12 Jul
An experienced sailor, Sandy Grant can now enjoy even more of Moreton Bay thanks to the speed and versatility of his RYCK 280.
When Current Torque catches-up with Sandy Grant he’s just arrived at the Little Ship Club, a local institution on North Stradbroke Island, just off the coast from Brisbane.
The LSC is renown for its panoramic, sweeping views of Moreton Bay and for being one of the best spots in the Bay for sundowners. Sandy’s come across on a broad reach on his sailing yacht but appreciates the scope for new experiences offered by his new RYCK 280.
“The RYCK is for getting places quickly,” he replies when asked why he decided to split allegiances between power and sail. “For my wife Cathy it’s about getting to the destination, for me it’s both that’s why I sail as well,” he explains. “I have three kids and quite a few grandkids and the RYCK can take everybody out in comfort, we can picnic or even beach the boat if you pay the right attention to the tides,” he continues.
At 8.8 metres or nearly 29 feet with a draft of 0.91 metres with the Mercury Verado 350hp engine down, the RYCK 280 is the ideal boat for accessing Moreton Bay which encompasses
over 3,400 square kilometres and more than 360 islands.
Sandy’s had his grey-hulled RYCK barely a month but has already posted some memorable outings, including a wet ride in strong headwinds. “We were bashing into this 20-knot north-westerly with one-metre plus seas and about a metre apart,” he recalls. “I’m still learning how to drive it,” he confesses.
An experienced boat owner it won’t take Sandy long to settle into the RYCK’s sculpted helm seats behind the curved glass windscreen, with the Simrad GO 12-inch chart plotter providing all the depth data crucial to safely navigating the Bay’s shallow expanse. He says the RYCK’s size, manoeuvrability and accommodations played a big part when weighing-up the options in the crowded sports adventure day boat segment of the market.
“I’m not really into big boats,” Sandy admits. “I wanted something I could handle by myself, so the bow-thruster makes it really easy to bring it into the dock.
“It has a lovely big [forward] cabin and my wife Cathy and I are going to do some overnighting. It also has a good separate heads compartment. Add to that an on-deck shower and if you’re really keen you can be out on it for a week,” he enthuses.
Of course, once at an anchorage then Sandy and Cathy, along with friends and family can fully utilise the RYCK 280’s entertaining mode, with the open deck layout maximising the space for socialising.
They can relax on the stylish aft L-shaped lounge around the crafted oak table located a few steps away from the swim platform and hot/cold shower. Drinks are stored in a handy drawer fridge, while just forward is a wet sink with sink and two-burner gas stove.
The black GRP T-top shades the cockpit from the harsh Queensland sun, while removable shade awnings extend the sun protection over the bow sunpad and rear lounge.
When it’s time to pack-up and head back to port or onto the next bay or cove then Sandy will find the RYCK’s highly-efficient hull from Bill Dixon Design will come into its own, capable
of over 40 knots, and easy cruising at 25-26 knots consuming 75 litres-per-hour.
He rates the RYCK with its walk-around centre-console layout as “very family friendly” and notes as other RYCK Owners have that the high bulwarks and solid grab rails give extra reassurance with kids or moving around the boat.
As a member of the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Sandy has access to Canaipa, RQYS’s ‘down-the-bay’ property on the north-east tip of Russell Island. Set amid over a hectare of rolling lawns this private retreat includes shower, toilet and laundry facilities, swimming pool, covered barbecues and picnic areas.
Sandy agrees it’s one of his favourite Bay destinations and a likely stopover for the RYCK. “I’m not really into fishing,” he confides, “it’s more about being in beautiful places and enjoying people’s company. That’s what the boat is designed for,” he says.
Sandy is considering a couple of tweaks to his RYCK to make sure it’s fully optimised for cruising Moreton Bay. The first is Mercury’s Active Trim system that includes five built-in trim profiles that can be selected based on driver preference. As the boat accelerates, the system automatically trims the engine out. When decelerating or making a turn, the engine trims in. Auto Trim settings can still be manually overridden to compensate for changes in boat load, driver preferences and weather conditions.
The second tweak is heavier gauge anchoring chain, as conditions can change quickly. “From that point of view I want make sure it [the boat] stays put,” he emphasises with a chuckle.
Moreton Bay is essentially a huge sub-tropical lagoon sheltered by the massive sand islands of Moreton and North Stradbroke and studded by islands, sandbars and seagrass beds. Sandy agrees its “ridiculously underrated” as a cruising ground but quickly adds “that’s from a selfish point-of-view. The RYCK is an ideal Bay boat – it can cover quite long distances quite quickly and handle the chop.
‘It’s the best of both worlds for me,” he acknowledges. “I can sail or take the RYCK, it’s which weapon do I use today?” he laughs.
A good dilemma to have.
Windcraft has a RYCK 280 display model available for immediate delivery in Australia/NZ.
More info at windcraftyachts.com/ryck
