of a well respected US marine surveyor, Jack Allinson, to perform an independent analysis on ourboats. His advice will be utilised in making the appropriate upgrades and increasing general safety factors.

New Buyer feature: an open letter from Mike & Jane, proud new Admiral owner!

We came to Cape Town South Africa to realize a dream we had been dreaming for some time. After years of dabbling in sailing on Hobi-Cats and various bareboat charters we came to pick up our own 38 ft. Exec. Admiral Catamaran. (Rodrigue, the New Orleans artist, had graciously allowed us to name her “The Blue Dog Cat”.

We had met David Bird, President of Admiral Yachts at the Annapolis Boat Show in Oct. 2004. After 39 years of dreaming, 10 years of reading and two years of serious looking we had decided we would have to settle on a used catamaran in order to get all the extras at the expense of the owner who had bought it new. But when we found the Admiral we were very pleased to hear that we could get everything we wanted (air conditioner, generator, spinnaker, plethora of electronic navigation) in a new Admiral. But the clincher was that David would provide a delivery captain and invited us down to sail our boat home from Cape Town.

We have now been in Cape Town for a little over a month. We have found the town to be comparable to one of our favourite places, San Francisco. It is beautiful city built on the side of a mountain with beautiful people and a wonderful climate. Of all the nice places we have visited this has been at the top of the best travel experiences we have had. To think that we still have the sailing adventure remaining – Cape Town to St. Helena to Fortaleza, Brazil to Trinidad to the Virgins, through the Bahamas and home where the Blue Dog Cat will be in the Miami Boat Show - makes this the experience of a lifetime.

Working with David and his good people at Admiral has been a tremendous value-added pleasure. David runs one of the most efficient, quality and courteous organizations we have ever seen or studied. We have been welcomed into the Admiral factory and into the Admiral family. We feel we have been delivered a custom built boat for less than the price of a production boat. No matter how much due-diligence; it is often difficult to get what you paid for. In this case we feel like David delivered considerably more than he promised us in Annapolis and even more than was written into the contract. This company is built on satisfied customers and we are indeed two of them.

After years of dreaming about our own boat and a month of watching it being finished in Cape Town and now a week to go before we sail across the Atlantic we’re pinching ourselves to figure out if we’re still dreaming – but, in fact, starting to believe it has finally come true. Thanks to all at Admiral for a job well done. - Mike & Jane