Delphis
Delphis is a restored 1979 CT54 center cockpit ketch, built by Ta Chiao shipyard, that turns heads in every port. Her distinctive looks are reminiscent of classic sailing yachts. Delphis has three private staterooms, a spacious salon, and a fully equipped galley. She has crossed the Atlantic and cruised the Caribbean extensively. With her elegant black hull, kids often refer to the Delphis as “the pirate ship.”
Shenanigan
The vintage 50-foot, center-cockpit Gulfstar Ketch “Shenanigan” sails out of Charleston, SC. Its owners are both U.S. Coast Guard 50 Ton Master Sailing Captains who are excited to join Valiant Voyages in bringing children and their families out on a sailing adventure for a needed break from hospitals and treatments.
Shenanigan has classic sailing yacht lines that are easy on the eyes. She has a “slightly spoon-raked bow with a sweet shear and a lovely counter stern.” Her teak wooden interior is masterfully finished and updated with designer upholstery throughout, along with teak and holly soles. These sailing yachts were popular charter boats in the Caribbean in the 1970s. A high-performance, spacious vessel, she has previously spent time chartering in the beautiful waters of Saint-Martin, the Abacos, Bahamas, the Dry Tortugas, the Florida Keys, Charleston, and Marina Hemmingway, Cuba.
Built in Tampa, Florida, in 1979, Shenanigan is a 32-ton, heavy displacement cruising sailboat with a lead ballast and a total weight of 35,000 lbs. With a 6 ft. draft, she is a keel-stepped ocean-going vessel with two masts that offers a sea kindly and stable sailing experience. Having two masts, the tallest being 55 ft., offers a variety of sail combinations and allows for comfortable inshore or offshore passages in most weather and sea conditions.
When Captains Jen and Janet of Sundog Sailing Charleston untie the lines and set the sails, passengers will join them in finding waypoints never expected on the water in Charleston Harbor.
Violet
The Violet sails out of Stonington, CT. The 45-foot Scots Zulu was built in 1911 in Fraserburgh, Scotland, and named after the first owner’s newborn niece. Roger Lancaster, her current owner, is pleased to be working with Valiant Voyages and looks forward to hosting children and their families as part of the non-profit’s educational, self-affirming program.
Violet was used as a fishing vessel until the 1930s and stayed in the original owner’s family until 1975 when the vessel came to America. After four years of being rebuilt in Vineyard Haven, MA, she was relaunched in 1991 by her new owners. She sailed the Caribbean, Panama, the Galapagos, the Marquesas, Hawaii, British Columbia, and Alaska. In 2013, Roger took over ownership of the classic ketch, spending that summer sailing her in southern New England before shipment to Chicago, where he sailed Violet on the Great Lakes. In August 2016, he navigated her through the Lakes, the Erie Canal, and the Hudson River to where she now sails out of Stonington.