Fleming 65 Shakedown Cruise

With nearly 250 Flemings built and
cruising the world since the first one was launched in 1986, the company continues
to focus on refining and improving its three models. The first and most famous is
the Fleming 55 and there are over 200 of this model on the water. Next came the
75, and finally in 2005 Fleming launched its 65. Tony Fleming, who calls himself
“Ambassador at Large” decided to take hull #1 for himself and enjoy the cruising
life he had been providing his customers for decades. If you are thinking about
owning a long range cruising yacht, then Fleming is one of the brands you need to
become acquainted with. Join us while we tag along with Tony Fleming on what he
calls the “World’s Longest Shakedown Cruise” and learn a few things about the Fleming
65 --

The Fleming 65. Note the isinglass that extends the useful season of the flying bridge.

See review on the Fleming 65...


Tony Fleming writes--



Early in the design process for the Fleming 65, I decided to retain hull #1 so that
we could use the boat as a test bed for new equipment and ideas and also to expand
our own experience with using the boats that we design and build.



We named the boat “Venture” because that is what she represented for us. She was
launched into Kaohsiung harbor in December 2004 and, after sea trials in the South
China Sea, she was loaded aboard a ship in Kaohsiung on Christmas Eve and shipped
to San Diego. In mid-April, she was driven to Ensenada, Mexico, to be loaded into
the Dockwise ship that would take her to Vancouver for our first summer of cruising.
We decided to ship her north because at this point she was a brand new design with
very few sea miles under her keel and the open Pacific Ocean with few ports of refuge
was not the best
place for early trials.

The accommodations of the Fleming 65 come in a number of different combinations of staterooms and number of heads. Note the size of the engine room and lazarette.

Traveling North and South



That first summer was spent in becoming acquainted with the beautiful cruising waters
in British Columbia. "Venture" was introduced to the public and the press and was
photographed to prepare brochures. In early September we took her to Seattle for
her first boat show and then we drove her down the Pacific coast back to Newport
Beach taking 4½ days for 1200 mile trip.



A few months later, she continued south to La Paz on the East Coast of Baja California
at the southern end of the Sea of Cortez, Here she had another rendezvous with Dockwise
for the trip north - this time to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Over course of the
summer of 2006, we made the 1200 mile round trip to Juneau in Alaska - returning
to Vancouver Island in August.

There are two main deck configurations offered on the Fleming 65, but both have the same pilothouse.

There had only been time to scratch the surface in Alaska and we had every intention
of returning there the following year so there seemed little point in bringing the
boat all the way south to California for the winter if she was just going to be
sent north again in the spring of 2007.


Making Some Changes



Also we were anxious to use "Venture" as a test bed for the new generation of common
rail diesel engines which were coming on the market. So we made the decision to
re-power the boat with a pair of MAN 800 hp common rail engines. Although I visited
the yard a couple of times to make decisions, we delegated the re-power to Delta
Marine Services who are a Fleming Authorized service center in that part of the
world.

In the ice in Tracy Arm, Fjord, Alaska.

While we were at it, we made changes to the generators, water heating system and
electronics and a number of minor items as a result of what we had learned during
our 8,000 miles of cruising. Many of these changes have since been incorporated
into the production boats.

Looking forward on the 65. Note the passage way in the background to the forward master cabin. Steps up to starboard are to the pilothouse.

On the Sea Again



For various reasons, our cruising season got underway later than intended in 2007
and we
never made our second trip to Alaska. Instead, we cruised the Broughton Archipelago
which are a group of sparsely inhabited islands on the Canadian mainland opposite
the northern end of Vancouver Island. We poked around here until it was time for
us to head south to California in preparation for being one of the escort vessels
in a rally of 50 boats heading to La Paz in November.



In early September, we rounded Cape Flattery on Washington's Olympic Peninsula and
out into the turbulent Pacific Ocean. This time the weather was less than ideal and we had to pull into Grey's Harbor and Eureka to seek protection from storms.

"Venture" in Misty Fjord, Alaska.

On this coast it is important to play it safe and seek refuge early because most
ports have dangerous bars and are closed by the Coast Guard when the weather kicks
up. This time we took 10 days for the journey south. Although our normal cruising
speed is around 10 knots, we ran at 15 kts for several hours so that we could reach
Eureka before the impending storm while it was still daylight, and before an outgoing
tide rendered the bar impassable. Without having the option of running at higher
speeds we would have had to seek shelter much further north.

"Venture" going through Princess Louisa Inlet, British Columbia, Canada.

After one month in Southern California, we headed south to San Diego to join the
rest of the fleet taking part in the Fubar Rally. On this occasion "Fubar" is an
acronym for Fleet Underway to Baja Rally! Venture was one of the escort vessels.
The cruise followed the exposed barren coast of Baja California and involved three
overnight passages with stops at Turtle Bay, Santa Maria, Man of War Cove in Magdalena
Bay, Cabo San Jose, Bahia Muertos before terminating in La Paz. The total distance
from San Diego was 917 miles.



And, the total distance under "Venture’s" keel so far is over 10,000 nautical miles.


In the next issue of Offshore Motoryacht
Tony Fleming goes to the Sea of Cortez and encounters breaching whales and other
wildlife.


To learn more
about the Fleming 65, visit the company’s website…