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I thought
I was jet lagged after flying from the East Coast to test the Fleming
75 in Newport Beach, California, until I was introduced to a big bear
of a Norwegian standing next to Fleming Yachts head Tony Fleming on the
aft deck of the yacht. “I’ve just come from Sydney,”
Egil Paulsen told me. “I couldn’t wait to have a look.”
The 75 had been commissioned only a couple of days before, and Paulsen
hadn’t wasted any time. Given his eagerness, I mistakenly assumed
that Paulsen was the new yacht’s owner. However, he was there because
he is one of Tony Fleming’s most loyal friends and one of Fleming
Yachts’ staunchest supporters. What has made him so? A Fleming 55.
Over
the past 10 years Tony Fleming and Paulsen have set off on one unforgettable
voyage after another aboard Paulsen’s Ozmaiden, which was christened in honor
of his Australian wife and is berthed in Gothenburg, Sweden. They have
crossed the North Sea to cruise the coast of Scotland, navigated the canals
of Holland, circumnavigated Sweden via the Gota Canal, and explored the
fjords of Norway to latitudes far north of the Arctic Circle. In the process,
Paulsen and Fleming have forged the kind of friendship that only such
cruising can foster, and both men have developed profound affection and
respect for the Fleming 55.
There
is every reason to believe that the Fleming 75 will be just as able—if
not more so—to provide such extraordinary experiences and inspire
such earnest admiration. She is manifestly a big sister to the 55, but
it would be wrong to call her just a larger version. While in countless
important respects the two yachts share nearly identical design and engineering
elements, the 75’s added length allows for features that plainly
set her apart.
As on
the 55, the 75’s traditionally inspired lines describe classic long-range
cruising yacht fundamentals. The raised pilothouse and flying bridge form
a purposeful brow above a semidisplacement hull with a sharp entry and
substantial flaring at the bow that keeps her nose up and decks dry in
a head sea. Aft of a foredeck guarded by stainless steel rails, topsides
are protected by high bulwarks beginning at the Portuguese bridge, stretching
the length of 24-inch-wide side decks along the saloon level, and wrapping
around the transom. (Such security will be appreciated by anyone onboard,
but especially cruisers with children.) Altogether, her profile is at
once sturdy and urbane—elegance with backbone.
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