The great and the good of the boating industry converged on the Rosewood Hotel in London last night for the Motor Boat Awards 2016. The ceremony was organized by the British Motorboat & Yachting magazine that revealed the top boats from the past 12 months. It was a great night for Beneteau, who picked up the Flybridge up to 60ft Award for the Monte Carlo 6. The Judge’s Special Award went to Carla Demaria, General Manager of Beneteau, for her remarkable achievements and her work with Beneteau, Monte Carlo Yachts and UCINA (the Italian marine industry association).

The new Swift Trawler 30 represents Beneteau’s continuing quest to define the trawler as it should be. Justin Joyner, powerboat sales manager for Beneteau in North America, commented: “While the new Swift Trawler 30 clearly challenges the pocket yacht market, it retains the key attributes of our no-compromise Swift Trawler philosophy: seaworthiness and safety, fuel economy at trawler speed and planning speed alike, and an incredible level of comfort for a boat her size.”

The Paris boat show was the opportunity for North American dealers to discover the new yacht first hand. “The end result is impressive and the feedback from our dealers could not be more positive. With the new 30, Beneteau clearly signals it is ready to significantly expand the production capacity of the Swift Trawler range”, added Joyner.

Since its launch in 2003 the Swift Trawler line has established itself as a reference in the long-distance cruiser. With the latest born in the range, Beneteau manages to fit the same concept within 31’5” of hull length, with a respectable range of 200 nm, and a cruising speed of 15 kts. All for a base price under $300,000. Beneteau fully expects sales to soar into the following season once the boat enters the production line of the US plant located in Marion, South Carolina.

Like her big sisters, the semi-planing hull of the Swift Trawler 30 offers superior performance and handling. Her lines are more modern yet remain well-balanced and make for a very attractive profile. The clever deck layout leaves ample room to move about the boat, including optimized access to the swim platform, creating 65 sq ft of opening to the water.

To maximize safety and comfort aboard, the Swift Trawler 30 is equipped with handrails throughout, high pulpits, and a generous starboard side deck that is very well protected. It leads to a side door access to the helm station designed to make manoeuvers a breeze!

The wheelhouse offers an unrivaled feeling of openness and an incredibly bright interior thanks to continuous panoramic views – a unique feature for her size. Additionally, her modular layout makes the Swift Trawler 30 most comfortable and practical: a fully-opening transom, foldable cockpit seats, a sizable flybridge fitted with a swiveling removable table. Inside, her foldaway seats, convertible sofa, and removable table further maximize space to fit the needs of any crew.

Elegance, performance, quality and top-level finish guaranteed: the new generation of Gran Turismo developed by Beneteau is full of surprises. The new GT40 and GT46 represent the ultimate evolution in the sport cruiser concept. Harmonious throughout, every detail of the new Gran Turismo underlines the balance between strong sporting character and luxurious yet practical life on board.

A winning concept by design

To create these new yachts, Beneteau continued its partnership with the well-known designers Nuvolari and Lenard. In addition to their notoriety for multiple famous yacht designs, the Italian designers have already penned multiple boats in the Beneteau family, including the Monte Carlo range.

Combining the protection of an enclosed boat and the sensations of an open craft, the Gran Turismo 40 and Gran Turismo 46 both have a hard top which can be electrically opened by the touch of a button. The cockpit easily accommodates over a dozen guests, while the powered top amplifies the feeling of open space and lets the sun shine in on nice days. Both cockpits easily convert into a sun lounge.

The boat features another outdoor seating area at the bow with adjustable backrests on the foredeck. The GT46 takes the execution further with an optional sliding door to fully enclose the cockpit. No detail has been overlooked.

Industry-leading performance

In a marriage of speed and style, the new Gran Turismo 40 is as pleasant to admire as she is to drive. Enhancing both visibility and comfort, the Gran Turismo 40 has a center helm station with additional seating on either side. Designed to stand out on the water, her lines are accentuated by a streamlined hull designed to provide industry-changing performance, efficiency and comfort. These best in class performance characteristics are aresult of the latest generation of Beneteau-patented Air Step hull design. This is a sport cruiser that cancomfortably and safely exceed speeds of 40 mph. The Volvo-Penta stern drive system comes standard with joystick docking functionality.

For the first time in the industry, the Gran Turismo 46 offers a step hull design in conjunction with Volvo Penta IPS propulsion technology. This boat is also available with stern drive capability further demonstrating the industrial capacity and research and development commitment from the Beneteau shipyard.

Top-of-the-line features and accommodations

Departing both boats via vast aft swim platforms is particularly functional onboard these sport cruisers. Whether you leave the boat by tender or by jumping in the water, the 4 foot deep platforms have electric and hydraulic lowering capability. A feature normally found on much larger yachts.

On the Gran Turismo 40, the layout of the lower deck provides a feeling of space and functionality which hasnever been seen before on a boat of this size. Two separate cabins provide privacy for guests and impressive headroom. Midship offers access to a functional galley and table-top seating below deck. The onboard head features a separate shower stall offering a best effort to date on space in the washroom. The GT46 provides more living space below deck with more galley space and the addition of a second head attached to the VIP cabin.

It’s okay to say it out loud – things ARE getting better. With the increase in new sales, we have an even bigger and better selection of used boats to choose from. If you’re in the market for something that’s a really good value, been well-loved and already broken-in, it’s time for a visit to Cape Yachts.

Cruising World announced the Oceanis 35 earned the 2015 Cruising World Boat of the Year Award in the Midsize Cruisers category.

“This is a very interesting boat,” said Murphy. “The interior, I think, is great. The floor plan in the main salon is completely open with no forward bulkhead, which is very unusual, but it works. They offer the boat in three stages, so you can buy it as a daysailer with no galley whatsoever, and then up through two more levels, as a weekender or a full-on cruiser. We were on so many other boats this year, many of them in the mid-40-foot range and larger, and my notes over and over again say the Oceanis 35 compares favorably with them”.

“There are just so many little things that add up,” he continued. “For instance, on this 35-footer, there’s a separate head with a completely separate shower room. The aft cabin is a wonderful space. Those are always a challenge, to get that space to actually work under the complex curves of the cockpit sole, but Beneteau nailed it. In the main cabin, there are windows in the hull, which you see on more and more boats. I liked sitting down there when we were sailing, with the light coming in, watching the shoreline and the water pass by. I reviewed a 58-footer recently with the same features, and the view on the Oceanis 35 was exactly the same. I think that’s quite a nice thing.”

“The target market, I think, is the millennial generation, the kids who played with Transformer toys,” said Schrader. “They’ll have a number of different things to do with the interior here; it’s really very clever. The Lewmar steering package was very smooth, and the mechanical installations were good. The cockpit is huge, thanks to a wide, wide transom. It’s a lot of boat in 35 feet. Beneteau also offers a seven-year hull and structural warranty, three years on equipment, and all the warranty work goes directly through them.”

That final point sealed Schrader’s vote, and ultimately, those of his fellow judges too.

“I like a company that stands behind what it makes,” he said.

Every year, Beneteau presents its Top Gun Award to yacht brokers across North America for the highest sales volume of Beneteau yachts. And for the second most current years running, Kevin Fraser, Richard Moore, Greg Coleman and Mark Edwards of Cape Yachts have earned this distinction. This marks 19 years of Top Gun Awards for our CY Crew!

In addition, they were also were honored with the Beneteau Dedication award for the third year in a row. This award goes only to those who have shown their commitment to the Beneteau brand throughout the year. Congratulations to all three! Thanks once again to Greg Coleman and our Customer Advocates at South Wharf!

The Oceanis 60, who has all the characteristics of a masterpiece, received a warm welcome for her world premiere in Cannes, France last September. This new flagship is characterized by an incredibly open deck plan, a top-performing hull, as well as extremely spacious and elegant accommodations.

Unique in its dimensions and “sun platform” concept, the cockpit extends topside enjoyment well beyond the two steering wheels. This new living space offers incomparable views to the sea, and endows the Oceanis 60 with the largest cockpit a boat her size has ever seen.

The graceful lines of the Oceanis 60 extend naturally from her bow – which is fitted with an elegant stainless steel bobstay and anchor roller – to stern, where the swim platform folds up electronically to provide dedicated storage for the dinghy.

The distinctive hull of the Oceanis 60 by Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design ensures optimal performance and comfort for any voyage. Perfectly balanced and fitted with a mainsail arch, the Oceanis 60 adopts all the strong points of the range and brings its complete renewal to a close.

The interior of the Oceanis 60 is bathed in natural light and outfitted with fine materials and details, like her brushed anthracite-colored linings and glossy woodwork. The overall space is strikingly bright and luxurious. In either 3- or 4-cabin configuration, the Oceanis 60 will accommodate family and friends with all the comfort at sea you’ve come to expect from Beneteau.

The Oceanis 60 will be on display February 12 – 16, 2015 at Strictly Sail Miami, Miamarina at Bayside. Members of the press will have an opportunity to sea trial the Oceanis 60 following the boat show.

With growth, comes new challenges and new responsibilities. It also means cool new offices and remodeling old ones! Cape Yachts’ current growth spurt means we have opened up a new location in New York City and are in the process of a total makeover for our South Dartmouth office. Consider yourself invited to stop by for the cook’s tour!

The latest edition to Cape Yachts’ award-winning service program is a brand new Brownell trailer for hauling boats to and from our yacht yard at South Wharf. This addition will make it easier to better serve our customers further afield in the New England and New York region.