Gunboat 62, 'Tribe' is Hull 01, the first Gunboat built for the company's founder Peter Johnstone, who spent 1.5 years aboard cruising with his family to get to grips with his concept of fast, ultra-cool cruising cats. After a major refit, taking all that practical experience on board (pardon the pun!) Tribe is just as shiny and better than the day she was born. Now owned by a close friend of Peter, Tribe is kept in magnificent condition by Spike and Anna, a crew who is a fine example of what Gunboat is all about. Below they share a bit about their Gunboat experience.
"For the 2013 Heineken, The Tribe team brainstormed a bunch of slogans with the owner who eventually chose - 'You Never Forget Your First Ride'. We had a whole heap of Koozies printed up for the event." laughed Spike. "Tribe is the original Gunboat, the very first one, and our owner has been involved with her since tbe very first delivery, he was PJ's college roommate."
"As crew we find ourselves blessed - Tribe has an amazing history and incredible owners and she is totally unique in the family atmosphere we have on board. This year alone she has been the platform for many holiday weekends away and family birthdays - try having 20 eight year olds bounce around on the front tramp!! We became the spectator boat for Optimist regattas sailing around New England from event to event, proudly supporting the owners' son. I'm not sure if it sunk in to a ten year old that having mum, dad, two specialized shore crew, and a GUNBOAT 62 perched off the leeward mark was pretty special!"
"As crew we are involved in every aspect of the owners' family life and even when they aren't on board we get emails about the dog's latest antics, grandparent updates or funny things that the kids said - and we love it. For us, one of the hardest things about being professional yacht crew is being away from our families, so to truly feel welcome and part of a Gunboat family is something amazing."
"2014 Heineken Regatta is a great chance for us all to catch up - it's like meeting long lost friends. We all have similar experiences to share - whether it be the coolest place to anchor, the technical advantages of a particular type of rudder bearing, or a favourite restaurant. Honestly we've met some amazing people through the Gunboat family and we now count them as some of our closest friends."
To stay tuned in to this year's action go to: www.facebook.com/gunboatcatamarans
Words by Louay Habib. Pictures © Ocean Images. For high resolution pictures contact info@oceanimages.co.uk
