the editor of Motor Boat & Yachting magazine and the chair of the judging committee,
and I'm Jack Haines, deputy editor of Motor Boat & Yachting and our chief boat tester.
Now for reasons you'll all understand only too well we aren't able to bring you this live from
the Dusseldorf Boat Show as we would normally so instead we're here at MDL's Ocean Village Marina
at the heart of the British boating scene but while COVID restrictions have played havoc with
all of our lives it has led to a surge of interest in boating from the humble paddleboard to the most
extreme mega yachts and the industry has responded with a wealth of new boats to choose from.
As Europe's leading motorboat magazine our role is to make sure the buying public are aware of all
these new launches and help steer them towards the boats that really deliver on their promise
and so that you can trust our findings not only have we analysed and inspected every single boat
on the shortlist we've also sea trialled it to be sure that it performs as well out on the water
as it does in the showroom. Now let's have a look back at what we got up to in 2021.
But before we reveal tonight's winners, I'd just like to say a brief word of thanks to
our sponsors Sleipner whose commitment to developing products that help make boating
safer, easier and more enjoyable for all of us
has also played a vital role in making boating more accessible to everyone.
Thank you for that and we'll be hearing more from Sleipner later,
but now let's crack on with the first of today's categories, which is for sports utility vessels.
This increasingly popular sector of the market has really taken off in recent years and our
select group of finalists includes everything from a seriously tough all-weather cruiser to a
high-performance mile eater, and our finalists are: The Brabus Shadow 900XC, The Nimbus C11
and the Nord Star 31+ and our winner is the Brabus Shadow 900XC. With its practical Axopar
underpinnings, lashings of sinister Brabus glamour and the performance to knock your socks off,
this is the ultimate user-friendly super boat. The twin 450 horsepower Mercury Racing outboards
make cruising at 40 knots feel almost compulsory and we have rarely been at the helm of a boat
that makes 60 knots feel so normal, but it's also incredibly functional and is just as happy loading
up with water toys and a picnic for a day at the beach as it is ferrying VIPs from the quayside to
bathing platform as a super yacht chase boat. Our next category is for sports boats up to 30 feet.
It's been a bumper year for sports boats and for that reason in this category as well as a number
of others we'll be awarding a highly commended as well as an overall winner. Now the highly
commended is not some consolation prize for a close runner-up, because that would describe
all of our finalists, it's more acknowledgement of a piece of brave design or technical achievement
that genuinely moves the game on in some way. Now for the finalists are the Axopar Spider 22,
the Candela C7, the Cobra Nautique 9.2, the Dromeas 28CC, Fugu 29
and the XO DSCVR 9. The highly commended in this category goes to the Candela C7. We have been
waiting for the boating world's Tesla moment and the arrival of the Candela C7 could be it.
The C7 is futuristic and hugely ambitious but it genuinely moves the game on, a line in the
sand for sustainable boating, but the winner of this category is the excellent Axopar Spyder 22.
For a lesser brand distilling the best bits of two award-winning models into
the smallest footprint yet would seem an almost impossible task,
but Axopar rose to the challenge with aplomb to create its fabulous entry-level model. Crucially
for a starter boat it is approachable, safe and very easy to handle out on the water,
both in the confines of the marina and when faced with more challenging conditions out at sea. What
Axopar's produced is a truly attractive package that is perfectly suited to its target market.
Now we move on to sports boats over 30 feet, which this year covers a fascinating spread of boats
including a thoroughbred Italian stallion, an outboard-powered Fairline, a flying Fin,
a born again British legend, and an all-electric super yacht tender. Our finalists are the Committi
Breva 35, the Fairline F-Line 33 Outboard, the Saxdor 320 GTO, the Supermarine Spearfish 32,
and the Vita LIOM. Now we do have highly commended in this category, which goes to
the Supermarine Spearfish 32. Far more than just a welcome blast from the past, this born again
beauty is a thoroughly entertaining sports boat with the looks, performance, handling and build
quality to embarrass many of its more modern rivals. And the winner is the Saxdor 320 GTO.
This Finnish-designed craft seems to cram everything you would want from a sporty open day
boat into a good-looking 32-foot package and then adds a few bonus tricks of its own such as folding
balconies, see-through bulwarks, and a comfortable cuddy cabin with separate heads. In short it's
a boat that is just as much fun to sit on and socialise at anchor as it is to helm at speed
through a chop. But the real surprise is that it delivers all this at a price which undercuts
many of its mainstream competitors. Next up we have the award for sportscruisers up to 45 feet,
a small category with four brilliant contenders let's see what they are. The Bavaria SR41,
the Fairline Targa 45GT, the Solaris 44 Power and the Windy SR44 Blackhawk.
There is a highly commended in this category and that goes to the Fairline Targa 45GT. This
is fairline doing what it does best. It may be the entry-level model but it ripples with the quality
and attention to detail of the larger boats in the range and has a cracking hull to boot. But the
winner in this category is the brilliant Bavaria SR41. The SR41 is a rare beast that appeals to
both the head and the heart. It's a fine looking boat with neat proportions and a rakish roofline,
but it still has all the practical design elements that makes Bavaria such usable boats.
The stylish lines conceal an interior that is typically spacious and two cabins comfortable
enough for a family of four. A keen eye on value for money and near 40 knot performance
seal the deal for this brilliant all-rounder. Our next award is for sportscruisers over 45 feet,
which once again encompasses a broad spread of craft from voluptuous open weekenders to a
cutting-edge coupe and a state-of-the-art sports yacht. Our finalists are the Absolute 48 Coupe,
the Evo R6 Open, the Solaris 48 Power, and the Sunseeker 65 Sport Yacht,
and we're cutting straight to the chase on this one and the winner is
the Sunseeker 65 Sport Yacht. Some sportsbridge designs fall foul of trying to be all things to
all people and never truly satisfying any of them, not this one. The Sunseeker 65 Sport Yacht lives
up to its name with a kind of nimble handling and near 35 knot performance that belies its size
and simply wouldn't be possible on a full-blown flybridge, and thanks to that innovative Sky Helm
with its supercar driving position and lift up helm pod you can enjoy the experience to
the full with the wind in your hair. The next category is flybridges up to 60 feet, which
includes finalists from Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom, and those finalists are
the Ferretti 500, the Grand Banks GB54, the Princess F45 and the Sunseeker Manhattan 55.
We do have a highly commended in this category and that goes to the Grand Banks
GB54. It's eye-watering money, but the GB54 is a truly stunning cruising machine
that is quite beautifully put together. It really is the Rolls-Royce of the waterways.
But the winner in this category is the Princess F45. We had to bide our time before we got our
chance to test the smallest model in the Princess flybridge range, but it was well worth the wait.
This may be the smallest boat in the range, but it feels every inch a Princess thanks
to its beautifully judged interior and some very clever design work from the team at Pininfarina.
At its heart the F45 is simply a brilliant cruising boat for a family and the decision
to opt for IPS makes all the more sense when you consider this is likely to be a boat that
people step up to from a smaller weekender. Now we move on to flybridges over 60 foot,
which although a slightly smaller category than some is just as hard fought
with some serious big hitters from France and the UK vying for this hotly contested award. And
our finalists are the Beneteau Grand Trawler 62, the Princess Y72 and the Sunseeker Manhattan 68,
and we're cutting straight to the chase for this award, and the winner goes to
the Princess Y72. We were fortunate enough to see trial the Y72 in very challenging
conditions in Plymouth and it rose to the occasion spectacularly showing that for all its glamour,
polish and attention to detail Princess still gets the formula right when it comes to seakeeping.
There isn't a single area of this boat that feels compromised or under designed,
it is as comfortable thundering along at 30 knots as it is with its stabilisers engaged slipping
along in single figures where its 4,500 litre fuel capacity provides excellent cruising range.
Our final boat award is for custom yachts, and our shortlisted craft perfectly illustrate
this category's focus on innovation, personalisation and attention to detail.
All five craft have a very different take on luxury yachting, but are equally alluring
in their own right, so let's see what those finalists are: the Azimut Magellano 25 Metri,
the Bluegame BG72, the Evo V8, the Mulder Healey and the Princess X95.
There is a highly commended in this category and that goes to the Princess
X95. Dubbed the superfly, this brave new wide body design makes for an exceptionally voluminous craft
with such a spacious high quality interior that it feels like it belongs to a 130 foot super yacht,
but the winner of this category is the Bluegame BG72. Being different doesn't always equate
to being better, but in the case of the BG72 it really does bring significant advantages. Putting
the IPS engines in a separate compartment under the deck of a vast stern platform
not only leaves the rest of the hull free for a wide variety of accommodation layouts, but also
creates a spectacular beach club area to rival craft twice its size. A top speed of 31 knots as
well as a range of over 800 nautical miles at 10 knots ensures this futuristic adventure yacht has
the performance to back up its purposeful look. That just leaves two more awards to come, the
first of which is the highly sought after customer service award and I'm delighted to say that we've
had more public nominations than ever before, suggesting that standards are improving across
the board and customers are repaying the favour by sharing their experiences with us, and we'll
flash up a few of those on the screen shortly, and the finalists in this category are Approved Boats,
Bates Wharf Marine Sales,
Boats.co.uk,
Haven Knox-Johnston,
and TBS Penton Hook.
And the winner is Haven Knox-Johnston. It wasn't just the sheer number of
nominations that we received, but it was the heartfelt feedback from customers who
clearly experienced excellent service at what can be a very stressful time.
Our last award is the judges' special award, which is handed out to a person,
a group of people, or occasionally a company that has made an exceptional contribution to boating,
either during the last year or across an entire lifetime,
but first let's revert to our sponsors Sleipner for a final word from them.
Thank you for that, as I mentioned earlier the judges' special award is the highlight of the
event and this is one of those rare occasions where we feel moved to give it to a surprisingly
small and relatively young company that has nevertheless made a huge impact on us and we're
confident will leave a lasting impression on the rest of the industry. Our winner is Candela Boats.
By launching the world's first all-electric foiling sportsboat, Candela has proved that
planing battery-powered boats aren't just feasible, they can also be stylish, user-friendly
and deeply cool. With its computer-controlled retracting foils, the C7 delivers a sensational
magic carpet ride with no emissions and almost no noise or wake, and a 50 nautical mile range.
It may be too small and expensive to cut it as a mainstream contender,
but this doesn't undermine Candela's technological achievement and with a bigger more practical
production-friendly C8 already under development, the best is yet to come. Well that's it for the
2022 Motor Boat Awards, thank you very much to the finalists for letting us sea trial their boats,
thank you to you for watching, and we very much hope to be back with a live event next
year at the 2023 Dusseldorf Boat Show. Until then it's goodbye from me, and it's goodbye from me.