After much delay, at the end of November 2019, the next step in our adventure came true. We moved aboard our NEEL 47 in La Rochelle, France! But before we could start our journey, we had a long list of projects to complete. That’s a whole other post and we’ll get to it soon! As to be expected when you take over a new boat, we also took the time to work with the builder and suppliers on a long list of improvements and repairs. Changing water hoses, adjustments to the rigging, gel-coat repairs, radar mounting, replacing the broken Volvo Penta MDI box (yes, failed after only 18 engine hours!) and so on. NEEL supported this phase really well despite the frustration on our side!

And then we had the weather to deal with. Winter on the Atlantic coast is incredible! I lost count of the number of named storms that battered us and there were weeks of relentless torrential rain. From frost on deck, hail to sunshine, we had it all. By the end of February we got a favourable weather window for crossing the infamous Bay of Biscay. Casting off the lines on a gorgeous sunny morning, the adventure could begin!

We had spectacular sunrises, dolphins at our bow every sunset and exciting nights. Night sails are special. Without a full moon you don’t see the waves and the heaving in darkness is disorienting at first. As it’s just the two of us, we decided on 4 hour shifts through the night. In addition to navigation, keeping an eye on wind and sails, whoever’s on watch needs to be on vigilant lookout for other vessels. We do that with the help of three ingenious devices: AIS, radar, and our eyes!

Having an Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a relief, knowing that other vessels are also be able to ‘see’ us on their displays. But that luxury ended in the middle of our first night, when we realised that our AIS wasn’t sending a signal! At first we thought it might be a user or setting issue (and yes IT guys, we did switch it on and off again!). But nothing worked. There’s nothing to do but sail on, eyes alert for any lights around us and wait until daylight to see if we could get it running again. And guess what? The genius skipper fixed it! Turns out the wiring to power came loose but to get to the connection you have to dismount the entire switchboard and figure out which wire it is! It’s a french boat – it’s too easy if all the wires are labelled clearly…

We didn’t have much wind in the end and the engine ran more than we wanted. It took us almost three days to reach A Coruña, on the northwest tip of Spain. With an almost empty fuel tank, we came into the harbour at about 0200, just as all the fishing vessels were leaving port. Once the boat was docked and all lines fixed, we fell into our cabin for best sleep in a long time!

A Coruna was a one-day stop to get our first engine service (oil change), fill the tanks, clean the boat and hit town for tapas!

The next day we set-off to round Cabo Finisterre and head to Porto. Forecasted wind wasn’t ideal but with another low pressure system heading for us, if we didn’t leave now we’d be stuck in A Coruña for another few weeks. TALATA sailed beautifully! On this 180 NM passage, we had wind from all directions, forces up to 35 knots and waves of 5-7 m. What better to demonstrate the potential of our cruising trimaran! When we rounded the cape in darkness at 22:00, we were doing 11.4 knots! Take a look at our chart plotter on the left shot and all the fishing boat traffic out there! 

After 5 days in Porto the next leg to Cascais beckoned. Desperate to get somewhere warmer we set-off at 0900 just as the gales of the past two days started to shift. The first challenge was getting out of the river through those breaking waves! Settled seas these were not! Swell from two directions, steep four meter waves and 18 knots of wind made for a rollercoaster ride!

The handling of the Neel 47

Close-hauled with slight heeling and the windward ama (side hull) in the air, even in heavy seas you feel safe and the boat is easily controlled. The centralised lines and halyards along with short and protected access from the cockpit to the helm contribute to this very ergonomic and secure feeling at all times.

You want to take the helm from time to time? Be prepared for a refined, responsive  feedback which’ll give you a huge smile every time you take over from the autopilot. Tacking is easy due to the self-tacking jib and the design of the „banana-style“ ama. We chose the carbon mast which along with weight gains and rigidity provides the added benefit of being able to drop the jib (rolls on a flexible cable) which frees the genoa and simplifies tacks and jibes. Watching the lee-ama cutting effortlessly through the water is pure joy!

We sailed the first 1000 NM to the Algarve with an average of 7.2kn – so there is still a learning curve for us to surpass the magical double digit speeds promised by NEEL.

What improvements would we wish for

Well, furniture with fewer sharp edges, more and smartly organised storage, better ergonomics for inner nav station, and even better finishing quality. More trimming possibilities for the mainsail would be desirable too.

What we can already say: If you’re looking for your dream boat, something with good sailing qualities and the comfort of a multihull, we can highly recommend putting a NEEL on your shortlist.

Just look at that happy skipper!