THE GIN FIZZ

"You never really own a boat. You just become her custodian for a while"

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Astarte was born in 1978, in La Rochelle, France. It was bought by a Greek owner and transferred to Athens, as a luxury yacht.

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She joined our family in the summer of 2019.

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By complete coincidence, that same summer, I met the original owner - a distinguished sailor with a long history in Greece. I was docked in a small village port near Athens. As I said good morning to my neighbour, he greeted me and stated: "I had a yacht like this, some years ago!". It turns out that this was indeed his original yacht. So he went on to reminisce about the late 70s and early 80s achievements (and upgrades).

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Model:

The Gin Fizz was designed by a young Michel Joubert and Bernard Nivelt and manufactured by Jeanneau and  Gilbert Marine - this particular boat is a Gilbert Marine variant. The distinguishing factor is the saloon/head layout: Jeanneaus have it to port, GM have them to starboard.

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Two masts? Really?

Yes, this is a ketch. Lots have been written about them. I chose it because: I like the looks, the ease of handling and the extra hassle. Jokes aside, the Aegean sea is rather unforgiving, so ease of handling in high winds is a good idea.

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The name

Astarte (/əˈstɑːrtiː/; Greek: Ἀστάρτη, Astártē) is the Hellenized form of the Middle Eastern goddess Astoreth (Northwest Semitic), a form of Ishtar (East Semitic), worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. She was the goddess of fertility, sex, love, war.

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Read more on Wikipedia here.