Built in Cape Town in 2007 ‘Gecko’ is a 36’ (11m) Jaguar catamaran. She is 7 m wide with a 1m draft.  There are 2 30HP Yanmar engines, she carries 300 litres of fresh water and 300 litres of fuel. She arrived in Madagascar in May 2008.

She has both 220v AC and 12v DC power, 2 x solar panels, a 4kw  generator and a 2kw inverter. There are two freezers and two fridges (one dedicated to drinks) and a water maker producing aproximately 200 litres per hour.

Her electronics include VHF, GPS, Chartplotter, Radar and stereo DVD/CD player. She has a portable DVD player for movies (mostly kids).

Cabins: 2 forward double cabins with en suite showers, basins and toilets with fans and excellent ventilation.
2 stern cabins (one reserved for the skipper) with double beds and chemical toilets with fans and excellent ventilation.

Heads:The showers are en suite with the forward cabins but there are chemical toilets for night time use in the stern cabins.

Equipment:Snorkelling, fishing rods & reels (and kids rods too), 1 x two-man kayak, 4 basic scuba sets, hammocks, deck chairs for the beach, gazebo for the beach, games and books.

Crew:
Albert(silent 't'), the skipper, is a man of many stories and much sea experience. Born near Diego Suarez in 1968 he has spent most of his life on the ocean. Learning on the local pirogues and prawn ships he worked his way up to the bigger yachts. He has crewed from Madagascar to Seychelles, Malaysia, Thailand and Borneo and skippered two charter boats in Nosy Be.  He speaks excellent English, has a wonderful sense of humour and a great understanding for the client’s needs.  His ability to keep both the men and the girls happy on charter is remarkable ensuring enough fishing time as well as "beach" time.

Gi (Gie) is the chef aboard Gecko. He was, in fact, one of the first charter chefs in Nosy Be way back when but had to leave after the first few charters as he suffered from sea sickness!  He has spent the interim years working on terra firma but more recently returned to the boats. Miraculously cured of seasickness!

He takes enormous pride in the food he serves with decoration and presentation being of great importance. However, this does not take away from the fact that you will enjoy some fantastic food: crab, chicken, prawns, zebu (local beef) and fish turned into exciting and exotic dishes, served with fresh salads or veg and almost always with rice (the local staple diet). Wicked puddings to finish off the meals, if you can fit them in! He does not speak much English.

Maurice Born in Nosy Be Maurice is 34 and has spent all of his adult life working on fishing boats.  For the last five years, before joining the  crew of Gecko, Maurice worked on Fishing charters with tourists.  He is an excellent fisherman himself and up to any competition offered!  He is very nifty with a hand line off the back of the boat at night.

Maurice complete's Gecko's crew and helps mostly with deck work but also with cabins, at meal times and with drinks.

Quote:"Albert and his team are 5*****. We will be back to this exquisite place."

- Nadine Watt May 2010

Our opinion:'Gecko' is beautifully appointed with white linen in the cabins and a navy and red theme throughout the saloon and deck. She has a spacious, shaded deck with drop down sides where meals are served and where you will spend most of your time whilst on board.  There are additional seats on either side of the boat giving great views.  Her forward deck is also spacious with great tanning spots.

She is best suited for groups of 4 to 6 people and very family orientated.  She can accommodate 8 if there are two families with youngish kids.