Fountaine-Pajot Athena 38

They're known for their adventurous spirit; for sailing like speed demons on the water; and flaunting an innate sense of style and panache which no-one else has. Little wonder, then, that the well-known French connection, Fountaine Pajot, is going places with its range of nouveau catamarans.

Owned by one-time Olympic sailors, Jean-Francois Fountaine and Yves Pajot, Fountaine Pajot catamarans espouse the benefits of innovative design and high-tech construction.

Now represented by European Marine at Lavender Bay in Sydney, the range spans six models from 11-23m built, each built to ISO 9002 standards.

The first cruisey cat to sail south to the Antipodes, the Athena 38 exhibits even more of the signature French styling than perhaps previous Fountaine Pajots cats have. The boat's peaked coach roof, is now deemed a designer trademark, imparting a go-fast look while offering practical benefits , such as shade, inside the saloon.

And when you step inside the Athena 38 the atmosphere is positively bubbling with joie de vivre. There are fashionable bumps and curves, fabrics with a gallic cheeriness, while natural light streams into every cabin. Even the accommodation and the bathrooms are inviting, down below.

FAST FELINE
But as is custom in sailing, you can't help the weather. For our fly-by-day test drive, we hardly had the bright blues skies and jade water upon which catamarans seem best suited - or at least best depicted in brochures. We had leaden skies and beige water - and wind...

Indeed a solid southerly of 15-18kts riffled down the harbour. Aside from needing to don jackets, it offered a taste of seat-of-your-pants catamaran sailing - quite literally. Propped on the pedestal helm seat, the Athena 38 is more like driving a car than a yacht.

This boat is ideal for skippers who like the thrill of going fast, without the usual complexities or need for gun crew associated with performance sailing. While the hull is made from solid-glass and intentionally tough for charter work, it exhibits a willingness to knife through the water.

Powered-up, the giant, fully-battened 50 square-metre mainsail on a 7/8 fractional rig provide acceleration which you can find only on a multihull. Since the Athena 38 is embarrassingly easy to helm, this means you can concentrate on other things such as picking where the pressure is greatest, and making sure you milk the most from each gust.

In this way, this boat can make a better sailor of you. While reaching across Sydney harbour, I picked the shifts and had the 38-footer hitting its straps. Though you don't derive the sense of speed sitting on the deck, you know you are going fast by looking back at the wake.

But an even better gauge of performance comes when the downwind sponson charges through the water and spray flies from its leading edge. Then you know you are sailing the catamaran well.

It was about then that I cast my thoughts to this boat's potential in places such as the Whitsundays, where the wind whistles out of the south-east most months of the year and the water is pleasantly warm.

In fact, the Whitsundays was where the Athena 38 was headed. With room to entertain on deck and the performance to chop through the tides and wind, it seems a logical choice to put in a local charter fleet.

Doing the delivery trip were Adrian Cahalan (a well-known multihull sailor who had a crack at the round-the-world speed sailing record earlier this year) Paul Scholten and the boat's owner.

It took them five days, beginning with some breeze on the nose before a 25kt southerly drove them in just three days from Ballina to Hamilton Island. Top speed was 19kts, but for the most part the boat was sailed in a "set and forget" manner, with the skipper sitting on that pedestal seat, well-protected and in control with a big stainless wheel in hand.

"It's a breeze to sail, really an easy boat to live on, and very comfortable," proffers Scholten. "I just had five days in the Whitsundays and it was great. We even put the boat up on the beach at Hill Inlet - it only draws a metre.

"What's more , it motors at 8kts, so you can get around easily no matter what the wind and tide are doing," he says.

TRUE BEAUTY
The true beauty of a catamaran such as the Athena 38 can also be found in the vast amount of deck space, which assuages the crew. While the boat is easy-going for any half-way qualified skipper, the crew will also derive confidence and enjoyment from the flat deck with life lines, non-skid decks and a 'dolphin-spotting' net strung across the bow.

The cockpit comes with an eight-seater table flanked by two folding stools and three benches. Under the after bench seat is a massive storage locker, which includes room for a gas bottle, and there are other over-sized lockers in the bow which can be converted to crew quarters.

Access to the water is brilliant - down moulded boarding steps in the transom of each sponson, while the windlass and chain are neatly concealed up front. By my reckoning, only a rail-mounted barbecue, maybe a boom tent, and a nice spread of cruising electronics are need to complete the fit-out.

The saloon is a revelation, bright and cheerful, with no need for curtains thanks to the coachroof which shades the tinted wrap-around windows. Though headroom could be higher for strapping Australians, the sense of space and the view created by the glass, the white headliner and the elementary layout is impressive.

Mid-saloon is a large oval wooden table surrounded by a semi-circular deep lounge. Off one end is the navigation station, at the other the beginnings of a handy galley with twin sinks, hot and cold water, oven with a three-burner stove, and a tremendous fridge which will hold enough beers for a fortnight and satiate the most thirsty sailor.

Moulded from fibreglass, the galley continues the curvaceous exterior lines of the Athena 38. Only a step-through the companionway, both indoor and outdoor areas tie together nicely to create a perfect craft for catering, al fresco dining, and finding comforts when it's foul weather.

Step down the companionway at either end of the saloon and you descend into the sponsons. These are surprisingly spacious and include headroom, twin cabins at either end, and a wild bathroom between them.

I say "wild" because there's a hatch back into the tunnel offering a view from the loo about which a real-estate agent would die to pen a few lines. These are bathrooms with deep-water frontages, washbasins, mirrors, and lots of room to store personals!

Simple and stylish, the interior of the Athena 38 is low maintenance, with moulded surfaces and sumps with pumps. Thus, charter companies can turn the boat around in a few hours, spruced up and stocked ready for the next lucky group of Whitsunday discovers.

For no other reason than it vives le difference, the Athena 38 will be in high demand wherever it's for charter. It's just such a simple thing to manage that you can put the emphasis back on the adventure, relaxing and having fun, instead of fighting to stay upright.