Fletcher certainly knows how to make an entrance – his unmistakable mahogany “suit” catching the brilliant Noosa sunlight on the water and dazzling onlookers.
His elegant and sleek American design cuts a fine, svelte figure, turning heads and sparking conversations wherever he goes.
While effortlessly gliding up the river towards the jetty outside Sofitel Noosa Pacific Resort, his V6 engine doesn’t exactly purr. It’s more manly than that. Perhaps more of a hum.
Put Fletcher in a James Bond movie or alongside a Long Island or Massachusetts mansion and he wouldn’t look out of place, either.
The classic 19-foot runabout, completed in 2009, is the last of only 70 produced by boatbuilder Simon Fletcher in Seattle, Washington. It is believed to be the only one now in residence in Australia.
So, when Noosa Dreamboats owner Jimmy Phillips ties up to the jetty and welcomes you on board Fletcher, which he affectionately calls his “third son”, you know you have “arrived”.
The Adelaide-born fitness enthusiast (he’s done eight Ironman triathlons all over the world) and his partner Kate (who handles bookings and the back end of operations) took over Noosa Dreamboats four months ago, after looking around for some time for a business opportunity.
Jimmy previously had worked for high-end British apparel company Rapha while living in New York and seized upon an idea to create a boutique bicycle concierge business, marketing and hiring two-wheelers (to mostly Australian tourists). And he already had his boating licence, having plenty of experience on private fishing vessels off South Australia’s Port Lincoln and its happy hunting grounds.
The boat is officially named Noosa Dream and its eye-catching mahogany might have been the spark, but Jimmy felt a connection. And the chance to own a vessel that has become part of the Noosa River culture over the past 14 years was too good to pass up.
“The nature of the business really attracted me: no staff, I get to drive the boat and I get to wash it and clean it,” he said during perfect cruising weather on the Noosa River under a cloudless sky.
“I’d been back in Adelaide just over two years and we looked at a few off-the-shelf businesses for sale back there, but nothing was really exciting us.
“We’ve been coming here for years on holiday and my partner and I were at the stage where we were looking for a sea change. We were up here last September on an early babymoon and we saw the boat putting around the waterways.
“I think I was having a James Bond moment, seeing the boat. I kind of fell in love with it at first sight and I just happened to Google ‘Noosa Dream’ and it was for sale.
“So, we were planning to move up, but I guess this was that final ticked box and it was a really easy transaction and quite an easy transition up here.
“This is as close as I’ll ever get to having a James Bond toy.
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“The previous owners could have sold the boat on its own. Someone actually offered them a price in Port Lincoln when it was all finished and they said, ‘No, we want to see this boat continue here in Noosa.’
“It belongs here now and it’s all licensed here as well.”
The vessel had the benefit of a full restoration last June.
“They basically stripped it back to bare wood and all the metal came off, all the fittings, and it was revarnished by a very well-respected boatbuilder in Port Lincoln called Christopher Tuck,” Jimmy said.
“The former (Noosa Dreamboats) owner only trusted him to work on the boat so he would fly up occasions. It used to be painted white pinstripes on the deck and now they’re Queensland silver ash inlays. So, it’s got a bit of Queensland in it now.
“It’s beautiful. I do a slo-mo with my iPhone every now and then and it really does dance off the water – although from a boatbuilder’s perspective, the sun is a boat’s worst enemy.
“We really look after it. It gets a bath every night.”
Noosa Dreamboats’ customers – mostly from Queensland, Sydney and Melbourne – also appreciate the touch of class Fletcher brings to their river adventures.
Up to five people can book for breakfast, sunset, a water arrival for lunch or dinner at award-winning Ricky’s River Bar and Restaurant on Quamby Place, or just a simple hour or 90-minute cruise.
The vistas can vary dramatically – from the golden sands of Noosaville beaches and quirky houseboats of Tewantin, to the grand properties of Noosa North Shore and tranquil, pristine bushland further afield.
“Sunset cruises are probably one of the most popular cruises we do, taking people up to Lake Cooroibah (past Richard Branson’s Makepeace Island),” Jimmy said of the bespoke luxury offerings.
“Cooroibah at sunset is spectacular. But in Noosa, it doesn’t matter where you are.
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“And every now and again, we’ll do a trip up to Cootharaba – that’s where the river becomes a little narrower and meanders up.
“So, when the boat’s at speed and you’re cruising up through that section, it’s pretty magic.
“It’s the largest saltwater lake in Queensland.
“Depending on the time of day, I just love cruising around The Sound. The best time to be on the water is the morning and the afternoon.”
With so much “golden era of cruising” romance in the air, it’s no wonder Jimmy and Fletcher have helped facilitate quite a few marriage proposals.
Champagne and chocolates or a grazing plate with all-local artisan products can be arranged, and the cruise can stop on an intimate beach or the low-tide sandbar in the river.
But the father-of-two said the cruises appealed to all ages who simply wanted to head out on to the water. Jimmy said he had even done transfers from one part of the river to another if the boat was on the water at the end of a booking.
And his own family – including Archie, two-and-a-half, and Oliver (“OJ”), four months – jump aboard every chance they get.
“The family will come and jump in the boat if I’ve got it in the water,” Jimmy said.
“This morning, they came down to the Lions Park (on Gympie Terrace, Noosaville).
“They love it.
“You’ve only got a short window (of opportunity) with the boys, though.
“OJ’s too small but Archie, you can’t get him out of the boat.
“I look at them as future boat washers.”
DOWN BY THE RIVER
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