Testimonial – Cruising in Martinique on a NEEL 43

It is at the end of his 15 days off the coast of Martinique that Christian, a passionate sailor, shares with us his first cruise on the NEEL 43 ALNEELAM.

“We are still in Martinique, where we decided to extend our stay to visit the island.

This 15 days at sea on ALNEELAM were amazing. The entire crew loved the NEEL 43‘s seaworthiness, with great performance and a safety feeling :

• 630 miles on the clock from Le Marin to Antigua / Barbuda
• 623 miles in 15 days with a regular average of 10 knots
• Some peaks between 13 and 16 knots

We had strong trade winds constantly established at 20 – 22 knots (with frequent gusts between 25 and 32 knots). With the weather (2 reefs in the mainsail and in the genoa at peak times), ALNEELAM has always weel-behaved, without causing any problems. The NEEL 43 is so pleasant to steer that we almost never used the pilot!

The changing weather conditions made the crew very active. Deck manoeuvres were very easy thanks to the layout of the helm station. A barber was often installed on the downwind leg to open up the sail plan by taking a sheet on the aft point with the spinnaker block.

Reefing is easily controlled from the helm station. The cockpit can accommodate three people, making manoeuvring much easier.

The boom is easily accessible to hoist the mainsail and stow it in the lazy-bag.

The spinnaker (hoisted only twice because of the weather) is easy to hoist with the sock.

In terms of comfort and interior design, everything is very well thought out. The Bolon^® floor is perfect, the galley is also very functional and the cabins are very comfortable, allowing everyone to enjoy their privacy.

But the PLUS of the NEEL 43 is perhaps to be found elsewhere where the essential is invisible to the eye: in the technical hold!

This space allows to store and centre all the foodstuffs, but also to have easy access to all the machinery as well as to a very large storeroom.

Another “plus” of the NEEL 43: the watermaker and the 40L water heater, never a problem with water! And its a pleasure to take a hot shower after swimming!

Regarding the welcome at the Martinique base, there is nothing to complain about. We were greeted with a smile by very competent people who were remarkably kind and gave us immediate confidence. This is very pleasant when you are chartering a boat of this type for the first time.

The sailing started well and continued smoothly. We will definitely go back on a NEEL 43, or even a NEEL 47 if possible.“