London to Auckland

Sometimes you meet the most remarkable people by chance. I met my riding buddy Barrie as a result of my oldest son trying out for school rowing so he could get a day off school. And it was chance too with JP and Marie Dufour seen above in front of their shed in Paraguay.

When we were looking for a support boat for ‘The Ultimate Ride’ I was discussing our requirements of long range and high speed with Malcolm Tennant from Tennant Design. Malcolm informed me that there was really only one boat in the World that would fit and that was the Tennant Design Domino Cat. I asked him where I could find one and he said, “In Paraguay”

Paraguay. A land locked country in the middle of South America. What was this boat doing there and how was it going to get out of there when the time came to leave? So I asked Malcolm to explain and here is the answer. Three and a half years ago JP and Marie Dufour had been lured into having their boat built in Paraguay on the promise of skilled and extremely cheap labor. This would allow them to build their dream boat, something they couldn’t have afforded to do in America. A contract was signed and some cash was handed over and all seemed to be going well but when the excited couple visited Paraguay to oversee the final six months of building they found that there hadn’t been much progress at all and much of the money was gone. Faced with the decision of writing it all off as a bad adventure or staying in Paraguay and taking over the building of the boat they bravely chose the latter. So they went to work as a team, JP as the technical details and numbers man and Marie as his supplies officer, secretary and general hand.

After talking to Malcolm Tennant I contacted JP and Marie and mentioned what we were doing. They liked it but with a planned departure date of June 2009 the boat wouldn’t be ready so that was that. But then along came the financial crisis and we decided to delay the ride by a year. Then it looked like Domino could be ready and the Dufours were excited about the prospect of joining us on the ride. In February 2009 I visited Paraguay and the Dufours to get to know them and discuss plans. I was impressed with what great people they were and how easy they were to get on with. By the time I left Paraguay we were even more enthused about our plans so JP and Marie ramped up the finishing process of the Domino and against all odds including a third world system where nothing happens quickly and where graft and corruption is rife, the Domino has been completed and now awaits customs clearance to get out of Paraguay. On the part of the locals who worked on Domino this is an extremely good effort but over the last three years what JP and Marie have achieved is nothing short of amazing. Marie makes special mention of how helpful all their suppliers in the USA were too. Nothing was ever a problem.

Domino was launched a day before Christmas after a nine day exercise to get her from the building shed into the river. See http://dominocatamaran.blogspot.com/ for the story of those nine days, it makes good reading. Domino looks great and has been performing at least to expectations in trials.

So now it’s down the Paraguay River to the border with Argentina and then down the Parana River to Buenos Aires and the Atlantic Ocean, all the way continuing the good work of the Domino Foundation http://www.dominohealth.org/ until joining us in Turkey in August. Bon Voyage guys. We look forward to working with you.

Domino on the Paraguay River