First Impression: Sea Quell

Date toured: December 2007

The 108-foot sailing yacht Sea Quell was built in 1992 by Alloy Yachts in New Zealand. I’m not sure who the original owners were, but the couple who owned her as of about 1998 used her to sail around the world until 2004, when they passed the boat on to their son. He sold a few ownership shares and turned her into a charter yacht, basing her year-round on the island of Sint Maarten in the Caribbean, according to the current crew.
     She’s a nice-looking boat, based on the quick tour I took during the annual Sint Maarten charter show. Her captain, Sam Deuce, has been onboard for two years, arriving as first mate and working his way up to captain. Sea Quell’s chef (and Deuce’s girlfriend), Laura Vanninen, has been aboard for a year and a half. Previously, she attended Leith’s cooking school in London and then owned a restaurant there.
     They both seem nice and capable, as does the yacht. Deuce says the owner races Sea Quell in the St. Barth’s bucket every year, hitting a top speed of 15.2 knots.
     “We have the comfort and service of a powerboat,” Deuce says, “but on a sailboat that performs really fast.”
     Sea Quell takes as many as seven guests in four cabins. There’s a master cabin (with a sauna--an unusual feature on a yacht this size), plus a cabin with a double bed and a cabin with twin beds that can convert into a king-size bed. The seventh bed is in a study that can be used as a cabin, though it has a wet head (shower and toilet in the same compartment) instead of a “regular” bathroom as in the other cabins. Typically, Deuce told me, this seventh space is used for a nanny or a child.
     Also worth noting is that Sea Quell has a small hot tub in her guest cockpit area, near the swim platform all the way aft. That's a nice, unusual feature on a sailing yacht this size.
     The yacht’s weekly base rate is $40,000, or about $7,000 per person with all the beds full and typical 25-percent expenses factored in. Sea Quell is part of the fleet at Richleigh Yachts. Contact any reputable charter broker to learn more.—Kim Kavin