AS A LONG TIME CAPTAIN AND NOW PROLIFIC SUPERYACHT INDUSTRY JOURNALIST, MICHAEL HOWORTH SPENDS MOST OF THE YEAR TRAVELLING TO SHIPYARDS AND YACHT SHOWS AROUND THE WORLD LOOKING AT THE LATEST AND GREATEST THE INDUSTRY HAS TO OFFER. THERE IS NO DOUBT HE KNOWS HIS STUFF, SO WE ASKED HIM IF MONEY WERE NO OBJECT, WHAT WOULD HE BUY IN TERMS OF THE ULTIMATE SUPERYACHT TOY, CHASE BOAT, JET BOAT AND SPORTS BOAT
THE ULTIMATE SUPERYACHT TOY
When we first broached the subject of the ultimate toy we soon discovered Howorth had probably been watching too many Youtube videos. “Have you seen the Selby Piper 50?” he said. “It’s a futuristic take on the proven Lippisch configuration of the ‘wing in ground effect’ aircraft created especially for the leisure market.”
He showed us pictures and it looked amazing, we even spoke to the head designer and discovered that the project has been 10 years in the making by a team of highly skilled and experience aviation experts, together with experts from Custom Carbon Ltd in the UK, who are experienced with Kawasaki super bikes, UK series, European Le Mans series and Historic F1 vehicles… so the pedigree couldn’t be much better.
www.selbypiper.com
THE CHASE BOAT
We asked him to choose his ultimate chase boat and after waffling on trying to define what a chase boat actually is or is not, we demanded a final choice. “OK,” he said. “I think I’d go for the Wajer Yachts 55 because it simply oozes style and sophistication on the water.” Howorth reckons this boat does everything you want a chase tender to do. Stand out from the crowd, make a big impression every time you enter a
marina and with the IPS600 it’s easy to park it like a pro in any conditions…Well almost! The Wajer Yachts 55 is big enough to offer a healthy mix of interior cabin space with a private galley, sleeping accommodation, toilet and shower, plenty of comfortable guest seating outside for those ship to shore transfers, helm seats for those who want to be more involved with the driving experience and finally sun pads in case your guests want to chill out in the sun after a hard day enjoying the other water toys on board or after a strenuous lunch.
www.wajer.com
THE JET BOAT
Of course Howorth wanted to opt for the Vikal 12m catamaran from Australia as his must have jet boat and who could blame him! At 3 million euros it has to be the ultimate jet boat under 13 metres but we reminded him that it could not count given he had already chosen it as his all time favourite limousine tender. “Choose another one,” we told him. So he pondered and opted for the Williams Diesel-Jet 625
Sport because it can be customised to suit his eye watering colour requirements. He was quite taken by the outlandish use of green and yellow on the one carried aboard the superyacht Eos. With a starting price around €81K for the base boat, and a good selection of options even the average owner would find it hard to spend anything like the cost of the Vikal.
www.williamsjettenders.comTHE SPORTS BOAT
When it came to sports boats, Howorth became more animated and started to tell us of the Super Air Nautique GS 24 with its 550hp engine and a €160K price tag. It was when we showed him pictures of the new 50th anniversary, XT25, the largest multi purpose crossover boat from Mastercraft that the conversation took a turn. The first new boat launch of 2018 in what will be MasterCraft’s 50th anniversary year hasa new crossover hull bottom that will deliver huge wakeboard wakes and customisable surf waves as well as smooth slalom skiing. Specialist Sports Boats have always been big sellers in the USA, but now we’re seeing many yacht owners who cruise on the Mediterranean looking for a specialised sports or tow boat. With a radical new hull design for unparalleled wakes and then FastFill Ballast System to get them rolling in under three minutes, the boat also has a new custom rudder for next-level-nimble handling. As they say it serves up the biggest, baddest wake in the industry.
www.mastercraft.com
