Look who’s visiting – BRISTOLIAN

We spoke to Captain Dan Newman, who is visiting Berthon on this iconic yacht.

BRISTOLIAN was designed by German Frers and built by CNB in 1989. She underwent a major refit in 1995 and a second overhaul in 2002. She is 96ft / 29m LOA, has a 21ft /6.4m beam, has a draft of 12.14ft / 3.8m and weighs in at 72 tons. The yacht was originally named Mari Cha II and in her inaugural trip she crossed the Atlantic in a mere 14 days, something most modern yachts still struggle to complete. Berthon have sold the yacht twice in its career and she is currently at Berthon taking advantage of our one-stop-shop shipyard service as well as using our marina as her summer base for racing in the Solent area.

She has a great record on the race track:-

2013 Newport Bucket – Overall Winner

2014 Antigua Sailing Week – 3 rd in class

in class 2014 Frers Cup Trapani, Sicily – 2 nd overall

overall 2014 Maxi World Cup, Sardinia – 3 rd Maxi Racing division

Maxi Racing division 2014 RORC Main Series – IRC Zero 4 th out of 40

out of 40 2015 De Guingand Bowl Race – Class 1 – 5th Overall

Dan has been on board BRISTOLIAN for two and a half years, starting as 1st Mate and moving up to Captain after 6 months. He says the yacht doesn’t have a home marina as she is generally racing the Med – Caribbean circuits. Following a mini refit in Italy last winter BRISTOLIAN headed to the UK for the summer racing season – in November she aims to cross the Atlantic again whilst participating in the RORC Transatlantic race starting in Lanzarote.

A foredeck large enough to play tennis on!

Bristolian took part in the Royal Yacht Squadron Bi-Centenary regatta in June and will compete in the Rolex Fastnet in August. We asked Dan why he chose Berthon to be the UK base for this 96’ yacht, he said “… we wanted a yard and marina that was easily accessible, both from the sea and by land. The question of draft is always very important in the Solent area as we try keep a meter and a half below the keel as a safety window – this can be a bit tricky when you have a keel as deep as ours. At full tide we have always had plenty of water when we come in and out of the Lymington River – and on our berth at Berthon Lymington Marina, even at low springs, we have had a minimum of 1.0m clearance. Draft issues aside, we also needed a yard with a complete range of facilities and services for us to effect some technical repairs and upgrades. The one-stop-shop shipyard business at Berthon offers this in spades with superb facilities, a vast wealth of knowledge and many skill sets not found in other marinas. I was particularly impressed with the Electrician Matt and his in-depth knowledge of so many of the systems we had on board – that just fills you with confidence when coming to a new yard and soon realising that jobs will be done properly and on time”.

The rather large stack of racing sails ready for the Fastnet and one of the primary winches, a huge Lewmar 120

BRISTOLIAN has now ordered a new furling forestay system from us to be installed on this yacht’s impressive 130ft mast by Berthon Riggers prior to departure later this Autumn.

John Burnie, New Business Manager at Berthon will be aboard BRISTOLIAN for the Fastnet and will be reporting on their progress.