Ipswich: Oyster Yachts celebrates Cruising World ‘Boat of the Year’ award in US

IPSWICH-based Oyster Yachts is celebrating after its Oyster 625 model was named Best Bluewater Cruiser in the 2013 Boat of the Year Awards run by Cruising World magazine in the United States.

The 625 was chosen by an independent panel of experts who inspected and tested 24 nominated boats following the US Sailboat Show in Annapolis earlier this year.

Judge Ed Sherman, technical author, sailor and director of the American Boat & Yacht Council's education programme, said: 'Everything about this boat is absolutely first-class. It was built by people who truly understand what 'global cruising' really means'.

Oyster chief executive David Tydeman said: 'Commendations for the Oyster 625 continue and the Cruising World Boat of the Year Award gives this impressive yacht a trilogy of awards along with the European Yacht of the Year 'Best Luxury Cruiser' and Asia Boating Awards 'Best Production Sailing Yacht'.

'The 625 has been a champion with our owners and admirers since her launch and we are moulding Hull No14 of this award-winning model at the beginning of the new year.

'It is an honour to receive this prestigious award and to start 2013 with the Boat of the Year accolade,' he added. 'We are delighted to be able to show the Oyster 625 at the London and D�sseldorf boat shows in January, which will add to the momentum of her success. Our thanks to world-class yacht designer, Rob Humphreys and to the teams at Oyster'.

Boat of the Year Director and Cruising World senior editor Herb McCormick, who carried out a boat review of the Oyster 625 earlier in the year, said: 'This purposeful 62-footer is a remarkable, state-of-the-art example of contemporary yacht design and construction. All that said, where the 625 truly came to life was under sail'.