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OYSTER WORLD RALLY LAUNCHED
HEADLINES FROM T H E W O R L D O F OY S T E R
TRANSATLANTIC RACE 2011 – AN INVITATION TO OWNERS The Royal Yacht Squadron and the New York Yacht Club, in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club and Storm Trisail Club, invite Oyster owners to take part in the Atlantic Racing Series, Transatlantic Race 2011. The race will start from Oyster’s USA base in Newport Rhode Island and finish at the Lizard, west of Plymouth, England.
OYSTER 655 WINS CRUISING WORLD BOAT OF THE YEAR AWARD
Participation is open to all yachts of minimum 40’ LOA and if there is enough interest there could be a special class for Oysters within the Racing/Cruising Division. For more information or to enter please go to www.transatlanticrace.org
NEW MD FOR SOUTHAMPTON YACHT SERVICES
OYSTER 575 – BEST SAILING YACHT – ASIA BOATING AWARDS
The Oyster Group was delighted to announce the appointment of Robert Kathro as Managing Director of Southampton Yacht Services (SYS) earlier this year. Robert, who qualified as a Naval Architect, has a strong and varied background in manufacturing and the marine industry, combining technical and strategic consultancy experience.
OYSTERS HEAD FOR GRENADA
Cruising World magazine in the US announced the Oyster 655 as the winner of the 2010 Boat of The Year Award for the Best Premium Cruiser over 50ft.
Oyster’s 2011 Caribbean regatta will be held in Grenada, the first regatta of its kind to be organized on the island. Planning for the event, which will run from 11-16 April 2011, is already well under away, with Oyster’s Liz Whitman working with the team at Port Louis Marina and the local Marine and Yachting Association of Grenada (MAYAG) to make this a really great event that will showcase the best that the famous ‘spice island’ of the Caribbean has to offer Oyster owners, many of whom will be visiting for the first time.
Bill Springer of Cruising World commented: “It wasn’t easy picking a winner from a category filled with superlative designs, but when the test-sail dust settled and the merits of each had been thoroughly deliberated, the Oyster 655 edged out the other contenders to be named the Best Premium Cruiser”.
The Hon. Glynis Roberts, MP has enthusiastically endorsed the regatta and commented, “As Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, I warmly welcome this Oyster Regatta and say thank you for choosing Grenada as the venue for the 2011 gathering. I welcome this event on behalf of Prime Minister Hon. Tillman Thomas and other colleague members of our Government, as well as on behalf of all the warm and wonderful people of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinque”. Oyster’s Service Representative, Graeme Maccallum of Caribbean Yacht Management, who is based in the British Virgin Islands, is already planning an Oyster ‘cruise in company’ for those owners wishing to bring their yachts south from the Leeward Islands and through the Grenadines ready for the regatta. For more information please contact Liz Whitman: liz.whitman@oystermarine.com
NAZENIN V Oyster Superyacht builders, RMK Marine, who also built the 52m Sparkman & Stephens Nazenin V, had the honour of seeing the yacht shortlisted for the prestigious Boat International Superyacht of the
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Oyster is proud to announce plans for an exclusive Oyster World Rally. Timed to coincide with Oyster’s 40th Anniversary, the Oyster fleet will set out from the Caribbean early in 2013 and return some 15 months later. To enter you just need to own an Oyster! See pages 22 and 23 for more details.
Year Awards. At the presentation in London’s historic Guildhall, Nazenin V was awarded the Judge’s Special Commendation. A fantastic endorsement of the quality of build expected for the new Oyster Superyachts.
Robert’s appointment strengthens the SYS team, whilst allowing founder, Piers Wilson, who will remain on the board, to phase into his retirement over the next few years without the loss of his valuable and in-depth knowledge of boatbuilding and the refit industry.
Barry Ashmore and Bart Kimman collect the Asia Boating Award The Asia Boating Awards are widely known as the region’s premier event for recognising the efforts of boat builders, marinas, clubs and individuals in creating a diverse and exciting boating community in the region. For the first time in the Asia Boating Awards’ six-year history, the lavish ceremony was held in Hong Kong and coincided with the Hong Kong Gold Coast Boat Show. Oyster Sales Manager, Barry Ashmore, along with Oyster’s Hong Kong based representative, Bart Kimman, were on hand to collect the award, which recognised the new Oyster 575’s exceptional innovation in a ‘production’ yacht over 51 feet. Commenting on the award, Bart Kimman said, “I am personally very pleased with this prestigious award. The jury has recognised how Oyster’s design team has achieved significant design improvements to the extremely successful Oyster 54 and 56, and how every new Oyster moves the benchmark of performance and on-board comfort forward. At both the Singapore and Hong Kong boat shows we have had overwhelming interest in both existing and new Oyster models”.
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Robert’s appointment also allows SYS Technical Director, Harvey Jones, to continue to expand on the essential role he has developed over the past year with Oyster’s superyacht project at RMK Marine in Turkey, where his depth of superyacht knowledge and technical input has already benefited the shape of the project there. A new team of Oyster and SYS skills will provide the Customer and After Sales support for the Oyster superyachts in the future. SYS plays an increasingly important role in the Oyster Group, currently building the first in class of the new Oyster 625, as well as a number of other new Oysters from 60-85 feet, whilst at the same time expanding on its refit and restoration business, for which the company has an enviable track record.
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