LA REUNION WILDCAT 40 HYDROGRAPHIC VESSEL 'JEANNE BARET'

Safehaven Marine have launched one of their successful Wildcat 40 catamarans, the Hydrographic vessel 'Jeanne Baret'  for the port of La Reunion , off the South East coast of Africa . Safehaven Marines Wildcat range of GRP symmetrical, high buoyancy hull catamarans is thoroughly proven with over 20 being built since 2003 and in commercial service throughout Europe and now extending further afield into international markets. The design is easily driven and has been proven to demonstrate excellent seakeeping abilities in rough weather conditions, as the cover shot amply demonstrates with her running through 5m breaking seas.  The vessel was purchased through the French Hydrograhic equipment supply company Cadden after an international tender by La Reunion in 2009. The vessel was built under survey by Bureau Veritas to the French Maritime authorities regulations. The vessel is fitted with multi beam sonar equipment supplied by Cadden including- - multi beam echosounder : Sonic 2022 from R2Sonic,  inertial motion unit : F180R from Coda Octopus, with remote unit on top of the multibeam, real time speed of sound measurement : Mini SVS from Valeport. GNSS receiver : Proflex 500 from Ashtech with RTK correction received by GSM/GPRS, single beam echosounder : NS620 RT from Reson, Receiver for tide : ADL Vantage from Pacific Crest. Survey Software : Hypack/Hysweep for real time acquisition and post processing. Electronics : all included in 1 cabinet H x Width x Depth : 1600 x 600 x 800 mm , including a  powerful PC unit and a 3000VA UPS module with additional battery 3 x 17’’ colour displays for the hydrograph equipment operated through a wireless keyboard and mouse.  The multi beams transducer is deployed through a moon pool in the aft deck by a hydraulically operated deployment frame that was specially designed and developed by Safehaven Marine. The underwater section of the sonar head mounting is hydro-dynamically efficient being of aeroform shape to minimize turbulence and pressure loadings on the mountings, the sonar head can lowered down to below keel level and be lifted up to above deck by hydraulic rams, the moon pool can then be closed allowing safe storage of the transducer during high speed transits. A second dual beam transducer is fitted in the St/bd hull in a removable module allowing transducer interchange afloat, this is fully faired into the hull minimizing turbulence. The design features a f/wd cabin arrangement with a large, spacious aft cockpit. The main accommodation incorporates a central helm position with alongside seating for the hydrographical equipment operator / navigator and provides panoramic vision all round with all the electronic navigation and hydrographic displays situated in a large console. A work bench is fitted to the port side of the cabin stretching its full length, all the computers for the hydrograpic equipment are stored in a vertical rack / cabinet fitted at the aft of the cabin. To port is a large dinette seating area with a table between. In the st/bd hull is a large heads compartment which is fully lined in white Formica fitted with an electric toilet and sink. In the port hull f/wd is a full galley with 240v hob, sink, fridge and storage lockers. Onboard electrical power is from a 10kw 240v generator supplying multiple sockets throughout the vessel. Other equipment includes a 1500W electric capstan, Electric 95kgf bow thruster, Electro hydraulic 013T HIAB crane, Dive platform , security alarm system and a full compliment of Raymarine navigation equipment. The vessel is also fitted with a 24,000btu air conditioning unit with high level outlets in the cabin roof for efficient cooling, the cabin roof has been insulated with 50m insulation to minimize heat transmission in the hot climates the vessel will operate in. Engine room cooling and ventilation is from twin 450mm 24 fans supplying 4800m3/hr of air to the engine room which exhausts heat through separate outlets. Solar Solve blinds are fitted to all windows, all of which will ensure a comfortable working environment for her crew. On initial sea trials she performed exceptionally well proving very quiet with only 70db being recorded in the cabin at 15kts, reducing to just 65db at 7kts survey speeds and achieving a 21kts maximum speed comfortably exceeding her contract speed requirement of 18kts, and  at which speed the noise level was still below 75db, all at a 14,200kg displacment.  By virtue of the heavy duty continuous rating on the Volvo D7 260hp mechanical engines, her operational speed is between 20kts. The vessel is certified for 12 passengers and two crew.

Below, Wildcat 40 'Jeanne Baret' for the Port of La Reunion undergoing rough weather sea trials off Cork, during the night it had blown very hard with 40kts of wind from the South East with waves peaking at 7.5m a few hours before we went out, by then the wind had moderate but we still had 6m swells which were breaking well over the Harbour Rock, and against a strong ebb tide, to create pretty rough conditions. You can watch a video of the trials on you tube from this link- CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO

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