Manoeuvrable Cheetah enjoys a busy Seawork

The 9m Sea Safari ran almost continuous demonstrations of SeaStar’s Optimus 360 Joystick Control System, helmed by Cheetah designer Sean Strevens. The finger pontoons and limited space in the inner exhibitor area proved an ideal setting to really test the manoeuvrability afforded by Optimus 360. Spectators within all sectors of the marine industry were impressed by the flexibility of the system, which was a retrofit to Sea Safari in March.

In addition to obtaining a new order for an 8m commercial fishing catamaran, the Cheetah team welcomed many potential customers aboard the three Cheetahs on display, some visitors having since visited the Ventnor workshops for sea trials from the south coast of the island.

Cheetah would like to thank all suppliers and sponsors including SeaStar, Hypro Marine, Simrad, Honda and Suzuki as well as the superb team at Seawork for organizing another extremely successful show.

Great interest has arisen following a trio of Cheetah charter catamarans which were delivered to the west coast of Wales in the spring. The three Cheetahs measure in at 8.9m, 9.2m and 9.95m and are each built to their customer’s very specific operational requirements, which include for dolphin survey, shark fishing and sea bass safaris.

New owner Andy Alsop of Whitewater Charters is delighted with his new 9.2m, which cruises comfortably at 20 knots using only two litres of fuel per mile. His Cheetah catamaran, Whitewater, has just hit the headlines, landing the first Mako shark ever caught in Welsh and Irish waters. At just under 200 pounds the Mako proved a fair combat partner for the Cheetah and its 500hp.

Skipper Andrew Alsop commented: “The Cheetah is the best shark boat I have gone to sea with. Nice one, Sean, Lucy, Keith, Barry and your Cheetah team.”