Caribbean Bertram 45

Outer space, cyber space and personal space aren't the only areas being challenged these days. At the forefront of nautical exploration are Australia's gamefishermen. And the really game fishermen, equipped with rocketships and giant fuel tanks, are discovering a new realm of fishing space.

For these time-travellers, the hooks don't hit the water until the depth sounder says you are at the end of the earth. Destination is Christopher Columbus country, where the seabed plummets into submarine chasms and towers into great sea mountains. If the earth was flat, this is the edge where you'd fall off.

And here, where the water is deep, hot and blindingly-blue, full of bait but largely free of obvious human influence, is the happy hunting ground for the biggest gamefish you can reasonably expect to catch outside Cairns.

Giant blue, black and striped marlin, broadbill, yellowfin and albacore tuna, wahoo and mahi mahi are among the fish which will attack what you care to put in the water.

The bigger the better is the motto, and not just in lures. Size matters in many respects when you are long-range fishing. Especially with boats.

Already gamefishermen in Sydney are venturing to 'new' sea mountains 65nm offshore and for that purpose a 35-footer can seem like a minnow if a storm catches you out. Literally miles from care, well beyond the edge of the continental shelf and out of sight of land is certainly no place for small boats.

To fish the outer grounds you need the latest, fastest and flashest new big gameboat. And for this, you'd travel a long way to find a better boat than Sydney's brilliant Bertram 45, Two Dogs.

THINK BIG
While the Caribbean Bertram's 45-footer isn't a new gameboat, Two Dogs is a 45 with a difference. Owned by Sydney gamefishing brothers and Bertram dealers, Jan and Finn Crutch, it has been semi-customised to fish deeper and further afield than the rest of the fleet.

You need to think big and 100km trips offshore. And think nothing of cruising to Coffs Harbour canyons from Sydney or further out if that's where the long-liners are catching the beasts.

"The idea with this boat is to go anywhere in any sea," says Jan.

Indeed, the boat feels big and capable in all respects; it's wide, tall, long, deep and, in the true Caribbean Bertram tradition, it has been built with lashings of CEglass rovings and thick bulletproof resin.

Among Two Dogs' features are a 5000lt fuel tank, 1000lt of water, two reverse-cycle air conditioning units, three freezers and a fridge, sleeping space for up to 11, and a stainless tower with a second helm station and separate electronics.

With tremendous seaworthiness, this boat can go virtually anywhere... As planned. But for me, a near-perfect February day in 60 fathoms off Broken Bay was all we need to test its fish-raising ability.

ON THE BAIT GROUNDS
Our day begins with a stop-over at the bait grounds at the Basin in Pittwater. A big plastic drum behind the gamechair and a deck hose, one of three which range up to fire-fighting diameter, provide a ready-made and practical solution for keeping livies.

We manage to take in about 20 large slimies in as many minutes. Sitting on the coamings and fishing for bait is like fishing off a pier, and the top of the bait freezer, on the port side of the cockpit, proves just as stable for rigging baits.

On the way out, several slimies are rigged for skipping and some trusty dead mullet are turned into pulsing swimming articles. From the flybridge, I can see both the cockpit and the ocean in all directions, such is its excellent open-air design.

A BRIDGE SOMEWHERE
Two Dogs' flybridge is a great big platform offering a clear view to all quarters. It has only a small clear curtain in front of the helm console for rough days.

Some flare in the hull's top-sides appears to keep the spray down and out of the flybridge, though we had anything but a big sea to really test this out.

The ride offshore was quartering a metre of south-east swell and just 8kts of fading southerly breeze. The hull handled the going with ease, and with the 'Tournament Kit' converting this 45 into a real gameboat, the hull weighs a solid 20 tonnes.

It will take quite some weather to keep Two Dogs tied to the wharf. At just under 2000rpm, it makes headway at an unstoppable, and seemingly unflappable, 22-23kts.

For a full day running to the long-range grounds, trolling and cruising home, the motors use about 100 litres an hour. Do the sums and you'll appreciate this is a true long-range fishing weapon.

THE DANCE FLOOR
Fishing for marlin begins in about 50 fathoms off Broken Bay in an area where the beakies have been biting well this year. A beautiful set of imported Lees 10m outriggers with spreaders - apparently strong enough to skip a 10kg tuna - are flopped out after removing just one locking pin.

Three baits go in the water and the six of us aboard easily find a place to perch. There is excellent seating for at least four bodies in the flybridge: two on helm seats and two kicking back on big, long lounges which are inclined to have you recline.

The cockpit measures 11.5sqm and is roomy enough for six crew to weave their magic. Fittings include an Orca heavy-duty gamechair and a full teak deck, big bait freezers, extra heavy duty rod holders, gaff and tagpole storage at hand, and no marlin board... Thank heavens.

Underfloor, at the entrance to the saloon, is a storage area big enough for the boat-load of several people to stow away. The lazarette can swallow lots of gear, including on Two Dogs some zip-up insulated fish bags for keeping big yellowfin tuna in top 'sashimi-ready' condition.

RAISING SOME LOOKERS
It doesn't take long for the twin Detroit diesels to drum up a marlin. Skipper Finn is first to spot it behind the starboard-side skipping slimy. It's a striped about 100kg, and I confirm it's size after it peels off and returns tracking the bait with a rather large triangular dorsal cutting across the wake.

As luck would have, the fish was only bill-wrapped when we attempted to set the hooks. The bait pulled cleanly away and, on closer inspection, it was virtually unmarked.

Though the fish didn't return to the spread, it was a good sign considering there wasn't much bait showing up on the depth sounder.

ELECTRIC DREAMS
Two Dogs has two driving positions - in the flybridge and in the tower.

The flybridge has a terrific custom-made console by the Crutch brothers to better accommodate electronics.

The flush-mounted screens include a big commercial colour-type depth sounder from JRC; a Raytheon radar with Raychart GPS unit to create a chart plotter; and a CourseMaster 600 autopilot interfaced with the Raychart for hands and collision-free driving along the coast at night.

A smart touch was the little Autohelm digital sounder with its transducer mounted in the bow for anchoring over reefs. There were also three bands of marine radio, including a Koden HF on which the charterboats were reporting quite some marlin action.

The tower, which I had climbed up previously while on the marina, is a long but safe journey into the heavens if you take the wide rungs of stainless one by one. Up top, you can lock yourself in and work the JRC 8010 sounder and JRC 128 Chart Plotter, and the VHF and HF radio and autopilot.

The engine controls on both stations are Morse electronic models, with a single-action throttle and gear-shift lever that takes just finger pressure to operate.

With a big wheel and deeply-padded helm seat, you can drive the boat in comfort while seated or standing. You can also back it down aggressively... as we were soon to find out.

BLIND STRIKE ON THE MULLET
A howling ratchet announces the next marlin, some 30 minutes after the first. The fish grabbed a swimming mullet bait wriggling in a window amid the wash close to the transom.

On 8kg tackle, the fish went one way and the line the other. Jumping about the glassy ocean was a long, silvery 60kg striped...

Several hours of post mortem and eating and drinking followed. The galley has a convection microwave oven so you can heat pastries without them becoming too soggy. Beers are kept chilled in the big fridges, while an ice-maker ensures you get the best rum and cola possible.

By 11.00am we came across a FAD which had been the scene of some recent big dolphin fish captures. The skipping bait went off and I fought a 8kg mahi mahi to the boat and into the face of a waiting war-club and fish box.

Someone switched on and sent back a live slimy. The dolphin fish it hooked was considerably bigger. In fact, rather to the dismay of the skipper, it even required some backing down to get within tracing range.

A fixed-head gaff was needed to drag it aboard.

Perhaps not as convincing as a marlin, the dolphin fish was a beauty which bottomed out a set of 15kg spring scales and probably weighed close to a whopping 17kg.

The day was immediately deemed a success, with plenty more smaller dolphin fish boated and the warm feeling of being tied to something for a while.

CREATURE OF COMFORT
The trip home was more than comfortable in the zephyr of a nor-easter.

But it wasn't until we were back at the boat's berth that I discovered the brave new world for Caribbean Bertram boats.

The interior of Two Dogs has a finish befitting a modern day gameboat due to the Crutchs' fine choice of fabrics, which they sent to the Melbourne-based boat factory.

The interior is light and understated, but elegant. The headliner is a sandstone-coloured vinyl and fitted professionally. Only the forward-cabin, which has upper single berths and a lower double berth, still has the furry frontrunner liner of days past.

Sensibly, there were plenty of lockers and drawers for clothing and personal belongings, and the bunks looked inviting with nice stripey doonas and cream-coloured quilted covers.

While there isn't an en suite for the forward cabin, the day-head is nearby.

The master cabin, to port and amidships away from the slapping of water on the chines, has a huge king-sized bed with room to dress or cha-cha around it. The communal bed was finished elegantly with quilted mattress covers and a big doona already turned down.

Hatches and that light vinyl headliner give a sense of airiness, and there is an en suite so you can have a private shower in the morning.

SALOON WITH A VIEW
Two Dogs' galley features a teak parquetry floor, big Corian bench tops, lots of storage including cupboards for crockery which have smoked glass sliding doors instead of dated fibreglass you can't look through.

There are all the essentials - hot and cold water, deep sink, hidden garbage chute, convection microwave, stove, fridge and freezer, and ice-maker (the mark of a 'real' gameboat these days).

With natural light streaming through, a nice finish and a big amount of bench space, this would start a chef's imagination running and I figured that dolphin fish would have made a great dinner to cook onboard.

What's more, the saloon would have been a great place to kick back and eat, drink and merry the night away. Royal blue carpet, wooden slat blinds, halogen downlighting and a smart cream-coloured material for the lounges creates a classy impression.

The huge void area to port, ahead of the convertible lounge, is made useful by fitting a TV on a sexy chrome pedestal and some smart customised CD holders and shelves for the nearby sound system.

BEST BERTRAM EVER
Fitted with twin 550hp 6V92TA Detroit engines, the 45 reaches 31kts top-speed unladen. Cruise speed is more economical at 23kts at just below 2000rpm. At such pleasant speeds, this big boat will go wherever you point it.

Priced from $550,000 and around $700,000 with Finn and Jan's 'Marlin Pack,' the 45 is a boat to take gamefishing beyond the shelf and into the next millennium of long-range offshore travel.

International's Melbourne factory really should thank these Sydney dealers for building Two Dogs.

Why, do you ask? Well, if for no other reason, it moves Caribbean Bertram a huge step forward and into the realm of world-classy gameboats.