MBY AWARDS TRIUMPH

British luxury motoryacht builder Pearl Yachts’ new Pearl 62 was announced ‘Best Flybridge over 50ft’ category during the latest Motor Boat Awards, which are administered and judged solely on product merits by the editorial team at UK monthly magazine Motor Boat & Yachting (MBY). Having announced a shortlist of contenders as usual in December, the winners and a few ‘highly commended’ runners up were finally disclosed last night during a streamed event co-hosted by MBY’s editor Hugo Andreae and deputy editor Jack Haines. Those awards can be viewed in their entirety at www.mby.com/mby-motor-boat-awards. Normally these coveted awards conclude during a gala dinner at a top London hotel with a large marine industry and VIP audience, but alas this year ongoing pandemic mitigation measures demanded a virtual delivery. 

Announcing the Volvo Penta IPS-propelled 32-knot Pearl 62’s win Hugo Andreae stressed that Pearl’s naval architect Bill Dixon has pulled off a “major design coup, by managing to fit four stellar cabins, plus crew space, aboard a boat of this size”, coupled with “strong performance and solid seakeeping”. He went on to add that “the Pearl 62 doesn’t just feel larger and more sophisticated than its dimensions suggest, it also has a stunning Kelly Hoppen interior that works on a practical level too”. He concluded by saying “but arguably the biggest achievement is that Pearl has managed to deliver all this while still undercutting its key competitors”.

“The annual Motor Boat Awards are always keenly anticipated and this year we were thrilled to see the stunning new Pearl 62 win in such a hotly contested 50-80ft category,” says Pearl Yachts’ managing director Iain Smallridge. “But then we already knew this model is a real winner. Having first presented the model a year ago at the 2020 Boot Dusseldorf, we have already seen just how well it has been received by our customers and potential customers. To date we have sold no fewer than eight of them and the ninth will deliver in spring next year.”