BLUNT APPEAL

NO-NONSENSE ALUMINIUM EXPLORERS WITH CENTREBOARD AND DOGHOUSE ALREADY GIVE BOREAL A COMMANDING NICHE, SO WHY A SCOW BOW ON THIS UNSTOPPABLE 56?

- TOBY HODGES

When it's blowing a gale and it's hard to even see outside for the horizontal rain or, worse, sand being whipped off the nearby beach, there's little appeal in going afloat. But if you were to choose one yacht to board in such conditions, even if just to stay in the marina... it might well be a Boreal.

Equally, with more and more floating debris contaminating our oceans, and marine wildlife increasingly (and literally) biting back, you can understand the increasing amount of new cruising yacht buyers seeking belt and braces builds. They may never need that diff lock, get-out-of-trouble functionality, but it's certainly reassuring to know it's there.

For those unfamiliar with Boreal Yachts, these are not simply aluminium tanks for off-piste cruising. They prioritise performance and are packed with intelligent ideas which can only be the brainchildren of true ocean sailors, mostly from its founder Jean-François Delvoye.

And so I found myself navigating a precarious pontoon in IJmuiden, Holland, in a strong mid-September gale and scaling the high and bulletproof-looking freeboard of the new Boreal 56. We were conducting European Yacht of the Year trials, the first day and a half of which were lost to the unseasonable weather.

I envisaged a cosy interior, the stove lit, maybe a sauna or some mulled wine on offer, but the notably bright, raised saloon and roomy accommodation will likely appeal to the majority in more agreeable weather. Seated at the table, laptop and drawings at the ready, was the perfect person to explain the genesis of this 56.