First Major Adventure
In the last issue we reviewed Legacy Marine’s stunning L70 flagship “Paragon”. Shortly after the review, Paragon made the 1300 nautical mile voyage to the Vava’u group in Tonga and experienced Blue Marlin Fishing that could only be described as “out of this world”. The voyage took 6 days cruising at 8 – 10 knots, with stops along the way at Minerva reef to experience the amazing fishing on offer and Tongatapu, before arriving at the sheltered islands of Vava’u.
Paragon proved to be not only to be luxuriously comfortable to undertake such a voyage, but extremely economical with the MAN V12 1900hp diesels, averaging only three litres per nautical mile making it with plenty to spare with the 9,000ltr underfloor fuel capacity. The air-conditioning, fresh water maker, salt ice maker, and ample amounts of refrigerator and freezer space, was all put to good use and certainly made things much more comfortable in the warmer tropical climate – especially after escaping a cold and windy New Zealand winter. Vava’u offered exceptional fishing with Marlin encountered daily, along with Maha Mahi, Wahoo and Sailfish. On the best day, the crew onboard Paragon caught and released 5 Blue Marlin averaging 80 – 120kg in weight, with a couple much larger models caught and released at well over 200kg. Designed and built for offshore voyages by a family with a passion for fishing, Paragon proved to be the ultimate platform for this type of voyage and ticked every box required to not only undertake such a voyage – but do so in such extreme comfort and functionality. The next leg of the voyage was across to Fiji for some more relaxed family time, exploring Fiji’s crystal-clear waters and beautiful islands, before the return trip back to New Zealand. It appears, ‘Paragon’ which means ‘A Model of Perfection, or Excellence of a Kind’ – certainly lived up to its name, on her first big voyage, there is no doubt there will be many more to come!
