Innholdsfortegnelse for Oct-2018 i Motor Boat & Yachting

Do not panic, do not adjust your set! This is the same Motor Boat & Yachting you know and (hopefully) love, it just looks a little different. After seven years without a change, we felt the time was right for a refresh. We’re confident the new design looks CLEANER, CLEARER, LESS CLUTTERED and more contemporary, allowing the words and pictures to really shine. It’s not just the look that has changed, the feel has too. We’re now printed on BETTER QUALITY PAPER that is thicker and whiter so that the colours really jump off the page. We’ve also introduced a raft of NEW CONTENT, including two original column ideas written by a different MBY reader each month and a front section that cuts through the usual blizzard of news to…

Length 54ft 0in (16.48m) Beam 14ft 9in (4.48m) Engines Twin Volvo Penta D8 600hp Top speed 32 knots Price from £810,000 inc UK VAT You can read our full test of the Predator 50 on p60 so we won’t give too much away here except to say that Sunseeker’s new ‘entry-level’ boat is an important one and will have its global debut at the show. It’s the least expensive way to join the Sunseeker family (though you’ll still need £800,000) and it promises generous living spaces both on the main deck and in the three cabins down below. The San Remo this replaces had IPS but the 50 is on traditional shafts and with a pair of 600hp Volvo motors topped out at 32 knots during our sea trial. CONTACT…

LENGTH 63ft 6in (19.4m) BEAM 32ft 10in (10m) ENGINES Twin Volvo Penta D4 300hp TOP SPEED 16 knots PRICE FROM €1.51m ex VAT The 630 isn’t exactly a new boat but it’s the first opportunity to see it at a UK show and it is an impressive bit of kit. First of all there’s the range, which is almost 2,000nm if you can face cruising at 5 knots or a more realistic 1,300nm at 8 knots. Being over 30ft wide the deck spaces are extraordinary, allowing guests to lose themselves and relax in their own quiet corner, be that in the vast cockpit or laid-back foredeck lounging area. Below decks, if you want to maximise sleeping space you can opt for up to six double cabins, but the layout we’d…

LENGTH 42ft 4in (12.9m) BEAM 14ft 4in (4.37m) ENGINES Volvo IPS600/800 or 435/550/600hp shaftdrives TOP SPEED 33 knots PRICE FROM £578,838 Few boats will have a showpiece to rival the 460. The aft balconies whir down to create by far the most spacious and appealing cockpit in the class. It’s a boat that ripples with clever thinking, from the sliding side windows in the saloon that open the aft end up to the brilliant foredeck with sliding seat modules and flip-up backrests for every seat. Importantly, none of these things feel like a gimmick, with all features genuinely adding to your enjoyment of the boat. Below decks there is a more formulaic three-cabin layout with an particularly impressive full-beam master ensuite located amidships. There are IPS and shaftdrive engine options;…

LENGTH 36ft 9in (11.2m) BEAM 10ft 10in (3.3m) ENGINES Twin Mercury Verado 400R 400hp TOP SPEED 50 knots PRICE FROM €325,685 ex VAT Like the Axopar 37 but think it lacks a certain air of menace? The Brabus Shadow 800 has got you covered. Designed in conjunction with German tuning house Brabus, the Shadow may be based on the 37 but it has been turned up to 11. Twin 400hp Mercury Racing engines give an easy 50-knot top speed and the ability to cruise at well over 40 knots. A bespoke hardtop sits over a cockpit festooned with gloriously lavish red upholstery and more carbon-fibre than the McLaren parts bin. The ice-cool interior is finished in high-end quilted leather and there’s integrated infotainment throughout, including a compatible Garmin watch. Underpinning…

Think of ‘Merry Fisher’ and a 6m outboard engine powered peche promenade wheelbase fishing boat that you’ll find tucked into every harbour and inlet in Europe, springs to mind. It’s been a hugely successful genre and the good news is that Jeanneau is continuing with it. In recent years the brand has been stretched, and stretched again. Jeanneau has taken full advantage of the rise in the popularity and power outputs of outboard engines to deliver its largest Merry Fisher yet – the 32ft MF 1095. It looks exactly as you’d expect – a ‘stretched limo’ version of the smaller boats with the same upright wheelhouse and clamshell roof on black pillars as the rest of the range. From a distance, the only obvious differentiation, aside from the length, is…

Cruising up a major river feels like real exploration, especially if you have arrived off the mouth after a significant passage. For me, just gazing at a river on a chart creates a frisson of anticipation that an ordinary harbour can’t match. And when you finally see the gap in the coast from a few miles offshore, the excitement always quickens. In Europe, we are lucky to have dozens of glorious rivers. France is awash with them. Holland too. Our own home waters offer a tempting choice in picturesque country. There are some gems in Devon and Cornwall, and Ireland’s timeless waterways are still a well-kept secret. The greatest rivers often meet the sea through a wide, tricky estuary that is littered with sandbanks, so finding your way in feels…

By continental standards the Thames is a small river, yet over the centuries it has helped shape the character of England, and much of the world. Viking longships followed their lodestones here and traders flocked to the Pool of London. The Royal Navy commissioned fighting fleets at Chatham, while barges carried straw and hay upstream to feed London’s carriage horses. The wide, funnelling estuary looks tricky on the chart, with sandbanks fanning far out into the North Sea. Yet for east coast boats these are classic cruising grounds within easy reach of London. To those in the know, the whole place is a paradise of channels and fairways, spits and shoals, nifty short cuts and secret anchorages left by the tide. Although the Essex, Suffolk and Kent coasts can look…

LENGTH OVERALL 105ft (32m) HULL LENGTH 102ft 7in (31.3m) BEAM 23ft 11in (7.3m) ENGINES Twin MTU 2,200hp TOP SPEED 26.5 knots PRICE FROM POA The innovation and exquisite execution of the 35m flagship of the Azimut Grande range bagged it the award for Custom Yacht in this year’s Motor Boat Awards, so the scaled down 32 Metri is off to a strong start. Much of the technology is shared like the use of a carbon-fibre/epoxy mix in the superstructure, D2P hull form (double chine with a wave-piercing bow to improve efficiency) and a main deck master cabin. Quite a cabin it is, too, with floor-to-ceiling windows that drop deep towards the waterline supplying elevated views over the water from the comfort of the bed. The sloping snout of a bow…

It’s easy to picture long sun-soaked days at anchor Ron Boogaard, Horizon’s European agent who has been selling its boats for 25 years, is perched on a flybridge railing edging the FD85 out of its berth in the port of Palma. In his hand is the remote for the Yacht Controller, which gives full control of the engines and thrusters and allows him to wander around the decks to get the best view as we depart the berth. He pads from one side of the deck to the other and moves down to the cockpit along the side decks giving intermittent bursts of power that sends wavelets fizzing off the transom and towards the quayside aft. He makes it look easy and, on a craft that is designed to deliver…

There’s a decidedly sailing boat-esque feel to the Pogo Loxo 32. With its flat uncluttered foredeck, dart-shaped profile and upright transom it’s just a mast and rigging away from looking like just another white fibreglass yacht. Only the raised pilothouse introduces any motorboat vibe. And when you examine the background of the builder all becomes clear. Created in 1987 and based in Brittany, Pogo only made sailing boats until this model was introduced. So what does a builder with four cruising sailboats between 30ft and 50ft plus a racing yacht in its range have to bring to the 9m powerboat market? The yard was never going to compete on a ‘me too’ basis, so instead it mines the current zeitgeist for efficiency, economy and ecology. Choose the single 75hp Volvo…

Williams Jet Tenders seem to be taking over the world for small console-driven tenders, but there are alternatives for those that prefer a more conventional outboard engine. USA-based Walker Bay make a range of small console tenders, and its latest is the snappily entitled Supertender 325 Deluxe Console RIB. As the name suggests, it’s just shy of 11ft long (3.25m) and weighs just 118kg. It can carry up to five crew when fitted with its recommended 20hp outboard, or you can upscale to 30hp if you feel the need for speed (or watersports). The hull is described by the manufacturer as a ‘deep vee’ suggesting a soft ride and the wider bow helps block spray from being thrown up as well as offering more space in the boat. Tubes are…

Over the winter we looked into taking Chilaxin through the French waterways to the Mediterranean. She is the maximum size to get through the bridges on some of the canals. The air draught on the Sealine C330 is 11ft 4in (3.47m). The maximum bridge height on the route we are taking is 11ft 5in (3.5m), so I get the feeling we are going to have plenty of moments holding our breath! Before we even get to that point, we have to work out the route, the number of miles, locks, what to take and, vitally, how to get fuel! Starting from Brixham MDL Marina (our home port), we will head to Guernsey and on to France – Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, then Le Havre, continuing up the Seine to Paris, and onwards until…

BUILT 2015 PRICE £134,950 The Windy Ghibli has always been one of my favourite boats for its combination of looks, quality, speed and handling, so when Windy replaced it in 2014, I hoped that they wouldn’t lose the essence that made the Ghibli great. I need not have worried. Windy took a great boat and made it better. With the same hull and proportions, only a slightly longer bathing platform altered the basic dimensions, but changes like a resin-infused hull construction proved that this was no lazy makeover. INTERIOR The Ghibli was never a cruiser, more a dayboat with overnight accommodation, so Windy scrapped the dinette in the small cuddy cabin and fitted a proper double bed instead. The logic was that you rarely spend much time sitting inside these…

BUILT 2007 PRICE £195,000 The Superhawk 43 lives at the very end of a long legacy of high-performance Sunseeker ‘Hawk’ models that stretches right back to the mid-Eighties with boats like the gorgeous Mohawk 29 and the outrageous Thunderhawk 43. The latter was based on a Don Shead-designed race boat hull and often sported big block V8 petrol engines for maximum performance. A pure but sophisticated muscle boat, it took on the American Cigarettes and Donzis like Daniel Craig squaring up to Vin Diesel. The Superhawk 43 did in fact make an appearance in the 2008 Bond film Quantum of Solace but was launched two years earlier at the Southampton Boat Show in 2006. INTERIOR As 43ft boats go, the interior of the Superhawk is not generous. But it is…

If you’re going to throw a birthday bash to celebrate 50 years of boat building, Venice is a pretty good spot to throw it, particularly if you can also convince Italy’s answer to the Red Arrows – the Frecce Tricolori – to put on an aerobatic display for you. Of course it helps if you are Italy’s biggest boat builder and a major employer in the region but, all the same, hats off to Ferretti Yachts for pulling off the most memorable group shot of boats we’ve seen. SEE MORE mby.com/bigpic…

LENGTH 46ft 6in (14.2m) BEAM 14ft 2in (4.32m) ENGINES Twin Volvo Penta D6 370hp or IPS600 TOP SPEED 34 knots PRICE FROM £608,280 inc UK VAT The launch of the Targa 63 GTO this time last year and the upcoming reveal of the sporty F-Line 33 are important milestones in the rebirth of Fairline, but neither of those boats are as important for the yard’s future as the Targa 43 Open. Some of Fairline’s best work has been sportscruisers of this size, be it the original Targa 43, the Targa 40 or the IPS-powered Targa 44. All class-leading models at the time, they set standards that this latest version will be desperate to maintain. The lines are from the pencil of Alberto Mancini, the man responsible for the striking 63…

Length 48ft 4in (14.74m) Beam 14ft 6in (4.42m) Engines Twin Cummins 425hp Top speed 25 knots (approx.) Price from £513,468 inc UK VAT The UK has been a strong market for Beneteau’s Swift Trawler range and the French giant will be hoping the new 47 continues this success. The initial renderings look promising; it is the most handsome Swift Trawler to date with very sweet proportions. The sociable flybridge has a centrally located helm station flanked by seating, with a wetbar and open deck space aft. The lower helm is also in the middle of the boat, which puts the companionway steps down the starboard side leading to a three-cabin lower deck arrangement. The VIP ensuite is up front and a twin and double guest cabin take up the space…

LENGTH 43ft 3in (13.2m) BEAM 13ft 1in (4m) ENGINES Twin Volvo Penta D4 300hp TOP SPEED 22 knots PRICE FROM €399,000 ex VAT This charming Menorquin is sure to cut a dash inside Mayflower Park as it makes its UK show debut. Built on Menorca, the 42’s roots lie in the sturdy fishing boats suited to the choppy waters of the Balearics but the teak clad interior is as classy as any of its rivals’. It boasts a two- or three-cabin layout and a top speed of over 20 knots, with a pair of 300hp Volvos. The semi-displacement, resin-infused hull is reassuringly solid in the chop, and that handsome flared bow does a fine job of keeping spray off the teak-lined decks. For a 43ft boat the flybridge is a…

LENGTH 27ft 9in (8.5m) BEAM 10ft 8in (3.3m) ENGINES Single/twin diesels up to 440hp TOP SPEED 26 knots PRICE FROM £215,240 inc VAT This is a must-see at the show if you happen to be looking for a posh SUV (sports utility vessel) with a bit more finesse than a Jeanneau or Arvor. It’s the flagship of Rhea’s Timonier range and is positively dripping with top quality timber detailing, while its semi-displacement hull will confidently battle through choppy waters and get you home if the weather turns. On board, the cockpit gets the largest chunk of deck space and is ideal for fishing, though pop-up benches offer somewhere to sit for lunch on the hook and a cosy cuddy and separate loo take care of any overnight excursions. There’s a…

LENGTH 30ft 1in (9.35m) BEAM 9ft 7in (2.95m) ENGINES Single inboard/outboard up to 350hp TOP SPEED 42 knots PRICE FROM £116,000 inc VAT Those who read the last issue of MBY, in which we pitted the W9 against the Axopar 28 and Cormate T27, will know that the Nimbus came through as the best weekender of the group. Though its performance and handling isn’t up to the level of these rivals, its sociable cockpit and relatively spacious interior make it the most comfortable to live on board. Crucially, its separate bathroom and big double berth are ideal for overnight stays, and it can accommodate up to four people. It’s versatile too, available with inboard or outboard engines and in three body styles: open, T-top and wheelhouse. The T-top seems to…

One of my favourite boating areas in north Brittany is the fantastically rocky corner off Lézardrieux, where jagged reefs straggle out for miles to the tall, slim lighthouse of Les Héaux. This glorious cruising ground can look unwelcoming from offshore, but as you gradually enter the Grand Chenal all sense of unease evaporates. The rocks that seemed so threatening from seaward now feel friendly and protecting as you meander into the wooded reaches of the river. After a few seasons you get used to seeing rocks up close and can start exploring some of the local passages inside coastal dangers, which often save you distance in calmer water. The inner route between the Lézardrieux and Tréguier rivers is a good example, avoiding many nasty patches of overfalls and leading south…

FOLLOW THE NORD STAR I am currently looking to buy a boat and from experience have narrowed the search to walkaround wheelhouse boats, as they are easy to manage singlehanded and are great sea boats. The three boats that stand out from the crowd are all Finnish; Botnia Targa, Sargo and Nord Star. On my last visit to the boat show, and before I was in a position to buy, I went aboard the Targa 27.1 and a Sargo 28, but have yet to see a Nord Star 28 or find a review in MBY I see that you have reviewed the Sargo 28 and the Targa 27.1 and I wondered if you have any plans to review the Nord Star 28 to draw a comparison, as this would complete…

The Elbe is a real seaman’s river and needs treating with respect, but in quiet weather it’s stunning arriving here with your own boat. Opening into the south-east corner of German Bight, the estuary is eight miles wide where it meets the sea at Cuxhaven. The low coast is fringed with vast tracts of drying sand and frothy tides swirl past a procession of beacon towers with seething shoals on either side. There are echoes of the Thames but on a grander scale. Some cruising boats arrive here from Heligoland, a strange island of sheer red sandstone 15 miles north-west of the outer Elbe buoys. You often spot these buoys before seeing any land and then a long shipping fairway curves in past the Scharhörn banks and lonely Neuwerk island.…

The west coast town of Kokkola on the Gulf of Bothnia, the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea, has long been recognised as the spiritual heartland of Finnish boat building. It’s a region of fractured landmasses and wild, exposed waters, offering every kind of challenge from shallow brackish backwaters to aggressive open seas. It’s a place where boating is not so much a pastime as an everyday necessity, so it’s an ideal place to test and develop powerboats. However, such has been the success of the Grandezza brand since its launch in 2005 that the modern fleet is required to offer more than just stoic Scandinavian practicality. With dealers in 16 countries, including Slovenia, Croatia and Monaco, it also needs to cater for the Med-style boater and, while its six-strong…

LENGTH OVERALL 84ft 11in (25.89m) WATERLINE LENGTH 78ft 6in (23.95m) BEAM 21ft 8in (6.6m) Twin MAN 560T/1,200hp TOP SPEED 23 knots PRICE FROM €3.45m ex VAT Following the launch of the 32XP last summer the new 26XP will appear alongside its bigger sibling at the Cannes Boat Show. The XP range is a sharp change in direction for the Turkish yard, adding a line of striking long-distance cruisers to the swooping sportscruisers and flybridges it is known for. The 26XP is available with either a displacement or semi-displacement hull, the latter capable of 23 knots with a pair of 1,200hp MAN engines. The displacement version only has a top speed of 11.5 knots with twin MAN 560hp engines but at its optimum 8-knot cruising speed the range rockets to 3,500nm.…

LENGTH OVERALL 78ft 6in (23.95m) WATERLINE LENGTH 78ft 6in (23.95m) BEAM 39ft 4in (12m) ENGINES Twin MAN 1,000hp/1,200hp TOP SPEED 24 knots PRICE FROM POA With a beam just shy of 40ft, the 80 will be difficult to miss at the Cannes Boat Show, where it is set to be launched. The perfectly square proportions mean the three outdoor living spaces are incredibly generous. The cockpit has room for a substantial dinette tucked up to the aft doors, with a transom bench that converts into a sunpad hovering over the transom. A ramp drops down between the hulls to offer storage for a jet-ski or tender. On the foredeck a sunpad spans almost the entirety of the beam and is supplemented by a pair of sheltered L-shaped dinettes with access…

IN BUILD 2009 – CURRENT PRICE RANGE £90,000 – £130,000 There is always a huge list of ‘must-haves’ and ‘desirables’ when choosing a secondhand boat. But right at the top of everyone’s list, written in big red letters, is ‘budget’. Can I afford to buy it? And crucially, can I afford to run it? Those concerns, particularly the latter, are perhaps even more crucial if you’re running the boat commercially, where every penny spent on repairs and maintenance comes directly off the bottom line, yet you still need a fast and attractive vessel. So it was interesting to discover that Pure Latitude, a boat-share club based at Port Hamble in Southampton, has run a Beneteau Antares 30 for many years as part of its five-strong fleet of motor boats shared…

How do you clean your car? Bucket and sponge maybe, or do you visit the local car wash or splash out on the services of a car valeter? The highest level of OCD for car cleaning obsessives is using a specialist car ‘detailer’ who can charge £500 or more per day and have obsessive standards of cleanliness, as well as lots of specialist equipment and potions to bring a super shiny gloss finish to paintwork well past its prime. But what has this got to do with boats, I hear you ask? Well, I was getting frustrated at the increasingly matt finish on Bateau9’s superstructure, despite having paid several thousand euros to have it polished each year and my full-time captain (Ben Rossi) regularly washing the boat after use. To…

BUILT 2000 PRICE £110,000 Craftsman and offshore racer Pål Sollie founded Goldfish in 1991 and has been producing very high-performance boats for the leisure market and the military ever since. Quality and attention to detail shine throughout each and every product of the little-known but highly-respected yard, but above all, Pål’s boats are built to go hard and fast, and this rare sportscruiser version is certainly no exception. INTERIOR It’s called a sportscruiser, and by Goldfish standards the interior is positively luxurious, but don’t expect a viable alternative to a 32ft Sealine. Headroom is limited and there is just the one double berth plus a settee. It’s beautifully trimmed though, and the heads is in a separate compartment, making overnighting a far more civilised and comfortable affair. EXTERIOR Press a…

LENGTH 44ft 4in (13.55m) BEAM 13ft 9in (4.2m) ENGINES Volvo Penta IPS400/500/600 TOP SPEED 32 knots PRICE FROM £496,136 inc UK VAT The F430 is the flybridge version of the C430 coupé (launched at last year’s show) and the first chance to see this model on British soil. The design feels like it was destined to be a flybridge from the outset and for a boat just shy of 45ft (13.7m) the top deck is impressively large thanks to its extended overhang. There is space for a double helm seat, generous dinette and a wetbar up here. The foredeck seating features a flip-up bench at its forward end, so a couple can sit and enjoy the view from here too. The interior is exactly the same as its coupe sibling…

LENGTH 46ft 7in (14.2m) BEAM 24ft 7in (7.5m) ENGINES Twin Volvo Penta D4 225hp TOP SPEED 20 knots (approx.) PRICE FROM €512,000 ex VAT Bavaria’s French-built power catamaran will be on display at the show for the first time. As cats go it’s a stylish thing with a great mix of living spaces on deck including a fabulous foredeck with opposing seating and a table and steps that lead up to a large sunpad above the wheelhouse. The cockpit is massive, with seating on all sides, and leads into a saloon that is bright and spacious and features a well-equipped galley adjacent to a cosy dinette. For owner-run boats the three-cabin layout’s massive master suite will appeal, but if there’s an eye on charter the four cabin alternative is bound…

LENGTH 30ft 1in (9.19m) BEAM 10ft 2in (3.1m) ENGINES Twin Volvo Penta D6 330/370/400hp TOP SPEED 38 knots PRICE FROM £179,940 inc VAT The chance to view a new Botnia Targa doesn’t come along all that often, so the replacement for the popular 27.1, with its brand new hull, (slightly) softer lines and tweaked interior, is worthy of note. This is not a revolution, however, and the Targa’s reputation as a fearsome rough weather tool remains firmly intact. There is a nod to modernity with the rounded corners and the optional Blackline trim, but that’s about it. On board the practical saloon separates the aft cabin, with a double and single berth, from a full-height forward wet room accessed via double doors in the middle of the dash. It isn’t…

LENGTH 45ft 4in (13.8m) BEAM 13ft 3in (4.1m) ENGINES Twin Volvo Penta D6 330/400hp TOP SPEED 35 knots PRICE FROM €381,000 ex VAT Making its UK debut, the M44 is a boat that stays true to the values held by sportscruisers of old. Yes, a long and sleek canvas roof protects the main deck from the elements but that open-backed cockpit is unapologetically angled towards enjoying life in calm weather and warm temperatures. The aft sunpad links to a dinette that snakes around the starboard side opposite a chaise longue and small wetbar. Below decks a central dinette and galley are flanked by a master ensuite in the bow and a twin guest cabin with the added privacy of its own bathroom/day heads. There are two Volvo Penta D6 engine…

LENGTH 21ft 3in (6.48m) BEAM 8ft 1in (2.46m) ENGINES Single 150-225hp Mercury TOP SPEED 40 knots PRICE FROM £29,439 inc VAT (ex. engine) Quicksilver is replacing its award-winning 645 with the all-new 675 in both cabin (Cruiser) and Bowrider guises. The previous model shone thanks to a practical layout that bristled with clever ideas to maximise the potential of such a compact craft. The 675 will undoubtedly do the same but with more space and the latest generation of Mercury’s punchy V6 motors. The most powerful 225hp engine should be good for a top speed in the region of 40 knots. A smart, practical, safe and refreshingly affordable turn-key package. CONTACT See Quicksilver website for dealers. www.quicksilver-boats.com…

Yes, I am good at boat driving. I spent 20 years as a yacht broker conducting surveys or sea trials. And the thing about sea trials is, you not only have to get someone else’s pride and joy safely in and out of its berth, you have to make it look easy. No one wants to gain the impression that their new boat is difficult to handle. So a 26ft Jeanneau should be easy. And largely it is. Plus there’s the ‘get out of jail free’ card of the bow thruster. I always have it switched on just in case, but it’s a matter of personal pride that I very rarely use it. My most difficult manoeuvre is also my most practised – getting into my marina berth. I reverse…

In 2013 the high-end 50ft sports cruiser market went into hyperdrive. Sunseeker launched the San Remo at the London Boat Show in the January. It looked fantastic, with sleek styling and an optional open-backed hardtop over the main deck cockpit area. The inside was a stylish and beautifully wrought cocoon of quality, complete with full beam master cabin. But there was no getting away from the fact that it was just a convincing update of Sunseeker’s Portofino 48, something that larger hull windows and neat interior detailing didn’t entirely disguise. When Princess launched its new-from-the-keel-up V48 later that same year, although the basic layout was similar, it did highlight some of the San Remo’s shortcomings, most notably the lack of full standing headroom throughout that full beam master cabin. Princess…

My first approach to the Seine was on a calm, hazy September morning. A slow westerly swell rolled in, but otherwise the bay was still. Cap de la Hève gradually took shape to port, with Le Havre beyond it. Ships waited at anchor and a pilot boat buzzed about. The south side of the estuary was a vague smudge curving towards Deauville and Trouville. You feel the majesty of this great river. The essential spirit of France seems to waft out across the wide estuary and its miles of drying banks. The Seine carries not only ships and barges, but also the chequered flux of history on its constant journey past stately family châteaux, elegant parks and the weeping willows of the Impressionists’ brushes. Once you find the outer buoys,…

What began as a problematic day becomes a glorious one, cruising with sun and a little wind Setting off from Rostock in Germany at the start of our long journey to the Mediterranean, it’s hard to believe that in a few weeks time we will be sunning ourselves in very different climes. At least the strong easterly wind is blowing in the right direction to help us through Fehmarn Sound to Kiel, where we are greeted by attentive German customs officials in bulletproof vests. Papers checked, the main interest is our fuel tank. High diesel prices tempt some to use tax-free red diesel, which can be detected even when mixed with normal fuel. We have nothing to fear but our tank capacity of 13,000 litres makes us a prime suspect…

LENGTH OVERALL 104ft 11in (31.7m) WATERLINE LENGTH 87ft 7in (26.72m) BEAM 23ft 4in (7.1m) ENGINES Twin MAN 1,900hp TOP SPEED 23 knots PRICE FROM US$6.5m ex VAT The smallest yacht in Majesty’s superyacht range was launched in March of this year and will make its European debut at Cannes. It may be the smallest in the range but at 104ft 1in (31.7m) and 123 tonnes, and with space on board for five ensuite cabins, its superyacht intentions are clear to see. Though the styling is relatively restrained there is some real innovation on board, like the top deck sky lounge, which offers guests the comfort of an air-conditioned saloon or an outdoor living area to soak up the sun. For the best of both worlds, all of the enclosed sky…

Back in the 90s supercars used to be big, brash noisy things that were brutish to drive and more than a little intimidating. If you overcooked it on a corner or backed off the throttle at the wrong time there was a real danger of stacking your Ferrari F40 or Lamborghini Diablo into a hedge. The same was true of fast, surface-drive boats. Alan Harper tells a salutary tale of the time he barrelled into a turn with too much trim and sent the whole shooting match into a violent spin that sent fellow journalists scattering around the cockpit. It wasn’t until the advent of the Honda NSX that people started to realise you could still enjoy all the speed, style and grip of a mid-engined sportscar without feeling like…

I should have known better than to rely on my phone’s sat nav system. It has taken me three-and-a-half hours to drive from Southampton to Ipswich, braving the M25 at its rush-hour worst, and I’m not in the mood for a confrontation with Google Maps. There’s no mention of Spirit Yachts at the entrance to the docks, a steel barrier is blocking my path and even after the nice lady in the marina office has pointed me in the right direction, I still can’t find what I’m looking for. My phone’s screen suggests it’s less than 100 metres away but the road seems to end abruptly at the slipway outside Fairline’s testing centre, where a crane is inching a Squadron 53 towards the water. It’s only when the man operating…

Boating alone can be a glorious experience. Obviously you need to approach it with a safety-first mindset, but I really enjoy time alone on the boat, and the satisfaction that comes from dealing with all the challenges is immense. Inevitably it’s leaving or arriving at a berth that presents the biggest challenge, even though it’s really just an extension of the normal crewed process with some additional planning and preparation to ensure it goes smoothly. One of the most common concerns is arriving back at your original berth to find that the perfect conditions you enjoyed on your departure have changed and you are now faced with a much more difficult, if not near-impossible challenge. The answer is to change your plans and choose a berth that you can manage.…

The term ‘high performance’ covers a multitude of sins – you could buy a Fletcher speedboat with a 200hp outboard and justifiably claim to own a high-performance boat. And there are superyachts that can crack on at a fair pace. However, for my four choices this month I’ve chosen boats that comfortably exceed 40 knots yet still give a reasonably smooth ride. They are all useable in harbour or at anchor and you can overnight on them comfortably too, even though these kinds of boats are often used as ‘fast commuters’ to get you quickly between ports or out to an anchorage ahead of the pack rather than for extended long range cruising. But what these boats offer most is a thrill, the visceral sensation of power and of speed.…

BUILT 2006 PRICE £49,995 Based in Lymington in the New Forest, Scorpion introduced its Pioneer RIB in 2007 to bridge the gap between its open models and cruiser range. The unusual looking wheelhouse was designed to protect the crew from the elements without removing the connection with them, hence the huge screen (60kg of 10mm toughened glass) that curves back into the roof moulding and open sides. The huge pantograph windscreen wiper maintains visibility whilst also bestowing more than a hint of high-speed train cab to the look. INTERIOR Two settees either side create a couple of berths for overnighting, and a table plus a sea toilet tucked beneath the centre seat provide extra creature comforts. It has even got 240 volt shore power. There is direct access to the…