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There are thousands of good reasons to buy a motor boat, as a flick through the pages of MBY amply demonstrates, but never has their been a more compelling one than that put forward by reader David Gabriel. Last March he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and immediately subjected to a long and debilitating course of treatment, but instead of putting his family life on hold he decided to find something positive to focus on by upgrading his 1980s 38ft sports-cruiser to a newer, larger FAIRLINE SQUADRON 58.
When the first one he bought was washed off the deck of a delivery ship by a freak storm on its way back to the UK, a lesser man might have given up on the dream but David found another one in Mallorca and bought it with the help of a video tour before transporting it back to his home berth on the Beaulieu river. Despite everything, he swears it has added a new dimension to his family’s life that he wouldn’t have dreamed possible this time last year. You can read his remarkable story on p92-96 and
I’d urge you all to heed his closing advice – ‘appreciate what you already have but also look at what you really want and just go for it, don’t wait!’.
DON’T MISS OUT!
If David’s story has inspired you to go boat shopping there are plenty of tasty craft in the magazine and online to whet your appetite. There are videos of all three new boat tests, including this month’s cover star the SEALINE C390 as well as the tantalising BRABUS SHADOW 500, FERRETTI 450 and JEANNEAU LEADER 33. Or you could follow David’s own choice of craft and check out Nick Burnham’s excellent video review of a secondhand 2009 model FAIRLINE SQUADRON 55. I know which one I’d go for.