About Tahina
This page describes the sailing vessel Tahina - our home and mode of transportation. Since our trip will last five years, we will be selling our house and cars - our boat is now our real home. We had previously owned a nice sailing catamaran and found it to be the ideal boat type for cruising and blue water travel. I should point out that sailing is an incredibly "green" mode of transportation. The primary means of movement is wind - you can't get much greener than that! Here is a photo tour of Tahina.
Our boat was named something else by the builder since they were using it as a demo boat. But, we had a better name planned for our boat. So, we had to perform a boat renaming ceremony when we put the boat back in the water. This is something that must be handled very carefully as we want the gods to be happy with our vessel as we sail the oceans. After performing the ceremony our boat is named Tahina. We looked long and hard for a name which sounded nice, was unique, and meant something positive. I first came across the word while reading about a new type of palm tree discovered in Madagascar. The word "tahina" means "blessed" or "protected" in the language of Malagasy (the language in Madagascar which is derived from polynesian origins - note the similarity to Tahiti).
Buying the boatFor the past few years we attended each of the Miami and Annapolis Boat Shows, did a lot of reading, and communicated with many boat owners looking for the right boat. We ultimately settled on a St. Francis 50, by St. Francis Marine built in South Africa. South Africa has a reputation of building some of the best catamarans in the world. Our last boat was also built in South Africa. This boat has 4 queen-sized staterooms with a private head (bathroom) for each room (we plan to have friends and family visit along the way). There is a nice galley in one of the hulls; between the hulls there is a large salon area with a dining table suitable for up to eight people , lots of windows, a navigation station (and large desk area), and a TV entertainment center. There's also an outside dining area suitable for eight, and the helm station with instruments all protected by a large "roof" area (called a bimini) giving protection from the sun and ocean spray - and there are solar panels on top (another important "green" element). The boat has two engines for times when you can't sail, or while maneuvering in a harbor. And, it has a generator for charging the battery systems when solar power can't keep up. See specifications including floor plans.
The boat we've just purchased was used by the builder at the Cape Town Boat Show in the fall of 2007, and then at the Miami Boat Show in February 2008 (where we first saw it). Then, it was taken to the St. Francis Resort in the Bahamas where their sales representative lives (which is why we went to the Bahamas back in June 2008). Here is a Google Earth file 
which shows where the boat was built, and the approximate route it took to get to the Bahamas along with the two boat shows. The boat had nearly 8000 nautical miles on it when we picked it up as a "new" boat. But, that's often the case when a US citizen buys a South African boat. These boats are designed for long-distance travel. Here are some pictures of a St. Francis 50 from their web site (no, it doesn't come with the cheerleaders). And, here are some pictures of it under sail.
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I'm so jealous. Let me know if you need crew. :-)
What is the speed of the vessel?
(normal cruise speed)
Our average cruise speed under sail is between 8-9 knots. However, depending on the conditions, since this is a catamaran, our top speeds can be much higher. On a brisk day we regularly reach the "teens". And with a following sea, we can surf to higher speeds. Our highest speed so far has been 19.7 knots on a surf with 25 knots of wind. Under motor with one motor we can do 7 to 7.5 knots, and with two engines we can push up to 9 knots (but, we would rarely do that). Usually we only use two engines for maneuvering - e.g. in a marina.
Thank's
How many miles would be enough fuel, if you used only the engine;
How many miles would be enough fuel,if you used only the engine?
We average about 1 to 1.5 gallons per hour and have over 230 gallons of fuel capacity. At 7.8 knots we can go a LONG way with just fuel if needed. Of course, with wind, our only limit is food on board...
Thank's
What are the specs for your internet service, satellite, laptop, etc on board ? I'm interested in additional technology that you have on board or installed, other than the cat's original fittings. More details please!
@Thad: The satellite system we have on board is capable of up to 144Kbytes/s download. But, it costs over $10 per megabyte so we use it very conservatively. Our primary Internet service is WIFI when we arrive to anchorages. WIFI is increasingly available - although it often costs several dollars per hour through commercial hotspots. We also installed and use an SSB marine HF radio with a modem that allows us to send low-bandwidth text E-mails through a service called Sailmail (Sailmail.com). Sailmail can be used globally. I use a MacBook Pro laptop, my wife uses a Dell PC laptop. Our crew also share a MacBook Pro they brought with them.
@Thad: The satellite system we have on board is capable of up to 144Kbytes/s download. But, it costs over $10 per megabyte so we use it very conservatively. Our primary Internet service is WIFI when we arrive to anchorages. WIFI is increasingly available - although it often costs several dollars per hour through commercial hotspots. We also installed and use an SSB marine HF radio with a modem that allows us to send low-bandwidth text E-mails through a service called Sailmail (Sailmail.com). Sailmail can be used globally. I use a MacBook Pro laptop, my wife uses a Dell PC laptop. Our crew also share a MacBook Pro they brought with them.