A WARM, WILD WELKOM FOR WAJER

The Wajer 38 Osprey defnitely caught my eye when she surfaced stateside at the Miami Yacht & Brokerage Show in February, but her good looks are only half the story. She’s the BMW 5 Series of yacht technology, the Porsche of performance and the Rolls-Royce of quality all rolled into one. While the result is a price tag one might expect from such characteristics, it’s what the price brings that is helping Wajer fnd its way in the American marketplace.

“Thought we’d take a peek outside,” said Grant Henderson, U.S. representative for Wajer & Wajer Yachts, said as we stepped on board. “Could be a sweet ride up to Lighthouse Point.”

At the time, I had all but relegated our Wajer 38 sea trial to nothing more than a prudent waterway cruise, which was fne by me. I’d seen what “outside” looked like earlier that day. It was no place for a sparkly, 38-foot luxury tender. To my surprise, our captain, Daniel van der Hijden of Wajer & Wajer—whose passions beyond boating include Formula One racing and space travel (go fgure)—agreed with his counterpart. Dios mio. Time to ditch the chardonnay, I thought.

One can learn a lot about a boat honking along at 35 knots with an irritable ocean heaving menacing swells. Then again, one man’s menace is another man’s mogul feld, and as van der Hijden weaved the Wajer from trough to trough with ease, there was clearly no need to have abandoned my glass of chardonnay. “Ease” seems to be the mantra of the 23-year-old Dutch boatbuilder, offering four models including this fagship 38. Designed in-house and with naval architecture by Vripack, each yacht is customizable from color preference to layout to amenities. Apparently, the only item not up for debate is precision craftsmanship.

Check her out at the next boat show. With all that teak and mahogany, she’s easy on the eyes, and with the joystick IPS, anyone can drive this boat after basic instruction. The quality is apparent; the surprise, I found, is in the performance. And there’s something to be said for screaming across the water at up to 45 knots, comfortable and dry, even on a lumpy day.