10 May
Contemplating downsizing and reducing their time at the office this Sydney couple came up with an elegant solution: go cruising on a Hanse 510.
Buying a boat is a big decision. Purchasing one of the first hulls of a brand-new model based on a grainy sketch is another thing altogether. However, that’s exactly what Scott and Karen from Sydney’s Northern beaches did when they ordered Savvy, their Hanse 510.
“Anthony (Anthony Bishop, Windcraft’s Managing Director), showed us a render; it wasn’t even colour, of the 510,” Scott recalls.
“Karen loved the fact it was a bit bigger, had the tender garage and especially the room down below as we were going to be spending a fair bit of time on it,” he continues.
There’s no mistaking the Hanse 510. It projects an imposing dockside presence courtesy of its size and purposeful lines from French naval architects Berret-Racoupeau, who designed the 510’s smaller sibling, the Hanse 460, winner of the Family Cruiser division of the 2022 European Yacht of the Year awards.
The 510 shares the 460’s inverted bow and chined hull and continues the Berret-Racoupeau design philosophy of a wide beam carried right aft and well forward that translates into supremely spacious accommodation. The hull shape though with a marked flare above the waterline aft, is optimised to reduce wetted surface area and significantly improves performance in light airs.
For Scott and Karen, even though they loved the 510’s visual styling, it had to fulfill a number of other very practical considerations. Their original plan involving selling their house, buying a country property but also retaining a unit in the city, close to their sons and business.
“We looked at a range of apartments,” Scott remembers, “but then Karen said ‘I don’t want to live in an apartment, let’s get a yacht’.
As we retire we want to do coastal cruising so we thought it was the perfect boat for that and big enough so when we come to Sydney we could stay on it,” he explains.
At 15.97 metres or 52′ 5 inches length overall with a 4.91 beam the Hanse 510 offers the equivalent of a luxury apartment on water. Savvy boasts three cabins, a very generous Owners cabin plus two large aft cabins, plus a utility room that contains extra refrigeration as well as a washer/dryer. There are two bathrooms/heads, one an ensuite while the other serves as a day head and for the aft cabins.
“We are finding it so comfortable,” Scott reveals. “The first time we slept aboard was a couple of weeks ago and it was a miserable day, near torrential rain. It was beautiful, so quiet. The motion too when there is a bit of wash is quite gentle,” he adds. “Karen likes to curl up in the saloon under a blanket and watch Netflix (on the retractable flat-screen TV), I’m already crashed-out and don’t hear a thing,” he says with a smile.
The innovative centre-console in the saloon that Hanse has specifically developed for the 510’s systems displays and functions is a feature Scott appreciates some people might find quirky, but one he’s found extremely useful.
“It’s really nice having everything central,” he agrees. “Say you are working in the galley and you need to turn the hot water on it’s within easy reach. It also gives us that big long galley that adds to the spacious feeling of the saloon.”
Hanse has also been adept at coming-up with a way to reduce the angst of one of cruising’s potential major hassles – deploying and retrieving the tender.
“It was really the clincher for the 510 at the time (of their decision),” Scott acknowledges of the Hanse Smart Tender System that enables a single crew member to safely and comfortably deploy the dinghy, including engine, in minutes by sliding it out on a pull-out gantry/davit. He reports the 2.7m Aermarine fits perfectly in the tender garage thanks to its snub nose design.
Scott has also become among the first to test Mercury’s brand new Avator electric outboards. He has a 20e equivalent to 6hp which has an external battery and a 7.5e that delivers power similar to a conventional 3-4hp engine but with an internal battery that can removed and charged while you’re ashore. The guide is the smaller motor will last about an hour at full throttle.
While all the tech is extremely helpful, the elemental pull of just going sailing, feeling the boat come alive to the power of the wind has been a powerful drawcard. In a past life Scott was a team rider for Neil Pryde Windsurfing and he and Karen ran a sail repair business – they are both pretty handy with a sewing machine or needle, a very desirable skill to have far from your local sail loft. And they have very much enjoyed rekindling their love of sailing’s simple pleasures.
“I feel a bit like a naughty teenager”, Scott confesses. “I’m actually happier Karen on the helm and me playing with the sails. I love the widgets and the tuning, trimming,” he relates.
“I love sailing upwind. Some people don’t like it but I really enjoying tweaking to get the best angle,” he enthuses.
According to the factory supplied VPP (Velocity Prediction Program) Savvy should be capable of achieving a very respectable 7.8 knots at 40 degrees in 14 knots of true wind. It has to be borne in mind those figures are supposedly generated in flat water and no current – very different conditions to your average offshore sailing conditions in Australia and New Zealand.
There’s no question the Hanse 510 is a big powerful boat but Scott is confident based on their increasingly ambitious outings he and Karen can confidently manage the reefing and boat handling manoeuvres required.
“We went for a sail by ourselves just recently,” he recounts. “It was a pretty solid 20 knots, and my youngest son had previously scoffed ‘you’ll be lucky get outside Barrenjoey (Barrenjoey Headland that marks the entrance to Broken Bay and Pittwater)’.
“So Karen had a bee in a bonnet about that and she asked ‘Can we go offshore?’ I said ‘absolutely’ and the first thing she did was take a selfie of her sailing past the lighthouse, and then we went for a run down the coast and it was fine,” he says with some satisfaction.
Their cruising bucket list initially includes popular New South Wales destinations such as Port Stephens and then Jervis Bay. “Everyone mentions Hamilton Island which Karen would love to do,” says Scott, “but I want to go to Kangaroo Island,” he declares. “I know it would be a big call but we’re not racing so we could pick the right weather window through Bass Strait.
Anyone who has spent any time under sail in Bass Strait knows only too well its deceptive demeanour. There are sometimes fast-developing localised squalls not in the general forecast, but Scott and Karen can rest assured if they choose to venture there or on any coastal or bluewater passage, Savvy will deliver them safely and efficiently in enviable luxury.
More on the Hanse 510: hanse@windcraftyachts.com
Savvy will be available for viewings at the Windcraft stand at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show from May 23-26.
