Motor Boat & Yachting November 2021

It actually happened. The boat show that is. And not just the Southampton one. Cannes too. Given that both of last year’s shows were cancelled within days, or in Southampton’s case, hours of their intended opening, we’ve learnt not to take anthing for granted. And yet despite the various Covid-related hoops visitors had to jump through, the pontoons felt reassuringly busy. There was a little less razzmatazz than usual and some of the stands were a bit smaller but that was more than made up for by the flood of new boats to see. The pontoons were so awash with new launches there was no way we could fit them all in one issue so we’ve given a brief overview of as many Cannes debuts as possible this month while…

1 RETURN OF THE SUPERHAWK Sunseeker has revealed its first all-new Superhawk in more than a decade. The Superhawk 55 will mark a spectacular return to the open-cruiser market with a sharp new look and a focus on sporty handling that we haven’t seen since the Superhawk 43 disappeared from the British yard’s books back in 2009. Although a taller, beamier, more luxurious iteration of the famous Superhawk name, as befits today’s more accommodation-hungry market, its performance heritage is clear. That long, lean profile, the wraparound glazing with a complex double-curved windscreen and a dominant new central helm position flanked by two navigators’ seats speaks volumes about its sporting intent. We particularly like the pantograph doors in the sidescreens that connect the cockpit to the side-decks. And check out those neat Union…

Since it seems to happen every year, I’ve decided to coin a phrase for it – I’m calling it Justification Day. The build-up was exactly the same. The boat launched in March, during April we got out on the water twice, wrapped up against a very chill breeze. May was simply a wash out – cold, wet, windy, probably due to all that global warming I was promised would turn the UK into an arid desert, back when I was (occasionally) at school. “I’m not sure I can justify this boat,” I grumbled to the long-suffering Marianne. “April was cold, May was wet, June and July might be okay or they might not, you’re in Ireland for three weeks in August, and September is boat-show season for me.” My logic was irrefutable…

RIVER EXE CAFÉ EXE ESTUARY While there are a number of floating restaurants dotted around the UK – Trinity’s in Haslar or the Best Dressed Crab in Bembridge to name but two – virtually all of them are connected one way or another to terra firma. One notable exception is the River Exe Café, which bobs around in the middle of the Exe Estuary and (with the possible exception of wild swimmers, parachutists and the like) is accessible only by boat. Described as Devon’s only floating gastro shed, the River Exe Café is the brainchild of David Foa and Paul Craven. The back story goes something like this: David owned a water ski and wakeboard school and Paul, a marine engineer, looked after David’s boats. David was searching for a clubhouse, which ended…

MAREX 330 SCANDINAVIA LOA 36ft 1in (10.99m) BEAM 11ft 2in (3.4m) ENGINES Single or twins up to 480hp TOP SPEED 38 knots PRICE from £323,760 inc VAT CONTACT Wessex Marine +44 (0)1202 700702; www.marex.com With rows and rows of glittering exotica to take in, it says a lot about the brilliant design of the 330 that for us it was one of the stand-out boats at the show. What Marex has managed to fit into a shell of these dimensions borders on miraculous and, as usual, the boat is finished to exacting standards. Some elements may seem simple but it’s taken Marex’s genius design team to think of them, like the lifting sections at the aft end of each side deck that reveal perfectly shaped storage for all of the boat’s fenders. The…

TIPPY T-TOP Having seen the Saxdor 320 GTO trailed in MBY, I had been waiting for your full review (which was excellent!) before placing an order, which I have now done with Clearwater Marine in Menorca, where we intend to keep the boat. There is one 320 already in Menorca and by pure chance we ended up anchoring next to it yesterday so I swam over for a chat with the owner and his wife. They are delighted with it and it was everything I expected it to be. The one thing he did say, however, was that the T-top stops a few inches short of the windscreen and also slopes forwards so when it rains or throws up a lot of spray, the water runs forward off the T-top and ends up…