Escapade I Luxury Catamaran

Fishing gear goes to sea with Escapade I, and so do four stand-up paddleboards, which on a 55ft (17m) luxury catamaran means four guests can be off the boat and paddling at the same moment. Bali Catamarans built her in 2023.

Water toys

A wakeboard, a kneeboard and a towable tube are her toys for being pulled across the water, and her 14ft tender handles the runs ashore. Two kayaks and a floating mat are the quieter end of the kit, snorkelling gear is aboard for looking beneath the surface, and a GoPro and a DJ Mini 2 drone record the week from under the water and above it.

Where she cruises

Bequia in the Grenadines is the home port of Escapade I and Marigot her second base, so a charter can begin at either. From them she works the Grenadines, Grenada, Martinique and Guadeloupe. St Martin, St Barths and Anguilla are in her range too, along with the British and US Virgin Islands, which between them give a party a wide spread of coast to choose from.

Accommodation and crew

Queen beds fill three of her four cabins and twin berths the last, so eight guests sleep aboard. Two crew run her, and her calendar peaks in December and again from January to March. She is air-conditioned and carries Wi-Fi, and a washing machine on board means a week's clothes need not last the week.

Comfort under way

She makes 8 knots under way and 12 at the top, enough to shorten a passage when the day calls for it, and as a catamaran she sits level at anchor.

On deck

Her swim platform makes getting into the sea and back out a matter of sitting down and sliding off, which matters on a boat carrying this many boards and kayaks.

Charter notes

Escapade I suits a family or a group of friends who want the days built around the water rather than the passages. Three days is the shortest rental she takes, and while the eight berths set the overnight party, fourteen can be aboard by day, so the group that sleeps on her can widen when others join for the daylight hours.