Oyster News 52 - Oyster Yachts

Photo: Jos Vaes
NEWS ROUNDUP
BIGGEST ISN’T ALWAYS BEST BUT…
Oysters are the largest yachts at London and Düsseldorf Shows
The Oyster 66 was the largest sailing yacht at the London
Boat Show held in January. Attendance was up by about a
third at the new Excel venue in Docklands and with around
100 new exhibitors, visitors agreed the show was both
bigger and better.
Meanwhile the show at Düsseldorf was bigger still, over twice
the size by visitor numbers and floor space. The two shows had
one thing in common in that again Oyster were at the top of the
list with the new 82 being the largest sailing yacht on display.
The 82 "Cygnus" set off under power from our SYS yard in
Southampton, but the fun really started when she reached
Rotterdam at the mouth of the Rhine. Here we heard the
revelation that, due to abnormally low rainfall, there was
insufficient water up-river for the 82 to float! What to do? That
large chunk of carpet was going to look awfully empty with
nothing but a reception desk and a few posters!
Harald Flack - IN MEMORIAM
We were very sad to hear that, during February, Captain Harald Flack from
Hamburg passed away after a prolonged illness.
"Britho", Harald's much loved and well travelled Oyster 46, extended to 49',
was the first large cruising Oyster we sold into the German market. Harald,
who owned "Britho" for 17 years, taught us a lot about the expectations of
the many German owners that followed.
Harald, his wife Marian, daughter Britta and son Thorsten, are all old friends
of Oyster and many owners will recall Britta, who worked for Oyster at Ipswich
for two years as a sales consultant. Britta and Thorsten have continued their
relationship with us, helping to staff German boat shows.
To hell with the expense - the show must go on but how?
Schmidt, better known for their fleet of ocean-going tugs, came
to the rescue with a huge flat-bottomed barge. "Cygnus" was
loaded at Rotterdam and made it to "Big Willy" the name given
to the 400-ton travel lift that runs from the bank of the Rhine
straight into the exhibition hall. Thankfully by the end of the
show the water level in the Rhine had risen to allow "Cygnus" to
head home across the North Sea without incident.
Biggest isn’t always best but when it come to the new 82 we
figure size does matter!
The new Oyster 82 is believed to be the largest series
production sailing yacht ever built in the UK. A report on our first
sea trial appears on page 16.
Harald, Britta and Thorsten Flack