| 78 Fuß Schoner "Vixen II" |
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Vixen… ''coquette, flirt, temptress,'' my thesaurus says, ''siren, tease, vamp, seducer.'' And so she is: Vixen II, the most sensuous racing yacht in the Med. The sight of her under full sail causes lovers to swoon and hardened yachtsmen to go weak in the knees. The 78-foot Edwardian schooner was once the darling of Newport's sailing society, playing host to Kennedy’s, Morgan’s and other American royalty. One off the famous owners was moviestar “Warren Beatty”. All mahogany and teak, with gleaming brass and crystal accents, Vixen II is appointed with nautical textiles, fine stemware, silver service and Royal Doulton china. Yet she's anything but frilly, exuding a masculine energy worthy of her treelike 78-foot mainmast.  But insiders say that when she opened for charter last summer for the first time in more than 20 years, she is the most romantic ship in the east Mediterranean sea.
Thanks to a recent two-and-a-half-year refit, Vixen's below decks accommodations today offers many modern features, but every care has been taken to preserve the rich atmosphere of the Edwardian era. In the saloon, vintage brass lamps cast a soft glow on masterfully carved butternut panelling, an antique world globe, a black marble coffee table. There's a library, too, filled with fascinating volumes. Each of the doors is hand-, inlaid with thirty-eight pieces of wood, another testimonial to the impeccable craftsmanship lavished on this special boat.
• Aft cabin with 1 double and a single berth • Forward cabins with upper and lower berths • All guest cabins have en suite heads with showers • Completely separate crew quarter forward 
Designed by Nathanael G.Herreshoff as a New York 40 cutter-rigged racing yacht. Built in Bristol, Rhode Island, by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company and launched in 1915. Completely rebuilt as a staysail schooner in 1978. Extensively refitted 1999-2000 and 2006. She made her passage to Europe in 2005 and stays in the Med since 2007.
PRINCIPAL EQUIPMENT
Sails: Main, main staysail, forward staysail, genoa, fisherman, mule
History Designed by the revered naval architect Nathanael G. Herreshoff, Vixen II was originally built as Jessica, one of just thirteen New York 40s - racing sloops with an on-deck length of 65 feet and a waterline length of about 40 feet. Created as a one-design fleet for members of the New York Yacht Club, these nimble craft are considered precursors to some of the yacht club's America's Cup competitors. Races
As soon as she was launched, Vixen II demonstrated her superiority over her sisters by winning the 1915 New York 40 One-design Series. This victory was to be the first of a long string of conquests. During World War 1 this able craft took on a far different role when she served with the U.S. Navy as a U-boat detection vessel. Two decades later, Vixen was purchased by Dr. George Schimert. One of the country's foremost cardio-thoracic surgeons, Dr. Schimert was a pioneer of such techniques as double heart valve replacement and bypass surgery, and was the first to perform open-heart surgery in Asia. By the time Vixen came under Dr. Schimert ownership, she had been sailing for half a century, and had not always received the care she deserved. It was time for a complete refit. Vixen's complete metamorphosis 1999-2000 also provided the opportunity to redesign her interior to maximize the comfort of the guest accommodations. Vixen's rig was also changed from a gaff cutter to a staysail schooner, making her faster because of increased sail area, and easier to manage because the sail area is divided between two masts. Now in the care of Nicolai Visser, Vixen II continues in robust condition, with both her beauty and her strength uncompromised. The Vixen is currently under Dutch flag and experienced management. Crew Moni and Nicolai as shown on the picture left side above will be hosts on the VixenII. Both Dutch and 41 years of age. Moni van Hoek was working for Oad International for over 12 years, and has a lot of experience as a host working in Greece Spain Bali and in Mexico for the last 8 years. As she travelled the Greek islands intensively and speaks Greek she knows all of the best islands and what they have to offer.Moni is excellent chef as she has proved on charters in the past ,always ready to standby with information and delicious foods and drinks. Besides Greek, Moni also speaks Spanish Dutch German and English. Nicolai Visser-Owner- found the VixenII over the internet in 2005.He was sailing since his childhood and owner of quite a number of sailing vessels before he found Vixen. Looking around for a classic yacht since 2003, finally in 2005 he came along the Vixen in USA Maine and decided to go along buying with a weak dollar helping him in making this decision. With a crew of 4 we flew to the states and worked for 9 weeks to prepare the boat as it has been stalled for over 2.5 years to make her ready for an Atlantic crossing. Hurricane Maria met them while crossing, forcing them to make a stop on the Azores in September 2005 with some damage to the backstay and bowspreader.As the bad wheather season started in October the VixenII stayed in Praia for the winter 2005. In 2006 a new cross-over was made and we arrived in Amsterdam in April. 2006 was used to renovate the ship, putting new electrical systems onboard.She was stripped of all paints and varnish and had a complete make over. She was a big success during the Volvo Ocean Race in Rotterdam and been on the cover of the biggest newspaper “de Telegraaf” and a 8 page article was published in the biggest nautical magazine in Holland “waterkampioen’. In 2007 we disided that the Dutch waters where not ideal with a draft of 3 metres and made our way over to the Med where we did charters in Cannes on Elbe, Corsica, Greek islands and in Turkey. Most of the year was spend sailing along the Greek islands and delightfull Turkish coast between Bodrum and Antalya, where we will start chartering beginning of may 2008 |
Length overall 78 feet| < zurück | weiter > |
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