A dream finally put to sea

IT has taken nearly a decade to build luxury catamaran ‘Flippenice’ from the ground up in the backyard of the Nel family’s home in KwaMbonambi.

But after years of toil, discipline and dedication from its makers Francois Nel, Ivan Welgemoed and Lucky Ndlovu, the large yacht was finally completed and ready for launch at the Naval Island commercial slipway on Wednesday afternoon.

After proving to be watertight, the families can now relax and look forward to many memorable excursions.

And stylish these will be – the sophisticated catamaran boasts three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a bar, kitchen and lounge.

‘We can’t wait to take it sailing to Mozambique,’ says Francois. ‘It’s a great relief to finally see it in the water.

Owning a yacht has always been his dream, but only after his mother passed away did he take a firm decision to turn the wish into reality.

‘He resigned from his job in Pretoria and we moved to Zululand soon after,’ says Francois’ wife, Louise.

‘KwaMbonambi was the only place in this region that had a house on sale with a big enough yard to build the yacht on.’

Francois’ brother-in-law Ivan started helping with the building of the yacht and soon the catamaran became the dream of both families.

All the parts for the catamaran were shipped in from Australian manufacturer ATL Composits and the vessel was equipped with a Lombardini engine.

‘Flippenice’ was given the nod after passing five checks by the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA).