Jeanneau Gin Fizz
Build in 1975, 37 foot, sloop edition.
We wanted a boat that had proven seaworthiness but also fit within our budget. This was a challenge!
After looking at several boats, we drove to the North of the Netherlands, to Hoorn. This on the advice of several people, to see the Jeanneau Gin Fizz. A model with an aft cabin that should be a strong build. The sailing girl Laura Dekker went around the world with this same model, although she had a ketch version with smaller sails.
On Jeanneau-owners.com we read the story of John Kretschmer (cruise specialist of Sailing Magazine)
‘John Kretschmer made his first offshore voyages on a Gin Fizz called Epoch, crossing the Atlantic twice and experiencing some mighty storms. He sold the boat to his own mother who then made a round trip on it, and then sold the boat to another sailor who repeated the trip. Can a better proof of a boat’s seaworthiness be found than this?’
As for us, sailing was a pretty new watersport, we were convinced by the stories of John and Laura with the same hull model. Whether our boat has actually experienced that many voyages we unfortunately do not know. We are the 3rd owners. The man we bought the boat from turned out to be seriously ill. His dream was to sail around the world. Unfortunately, due to his illness, this was no longer possible. We promised him, to continue his dream and make a great trip with the Gin Fizz. Three weeks after the sale was completed we received a call from his wife that he had passed away.
