ESCAPE
HIGH SEAS
POWER Player
The boat of choice for NFL superstar Tom Brady is a Dutch-built Wajer By Howard Walker Call it the Brady Factor. Before a slightly tipsy Tom Brady famously tossed the Vince Lombardi trophy from boat to boat during the post– Super Bowl floating victory parade through downtown Tampa last year, few U.S. boaters knew about Wajer. But when the former Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback turned up to the party in his silvery-blue, $2 million, 53-foot Wajer power yacht, the world collectively asked, “What the heck kind of boat is that?” It’s a Wajer 55 S from the young Dutch builder Wajer Yachts. Dorus Wajer started the company—which is based in Holland’s ancient Friesland region—in 1992, 42
and it has steadily grown to become one of the favored boutique builders for Europe’s jet set. These days, it’s hard to stand on Quai de l’Epi in St. Tropez’s old port or Port Hercule in Monaco and not see a stunning Wajer 55 or its smaller Wajer 38 sibling gliding by, filled with sunkissed revelers. The 55 was introduced in 2016 as a closed-bow model, which Wajer still offers. The more versatile 55 S center console came a couple years later, followed more recently by the 55 HT with an enclosed hardtop. Dutch masters Sinot Yacht Architecture and Design penned each version, all of which boast the same gorgeous hull design, with its knifeedge bow, uncluttered decks, and trademark inward-curving stern. And if Sinot sounds familiar, there’s a reason: It’s the same company behind Musashi, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s window-rich, 288-foot superyacht. Among the 55’s multitude of cool features, one of the best is the grand staircase rising from the swim platform. Another is the deep, wide-side decks that make moving around the boat safe and easy. The 55 also includes a nicely sized hardtop, with a big, tall windshield for good forward visibility. There are removable glass panels in the top to throw down plenty of light, and at the press of a button, a power sunshade whirrs out of the back of the hardtop to cover part of the rear deck. At the helm station you’ll find a quartet of comfy Stidd captain’s seats, plus two sleek Garmin navigation screens. The bow is ideal for sun worshippers, with its sunpad in front of the
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