Oyster Yachts’ 45 years’ experience and uniquely inclusive philosophy embody a lust for uncontrived adventure, a return to nature and a rallying cry for greener seafaring.
Its streamlined designs hit that veritable sweet spot between bygone elegance and cutting-edge technology, enchanting well-seasoned sailors and wide-eyed beginners in equal measure.
With over 1,000 hand-crafted and custom-built sailing yachts under its belt, the British sailing yacht builder and charter company prides itself not just on its objectively tasteful designs and performance but on the unrivalled aftercare – above and beyond the ‘hand-holding’ expected when investing in a life-changing vessel. Rather than collecting your shiny new toy and being left to your own devices, Oyster Yachts guarantees a support team that facilitates this new lifestyle: engineers are on call 24/7 to send advice, information, spare parts and even boat-side assistance anywhere in the world.
It’s akin to a society – a family of yacht owners united by their zest for life and desire to truly feel the ocean rather than cruise unwittingly over it to the next marina. Such is the bond of ownership that the company’s prestigious Oyster World Rally sees an exclusive club of Oyster owners come together for an adventurous epic and reconnecting with family, friends and the humbling rhythms of nature.
The 2022 World Rally event will begin for the first time in the Mediterranean, setting sail from Oyster’s base in Palma for exotic locations including Tahiti, Vanuatu, Ascension Island and Antigua over the course of a life-changing three-year journey. The company persuades custodians of its yachts to embrace a lifestyle of adventure and unfettered pleasure. And the beauty of the boats is that they are equipped for protracted sailing expeditions from the outset – every whim, habit, style accounted for. ‘You step on a boat and you’re able to go around the world,’ assures one Oyster ambassador. Even inexperienced sailors can muscle in on the maritime action.
Take Leo Eccles and his family, for instance, who recently decided to sign up to the Oyster World Rally to explore the far-flung corners of the globe with a skipper steering the way. Having worked in the city, trading metals for over 15 years, Eccles moved with his family to warmer climes in the South of France and soon graduated from their own motorboat to an Oyster. Hearing tales of intrepid experiences from friends who had completed the Oyster World Rally, Eccles and his family decided to sign themselves up.
‘Before we know it the kids are going to be grown up… so why not experience this fantastic adventure together as a family,’ he says. ‘We are so confident that with the fantastic support that Oyster provide for their World Rallies that it would be the safest and most amazing way of circumnavigating the world.’
Eccles family’s Oyster 655 ‘MAN OF WAR’ will be gracing screens with their own budding YouTube channel, documenting the entire journey and inspiring other young families with little or no sailing experience to follow in their adventurous footsteps.
For avid sailors Jamie, Hamilton and Juan, the siren call of an Oyster Yacht was hard to resist. Quitting their jobs, the three friends put their seafaring wiles to good use, investing in Oyster, Uhuru, and embarking on an exotic adventure, one that substituted the rat race back home in London for the hair-raising exhilaration of the ocean. ‘We had a boat, a route and the dream had become a reality,’ enthuses Jamie, 36 (Uhuru’s captain).
Oyster Yachts effortlessly satiate the desire to break free from technology and rediscover spontaneity and nature in its rawest form. It’s a ticket rather than a product – whether carving the untouched slopes of Svalbard in the Arctic on skis or confronting the white horses in unknown islands of the Pacific.
And where sustainability is concerned, Oyster Yachts are (refreshingly) loath to pay lip service to the term, acknowledging that they are not perfect but undeniably one of the best options for the eco-conscious sailor. They are tirelessly scrutinising their boat build cycle and supply chain, ascertaining areas where they can minimise environmental impact, while solar power technology and drinking water filters on board bear testament to this effort.
While Oyster may boast a diversity of clients, one thing they all share is an enlightened desire to invest in quality of life as well as a breath-taking sailing yacht.
