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meet the folks
who keep Hands sailing... |
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Dolphin
Catamarans
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Jr. Pimenta (left) and
Philippe Pouvreau of Dolphin Catamarans
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A strong, fast, and ocean-capable
boat is central to the Hands goal of bringing
help to out-of-the-way coastal communities, and Dolphin Catamarans,
based in Aracaju, Brazil (about 900 nautical miles northeast
of Rio de Janeiro) is building us a great vehicle. Jr. Pimenta,
a lifelong sailor, started the family-owned Dolphin
Catamarans with the dream of building a performance catamaran
for long-distance sailing. Soon Jr. found Philippe Pouvreau,
a French multihull yacht designer and builder, and together
they've created the Dolphin 460. The boat features light-yet-strong
fiberglass composite construction, a beautifully finished
interior, and plenty of sail area for fast passages under
sail. Jr. and Philippe have customized Hands Across the
Sea with an interior layout and sailhandling features
that serve the specialized needs of Hands. We looked at a
lot of catamarans  for
Hands, but the design of the Dolphin 460 — and especially
the building skill and dedication to excellence of Jr. and
Philippe — have led us to start our Hands voyage in Brazil
in mid-November, 2007. We'll be keeping the Hands
Log updated as we go!
The Multihull Company
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Phillip Berman of The Multihull
Company
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The first boat we sailed across an
ocean, a 28-footer named freelance, was small and of
traditional design: one hull, a ballast keel, and limited
interior space and cargo-carrying capability. With two hulls,
twice the passagemaking speed, and six times the living and
storage space, a catamaran seemed the  right
choice for Hands.
Phillip Berman, president of The
Multihull Company, has been instrumental in answering
our many questions about catamarans and in guiding us to the
right choice of an ocean-going catamaran and the equipment
necessary for Hands. Phil is a former Hobie cat champion and
author of numerous books on catamaran racing, and his years
of sailing experience and knowledge of a wide range of boats
have proven very valuable in helping us launch Hands Across
the Sea.
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