This was the first competitive foray for Oyster Yachts’ newest and smallest yacht in their new generation fleet. Carpe Diem was skippered by Paul Adamson, Oyster Yachts’ Chief Commercial Officer, with Deputy CEO, Becky Bridgen and a team from Oyster Yachts as crew, including the Oyster 495 Project Manager Mark Watkinson, and Will Lane who is responsible for the product development of the Oyster 495.
“The Round the Island race demonstrated just how competitive the Oyster 495 is on the race course – she is fast, really fast! It’s yet more evidence that our new generation Oysters are equally at home crossing an ocean as racing in a competitive fleet,” comments Adamson.
“Our key strategy was to not get wrapped up in close quarter sailing battles, and to sail in clear air and race against the clock. We had a clean start, which made for good progress, and then a fast leg up to the western point of the Solent, which we followed with a slightly more conservative leg to St Katherine’s Point before putting up the spinnaker and flying downwind to the finish,” concluded Adamson.
The Oyster 495 was officially launched at the London Luxury Afloat show in April, and since then has been on a World Premiere Tour of northern Europe, before returning to Southampton in early June.
This was the first competitive racing outing for the new Oyster 495 and the win has demonstrated both her performance credentials and the fact she can hold her own against more thoroughbred racing yachts. The Humphreys-designed hull shape, twin rudders, precisely balanced displacement and sail plan make for high-speed passage making capabilities and her excellent sailing characteristics are echoed across Oyster’s new generation fleet.
Early next month, the 495 will make her way to the Mediterranean on the second leg of her World Premiere Tour. She will visit Barcelona 30th-31st July, before attending the Genoa and Cannes Yacht Shows.
