Today was a really good day, because other than normally I did not find the usual invoice or notification of a new, raised price by my insurer or electricity provider. Nope. Today a parcel from the United Kingdom arrived in my mailbox. It took a while to being shipped here. As the tracking showed, somehow, the German customs took a few days to check it. Anyway, I opened the envelope and here it was: The current issue number 551 of December. It´s the Seahorse Magazine.
This is so precious to me because the Seahorse is not any other magazine, it´s my personal favorite when it comes to yachting news, boat tests and a focus on performance sailing, regattas and racing. Which makes it even more cool that these guys featured the Omega 42! Because frankly, as much as I love reading Yachting Monthly or – even though I hardly understand a word – Giornale de la Vela and Voile et Voilers, many of my dear friends and more internationally oriented sailing-colleagues fancy the Seahorse Magazine very much. And now … here we are.
I must admit, my hands were a bit of shaking when I looked at the envelope on my living room desk. Before opening it, I prepared myself a fresh hot tea – a nod to the British author and publishing house of Seahorse – and then I unpacked it. Of course I know that these guys were preparing something as they had asked me for information and pictures. But it´s of course something completely different when you hold the outcome in your own hands. It´s something physical. Something palpable.
A legend reborn
… says the title, and it´s true: The Omega 42 is truly one of the icons of the “golden era” or Swedish yacht design. She is considered and dubbed the “most beautiful yacht” of her time, probably the most iconic design of Peter Norlin. It´s written: “against all odds, one of the great offshore yacht designs of the late 20th Century is back in production!” The backstory of how this boat´s nearly decomposed mold was re-discovered, refurbished and gave birth to the two new Omega 42 yachts is amazing!
It´s also not the first time we received some attention by a yachting magazine. Two years ago German “Segeln” magazine asked for a thorough live test of this yacht. The editor – who used to be the editor-in-chief as well – was so delighted and excited that he even decided to bring our Omega 42 to the cover page, which is a very special occasion and truly an accolade. I turn the page, go on reading the story.
The article give a good short wrap up of the back story of how the new Omega 42 came to live and also refers to the good old days, explaining why there´s so much fuzz about this yacht. Why she was a specialty and even considered “extreme” in her days and why she is extreme in so many respects even today. Tech-talk, production details and a great emphasis on the semi-custom production style of the new Omega 42 follows. I am very satisfied: These three pages make a good job in explaining shortly what this project is all about. And I truly appreciate this article so much, because it will bring our message to many more readers than my blog or our website will ever reach. Why? Because we want to welcome more Omega 42-owners, of course!
First steps are the hardest
You see, it´s really tough. It really is! I thought it might be easier to find a third and maybe fourth sailor to order a brand new Omega 42. And as such, I thought the news of her being in production alone would trigger at least one or two to say: “Yes, how cool is that? I want one!” But it´s not. I think one of the reasons is our new website. It´s just a simple one-pager, of course, we try to keep costs down and don´t want to spend the huge budgets shipyards usually have to move in order to feed the press. One particular downside of our new website is the fact that most of the pictures – above all the opening title shot – only show old boats. That´s because we do not have all too many nice pictures of the first new Omega 42. I guess this is why many visitors might think we sell refurbished or used Omega 42, which is not the case at all. But who reads through a whole website these days?
This is why such an article helps so much. Is there even a market for newbuild classic sailboats? I think there is! Just think of Spirit Yachts in the UK or the Dutch Eagle Yacht. I am convinced that there are sailors who do not care for transom BBQ or integrated sunbeds on the fore deck. There are indeed many sailors who would love to get to sail a yacht that … really sails! So, thanks Seahorse for this recognition! If you like to read the article, click here for the PDF or check your local kiosk for the Seahorse printed issue.
Related articles:
Cover beauty: How an Editor-in-chief fell in love with the Omega 42
Why I decided to buy the Omega 42 instead of a modern planning cruiser
All building progress-articles of my new Omega 42
