New England’s first Nimbus W11

New England’s first Nimbus W11

Mistral goes home to Christmas Cove

On June 7, a team from Yachting Solutions’ headquarters, in Rockport, Maine, delivered the very first Nimbus W11 in New England to her owners in Christmas Cove, near Boothbay Harbor. With due ceremony—and lobster rolls, homemade pastries and the requisite bottles of bubbly—the boat was christened MISTRAL.

Tom and Missy, MISTRAL’s owners, divide their time between London and Christmas Cove; with various combinations of their 22 children and grandchildren visiting to enjoy Maine summers, they wanted a “runabout” to go with their 46-foot cruising ketch.

The W11 is quite the “runabout.” The new boat is a twin-engine, nominally 11-metre (actually 12.4m, or 40’7”) version of the high-performance Nimbus W9 express cruiser. The W11 is 10 feet longer than the W9 and has a second comfortable overnight cabin, a larger head with a shower, and offers new features as well as more room throughout.

MISTRAL is very well optioned, with the new Nimbus hydraulic swim platform at the stern, a powered drop-down side ramp for easier boarding, an electrically operated sunroof and full canopy and teak decking in addition to the long list of standard W11 features.

The W11 is the newest member of the Nimbus WTC series, for Weekender, Tender and Commuter—different cabin configurations on the “air-lubricated” hull that provides excellent seaworthiness, comfort and speed. The sharp bow flattens out to two steps aft for a minimal planing threshold, while a low center of gravity and a beneficial length-to-width ratio enable the boats to cover ocean safely, quickly and in unusual comfort. Nimbus WTC boats also remain notably dry, without excessive spray, which increases the sense of security.

The 40-mile run from Rockport Harbor south-southwest to Christmas Cove took place on a chilly, gray, foggy day with little wind; visibility varied from 200 yards to nearly a mile. After transiting the Muscle Ridge Channel, MISTRAL left Penobscot Bay and entered the open Atlantic. Her long, foiling hull—and her Seakeeper stabilizer and Zipwake dynamic trim control—provided a smooth, level ride at speeds up to 35 MPH. (The top end for a W11 with twin 400-horsepower Mercury Verado outboards is near 50 MPH.) Even with occasionally throttling back in fog and proceeding under radar, the trip took barely an hour and a half; and with the T-Top and the forward canopy buttoned up, the delivery crew stayed snug, dry and comfortable.