Dear friends,
Following an unpredictable start with the weather, summer has finally arrived in Europe and the US. I am sure many of you are out on the water, making the most of the ocean wherever you are in the world.
Since my last update, we’ve been busy at Oyster. The boat yards are hives of activity, with 20 yachts in build and a number of excited owners about to launch their new Oysters.
To ensure our yachts remain the best in the world, we continue to invest in our facilities and technology and seek new partnerships, such as that with innovative navigation provider B&G. We’re also focusing on making our process more efficient to enhance the quality of our sailboats, allowing more time for our craftsmen and women to produce their best work.
We’ve continued to build a strong team to meet demand, with over 60 new starters since my spring update. The Oyster Academy has been oversubscribed for our summer ‘21 intake of apprentices, which I’m delighted about. I believe tomorrow’s boatbuilding talent is essential to Oyster’s future success and the wider British marine industry. Passing down time-honoured craft skills to the next generation of great British boatbuilders is hugely important and one of our priorities here.
Exciting news – the new 50 foot Oyster 495 is now in build and the new Oyster 595 will make her debut in early September.
We saw 595/01 leave our yard in Wroxham at the end of June and splashing at Ipswich in July – our commissioning team are now meticulously preparing her for handover. She is everything we expected and much, much more, breaking records for sales with 12 sold off plan already. You can read more about the new 595 here. Also on show is the magnificent Oyster 745, our 75-foot long range bluewater cruiser, with dedicated crew quarters and a vast amount of luxurious space for owners and guests. If you’d like to join us for the 595 premiere at our Southampton Private View in September, you can book your place – we’d love to see you.
There’s a real buzz around the Oyster 495, our next generation adventure machine. We’re planning her premiere for Düsseldorf in January 2022. Don’t miss Shirley Robertson’s film series “Building a new 50-foot bluewater benchmark” – sign up here to be the first to see it.
I’m sure you are making the most of your beautiful Oysters this summer. But if you find your thoughts turning to an upgrade at the end of the season, why not talk to our Brokerage team? As the go-to experts for used Oysters, they’ve had a record-breaking year (it seems the call of the sea got much louder during lockdown). Boats are selling fast, with strong demand and pre-loved Oysters are delivering excellent residual value for owners.
New yacht sales have been equally strong across the entire fleet, with hull 21 of the award-winning Oyster 565 just sold. Over the last couple of years, we’ve invested heavily in our design and build to enhance build quality, redefine performance and reimagine our interiors. Find out more about the whole fleet here.
As with any investment, the proof is in the result. So, I was delighted when I recently met owners collecting their new 565 (their third Oyster), who remarked how impressed they were with the enhancements in quality and finishing all round, features they felt would be almost impossible upon which to improve.
As the world opens up, we have a busy summer of events lined up. We kicked off with the well-attended Palma Private View in June and will end the season with a Summer Rendezvous in Palma on October 1st. Find out more about what’s coming up here. I hope to see you at one of our events or on the water.
Fair winds,
Richard
CEO and Owner, Oyster Yachts
