Savoy Charters

Savoy Charters – raising the bar

I must admit, upon first laying eyes on the spectacular 16.4m (54’) catamaran Savoy moored deep in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour, my first thought was: “Wow! Is this the right boat? It looks way too flash to have people like me on board…”

Yet moments later, there I was, stepping onto one of Savoy’s twin extended duckboards in my scuzzy old fishing clothes, accompanied by several similarly dubious characters, and far from being forcibly ejected from the luxurious vessel, we were being warmly welcomed by one of Savoy Charters’ skippers Kyle Jacobs!

Walking through into Savoy’s massive and beautifully appointed saloon, I continued to be impressed – absolutely stunning – and was once more racked with doubt: surely the owner won’t actually want us catching smelly fish from such a beautiful vessel? But, no such worries, fishing was definitely on the agenda – and in a big way – evidenced by the long line of rod-holders across the stern and a pair of cavernous Icey-Tek fish bins mid-cockpit.

The fishing, however, would come later. Right now the aroma of fresh plunger coffee and warm croissants (with butter and strawberry jam) demanded our attention. What a great way to start the day.

So no wonder Grant had made the most of this Charter Connection opportunity by inviting representatives from fishing tackle distributor Composite Developments Ltd to join us for an ‘Okuma Day’, with the long line of rod-holders across the stern now fully occupied by various Okuma outfits. We were ready to go!

After slipping the mooring ropes and heading out towards more open waters, I marvelled at Savoy’s impressive speed. Being such a big boat, I’d assumed we’d cruise at around 10-12 knots, but no, it was more like 15-17 knots (and occasionally even 20-plus as we thundered towards a work-up later on!). Consequently, we reached the zone where the most recent action had been reported in very good time.

As is often the case when chasing work-ups, our skipper spent a couple of hours ensuring we were positioned in the most likely looking area, covering huge distances in the process, and regularly looking around with binoculars. Finally, with good numbers of dolphins and sporadic gannet action nearby, he was satisfied.

While the fishing was steady rather than spectacular initially, and the snapper, while plump, were only of modest size, the action heated up in a big way as the tide entered a more favourable phase. This saw multiple hook-ups become the rule rather than the exception, and led to our skipper racing around removing, iki’ing and storing the caught snapper on ice, providing refreshments, undoing tangles, and offering timely advice when needed.

In fact, our success was such that when Kyle suggested we head for the ‘Sunken Barge’ to target kingfish in an attempt to stretch our day out, we were quick to agree. No one wanted to achieve our snapper limit too quickly!

This decision turned out to be the day’s only small blemish with only rat kings present – but maybe we simply weren’t good enough to get the bigger specimens to bite!

On the plus side, while heading back towards the snapper ‘war zone’ we took the opportunity to laze around in Savoy’s huge saloon and similarly large flybridge eating lunch and drinking cold beer.

The afternoon bite turned out to be epic. The work-ups were everywhere – to the point it was sometimes difficult to choose where to head next. Better still, in addition to massive whirling storms of gannets involving hundreds, possibly even thousands, of birds and large numbers of dolphins, we also had Brydes whales – and quite a few of them. In fact, at one stage Sam Mossman counted five slowly swimming and feeding around us, their progress punctuated by sudden, submarine-like appearances and puffs of spume, or a roiling surface as they pushed their way forward deeper down. Fantastic!

At times the fishing was as good as I’ve ever seen. While most of the fish hooked were around 1.5-3kg, as the day progressed we started catching more and more in old-fashioned, double-figure weights. Fortunately, the facts they’d been caught in the mouth on various slow-jigs armed with small but strong hooks, combined with our deliberate slowing of their ascent near the surface, allowing them to equalise, meant most could be successfully released. As for those that looked the worse for wear – too blown to go back down or showing obvious signs of injury – these were welcomed into Savoy’s huge chilly bins.

Then, as we neared the trip’s end, the fishing cranked up yet another notch to become absolutely insane. By this stage we had plenty of fish, so I’d decided not to catch more just for catching’s sake – but it was bad timing for my conscience to kick in, as almost without exception the last few fish boated were big, strong, gleaming beauties.

What a way to finish, placing the cream on top and satisfying even the most hardened of fish catchers. Thanks Savoy Charters, I’ll always remember this one!

A big bonus

Normally, this is where the onboard fishing experience would end, but Grant Dixon and I were also lucky enough to join a subsequent ‘corporate fishing trip’ on board Savoy – a day out with Fairfax management and friends – enabling us to see another side of the operation.

For this trip we took advantage of Savoy Charters’ hosting and catering options, and it turned out to be money well spent. The hostess proved friendly and helpful, but it was chef Gemma Miles who really starred, creating dish after dish of colourful, fresh and truly scrumptious food (menus are available on request).

As for the fishing, time constraints brought about by afternoon flights made it difficult to do well on the snapper this time, but we enjoyed some great battles with eager kingfish, so another big tick for this great boat and crew.

The operation

The boat

While Savoy looks magnificent in a rather masculine, muscular way – as only catamarans can – when viewed from other angles, her clean, flowing lines are quite lovely. Either way, this is one great looking boat.

The incredible amount of space on board blows me away the most. Everywhere you go – the cockpit, the saloon, the flybridge and the foredeck (especially) – there’s not just room to swing a cat, you can swing a cat swinging more cats, or, if you’re strong enough, a cow. I’m used to seeing vessels fully utilising every little nook and cranny on board, with gear and equipment shoehorned into a confined area. But this is definitely not the case on Savoy, with open space everywhere. Not that it seems wasteful, as it might be on a 16m monohull; thanks to Savoy’s catamaran configuration, all that space appears classy due to the efforts of her owner, Scott Unsworth.

Let’s start inside, in the saloon, where you’ll be super impressed, same as I was. There’s plenty of plush seating, including a large settee that wraps around the saloon table, with highly polished wood and metal everywhere in evidence. The huge galley is to starboard, and as you’d expect it’s beautifully appointed, well equipped and a far cry from the crammed-in affairs often found on boats.

Downstairs you’ll find berths for up to six overnighting anglers and two crew, along with two generous bathrooms.

Now head back out and climb the internal stairs to the flybridge. First up is a balcony-type area with comfy, wrap-around chairs – perfect for relaxing and chatting with the sun and wind on your face. Inside the flybridge (no need to keep reminding you how big it is!), there’s plenty more seating down both sides of an open socialising area, with the helm station at the far end. The helm console is fitted with a comprehensive range of the latest electronics, including a radar capable of detecting birds – great for finding work-ups. So the skipper has NO excuses for not finding the fish!

Back on the deck, the spacious theme continues (Savoy’s been surveyed to carry 44 passengers!), the massive beam allowing room for plenty of anglers to fish across the stern, while extended pods at water level offer more fishing positions in reasonable weather. Of course, you can always fish along the sides, too, if you’d prefer!

Another feature we all appreciated was the fish-finder screen set up in the cockpit, so we could see when fish were present and at what depth they were holding. Every boat should have one!

I can see real possibilities up in the bow as well. While probably a calm-weather thing, it’s a clear, wide-open space where you could perhaps play tennis or ‘mini putt’ golf, while more fishing-oriented activities might include casting stick-baits and poppers, or perhaps see two or three guys whipping out saltwater flies.

As you would expect, Savoy is equipped with some of the best lure-fishing tackle, so no need to bring your own, and there’s even Shimano Tiagra gamefishing gear if that’s what spins your wheels!

No doubt about it,Savoy is the most luxurious charter boat I’ve ever been on (let alone been encouraged to fish from), offering a whole new level of comfort and service to potential clients. While we enjoyed fishing from her, obviously such a well-appointed vessel is perfect for many other chartering roles, including sunset cruises, champagne breakfasts, extended cruising, island transfers, celebration parties and weddings, corporate functions, business meetings, team building and more!

So no wonder Savoy is attracting guests like Miley Cyrus. Apparently the team from Savoy took Miley and a few of her close friends to Waiheke Island, and on the way decided to call on friend Blake to pick them all up in his Sealegs. Blake then drove the party right up to his typical Kiwi beach-front property, switched on the BBQ, and cooked some of the party’s freshly-caught snapper. By all accounts this experience left an indelible impression on all concerned – something that the Savoy team always strives to provide.

So if you want a super-impressive boat to wow your friends and/or customers, this is it!