Boat International – September 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY: BRABUS MARINE

ea-triallingaboatcalledtheShadow 500 BlackOpswasnever

goingtobeaboringexperience,butIhadn’texpecteditto

bequiteasthrillingasitturnedout.Despitesunnyskiesover

Pooleharbour,there’sa sharpwindblowing acrossthe

waterthatcreatesarelentlessconveyorbeltofmetre-highwavesfollowedby

equallydeeptroughs.

Strictrulespreventboatsfromtravellingatmorethansixknotsclosetothe

marinaand 10 knotsabitfurtherout–speedsthatbarelystirtheShadow500’s

revcounterlinkedtothetwogrowlingMercuryV8shangingofftheback.

Drivingafastboatslowlygivesonethesamefeelingascrawlingalongin

ahigh-performanceautomobile,iethatyou’regoingnowhere.Butafter

whatseemslikeaverylongtimeindeedwemakeitpasttheharbour

mouth and my host, an adrenaline-seeking Finn calledJan-Erik

Viitala,CEOofboatbuilderAxopar,encouragesmetogetbusywiththe

twinthrottles.

Andwhatabuzzitprovestobe.Shovingthesticksforwardsendstheboat

surgingaheadwithacatapult-likeaccelerationthatseemsimpossibleinsuch

swollenseas,withathrustreminiscentofbeingatthewheelofasupercar–

thosemagnificentV8sprovidingathroatysoundtrackfromthestern.

Theangryseas,however,arenotentirelyconducivetosustained,high-speed

progress(althoughwedidsee 50 knotscomeandgointheblinkofaneye),

and flying from the peak of one big wave to another is both

tremendouslyexhilaratingandasuperbtestofthisboat’simpressivestability

andhigh-qualityconstruction.

Thefactthatitissomuchfunshouldn’tcomeasasurprise:it’sputtogether

byBrabusonthebasisofahullmadebyViitala’sfirmAxopar,thefive-year-old

S

Quicksilver

Shadow

FinnishboatbuilderAxopar

hasjoinedforceswitha

speedstermotoringbrand.The

result,saysSimondeBurton,

isatrulyexhilaratingride

ONBOARD/WILDWATER 59

boatinternational.com

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