57 Years of Excellence – A Brief History of Windy Boats

Windy have been building power boats delivering excellent quality, top performance and excellent craftsmanship since the 1960s. Production takes place today out of their modern facilities in Scandinavia, located in Västervik on the East coast of Sweden and also in Ostróda and Słupsk in Poland.

Berthon has a deep appreciation for these outstanding sports cruisers and has supported the brand for nearly three decades, contributing to its brand recognition and growth through boat sales in the United Kingdom, France, and Ireland. In addition, Berthon International is the most expert and pro-active broker of used Windy Boats internationally.

The History of Windy Boats

The history of Windy Boats is deeply rooted in a family connection to and a profound love for the sea. The company’s founder, Hugo Vold, was the son of a Fisherman, and the family was intimately familiar with and respectful of the perils of the sea, particularly in the treacherous Skagerrak. Remarkably, all the Vold family’s fishing boats, named ‘Vindy,’ managed to weather the local storms and return to port safely.

Given his upbringing and the sea’s central role in his life, it was only natural for Hugo Vold to choose a career in line with his passion. He decided to pursue boatbuilding, with a vision of crafting high quality, seaworthy boats. In homage to his father’s fishing boats, he named his brand ‘Windy.’

In the competitive Scandinavian boat-building industry of the 60s, Hugo Vold aimed high. He assembled a team of the best designers, highly skilled boat builders and craftsmen, and set out to create boats that not only competed, but excelled in terms of quality. His efforts resulted in the establishment of Windy Boats, a brand known for its exceptional craftsmanship and seaworthiness.

The first Windys in the 1960’s and 1970s were cabin and day cruisers from 22-30 feet. In the late 1970’s and 1980’s Windy’s designs started to take on a sportier look. In the 1990s the naval architect Hans Jörgen Johnsen joined the Windy team, developing the formidably seaworthy planing hull designs that became so popular and well known, such as the Mistral, Ghibli, Bora and Scirocco, with hard and soft top versions also making an appearance. These models grew in overall length in the noughties, peaking with the Windy 58 Zephyros.

Fast forward 57 years to the 2020s, and Windy has unveiled a collection of exceptionally stylish, custom luxury superyacht tenders designed by celebrated naval architect Espen Øino. Windy Boats maintains its global reputation for impeccable craftsmanship and outstanding seaworthiness.

Berthon & the Windy Boats Brand

For 27 years, Berthon was the exclusive agents for the sale of new Windy boats in the UK, Ireland, and France, delivering literally hundreds of Windys to delighted owners both in the UK and from our continental Berthon offices. Berthon’s relationship with Windy came to an amicable end in 2022, the business models of our two successful businesses having diverged.

With nearly three decades of experience with Windy Boats, our expertise with the brand and its historical models is unparalleled. Berthon has become the go-to authority for the sale of all pre-owned Windy models from 25 – 58 feet, offering Windy owners an efficient, reliable brokerage service. We take immense pride in continuing to represent the owners of these exceptional Scandinavian sportsboats in the brokerage market.

The Windy Boats Range

Windy have built numerous models over the decades, some with soft top or hard top upgrades, all with exceptional seakeeping and quality Scandinavian craftsmanship.

The larger models with soft or hard tops have been hugely popular for UK boating, with Mediterranean buyers valuing the open sunseeking cockpits and excellent running characteristics of the range.

If you examine the Windy model names carefully, you’ll notice that they are inspired by regional winds – Mistral, Scirocco, Solano, Shamal, Ghibli, Zonda, Camira and even Chinook (not just associated with helicopters) and of course Tornado.

Historical Favourites

Windy Sport Cruiser Range

Windy SR Range

For full information on these models, please visit the range on our Windy Brokerage Page here:
https://www.berthoninternational.com/yacht-sales-brokerage/windy-boats-brokerage/the-range/.

Of course a substantial selection of pre-owned Windy models is consistently available on our brokerage pages. Here is a list of what is on offer today:

• Windy SLR60/SR60 – [OFF MARKET]
• Windy SR52 Blackbird, MERRICK – [OFF MARKET]
• Winy 52 Xanthos, YOUR FAULT – [OFF MARKET]
• Windy 46 Chinook, HAVILDAR II – /yacht-sales-brokerage/yachts-for-sale/windy-46-chinook-havildar-ii/
• Windy 46 Chinook, IMPULSE – [OFF MARKET]
• Windy SR44 Blackhawk, MADNESS – [OFF MARKET]
• Windy 37 Grand Mistral Hardtop, ARTEMIS – [OFF MARKET]
• Windy 31 Zonda, PHARSALIA II – [OFF MARKET]
• Windy 32 Scirocco, ALEGRIA – [OFF MARKET]
• Windy 32 Grand Tornado, SPITFIRE – /yacht-sales-brokerage/yachts-for-sale/windy-32-grand-tornado-spitfire/
• Windy 39 Camira, LEVANTER – /yacht-sales-brokerage/yachts-for-sale/windy-39-camira-levanter/
• Windy 39 Camira, COHIBA – /yacht-sales-brokerage/yachts-for-sale/windy-39-camira-cohiba/
• Windy 27 Solano, ARROW – [OFF MARKET]
• Windy 25 Mirage, BLUE MOVES – [OFF MARKET]
• Windy 25 Mirage, SILVER HORNET – [OFF MARKET]
• Windy 28 Ghibli, BUMPY – [OFF MARKET]

Our dedicated Windy Brokerage Page is regularly updated our current Windy listings: https://www.berthoninternational.com/yacht-sales-brokerage/windy-boats-brokerage/.

Berthon UK
(Lymington, Hampshire – UK)
hugh.rayner@berthon.co.uk / robert.steadman@berthon.co.uk / harry.hamson@berthon.co.uk
0044 (0)1590 679 222

Berthon Scandinavia
(Henån, Sweden)
fredrik.sundberg@berthonscandinavia.se
0046 304 694 000