G-Force 1500C 'IMMAGINA' recently completed her delivery from Cape Town to Grenada, and owner Donato has written some words about the trip and the boat's performance.
"I have sailed Immagina, a G-Force 1500C, from Cape Town to Grenada covering 6,500 Nm across the Atlantic. She sailed wonderfully throughout! We had south easterly winds that ranged from 10 Kts to 40 Kts, mostly 15 Kts to 25 Kts. With Code 0 hoisted, Immagina was often doing wind speeds. You have to keep in mind that we had provisions for four people for two months on board (we had one month spare provisioning as a safety factor), and this was not “dried” food but rather good, tasty Italian food. Most of the time we had the fresh water tank with 300 - 400 litres in it and 200 - 250 litres of diesel (generator back up). Then about 90 Kg for dinghy and outboard and many tools and spare parts. So we were not sailing light. Yet, Immagina behaved beyond my expectations. She was very stable and kept her course so well that I’d forget she was sailing under autopilot most of the time. Sailing at speeds of 15 kts was the norm and we were able to cook, shower, eat, sleep and do whatever at speeds between 10 and 20 kts. She is very stiff which translated in immediate accelerations with any wind increase or gusts and if I was resting in my cabin I would be able to tell her speed by the different sounds she was making through the water. Even in 40 kts winds, I never felt in danger or that she was not able to cope with the increasing seas and worsening of sea conditions. She is defiant and certain!
The particular layout with “U” galley and so forth is quite comfortable and useful for long passages and even she is quite light for her size nonetheless we still have three double cabins and three heads with two large showers, two freezers, two fridges, microwave, electric oven and induction cooktop which make an Ocean passage very pleasant and comfortable, yet you are crossing at double digit speeds at all times.
The two electric engines (2 x 15 kw Oceanvolt SD 15) make her a breeze to manoeuvre, even in tight spots and her 2.2 Kw solar panels and the regeneration mode on the engines keep the 16 kw Lithium batteries charged so we can cook and have hot water available at all times.
All in all I can say that this boat is doing exactly what I expected her to do, and some more!"