Yacht Lady Michelle

La Ciotat

2008-09-30T04:24:00.003-05:00

Lady Michelle is currently berthed in La Ciotat, France, undergoing general maintenance work before departing next month for Cape Town. We would also like to congratulate Brett on his promotion to the new Captain of Lady Michelle, and wish him the best of luck.

End of Summer

2008-09-13T13:33:00.004-05:00

Rear L-R: Brett, Rob, Brad & Mike
Front L-R: Gill, Candy, Danny, Julia, Jessica & Kimba

Well our summer charter season is all but over. It has been a fantastic & successful season and we all look forward to new & exciting adventures for the future. Thanks to everyone for supporting us and helping us get the job done.

Cassis, France

2008-08-26T14:13:00.002-05:00

Charter 5 of the summer is well underway and going very well. Lady Michelle is currently anchored off the French seaside village of Cassis. Next stop is Marseilles before returning to Monaco in a couple of days. Then, finally, we have a short rest before starting our last charter of the summer.

Nowhere in Particular

2008-08-18T09:33:00.002-05:00

Well we are coming to the end of charter number 4, and then it is straight into #5. Other than that, there is not much to report. We have spent the majority of our time in the South of France recently but did get to enjoy a couple of days in Sardinia over the weekend. As a side note we would all like to wish John Dane (Trinity Yachts) the best of luck sailing at the Olympics in Quingdao, and on behalf of all the jaapies aboard would like congratulate Dominique, Penny & Kim on a great job representing South Africa in the Yngling class - well done girls

St Tropez

2008-06-23T09:29:00.002-05:00

Having cruised from Croatia via Sicily, Sardinia & Rome, Lady Michelle arrived today in Saint Tropez, France. The next few days will see us visiting Isle de Porquerolles, Marseille and then finally Monaco where our cruise ends. After a short break, it is straight into a fully booked charter season.

Hvar, Croatia

2008-06-10T09:28:00.001-05:00

Having completed a month I Greece, lady Michelle is now cruising the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. Ports have included Dubrovnik, Hvar, Trojin, & Krakka. Everyone is in agreement that Croatia is a fantastic place to cruise and that we will be back next year.

Greece

2008-05-18T09:27:00.001-05:00

Lady Michelle has spent the last few weeks cruising the Southern Greek islands including Mykanos, Paxos, Santorini & Ios. After heading north through the Corinth Canal we are now cruising the Ionian Islands including Caphenlonia and Corfu. Next stop, Croatia.

Athens

2008-05-04T09:27:00.000-05:00

Our crew spent a fantastic day today touring the sites of Athens, including the Acropolis, and took time to hit the local stores after a great Greek lunch. All in all a fun day out.

Quick Pitstop

2008-04-28T09:26:00.001-05:00

After a great Atlantic Crossing the only technical issue we faced was the failure of the bow thruster. However, with the help of Quantum Marine (USA) and Melita Marine (Malta) the new thruster was waiting on the dock when the yacht arrived. This morning LM was hauled half way out the water and the entire thruster replaced in super quick time (5 hours). Well done to our crew, Quantum & Melita Marine and a special thanks to Pierre Balzan, David Sammut, Mke Bellinder and Trinity Yachts. A fantastic team effort.

Safely in Malta

2008-04-24T09:10:00.002-05:00

Lady Michelle has arrived safely in Malta and is now preparing for her first cruise to Greece. A huge congratulations and thank you must go out to Capt Les Randal, all the crew and the fantastic guys at Commander's Weather for getting the yacht to Malta in excellent shape and looking fantastic. Thank you all..

Miami

2008-03-04T11:38:00.001-05:00

Arriving at Miami Harbor. Great photo by Brad

Ocean Reef

2008-03-04T11:22:00.007-05:00

Micahel F and Gavin ready to dive

2 March 2008, Ocean Reef Club: We spent a quiet weekend at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo. It is one of those places that are interesting when you try and squeeze a 161ft yacht with an 8ft draft into a tiny Marina with a 7ft deep entry channel. Anyway, we got in and out without a hitch.

Some of the crew and Michale enjoyed a fun dive on Carysfort Reef, which rounded off a great weekend cruise.

Michael, Gavin, Gillian & MikeThe girls

Haul Out

2008-01-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

29 January 2008, Palm Beach: Lady Michelle was hauled out of the water yesterday in West Palm Beach for annual maintenance.

Basketball Outing

2008-01-31T08:55:00.000-05:00

29 January 2008, Miami: Our crew were treated to a wonderfull evening in Miami last night to watch a basketball game between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. Even though Miami lost, it was a fantastic experience and a wonderful evening. A special thanks must go to Mr & Mrs F for the tickets.

New Year!!!

2008-01-01T20:13:00.000-05:00

1 January 2008, St Barts: Well its a new year and time for new adventures. Lady Michelle brought in the new year in fine style in St Barts along with a massive fleet of other megayachts.

On behalf of her owners and crew, we would like to wish all our friends, family and associates a fantastic, prosperous and healthy 2008.

Crew Christmas Party

2007-12-23T12:45:00.000-05:00

22 Dec, St Maarten - As we will be on charter for Christmas we decided to have our crew Christmas party early. We started with cocktails and "secret" Santa presents aboard, before heading out for a great dinner at a local restaurant. Those with endless energy then proceeded to dance the night away at a local club. A fantastic time was had by all.

Atlantis

2007-12-13T12:30:00.000-05:00

13 Dec, Atlantis Marina, Bahamas - Finally after weeks of hard work in the yard we are cruising again. Next stop, St Maarten in the Caribbean.

Big captain & Mini captain

Hockey

2007-12-13T09:14:00.001-05:00

Nov 08, Florida Panthers - The boys had an awesome night out watching the Florida Panthers take on the New York rangers. A really cool game ended in overtime and then a penalty shoot-out which the Panthers won. Thanks to Hank for the fantastic tickets - cheers mate.

LtoR: Mike, Rob & Brad

Rodeo

2007-11-05T08:17:00.000-05:00

3 Nov Davie, FL - Tired of the usual evenings entertainment in Fort Lauderdale, some of the crew from Lady Michelle and Namoh decided to do something different on Saturday night and headed to the Rodeo - yeehaw! Watching the bulls getting the better of the cowboys and forcing them to eat dirt really puts life into perspective:-) Anyway, it was a great fun evening, followed by a quick stop at the Round Up western night club to experience the true nature of the country lifestyle - two stepping and line dancing. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the night and all are keen to do it again.

L-R: Gavin & Casy (M/Y Namoh), Kimberley, Rob & Brad (M/Y Lady Michelle)

Tune Up

2007-10-26T11:53:00.000-05:00

26 Oct 07 Bradford Marine - We are now moored at Bradford Marine, Fort Lauderdale where we will spend a month carrying out general maintenance and a few upgrades. We then plan to head south to St Maarten around early December in preparation for our Christmas charter.

January and early February will be spent in the St Maarten area before heading for the Panama Canal and Costa Rica (West coast). And then for the second half of March Lady Michelle will be visiting the Galapagos Islands!

Cover Girl Again

2007-10-26T11:43:00.001-05:00

Thank You

2007-10-26T09:58:00.000-05:00

25 Oct 07 - Fort Lauderdale
Well “Lady Michelle” has arrived back safely in Fort Lauderdale after a fantastic Atlantic crossing from Sanremo (Italy) via Cape Verde and St Maarten. The 5500 mile delivery took 20 days door to door, with no problems to speak of. And the weather was fantastic (thanks to Commanders Weather).

Considering that “Lady Michelle” hasn’t stopped since being offloaded from the dockship in Toulon on 1 July, the summer season has been a huge success. The calendar was packed with an owner’s cruise followed by back to back
charters, and culminating in the Monaco boat show. And 5 days after the show, we left for Florida. The yacht received high praises from all our charter clients and was a great hit at the Monaco Show.

During our entire summer and subsequent Atlantic crossing “Lady Michelle” never missed a beat and we had virtually no technical problems to speak of. This is a fantastic testament to her builders, owners, crew and support vendors – well done to all. A special thanks must go to all you fine folks who helped us make our first charter season so successful, and the crew for doing such a fantastic job and putting up with me during this hectic time. Everyone involved should be very proud of what has been accomplished, I know I am.

Atlantic Crossing

2007-10-26T09:44:00.000-05:00

18 Oct 07 Fort Lauderdale
Our Atlantic crossing has been great with fair weather and comfortable seas. After taking fuel in Gibraltar we boogied on down to the Cape Verde Islands where we berthed in Mindelo on St Vincent. This was really just another fuel stop and an opportunity to pick up fresh food. The local supermarkets were a little disappointing though, or perhaps our expectations were too high after spending months provisioning in fantastic French and Italian markets.

Anyway we left Cape Verde and headed due west for St Maarten. This was our longest leg of the trip and we were blessed with awesome weather (no hurricanes either). However, no matter how great the weather you always look forward to arriving at your next port, and St Maarten was no exception. As always we were warmly welcomed by the locals quickly filled up with fuel once again. Unfortunately we had to depart the next day and headed north west on the final leg our voyage – to Florida. This was by far the best Caribbean-Florida passage that I have had in years with stunning weather and flat calm seas – awesome!

"Happy Hour"The "Super Veltskoen"

Gibraltar and Onwards

2007-10-01T12:59:00.000-05:00

1 Oct 07 - Gibraltar
Well after a very successfull summer charter season we are finally on our way back to Florida. Lady Michelle is currently in Gibraltar taking on fuel and will be leaving in the next couple of hours for the Cape Verde Islands, followed by a quick fuel stop in St Maarten and then back to Fort Lauderdale.

Cruising Aeoli

2007-09-13T01:49:00.000-05:00

We are currently cruising the Aeolian Islands (just nort of Sicily) with our final charter of the summer. This area is truely a fantastic place to cruise and is such a contrast to the South of Frace and Italian Rivera. The landscape is incredibly rugged as these islands were all once a series of volcanos. In fact, Stromboli is still an active volcano. And best of all, we have only seen 3 other megayachts since we have been here - a far cry from St Tropez.

Anchored off Filicudi. In some places we anchor in 30m of water but only about 15m from the rocks - very deep around here. Stromboli (below) is still an active volcano.

Boat International Article

2007-09-13T01:46:00.000-05:00

Cover page and article in the latest Boat International USA edition.

Dockwalk Article

2007-08-23T03:33:00.001-05:00

Article from the latest Dockwalk. "Lady Michelle's" bow on the cover (above). Click on the pic below to read the article.

Marine News Article

2007-08-23T03:31:00.000-05:00

Extract from Marine News (July 2007)

Monaco Yacht Show

2007-08-23T03:22:00.000-05:00

Lady Michelle will make her first public appearance at the Monaco Yacht Show from 19-22 September. We will be berthed at T09 (on the T-Jetty). Please feel free to stop by and say howdie if you are in the area - we always enjoy catching up with old mates.

More info on the show can be seen at:

www.monacoyachtshow.com

6 August - Portofino

2007-08-06T02:24:00.000-05:00

What a beautiful morning! Last day of a fantastic charter, and where better to spend it than Portofino. Wish you were all here:-)

29 July - St Tropez

2007-08-01T16:28:00.001-05:00

What a treat while anchored outside of St Tropez - fantastic!!!

25 July - Monaco

2007-08-01T16:25:00.001-05:00

A sad day. Our trip has come to an end and everyone is heading home. It has been a fantastic three week whirlwind maiden cruise around the Med for "Lady Michelle", her owners, guests and crew, and we all look forward to the next exciting adventure.

24 July - Monaco

2007-08-01T16:21:00.001-05:00

Today Michael (above) and Mike visited the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco. Truly amazing. Who new that there was a full blown aquarium in the heart of this tiny city. Another "must see" to add to this list of places to visit in this area.

22 July - Portofino, Italy

2007-08-01T16:16:00.001-05:00

Our favorite spot - Portofino. What's not to love? And actually, during our visit Michael, Gustavo and Mike go to do some diving around Portofino and we were all most impressed - we can definitely recommend giving it a try. And a big congratulations goes out to Michael for passing his exam and becoming a fully certified diver - WELL DONE OLD BOY.

20 July - Elba

2007-08-01T16:14:00.001-05:00

Elba, another one of Napoleon's hangouts, is always a favorite stop while cruising up the coast of Corsica.

19 July - Bonnifacio, Corsica

2007-08-01T16:09:00.001-05:00

Bonnifacio, on the SE tip of Corsica, is one of the most remarkable ports in the Mediterranean. So when we woke up to find us fogged in, it was almost like waking up in the age of Napoleon. Even young Cristofer seemed impressed.

15 July - Capri

2007-08-01T16:03:00.000-05:00

Our guests and crew gave up the luxury of our fancy tender to brave a trip into the "Blue Grotto" aboard a fleet of rather small row boats today. In spite of having to sit on the floor of a tiny tippy boatd, everyone was amazed by the beauty of this famous landmark and most grateful for the opportunity to visit.

11 July - Palma de Mallorca

2007-08-01T15:59:00.001-05:00

The whole crew were honoured to be invited to dinner with "Lady Michelle's" owners and guests tonight. We had a fantastic time in the old town of Palma, and enjoyed getting to know everyone better. Thank you for a wonderful evening.

7 July - Golfe de Leone

2007-08-01T15:56:00.001-05:00

While cruising from St Tropez to Mallorca, we were privaledged to observe a family of whales for about a half hour - what an awsome experience.

5 July - Antibes

2007-08-01T15:49:00.000-05:00

A fantastic day of watersports was enjoyed by all while anchored off Antibes. Michael gets 9 out of 10 for style for his high dive, while Mr C gets 10 out of 10 for his spectacular wipeout from the tube - sorry Michael.

Cruising the Med

2007-07-06T13:39:00.000-05:00

"Lady Michelle" was successfully offloaded from the dockship on 1 July in Toulon, and welcomed her owners aboard in Cannes the following day. After visiting Monaco we are now docked in St Tropez and will be heading to Spain tomorrow.

On Her Way

2007-06-20T12:07:00.000-05:00

Well "Lady Michelle" is finally on her way to Europe aboard the Dockwise transport ship "Super Servant 3", and will be arriving in Toulon on 30 June.

Delivered

2007-06-03T10:07:00.000-05:00

June 3, 2007: "Lady Michelle" was signed over to her new owners on the 26th April in international waters south of Mississippi. We then delivered the yacht to Fort Lauderdale after a quick stop in Cat Cay, Bahamas. The trip went very well considering the terrible sea conditions and the were no technical problems to speak of. After two days of crazy cleaning up and finalizing systems, "Lady Michelle" now sits proudly in Florida looking amazing!

After a week long maiden cruise in the Bahamas, LM will be loaded onto the Dockwise transport ship on 12 June and sent to Europe in preparation for a fully booked charter season.

A huge thank you must go out to all at Trinity Yachts, to all our sub contractors and to our crew for putting in such a huge effort during the final phase of construction in order to get LM delivered on time. Thank you to everyone involved.

Charter Update

2007-05-19T06:51:00.000-05:00

May 19, 2007: We have been overwhelmed by the response we have received from the charter industry - as of today we have 53 days of charter already booked with signed contracts. That is absolutely amazing, especially considering that we have not left the shipyard yet and Lady Michelle is still to be presented to the world.

It is a wonderful testament to the marketing talents of our charter management team & associated brokers, to the remarkable reputation that Trinity have earned for their product, and to the tireless commitment from my crew. On behalf of LM's owners and myself, I must thank all those involved with this project for their tireless efforts in completing this fantastic yacht, and for your continued support. This is a great example of the success of a team effort.

Thanks, Mike

Thank You Party

2007-05-11T07:36:00.000-05:00

May 10, 2007: As our departure from Gulfport is nearing a reality, a great Crawfish Boil was held today as a thank you to the tireless efforts that all the Trinity guys and girls have put into making "Lady Michelle" such an amazing yacht. The event was a great success and a huge thank you must go out to "Lady Michelle's" owners for hosting the event, Threta Mayer for organising it, and Gillian & Candy for packaging all 700 T-shirts.

Quiet Week

2007-04-23T21:28:00.000-05:00

April 18, 2007: Not much to report this week. We are back ashore in the paint shed to complete the final paint work on the hull. We are also finalizing the marble installation and expect carpets and furniture next week. Everything is progressing well and on schedule.

Seatrials

2007-04-23T21:26:00.000-05:00

April 11, 2007: Yesterday “Lady Michelle” left the dock for the first time and cruised down the river to spend a day on the Gulf of Mexico carrying out seatrials. The idea for this first round of trials was to run through the fundamental systems and to ensure that everything runs correctly out of the box. In spite of less than perfect weather condition’s “Lady Michelle” passed her first test with flying colors. More photos can be seen in the photo section.

Cinibuns

2007-04-23T21:24:00.000-05:00

March 22, 2007: A while back we started the routine of giving all the troops working on "Lady Michelle" donuts for their morning tea once a week, which seems to have become quite popular amongst the guys. This week chef George stepped it up a notch and baked 8 dozen home made cinnamon buns which were a huge hit - well done George!