Those in the know will recognize EZE as the airport code for the Buenos Aires airport of Stephen’s arrival. We took it as a sign, feeling a bit of ease would be a welcome reprieve from the busyness and high stress and grief of the previous week(s). We decided Stephen should join the group of other new-build Antares owners on this tour of the factory after our March trip to the Antares University in Florida–there were just too many potential items we wanted to be sure were being addressed. So he got to see Sorella’s hulls in the mold and document the trip for Sara, who via What’sApp was on video calls to discuss our boat options, and choose countertop and upholstery colors.
The Antares tour featured a look at how the different components of the boat are formed with exceptionally high standards and craftsmanship.
The boat in the above two shots is not Sorella, but it gave us the chance to see what our boat will look like at this stage, and was fun for us to identify the different areas in their skivvies, so to speak, and get a clearer vision of the layout and composition as its being built.
The factory tour confirmed for us the quality and integrity of this boat; why it’s so safe on the high seas, and why it keeps its value for so long compared to other catamarans. The craftsmanship is spectacular, and much of the work is done on site.
You can see Sorella’s port and starboard hulls as well as the cockpit/salon area, all just thin layers fiberglass in the big red molds. The group all got to sign the inside hull of the boat that will be ready right before ours. The owners will only know because of these photos…
Stephen stayed at a tiny place near the boat factory, versus in the city with the others. For the days when not with the rest of the group, Stephen had the anxiety of traveling alone in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language. For an extrovert, that’s by no means an obstruction to getting out there and enjoying the food and culture, but those of you who are introverts felt your heart race just reading that, didn’t you?
Stephen writes:
I was free one evening to do some exploring, so imagine my happy delight when I discovered there was a bar named Antares. Separate company, of course, but in my field I naturally had to investigate. I enjoyed a Kölsch at the bar, and admired their marketing prowess on display. Perhaps this could be the new club where Antares catamaran owners meet on future visits?
