General Layout

The choice of my third boat was relatively easy as I knew what I wanted, a light but robust boat that was fast and easy to sail shorthanded and that could take me anywhere in the world from icy polar regions to shallow tropical lagoons. The designer of the OVNI range is a young naval architect, Philippe Briand, who set aside all orthodox thinking and produced a functional boat, fast, easy to sail and unusual in every way. As the distinctive boats attracted a lot of attention from the moment the first was launched, the original name Sonate was changed to OVNI, Objet Volant Non Identifié, which in French means UFO i.e. unidentified flying object. The current OVNI range goes from 36 to 49 feet LOA. Regardless of length all boats share a number of basic elements: all are hard-chined, flat bottomed and have an integral centreboard and folding rudder. This means that with both rudder and centreboard up they draw very little and can dry out practically anywhere. For a 43 footer, Aventura draws three feet (slightly under one metre) with the board up and just over eight feet (2.50 m) when the board is down.

The OVNI 43 seemed best suited for my requirements and was not too large to be easily handled by a small crew. With a displacement of 9 tons, the OVNI 43 sails well, is easy to handle and probably is the best cruising boat I can think of to explore those remote areas of the South Pacific. One of the great advantages of her unpainted hull is that one can forget about gleaming topsides, which are such a worry when confronted by rough docks or boarded by uncaring officials who often come alongside in launches without fenders, banging into your topsides. There are many other useful features shared by OVNIs, such as the large stern platform, the open bow well, which allows easy access to the chain and spare anchors, or the distinctive stern arch. The latter not only complements the look of the boat but is very useful as a fixed davit and also for the radar scanner, flag pole, wind generator and various antennas: Iridium, Inmarsat C, GPS.

One of the questions I am often asked is how safe is it to sail in a boat without a keel. Having sailed twice across the Drake Passage, being the first OVNI to sail in Antarctica, and having experienced elsewhere on at least two occasions winds of 60 knots, with waves to match, I can easily put any doubts on stability to rest. Thanks to an internal lead ballast of 3.5 tons in a boat with a cruising displacement of 9 tons, Aventura is as stable as any other more traditionally designed cruising boat.