http://www.boatinternational.com | May 2018WILD WATER
As happy on land as in the water –
Sam Fortescue meets a real amphibianLITHE LIZARD
U
sually when skippers talk about
“parking the tender on the beach”
they’re speaking figuratively about
getting the guests as close to the sand as
possible. If they’re lucky, they’ll be able to
scramble out without getting their feet wet.
But that’s all changing thanks to a boat builder
in the unlikely location of Caen, on France’s
grey English Channel coast.
I’m waiting, shivering, on a windswept
beach frequented only by a few hardy clam
fishermen, to see something rather special. And
behold – from behind the bushes at the top of
the strand, the graceful, highly bufed curve of a
boat’s bow emerges – at about head height. It’s
strange to see a boat floating on to the beach
from the landward side, but it soon becomes
apparent how: beneath the gleaming hull, a
tracked landing gear reveals itself.
The latest, Commuter version of Iguana
Yachts’ nine metre amphibian is soon down the
slope and charging around on the beach at
7km/h on its caterpillar tracks. If that doesn’t
sound like much, I can tell you that three metres
up, at the controls of this engineering marvel, it
seems like plenty. But more about that later. As
sales manager Steve Huppert says, if you focus
on its extraordinary land-based abilities you
tackle this boat from the wrong end: “I prefer
people to see her in the water first.”
Rewind to earlier the same afternoon, as I
take the boat’s wheel. We’re moving at a sedate
speed along the smooth waters of the Caen
Canal – bereft of traic on this chilly, bright
afternoon. “Give it some power,” Huppert urges
me as I cautiously poke at the throttle. I do
as I’m told and the roar of the twin 200hp
Yamahas behind me rises to a shriek. The tall
reeds on either bank start to blur as we pop
up onto the plane at around 30 knots. But
there’s plenty of power in reserve. We top out
at 41 knots, with a sensation like flying.
Even at this speed, the air blasting in
through the open hardtop barely disturbs a hairon my head, enfolded as I am in the exceedingly
comfortable sports seat behind an elaborately
curved glass windscreen. But to be on the safe
side I tap the touchscreen control panel on the
dash, and the hardtop slides down on its
hydraulic arms. We are cocooned in the cockpit.
This is one of a few tricks hidden in this latest
version of the Iguana – it also does away with
padded seating behind the driver’s seat and
replaces it with shock-dampened chairs; and
there’s a little cabin below.
“Now turn her round,” says Huppert, once
we’re back at a comfortable cruising speed
of thirty-something knots. Pegasus Bridge,
a crucial spot that the Allied forces secured
before invading Normandy in 1944, is
approaching at quite a pace.
“What, just like that?” I ask, eyeing the
worrying proximity of the bank. He nods.
I put the wheel half over and the sensation
is glorious. The boat leans into the turn with
perfect poise. Other than the feeling that47