Oyster 53, DISTRACTION

Broker’s Comments

Oyster 53, DISTRACTION is totally set up for bluewater sailing and has just completed the Oyster World Rally, which she managed with total confidence. Designed to be sailed by a crew of two, she also offers comfortable accommodation for up to seven, should you wish to sail with family and friends. She features a smart dark blue hull livery, a furling rig with recent standing rigging, and beautiful American White Oak interior joinery. Her electronics and communications systems were updated in 2023, along with her sails and much more.

She is a great size for local cruising, yet long legged for oceans too.

Sales Video

Owner’s Comments

Finding, buying, and owning our yacht reads a little like a fairytale. My wife and I, fed up with owning our own business and all the drama that went with it, were looking for a long-term sailing adventure and perhaps a taste of the gap year we never had. Walking our border terrier, on the cliffs above the enchanting Helford River, I said to Emm (without knowing what lay ahead), ‘whatever boat is at anchor in the river will be our next boat.’ As we came over the brow of the hill we looked into the river, and there at anchor lay an Oyster, and more importantly, it had a blue hull. Admittedly it was a 62, but the combination of the blue hull, white deck, and G5 styled windows was enough to set our hearts racing.

By chance, an Oyster 53 came up for sale on the south coast, and of course, we jumped in the car to look, thinking of all the reasons why we couldn’t buy her. Fortunately, all those reasons evaporated the minute we stepped inside the saloon. She was so light, so airy and so clean (the previous owner was totally fastidious about cleanliness). We then hastily made a list of the things we needed to do to buy her.

On a very cold morning in April, with a piercing 25-knot northerly wind blowing hard across the Solent, we took delivery of DISTRACTION and set a course for our home port of Falmouth. The breeze was certainly fresh, and the wind chill was certainly biting through our many layers. As we tore past Hurst Point, fortunately with a favourable tide, I left the helm to pop below. Emm was in the galley, and we looked at each other with beaming smiles on our faces, we were doing 9 knots, but it was completely silent down below. Not a single creak or moan, just a solid yacht doing precisely what she was built to do. We literally hugged each other and jumped up and down with joy, we couldn’t believe our luck.

We also thought that 53’ was big, but from the moment we stood at the wheel in the centre cockpit she didn’t feel much different from a 40-footer – where the helm is almost hanging over the transom. Manoeuvring is made easy with a powerful bow thruster and reversing into tight marina berths is relatively easy. Handling the boat 2 up is simple and together we have sailed nearly 10,000 nautical miles as a couple and loved every mile. DISTRACTION is solid and does not need to be sailed on her ear to gain maximum performance, we reef early and see little or no difference in speed, but a great deal of comfort in a relaxed and solid ride.

A season sailing around our local waters with the odd hop over to France, helped prepare the` to do’ list for our winter refit. All new rigging, sails and navigation kit was a no brainer, and we are 100% satisfied with the choices we made. In particular, the sails! All hand made by Sanders Sails in Lymington, they are the only sails on our Rally that have not needed a full refurbishment. Aware that all other sails are most likely subcontracted to be made outside of the UK, we felt confident knowing the quality would be of the highest standard. Furthermore, 30,000nm of downwind sailing is fairly kind to sails and I would confidently predict they have at the very least, another lap left in them.

Initially, we thought a chart plotter in the cockpit should be at the helm, not located under the sprayhood as it is now. However, having never put on a set of oilskins in a complete circumnavigation, we now know why. All watches are performed under the protection of the sprayhood and with full autopilot capability available from the plotter, there are few reasons to get out from the magnificent protection offered. Once again, we are blessed in our fleet with this option, as virtually all other watches are taken at the helm which can, at times, be a fairly exposed place.

Power management is important to us. And we wanted to add as much ‘renewable’ power to minimise the time spent charging the batteries by mechanical means as possible. We added 2 x 200w and 2x150w solar panels that regularly gives as much as 16Ah and during the day can recharge the batteries to 100% together with the hydrogen. I chose the Remoran 300w unit that is fully removable. It is a first-class addition and has done over 32,000 nautical miles without a single hiccup. With the ability to charge for 24hrs a day, it’s a significant contributor to power management. Other additions prior to the rally included, SSB radio (Rally precondition), new running rigging, Rocnor anchor, sun shades (side decks, and aft deck), Walder boom brake, fishing rod holders, BBQ, Starlink (now used by 100% of rally participants and a total game changer), Ocean brake Drogue, Iridium GoExec, new VHF radio (with AIS), new battery monitor (in addition to Mastervolt – allows feedback of output from solar and hydrogen), Racor fuel polishing system, stainless bowsprit, numerous USB/C chargers.

The Oyster World Rally has been an amazing experience as you immediately find yourself with 20 other yachts all with the same objective. There was considerable sharing of knowledge as the fleet helped each other out with any problems that arose from time to time – together with route planning and sail set up. But of course, the whole fleet became great friends, and the camaraderie grew and grew as the fleet weaved its way around the world. And all of that coupled with so many extraordinary destinations and memorable experiences together with terrific trade wind sailing over thousands of azure oceans.

Stand out cruising destinations were undoubtedly the Tuamotos, with sheltered sailing inside enclosed reefs. And amazing reef passes like those at Fakarava, where 2-300 sharks cruise calmly in and out as the tide ebbs and flows. Swimming amongst them was an incredible experience. Similarly, the Whitsundays, inside the Great Barrier Reef, where the cruising is sublime and in the direct path of the migrating hump back whales. Almost wherever you looked, whales would be breaching and on one occasion a pod of 10 swam into our bay and circled the boat, so close you could have stepped on them. Fast downwind sailing inside the reef was a total joy as we made our way north to Darwin. Cape Town to Grenada (via St. Helena and Brazil) was also magnificent sailing with positive current and steady trade winds, and 3 back-to-back days of between 204, 207 and 217 nautical mile days.

DISTRACTION is a joy whether fast sailing downwind, on the breeze, or sitting calmly at anchor watching the sun set. She’s a small, big yacht. She feels incredibly solid on all points of sail, and down below is completely noiseless whatever the sea condition. Yet the centre cockpit, with the wheel less than 40ft from the bow, feels totally safe yet not too big. A powerful bow thruster helps manoeuvrability and at 25 tons, ‘slow is pro’ is the mantra for close quarter manoeuvres. Before we started our amazing adventure, we mapped out clearly how all our ducks would fall in line and this circumnavigation would simply be the start of many more years of cruising and exploring. But with all great plans… some fundamental parts of the jigsaw have failed to materialise at the right time and therefore a new plan has had to be made which reluctantly means selling our wonderful home and protector for the last few years.

With so many yet to complete adventures it will be a painful, but necessary separation. Yet we are confident that if the new owners are lucky enough to have 10% of the fun times we’ve had, then they’ll be in for a treat.