This two-tone affair, described by some designer luxury watches as the Bentley of sportscruisers, was awarded the prestigious Boat of the year in the motoryacht category at the 2006 HISWA boat show. Head cheese of the jury Hugo van Wieringen said that “the attractive and extremely detailed design, high-quality technology and impressive performance were instrumental in the jury’s’ decision”. Designed by Vripack, the Osprey features twin Volvo engines , 310 hp each, with a max speed of 40 knots.Personally, I’d be satisfied just looking at it. Medium-sized motoryachts have a tendency to all look the same, but the Osprey, much like Riva, just stands out in my mind. I’m all for the avante-garde and modernistic, but much like I basically haven’t caught up with hardly any modern music designer luxury watches (or clothing…) for ages, my soft spot for everything retro is my big achilles’ heel.
The Netherlands are pretty interesting in many ways, even if you’re not necessarily interested in post-impressionist art, fine lagers and the lax drug policy. What always amazed me is how small, geographically, the Netherlands are compared to their cultural and industrial importance throughout the ages. Not to go off on a tangent, but it always fascinated me how the small country (along with their Belgian neighbours) managed to become such a strong colonial power rivalling the British empire, France and so forth.Of course, the days of colonialism are now thankfully long gone (except if you ask France), but it’s nice to see that the Netherlands managed to save and cherish the more enjoyful parts of that culture. It just so happens that the country has managed to become a center for the yacht and luxury boating industry, both attracting new talents as well as containing some of the Grand Old Men of the craft.One of the nicer boats we’ve seen coming out designer luxury watches of the Netherlands during the last few years is the Osprey 37 from Wajer.
