Taking the Plunge

Now you have to fast forward almost a year from when we had our first introduction to the Amel 54. Jan and I started cruising in March 2006 (but that is another story) and we spent three months on the western side of Florida and the Dry Tortugas. Anyway, when we got up to Ft. Lauderdale we decided to give Joel Potter, the Amel representative in the US, a call to see how he was doing.

He immediately said he knew we were there because he and his wife Vela saw our boat when they went for their morning walk that day. He then suggested that we come over and see the boat again when we didn't have any time pressure. Well, being Aggies and looking for something free to do we said okay.

We had a nice visit and asked all of the questions we forgot to ask Luc when we were at the shipyard in 2005. Then we went back to our boat and promptly drank a couple bottles of wne while saying several times, "we don't need that boat"; "she is beautiful"; "I wonder what it would have been like when we were in those rain squalls coming up from the Keys". Anyway we were still just talking about something that was just a dream. As things go with boats we were having generator problems and had ordered a new icemaker so we were at the Bahia Mar Marina for almost two weeks. On one of those days we called Joel and asked him if we could go for a test sail on the Amel.

As I recall he grunted like an offshore fisherman does when he sets the hook, before he said. OKAY . . ., when do you want to go.

This picture is in the Saloon of Joel Potter's Amel 54 in Ft. Lauderdale on June 22, 2006. It was taken as we signed on the dotted line for something that we would not see for over two years. The stunned look you see in both of our faces was a combination of excitement and shock at what we just committed to.
After we enjoyed a champagne celebration Joel told us to forget about the boat for the next year and a half. After all we would not see the finished boat for over two years!

Introduction to the Amel 54

While we were enjoying a European vacation with my parents and cousins I suggested to Jan that we take the TGV from Paris to La Rochelle to see the new Amel 54 that was just starting production. After several discusions about why we should waste vacation time to look at a boat she agreed and we decided to ditch the parents and cousins for 28 hours to tour the factory.

When we arrived in La Rochelle we found a delightful port that seemed like it was out of the movies. When we got up the next morning we looked out on the bay at low tide and wondered how anything could get into the harbor. Didn't have much time to wonder about it because Luc Brumauld, our designated Amel host, arrived promptly at 0900 to introduce us to the Amel 54.

The factory visit was very informative and we learned more than we ever expected to know about the shipyard, their commitment to quality, safety features, craftsmenship and the systematic way the vessels have evolved during the forty years the company has been in business.

This picture is the only one taken in La Rochelle because we were too enthrawled with the process and forgot to take photos.

We had a wonderful day and were very impressed. We had lunch on board (lobsters and champagne) and even had time for a sail before we caught the train back to Paris. However, we did not think it was the right time to seriously consider a new boat. After all we had not even started cruising on our beautiful Beneteau 473 and did not even know if this was a lifestile we would enjoy.