Launch of the new OceanBlue trip boat

Sep 7th, 2012

Cheetah Marine launches the third demonstratorcatamaran available for sea trials to potential Cheetah customers. The 9m isnamed after Sean's original 6.2m catamaran which he worked from the surf beachat Ventnor just yards from the Cheetah workshops. The new 'Cheetah' is mooredat the recently built Ventnor Haven which provides refuge to the town's growingunder 10m fishing fleet.

Cheetah has been operated everyday since herlaunch in late June and sea trialled in the varying sea conditions experiencedoff of the south of the Isle of Wight. As well as a demonstrator the catamarandoubles up as a trip boat taking up to 12 passengers and 3 crew on LobsterSafari's and mackerel fishing trips from the seaside town of Ventnor.

'We are running on less than 2 litres per mile with full load and cruise, traveling up to 6 miles on a round trip. She has good top speeds of 28 knotswith the twin 115hp Honda outboards and cruises comfortably at 18- 20 knots' commentsLucy Strevens 'With good fishing grounds on the door step and a very stableboat we have been taking out paying customers to fish comfortably in even theroughest conditions. We have cancelled in total two days of trips this seasonwhich is remarkable considering the summer' poor weather conditions.'

Cheetah Marine's previous two trip boats haveboth been sold overseas, one now operating as a water taxi in Sierra Leone.

The new 9m has a wide 3.6m beam and is ashorter version of Geoff Blake's 'Ventnor Pride' which is notorious for fishingin all weather conditions clocking up over 25 000 hours (equivalent continuous3 years) at sea. The comprehensive Simrad electronics package provides fullengine data via the twin 12" multi-function displays on the dash in addition toseabed structure scan, 4G radar and chartplotter.

Cheetah is MCA Coded to Category 3, 20 milesfrom a safe haven and features back to back seating for 12 on the open deck.Lockable space forward of the large dash houses all safety and fishingequipment and additional storage is provided under the back to back seating.Cheetah Marine have again chosen to cut down the standard wheelhouse whichcreates a windscreen protecting the crew and passengers from the wind whilstensuring customers retain maximum experience.

To watch a 7.5minute rough weather video clip - see here (cut down from 30 minutes)