A CAT IN THE FAMILY
A German family on a world cruise
German couple Tobias and Nicole Janke – and their two girls – pulled into Auckland’s Orakei marina earlier this year, some two years after starting their voyage in France. Their vessel – Invictus – is the latest-model 16m Lagoon 52 catamaran, a spacious, modern and finely-appointed yacht.
I took the opportunity to quiz them about the decision to sail on a cat with two small children – picking up the boat from the Lagoon factory in Bordeaux, France, sailing her across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific – to fulfil a life-long dream and cruise the world.
With her tall mast, high-sided hulls and 8.74m beam, she’s an imposing sight and sailing her, you’d imagine, would be quite a handful for a relatively-inexperienced couple.
“She’s anything but,” says Tobias. “Yes, she’s a big yacht, but really easy to sail single-handed, and to be honest, she became my most powerful ally in motivating Nicole to buy into the adventure.”
The couple’s cruising decision is all the more intriguing considering they’re both from landlocked Bavaria in Germany. Sailing hadn’t featured in Tobias’ life until he began working in Hong Kong, where a friend introduced him to the sport. Nicole had never set foot on a yacht.
WHY A CAT?
Tobias was introduced to sailing on monohulls. Why the shift to a catamaran? “A more pertinent question,” he counters, “is why not a catamaran? Other than occasionally needing a bit more space in a marina – particularly in Europe – I can’t think of a single disadvantage to cruising on a catamaran.”
Nicole offers a more detailed clarification: “I wanted normality – insofar as extended cruising can be called normal! I wanted stability – definitely no heeling – with safety, space and comfort. And all the conveniences you’d find in a modern apartment to cater for a small family. A decent kitchen with a proper fridge/freezer and oven, a dishwasher, washing machine, air-conditioning – and plenty of fresh water.”
other boats with children aboard. So they’ve had a good social life – at one island there were more than 20 children from the various yachts.”
Accommodation options in the Lagoon 52 are numerous and the Jankes have selected the ‘owner’ version. This sees the entire starboard hull dedicated to a ‘suite’ – with the port hull divided between a forward cabin and a ‘guest’ cabin aft. Each of the port cabins has an en suite bathroom, and the guest cabin has its own, separate entrance from the cockpit.
That guest cabin has seen plenty of use with friends joining the family at various stops along the route. Tobias’ Mum was visiting during the New Zealand stopover. “Until she’d been aboard a few weeks, she couldn’t understand what this ‘sailing’ was all about. She’s been pleasantly surprised, though it’s fair to say she is more in love with New Zealand than with the boat.”