First sail for the Oyster 575 described by David Tydeman, CEO, Oyster Marine

— 08 Mar 2010

On 28th January 2010, with temperatures just above freezing and a perfect 10-14 knots from the north east creating flat waters off Harwich, we gently took Oyster 575-01 out for her maiden voyage. A special day for me too, since this was my first maiden voyage of a new Oyster design since I started running Oyster.

Oyster 575-01 quickly showed her paces, effortless under motor with a clean wake, the latest Rob Humphreys’ hull shape already giving us a great impression of things to come. Rounding the bend in the River Orwell, near Levington Marina, we unfurled the main and then genoa with the wind square on the starboard beam. She quickly added another knot of boat speed and we throttled back the engine into neutral. Whilst the expert Oyster commissioning team checked the rig (which had only been installed the day before), looking around the boat it was smiles all round as the 575 showed a lovely balance and smooth performance. The twin helm positions working well, with great line of sight and already the ease of movement from cockpit to aft-deck showing benefits. Next stop Caribbean someone called! We felt confident both Oyster and Rob Humphreys have done it again – a beautiful blue water cruising boat to go anywhere in safety and comfort.

Rob Humphreys walks around the boat with his camera and notebook, photos over the bow and stern, how much does she put her head down as the gusts come through? What’s the energy lost into wave making look like? How much more powerful is this hull shape than the older Oysters? More grins all round and it’s thumbs up!