Date toured: December 2007

I hear a lot of stories when I step onboard charter yachts. Usually, they’re about interior décor, the yacht owner’s favorite cruising areas, the chef’s areas of expertise—benign stuff that I write in my notebook, but that eventually blends in my brain with all the other boats out there.
Onboard the 115-foot, Ted Hood-designed sailing yacht Tenacious, though, the first story Capt. David Evans told me was about how he learned his boat was bulletproof.
“We had a bit of delamination in the hull,” he recalled, “so during the refit, we cut out that part of the hull and gave it to the gun shop near the shipyard in Savannah. We started with a 9mm, then a Glock, then a shotgun. None of them went through. Finally, a high-powered rifle went through, but only half of the hull thickness. We reckon she’s actually mine proof.”
So. That’s a story that makes this boat stand out in my mind.
Not that Tenacious wouldn’t have stood out otherwise, since she’s a real beauty of a sailing yacht that is well-outfitted for fun-loving charter guests. She launched in 1995 as Teel from the now-defunct Trident yard and became Tenacious in August 2006, when she got a new owner. Since then, there has been a refit of the mast, rigging, sailing equipment, hardware, sails, furniture coverings, and soft goods including carpets. The original interior designer, David Easton, did the refit work to ensure the yacht would maintain her classically oriented good looks. The sales broker who handled the 2006 transaction also contributed to the interior décor by giving the gift of a cannon.
Oh, yes. Did I fail to mention the cannon?
“It was ornamental when they bought it,” Evans explains, holding it up for me to see, “and it had to be hollowed out for use. I do captain’s cocktail hour at sunset, and the mate becomes the gunnery officer. We’ve got drinks for everyone and then five, four, three, two, one… Bang! It’s our tradition.”
All of this is probably just as much fun as it sounds, I think, based on the short amount of time I spent with Evans--whose resume indicates the necessary captain's penchant for responsibility, as well. He previously worked onboard the 98-foot Jongert sailing yacht Solaia. Tenacious’s chef is his wife of eight years, and they both love to sail—fast.
“There’s no other boat that can go 10 knots in 10 feet of water,” he says of Tenacious. “She’s very easy to sail, and we’re very guest-friendly. We won The Shipyard Cup in Boothbay, Maine. The owner loves the boat, which makes maintenance easy. And we have a lot of toys. The boss is a massive kid. We even have a blender for drinks in the tender.”
Fair enough. And probably more fun than you can stand during a charter. Just be sure that if you’re having a daiquiri off the aft deck at sunset, the cannon is being shot off the front!
Tenacious is part of the fleet at Fraser Yachts Worldwide. She takes eight guests with five crew at a lowest weekly base rate of $55,000. She’s expected to be in the Bahamas this summer. Contact any reputable charter broker to learn more.—Kim Kavin