It was 1975 when Johnny Hallyday released ‘Hey, Lovely Lady’. It is not known whether France’s biggest rock star was referring to his boat – on which he used to sail regularly in Arcachon Bay at the time – in the song. However, his connection to the ‘Dont 3’, a Bertram Baron 28, must have been a close one.
It was easy to see what made the area so appealing: the vast, sheltered bay on the Atlantic coast was far quieter than the Côte d’Azur on the Mediterranean, which was overrun by the jet set – particularly when it came to people. Here, France’s answer to Elvis Presley could switch off.
‘Dont 3’ boasts an impressive top speed
Yet the singer was no stranger to frenzied crowds: his concerts, which often drew over 100,000 fans, frequently ended in utter chaos. Consequently, Johnny relished the thrill of cars with a strong personality. The ‘Dont 3’ was perfect for him, as the small offshore racer – built by the US shipyard in Miami, which was already legendary at the time – was not only seaworthy thanks to its high freeboard, but also boasted an impressive top speed of more than 50 knots.
Measuring 8.53 metres in length and just 2.23 metres in width, the slender Bertram was a real sprinter. It was a quality that Johnny exploited to the full. He didn’t give the condition of the engines a second thought. The time available to switch them off between gigs was simply too short to be cautious.
New owner of the Bertram Baron 28
Today, ‘Dont 3’ is owned by Alexandre Moreau-Lespinard. As a local resident on Arcachon Bay, he was naturally aware of the boat. He, too, was immediately taken with its elegant lines. However, a far more decisive factor in his decision to buy it was that he was – and still is – an unconditional fan of Johnny. What better way could there be to pay his last respects to his idol, who passed away in 2017?
Alexandre’s fascination with Johnny began in 1993, at a concert at the Parc des Princes in Paris to mark the star’s 50th birthday. His enthusiasm was so great that he soon lost count of just how many gigs he went to after that. He had even attended an almost private event at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
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The fact that Alexandre’s father, James, worked in the music industry himself and was a true expert in classical and jazz music may well have been one of the reasons for his interest. But Alexandre also shared a passion for anything fast with Johnny. From childhood, he had been fascinated by exclusive cars: Maserati, Salmson and Hispano-Suiza – for Alexandre, these names have lost none of their appeal to this day. The race track running along the city walls of Angoulême, fifty kilometres from the Atlantic, turned him into a motorsport fan for good.
A dream come true
A dream finally came true for him in the summer of 2014: on the Caribbean island of St Barth, the fan met his idol – another motorboat enthusiast had introduced the two of them to one another. The meeting was relaxed and warm. Alexandre’s father had given his son a rare cover of a special recording as a present, which the rocker didn’t know and was delighted to receive.
However, the “Dont 3” no longer belonged to Johnny by that point. Two years earlier, he had given the Bertram to Anne-Marie, the wife of his long-standing friend Jean-Pierre Pierre. But when the boat was then put up for auction by the Osenat auction house, Alexandre’s moment had come: he won the bid.
It was immediately clear to him that the Baron 28 had to be restored as closely as possible to its original condition. However, achieving this required patience: two years of meticulous restoration work were needed. The work was led by Ezequiel Cano Lanza, the founder and designer of the ECLA custom shipyard in Arcachon. Only local companies were involved in the restoration, often taking great pride in their work, as this was a historic vessel with strong ties to Arcachon Bay.
The desired result was achieved thanks to modern methods used by Ezequiel’s design studio to digitise the construction drawings, the comparison of the documents with the originals at Bertram in Florida, and successful research into the cockpit upholstery and paintwork.
The seats are a fine example of the attention to detail that has gone into the car, from the striking black stitching to the extension of the yellow trim strip across the rear seat bench. The dashboard, too, shines with its former splendour. The Bertram emblem, in chrome, is displayed here in almost oversized form – an eagle above a right angle, a design element that was also popular with car manufacturers of that era. The gauges and controls are closely grouped together, providing a comprehensive overview of the condition of the boat and its engines. Everyone involved was confident that they had restored the boat to a condition as close as possible to its original state.
However, there were also exceptions to the standard design. For example, the flat bow rail was omitted – for the simple reason of not spoiling the sleek profile of the racer. On the other hand, who would want to stand there unnecessarily, even at low speed? You’d much rather choose the inviting, deep cockpit as the only place where you run no risk of being catapulted out during tight turns or long jumps.
Challenges with the Bertram Baron 28 ‘Dont 3’
However, another aspect of the boat’s exterior proved challenging: the original paintwork. Historical black-and-white photographs were unable to clarify whether the colour scheme – featuring a red base colour – applied whilst the boat was in Nice had also been in place when it was originally delivered. It was only a visit from a resident of Arcachon, who remembered ‘Dont 3’ from the past, that solved the mystery: the boat had been dark blue, with a yellow stripe running along the top from the foredeck to the transom. Further research confirmed this colour combination. However, the boat’s original look was only complete once its actual distinguishing feature was displayed on both sides of the bow: the stylised head of a great white shark.
The two original MerCruiser inboard engines, each with an output of 215 PS – which had been put through their paces by Rocker back in the day – were replaced by two new engines, each with a displacement of 5.7 litres. These engines, from the same manufacturer, delivered a combined output of a whopping 600 PS to the water. The replacement not only made the nearly 50-year-old Bertram easier to maintain, but also safer and more durable. The installation of the two big-block engines with their Bravo One Z drives was carried out by the Marine Plaisance shipyard.
Thanks in part to the new MerCruiser engines, the “Dont 3” still reaches 50 knots with ease. With so much power in the hull, however, the sensitive Power-Ultraflex steering system requires stoic composure, particularly during harbour manoeuvres in the immediate vicinity of the elegant classic yachts with their immaculate gunwales in Arcachon Marina.
The mooring of the restored Bertram has long since become a place of pilgrimage for the still considerable number of Johnny Hallyday fans. However, they tend to keep a lower profile here than at his final resting place in Lorient Cemetery on the distant island of St Barth. Even though the boat is hard to spot from the shore, the rumble of the engines – even when idling – catches the attention of those searching for it.
Off we go, out onto the bay basking in the evening light. As soon as Arcachon is astern, the Holley quad carburettors are opened up to get the boat planing and steer ‘Dont 3’ into the right course. No wonder Johnny loved this boat – the power and sound of the large-capacity engines, the vibrations of the GRP hull. For him, that was the American way of life.
Alexandre experiences very similar sensations as he races across the fairway at 40 knots. Seen from the depths of the cockpit, the foredeck looks immense, making the offshore racer appear considerably longer. Now, planing along, the hull displaces very little water; the deep ‘V’ keeps it on course. The spray flies far out to both sides. Alexandre is clearly savouring the moment. For the duration of the trip, it feels to him like a continuation of that all-too-brief encounter with Johnny Hallyday that summer on St Barth.
Technical specifications of the Bertram Baron 28
- Model: Bertram Baron, aged 28
- Type: Offshore powerboat
- Overall length: 8.53 m
- Width: 2.23 m
- Draught: 1.59 m
- Fuselage material: GRP
- Engines: 2 x 300 PS MerCruiser V8
- Year of manufacture: 1975
- Speed: 50 kn
- Design: Bertram Yacht Corporation, USA