Toast to longevity
Contest Yachts Celebrates 60th Anniversary at boot Düsseldorf.
Photography by Carlo Baroncini Photography
08 February 2019
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Started in 1959 by Ed Conijn, Contest Yachts is celebrating 60 years in business in 2019. Ed Conijn who began sailing and adventuring with his father was hooked early in life and bought his own first yacht while still a law student, having daringly successfully invested his allowance in the stock market.
This nerve and flair persisted throughout his company tenure. He innovated continually – in design and technology among the very first to build at such scale in glassfibre, and then again adopting vacuum infusion techniques.
Today the company is in third-generation governance, Ed having passed the torch to son Fritz in 1976, and then in turn Fritz to son Arjen in 2005.
Attending boot Düsseldorf for the 49th time, the yard brought along the new 17-metre, four-cabin Contest 57CS and 13-metre Contest 42CS with two-cabin plus storage cabin option.
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A step up in size, the Contest 57CS is the first in the line with double cockpit for helm and guests, a labour saving mainsheet and optional fold-down stern bathing platform. Sound design and engineering was designed by Georg Nissen.
She was the first Contest fully 3D modelled and the spatial study has optimised systems and stowage throughout allowing this flexible configuration.
A full beam lazarette and standing headroom sail locker in the bow serve the distance cruiser well and, beyond this, weight has been kept out of the ends with technical gear focused towards the centre of the boat.
The Contest 42CS is the first yacht of this size from the yard to offer such personalised customisation.
She shares the same hallmark high standards seen across the range, right through to the flagship Contest 72CS.
There are four different saloon plans, three cabin arrangements for both bow and stern, five different cockpits, carbon or aluminium spars, and multiple sail handling systems.
This follows the recent delivery of the first new, 26-metre judel/vrolijk-designed flagship Contest 85CS, currently in the Mediterranean preparing for global adventuring.
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