Credit: Ken Barrows

See our Beneteau First 30, “NAOS30″, at the start of one of the local races, the Sunset Series, hosted by the California Yacht Club. We are preparing the First 30 for the Pacific Cup Race this July!

Check out our First 30, “NAOS30″, training in the Santa Monica breeze!

Click the link below for our Facebook page!

Naos30 – Beneteau First 3o Training in Breeze in Santa Monica Bay

As his two boys cavorted around its decks, I asked David, a potential buyer, why he was considering the 560 for a world cruise. “It’s the biggest boat my family and I can sail without a professional crew,” he said.

Sporting three separate outside social areas, a sybaritic saloon and a voluminous four- or five-cabin layout, this cat certainly has a megayacht feel to it. Thanks to the boat’s 7ft freeboard, the flybridge area above the cockpit towers overhead at the dock. Yet the naval architects at VPLP have managed to integrate all that height into a very attractive package.

CONSTRUCTION

Above the waterline, the Lagoon 560’s construction features an infused balsa core and multi-directional roving, which keeps the structure strong, stiff and light. Below the waterline, solid glass is the rule. Isophthalic/NPG gelcoat and vinylester resin is used to resist blister formation. Worth noting is Lagoon’s bridgedeck “gullwing” approach to mitigating slamming, a problem all cats face to some extent.

Photo by Nicolas Claris

ON DECK

Photo by Nicolas Claris  A centerline beam at the bow carries the staysail, a genoa and a Code 0 furler, as well as the anchor roller, which is set well forward so chain and hook can be cleaned as they are raised. Aft of the tramps, there are huge lockers with plenty of room to stow deck gear and fenders. One locker houses a generator and an electrical panel. In a well set into the bridgedeck, there’s also a seating area for several people to enjoy the sun.

Wide side decks lead aft to the spacious teak-decked cockpit, where a U-shaped dinette seats six to eight people. Steps in the transoms lead down to the water’s edge. A neat feature on our test boat was a “Tender Lift” hydraulic platform that lowers into the water and onto which you can drive a dinghy prior to hoisting it aloft. When not used for the dinghy, it can be lowered to water level and used as a swim platform.

Up a spiral staircase from the main deck, the flybridge is sure to attract guests. With the skipper’s business area forward, there’s room for a crowd on comfy seats and a huge sunbathing pad aft. A canvas top helps protect everyone from the sun, although the helm station will be somewhat exposed in heavy weather.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Photo by Nicolas Claris  Peering through the Lagoon’s signature vertical saloon windows is akin to taking in a panoramic view from a penthouse living room. The wide cockpit door slides out of the way to reveal the saloon and galley. To starboard, the L-shaped galley boasts a four-burner propane stovetop above a large separate oven. The view from the double sink and dishwasher aft will encourage volunteers to wash—or rinse—up. An island counter provides the chef with yet more work space as well as room for a small stainless steel refrigerator and a 32in flat-screen television facing the settee. To port, there’s seating for eight around a good-sized dinette table that can be lowered and folded down to coffee-table size.

Forward in the saloon, a small nav station affords excellent all-around visibility. A joystick for steering, an autopilot control and throttles for the two engines allow the boat to be operated from inside when the weather’s bad. From the full-width dashboard, a pair of instrument pods pop up: the starboard pod holds a chartplotter and sailing instruments; the port pod features a touchscreen display by MultiPlex that allows the skipper to monitor and control the boat’s electrical systems and tankage.

Moving down the starboard hull, the first thing you see is a sole-to-ceiling wine rack next to a full-size refrigerator/freezer. A right turn to the spacious master cabin takes you to an athwartships queen-size berth. All the way aft, a companionway to the deck separates a shower compartment and a rectangular sink. Forward and outboard are a vanity and the head. Inboard is a pair of hanging lockers. Forward, the second cabin has another athwartships queen and a more conventional head.

My favorite spot below was the VIP cabin in the stern of the port hull. This can be accessed only from the cockpit and features a fore-and-aft queen-size berth nestled against the forward bulkhead. Aft, in the outboard corner of the cabin, sits a large vanity opposite a pair of hanging lockers. All the way aft is the head with a separate shower. The companionway from the saloon to the port forward cabin can be closed off with a sliding pocket door. Even larger than the opposite cabin in the starboard hull, it boasts hanging lockers on the aft bulkhead that isolates the two port cabins. In the five-cabin layout, upper and lower single berths and another head and shower are inserted between the two port cabins. This steals a little room from each, but still leaves plenty of space.

Hatches overhead and ports in the hull let plenty of natural light and air into all the cabins and the saloon. LED fixtures throughout provide a nice quality of light at night while drawing little juice from the batteries.

UNDER SAIL

Out on Miami’s Biscayne Bay, we hoisted the huge square-top main and unfurled the genoa, accelerating to a respectable 4.2 knots in 6.5 knots of true wind. That was fine for a while, but my French hosts wanted to play, so we unfurled a giant gennaker. Sailing at a true wind angle of 75 degrees, we were soon going almost as fast as the wind, with the twin hulls slicing cleanly through the slight chop.

Sail handling was easy, with all the lines led to Harken electric winches on either side of the flybridge near the big Carbonautica carbon fiber wheel. Tails from sheets and halyards stow in mesh-fronted boxes built into the deck.

UNDER POWER

Though the Lagoon 560 displaces close to 70,000 pounds, it is still very maneuverable. Aft-pointing cameras on our test boat give the helmsman a view of the sterns via a video display on the bridge—a handy option when navigating tight quarters or docking stern-to.

Capt. Herve, who had just sailed the boat across from France, said he was able to get 6.5 to 7 knots out of the boat at 2,000 rpm on one engine, burning about 1.3 gallons per hour, which gave him a range under power of more than 1,700 miles. We motored out the cut at nearly 8 knots, with both engines running at 2,200 rpm.

CONCLUSION

Gazing affectionately at his sons lying on the trampoline forward, David’s satisfied smile as we returned to the dock suggested that he should be moved from the “potential buyer” to the “probable buyer” column. An afternoon sail and tour aboard this luxurious sailing machine made it easy to see why.

SPECIFICATIONS

LOA 56ft // LWL: 54ft
BEAM 31ft
DRAFT 4ft 11in
DISPLACEMENT 66,800lb (light ship); 74,900lb (full load)
SAIL AREA 2,228ft2 (standard main and genoa)
FUEL/WATER/WASTE (GAL) 343/252/38
ENGINE 2 x 75hp Yanmar 4JH4-ATCE w/sail drive
ELECTRICAL 2 x 110AH (engine); 420AH (house)
DESIGNER VPLP (hulls/rig)
BUILDER/AGENT Lagoon Catamarans, Bordeaux, France

(Artcle by By Andrew Burton • Posted: Mar 14, 2012)

Now all that’s left is to choose your destinations. It’s unlikely the first place you’ll go is to the Cayman Island or the Great Reefs of Australia but you can make that your dream, and make it happen as soon as you feel you’re ready and as soon you’ve got the right people to take on such an adventure. For the immediate, the sailing lifestyle can take to enjoy wonderful destinations even just half a day away.

Today, we offer the destination island of Catalina:

If you want a quick getaway to a place that feels far away, we recommend cruising to Santa Catalina Island, most often called simply Catalina. For anyone living on the coast between Newport Beach and Santa Monica, it is probably the No. 1 destination to sail to. The main reason for that is simple: it’s within reach. Depending on the kind of boat you have it takes between four and six hours to sail the 30 nautical miles between Marina Del Rey and Catalina making it a nice, easy day sail.

Once there, the accommodations are premium and by far the coziest of all the Channel Islands of California (There are other, better known “Channel Islands” in the nautical world but they’re halfway across the globe between the U.K. and France’s Brittany Coast, so it’s best to specify). The Catalina Island Company has a very informative website for visitors; check out the boating page.

Once there, tune to VHF Channel 9 to contact the Harbor Patrol to pay your mooring fees but also to get a hold of a shoreboat service (around $3 per person) so you can get to shore even if you don’t have a dinghy. The deluxe accommodations on the island include several hotels, shops and restaurants, including a bar that does karaoke on some evenings. Boaters will find convenient the shore side services that include public bathrooms, showers, water & ice, a gift store, a parts shop as well as fuel docks, trash collectors and marine service shop. Also, be sure to read the harbor rules so you don’t do something that could spoil the vacation.

For your convenience we’ve put up a link to a web cam on our site, giving you a nearly live look at conditions on Catalina. You may also access live statistics of mooring availability at Two Harbors in Catalina. The harbor can get pretty busy particularly in the summertime.

Now all that’s left is to choose your destinations. It’s unlikely the first place you’ll go is to the Cayman Island or the Great Reefs of Australia but you can make that your dream, and make it happen as soon as you feel you’re ready and as soon you’ve got the right people to take on such an adventure. For the immediate, the sailing lifestyle can take to enjoy wonderful destinations even just half a day away.

Today, we offer the comfort of Oxnard, coupled with the wild and beautiful Channel Islands:

Heading North a few hours, past Malibu, is the city ofOxnard and, by extension, the Channel Islands National Park roughly 25 nautical miles off the coast. The latter is composed of San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara Islands (although S.B. is nothing more than a rock in the water). These offer an entirely difference experience from the other, more popular Channel Island Catalina (see our separate page for info on that destination).

Santa Cruz in particular is a beautiful spot but as wild as they come. You have to anchor off the shore and make your own way to ground where you’ll find steep cliffs, gigantic sea caves, coves, sandy beaches and a peak called Devil’s Peak that rises over 2400 feet above the water. There are also numerous archeological sites and abundant wildlife on the Channel Islands. Visit the NOAA website for more info on flora and fauna on the islands. Don’t expect much else beyond the primitive, pristine nature except maybe a park ranger or two. You can also visit the National Park Service website for more information.

Some boat owners may choose to keep their boats in Oxnard’s Channel Islands Harbor, which is 53 nautical miles North of the bigger Marina Del Rey and takes a little more than 6 hours to sail to. Otherwise, if you belong to a marina in the Santa Monica Bay chances are you enjoy reciprocal privileges you can take advantage of during your visit to Oxnard, or Newport Beach or San Diego for that matter. For example, the California Yacht Club has an agreement with the Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club in Oxnard that allows CYC members to use their dock, restrooms, dock carts, restaurants, pool areas and Wi-Fi connections for a minor deposit. Be sure to provide a letter of introduction from your yacht club or have a membership card when you arrive. The Harbor is also where you would want to get the supplies you need to spend some time on the Channel Island parks.