Yachting May 2016

There is something that happens to me somewhere around the second or third horizon. It’s not a conscious thought, but a sublime moment when all of life’s daily concerns disappear. What’s left is now, and the opportunity that lies ahead of the vessel’s bow. Simply put: It’s freedom. The first time I realized this, I was 10 years old. Before my age of enlightenment, my father kept the family boating time to the confines of protected local waters, with the occasional jaunt outside the inlet along the beach for some fishing on a bluebird-sky day. It was fantastic, but I always looked toward the horizon I couldn’t reach. It’s where I always wanted to go. Perhaps this desire was due to the restrictions on our regular trips, but the allure…

THANK YOU FOR THE PIECE ON Jack Hargrave by Jake Lamb in Yachting’s March issue (“Hargrave Hall of Fame”). I joined Burger Boat Company in 1983 as the main sales guy under Henry Burger and Ed Bronstein at the old Spencer Boat Company after 10-plus years as an engineer. My first sale was a semicustom 100-foot Hargrave Burger. Times were slow, and Jack made a speculative design that could be sold only by Burger. As far as I was concerned, dealing with Jack was like being on the right hand of God. My father had two small boatyards in Cos Cob, Connecticut, near where Yachting had its headquarters once, so I knew Jack’s name from early 1960s Hatteras yachts. The day I went up to Jack’s office at 205½ 6th…

SETZER DESIGN GROUP IS BASED IN FLORIDA, but founder Ward Setzer was in Antigua seeking inspiration. While on a winter sabbatical, he rented a spot just above the customs office at Falmouth Harbour. It had a bird’s-eye view of the marina, so he could see which spaces yacht owners used and how the crew liked to work. “We saw the bigger boats come in,” Setzer says. “I would watch the way they dropped boats in and out of the water, and how guests did and didn’t use the bow deck.” The 203-foot Vestal 6200 by Ward Setzer is the largest in a new line of motoryachts from Admiral Yachts in Italy. He came up with ideas like the one shown above: a forward garage that lowers a tender by way…

T he docks on collins Avenue were alive with chatter at Yachts Miami Beach in February — and with good reason. There were plenty of new models being rolled out. One of the most popular, one that attracted harmless gawkers and serious buyers alike, was the Princess S65. Her crowd appeal should come as no great surprise. The first thing that grabs you about this boat is her lines. They’re sleek and low profile, aided by sharply angled windows that leave no doubt what the “S” in this boat’s title stands for: sport. Of course, you don’t get to call yourself a sport boat without having some numbers to back it up. To that end, this Princess can be outfitted with four different engine packages, the largest of which —…

Have you ever driven an open boat in conditions so forbidding there was actually ice on the bow? I have. For many, I guess, that would seem a suboptimal experience. For me, firing the slick Delta 26 Open Black Edition all around the Stockholm archipelago last November was an unforgettable time. And despite the surreal surroundings — onshore, some of the finest homes in Sweden nestle into dark woods and up against darker water — the boat stole the show. She looks like a stealth fighter, and with the wind blasting you in the face at speeds over 50 knots with optional 380 hp Volvo Pentas, she feels only a little bit slower. WHOM IT’S FOR: She’s no Lamborghini Veneno; she’s an Audi R8. She’s for the guy who wants…

Boat tests usually involve a squeaky-clean boat just out of the factory with low engine hours. This wasn’t one of those sea trials. T.J. O’Shea, a charter captain in Clearwater, Florida, took delivery of his Southport 33 Family Edition last August. By the time I climbed aboard three months later, the twin four-stroke Yamaha 350s had more than 500 hours on them. “A lot of those hours were hard,” says O’Shea, who spends most days off shore fishing or diving. When he’s not chartering, the captain uses the boat with his family. The 33 FE is O’Shea’s second Southport, the first being a 29-footer that remains in his fleet with more than 6,000 hours on it. My test 33 FE’s C. Raymond Huntdesigned hull had a few scuffs, but it…