Having Fun with the new day cruiser from BAVARIA YACHTS: VIDA 33

Indeed, a glance at the chartplotter’s display confirms it. The skipper draws a radius with his finger: 40 nautical miles. „At full throttle we would be there in an hour!“ I am amazed. „But we don’t want to be stressed, we want to have fun!“ My skipper almost seems to be a bit disappointed: „Driving fast is not stress, it’s fun,“ he says and immediately proves it. As soon as we have left the harbour entrance far enough astern, he accelerates. First gradually, then more and more until the engines show all their power and the water rushes past in a silvery, glittering frenzy.

His wife has stowed away the drinks and joins us. The three of us now stand next to each other in the padded helm station, almost like the crew of a real offshore racing boat, this really is a special experience. For a moment I turn around to marvel at the broad white band of our wake. She taps me and shouts in my ear „Better not do that! Here we are well protected, but if you do it further astern… What then?“ „The wind,“ she says. „At 40 knots it could tear the glasses off your nose if you’re not careful!“ I nod. Astonished. There are indeed a few new things to consider here. „Hold on tight, I’m going to make a few turns!“ the skipper calls and the boat starts to turn. After a nanosecond of concern I notice how calmly the hull settles into the water, even at an angle. And back again, in the other direction – and the hull remains stable in the curve. Finally, the skipper lets off some pressure. Our harbour and the shore have long since disappeared astern in the haze, but now islands appear ahead. Crazy, I think, I’ve never zipped over here so fast. We’re still racing along at just under 20 knots, but compared to the ride at full throttle it seems almost leisurely now. That much is clear, you must be able to drive the boat properly: 40 knots is no joke. But then, you obviously don’t go at full throttle all the time.