From the Admiral's Cabin

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I trust that our 2nd newsletter this year finds each and every one of you in good health! There has been no rest for the Admiral Team this year. Our factory is a hive of activity, with everyone hard at work finishing the first new 40, as well as keeping to the deadlines of our 38 and 50ft production lines.

Our new 40 is exceeding even our highest expectations, she's robust and functional but still maintains the sleek elegant lines of our very popular Admiral 38. As mentioned in previous newsletters, it is our intention to have her on show at Annapolis this year. We are hoping to see many of you at the show.

Even though we have been so busy this year, we managed to sneak in an opening function for our new factory.

A good time was had by all and we entertained our guests with musicians, mimes, fire artists (outside our factory of course!), some good food and a bar serving fine but dangerous cocktails. We even surprised our guests with a Cheetah – our tongue in cheek play on the whole “Cat” theme. 

Miami '07

Firstly a big thank you to Mark  and Gingah for the use of Lilyana and to Mike and Jane for the use of Blue Dog Cat. Without your assistance we would certainly not have had such a great show.

For those of you that were snowed in, or stranded with thousands of other people in the various airports around the USA, we are sorry that you could not have joined us.  If it is any consolation, this years' Miami show was the coldest we have ever attended.  It was a chilly reminder of some of the Annapolis shows that we've been on.

The weather certainly had a negative effect on our usual partying down on South Beach, but more importantly it also saw a much slower show.

Attendance was down by 40% with sales for most companies being slow. Admiral Yachts was fortunate to pick up a few sales, as always. To the new owners we extend a warm welcome to the Admiral family and look forward to building you an exceptional boat.

Other News

Some of you might have heard that the manufacturers of the Island Spirit 401 catamaran, Fortuna Catamarans (Pty) Ltd, was recently placed in provisional liquidation by the High Court in Cape Town.  Admiral Yachts has obtained the rights to manufacture the Island Spirit world wide and once the various legal issues have been dealt with by the liquidator and the Court, we look forward to including this product in our fleet. The acquisition of this brand will give Admiral Yachts a larger pool of clients and will increase the number of products we have on offer.

Over the last two weeks, we have had a number of concerned clients and subscribers email us regarding the May 2007 newsletter disseminated by Phil Berman of the Multihull Company. This article made a number of inaccurate references to the newly launched accreditation process introduced by the South African Boat Builders Council.

In order to set the record straight the following is an accurate account of the situation regarding accredited boat builders:

Some time ago, a number of manufactures in the marine industry saw the need for the introduction of an accreditation process that would assist in creating a higher level of integrity and honesty within the industry. Discussions were held with the SABBC and Government who welcomed the concept and immediately set about formatting an accreditation process. After extensive research and considerable thought the SABBC ran two preliminary “test cases” early this year to establish if the process would function as designed. Both companies in the test cases received their accreditation and, as of last week, the SABBC has made the program available to all its qualifying members. Admiral Yachts and a number of other companies are currently in the process of been evaluated and we are confident of our imminent accreditation in the next few weeks.

At no time has the SABBC or any other Body or Organization set a date, as stated by Mr. Berman, whereby non-accredited members would be prevented or excluded from exhibiting internationally at boat shows or from selling or marketing their products.

We are saddened by inaccurate reporting relating to this process as the very essence for establishing an accreditation process was to ensure an ethical and honest approach which is fundamental to the future of the South African industry. We have been plagued too long by bad business practices and untrustworthy individuals operating on the fringes of our industry, bringing our industry and country into disrepute. We are, however, confident that once Mr. Berman has been made aware of the inaccuracies he will take the necessary steps to remedy the situation.

June 2007

• sails@admiralyachts.co.za
• call 27 21 577 3400

The New 40ft.

Everyone keeps asking “So what's happening with the new 40ft?”  Well we have made considerable progress and currently have 4 new 40s on the floor with another complete boat in the mould.

If all goes well, we should be launching the first one in about one month, at which time we will have a launch party down at the Royal Cape Yacht Club.

We have invited a number of journalists to the launch and test sail and look forward to receiving some good publicity.

Our experiences in South Africa have been wonderful, something we will never forget. We have traveled extensively without concern and find the accommodations at Bed and Breakfasts, National Parks or hotels to be perfect. The variety of climate, vegetation and terrain here is surprising. The wine country is post card beautiful, the “Garden Route” spectacular and the oysters are huge. We've done safari, hiked the Cape of Good Hope and jumped off the highest bridge in Africa. (pics in the blog - www.sailblogs.com/member/siyasinana) Sand dunes, jungles, deserts, and thundering waves crashing on rocks and beaches. It's all here and we hope to see much more in the time left before launch.

From the moment of being met at the airport, we have been very well looked after by everyone at Admiral. They set us up in a killer pad, handed us a cell phone, arranged the rental car and have helped with anything needed. Shirley and Yolandi make appointments with vendors and makes sure we know how to find places, Wendy laughs at all our jokes and she and Lisa seem the best of friends, Craig is cranking on our boat, is getting the 40ft production line humming and tries not to cry when we come up with ideas that might slow down the completion. David is great, fun and so very hospitable.

The company seems destined to grow. Thanks you guys.

We spent an evening with our delivery captain which only increased the excitement. As of now, we hope to launch in July at the Royal Cape Yacht Club and sail to the Chesapeake where we hope to see old friends and make new ones too. Siyasinana will be at the Annapolis Boat Show the week of October 6. The next year will be quite exciting and plans for Christmas onboard with all our kids are already underway. For us, this marks the beginning of what we hope becomes the next long chapter in our lives.

Best wishes and happy sailing!

Captains Gary and Lisa,
SIYASINANA