By Colin Thompson

Sailing Correspondent

Cancer patient Reid Kempe was overcome with emotion and a sense of fulfilment as he sailed aboard a 77ft catamaran that he and his sons Justin and Jonathan built with their own hands in South Africa.

Mr Kempe returned home last weekend from Boston where he has been battling his illness for the past three months to see his dream of building the sleek, lightweight catamaran come to fruition.

“To see my two sons, two close brothers as well, embark on such a memorable sailing project together is a dream come true,” said Mr Kempe, who represented Bermuda at the 1992 Olympics sailing in the Tornado Catamaran with his brother Jay. Mr Kempe’s daughter, Zoe, added: “This project has been Dad’s biggest passion for many years and he deserves to see his hard work become a reality.

“We were disappointed my Dad couldn’t be here to see her arrival. But it was one of our biggest goals to get Dad on-board the boat with her sails up — and we made that happen and we feel very grateful.”

The “project of a lifetime” took seven years to complete after the Kempe family realised that there was a niche in the Bermuda market for high class, comfortable sailing and entertainment vessels.

In 2009, the family set up a production facility in South Africa with Justin and Jonathan managing all aspects of the build on the ground.

“We began the development of our 77ft catamaran, ‘The Bermuda 77’, back in 2008,” said Justin, the elder of Mr Kempe’s sons, who designed the interior and exterior styling for the boat. “We worked with an Australian designer, Jeff Schionning, to come up with a design that hadn’t been done before. As far as big ‘flybridge cats’ go, Zara is one of the sleekest ones out there.”

The Bermuda 77 design offers incredible on-board space and stability. Lightweight build materials for the hulls and furniture provide the sailing performance while real wood veneers and fabric-covered panelling provide the look and feel of a yacht. The electronics on-board are cutting-edge technology with programmable LED mood lighting, controlled by on-board touchscreen panels or personal tablets/ smartphones.

A project of this magnitude did not come without challenges.

“Towards the end of the build, we needed a few investors to help complete the project,” Jonathan said. “We were really grateful so many people believed in us and knew we were a hard working, tight-knit family that would see this through to completion.”

Bermuda Yachts employed 17 staff as builders, laminators, fairers, painters, upholsterers and installers, bringing it all together at their production premises, outside of Cape Town.

The project was completed in late 2013 and, after spending more than a year in the Caribbean, the Kempes’ dream boat, Zara, arrived in Bermuda on July 1.

Siblings Jonathan and Justin sailed the multihull boat to Bermuda from Sint Maarten along with relatives Jay and Oliver Kempe and friends Conway Trott and Jesse Kirkland, who represented Bermuda in the 49er Skiff at the 2012 Summer Olympics in England.

“It was such a great feeling seeing all of the supporters’ reactions as she sailed into Hamilton Harbour,” Jonathan said. “Our dream was to eventually bring her back to Bermuda and charter her here. It is great timing that Bermuda won the bid for the America’s Cup and we look forward to having her out there in the mix.”

The Kempes’ catamaran will be available for charter from August 1.

Further information on the boat can be found on the Bermuda Yachts website as well as on Facebook and Instagram.